mdbrandy

Depends on what STUFF you mean :classic: . Engine, yes. Transmission, yes. Other parts of the drivetrain, many/most. Gas tank, I don't think so. Interior, lots of things no, some yes. So, what do you mean?

Ok, so now it all works. Kind of have to read around MSA's directions, and understand the hub geometry very well versus the original wheel. I had pounded the roll pins in too far, because I was baseing their height off where they entered the hub. Well, that's wrong. The height of the pins on the original wheel must be equal to the height ABOVE THE BASE OF THE HUB on the new hub, and not height above the surface where the pins enter the hub, like on the original wheel. Also, I hadn't been able to figure out which holes to put the pins in, because I had followed their directions and put the hole in the hub marked "Up", at the top of the wheel. Wrong again. If I rotated the hub about 120 degrees, then the holes line up for the wheel, and the correct holes are available for the pins. Lastly, you have to bend the HECK out of the horn contact on the steering column. I had to raise it probably almost a full inch to get it to contact the copper contact ring. But it works now, and I don't think it will hurt anything.

Ok, I did as we had discussed above; ran up to temp, disconnected coil, FI relay, and removed all spark plugs. Screwed compression guage into cylinder 1 and pushed button on remote starter. Well, the starter turned, but after 2 or three revolutions, it disengaged and spun. So I tried it again; same result. I took off the remote starter switch and used the ignition key instead. Same result. Starter will turn engine 1 to 3 revolutions, and then disengage and just spin. It's like that without the sparkplugs it can spin the engine too fast, and doesn't like that, so it disengages. I have the gear reduction starter on the car (that's apparently what it came with). Anyone had similar issues? Note that I have now installed the plugs, rehooked-up the coil and FI relay, and the car starts like a top. No problems.

I'll post how things work out. Did your adapter actually have pin holes where they should be? On my original wheel, the roll pins are directly on either side of the center shaft hole. On the adapter, one was beside the hole, and one a little lower. Couldnt find a geometry where two pin holes were directly across from each other like on the original wheel. Also, the roll pins would not insert into the adapter so that they only stuck out as far as the originals. They stick out farther, but still do not engage the turn signal mechanism. Fun.... Mine came with that little spring and contact you're talking about, but it was marked for 'Nissan, 1980 and up'. Since mine's a '78, that shouldn't matter either...

I can't actually vouch for the information, since I didn't actually use it yet, but this writeup seems reasonable: http://www.jrdemers.com/280ZX/tankvents/tankvents.html

So, I installed a new steering wheel today. Got it from MSA, and it came with their "Billet Hub". Looks nice. However, I can't for the life of me get the horn to work, or the turn signals to turn off. It looks like there is no way that the horn contactor that slides around on the copper ring is going to touch. One of the roll pins could not be installed in the same position as on the orignal wheel, although it was close. But it appears as though neither of them do anything. AND, they are both actually sticking out too far, although it's fairly obvious that they are not rubbing on anything. So it isn't that I inserted them too far. Anyway, I'm going to pull it again tomorrow, measure the distance between the roll pins on the new and old wheel, etc, and then I'll call MSA on Tuesday, but if any of you that have installed an MSA-supplied adapter on a 280Z have an hints, I'd appreciate hearing them. Thanks.

Yes, I tossed $25 at it to see where the other guy's head was. He had already bid higher. I'm sure it will go for more. We'll see where time takes the bidding...

Thanks Stephen, I did forget to mention the coil wire. Question, however - if I've removed all the spark plugs, and thus disconnected all the spark plug wires from them, what difference does removing the coil wire make? I can see it to keep any of the hanging plug wires from arcing to something that they shouldn't, but otherwise...

Thanks, Carl. Sounds like the quickest thing for me would be to warm up, disconnect the FI relay, pull the plugs, and go to it.

Would disconnecting the FI relay disable injector pulsing but allow the engine to crank? That'd be good. Probably just take a minute to disconnect the relay. ricksaia: Need to keep from pumping fuel during the compression test. Lots of raw fuel through the exhaust will supposedly screw up the cat converter. 78 280zcar: That'd work too, but would probably take as long as removing the injector connectors. One question that no one has answered is how important is it to have the engine up to operating temp? Obviously the clearences are more correct at temperature, but how different would the readings be with a cold engine? Or with an engine that has cooled down for 15 minutes? I read about many people measuring their compression - do you make sure the engine is hot? Thanks.

Interesting thought. Not sure whether there's one fuse or multiple, or whether I'd have to pull a fusible link. Also, the EFI is so integrated with the starting/ignition system, that I'll have to see if it will turn over if I do that. But it's a good idea. We shall see!

Ok, time to tune up the 280Z, and I wanted to test compression while I have the plugs out. Haven't run a compression check on any car for probably 20 years, so I opened up the factory manual to read what it wants me to do. I assumed I had to keep fuel from being injected through the EFI system. Factory manual wants me to disconnect all the injector connectors and the cold start injector connector. AFTER running the engine up to temp. However, those connectors are pretty brittle by now, and I'll have to be very careful with them. It's likely to take 15 minutes or more to carefully disconnect all the connectors and remove the plugs. By then, the engine will still be warm, but by no means at operating temp. So how important is having the engine up to operating temperature in testing compression? Any other tips or tricks for measureing compression on an EFI engine?

Isn't that where the air conditioning evaporator was installed in 240Z's? Aftermarket? Picture would be good. I've seen pics of 240's with a big box-like thing above the passenger's feet on the firewall, and it was the AC.

Tomohawk, I thought you had a '78 280Z? Has it been modified in some way to have power steering? The 280ZX was the first Z model to get factory power steering, AFAIK.

Hey, Andrew, if you go on a production binge, I'd take a set as well. Who cares about judges - these are our cars!

#215 has clear hatch glass and an air filter box without damper. What are seat corner guards?

Very interesting thought! I certainly can't verify it, but maybe someone can....or we can collect a bunch of data!

Don't know if this will help in your discussions, but here's a pic of my radio from my early '70 car. Face plate looks just like the one in the e-bay pic. However, you'll note that the dash and map light are later style, since my PO replaced some things not knowing the differences between early and late cars. He was adamant, however, that the radio was original.

I answered it because I thought it would be interesting to see if he got any positive responses. I know some of our members own 2+2's, but I have no feel for how many...

I just don't like that break in the roof line. Personal preference thing. As long as coupes are available, that'd be my choice. No other reason. Your car looks really nice.

I don't think this can possibly be accurate. Car number 5639 is on e-bay right now, and is a manual. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2478887485&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT Doesn't mean it couldn't have been automatic. I just looked at Humble's book, and that is what it says, but I expect it is a typo. I would gamble that it should be a number like 14870 instead of 1487. I believe that would make a lot more sense. There just weren't that many automatic cars made early. I had a 71 240Z that I bought in 1978, and it was an automatic. Changed it to a 4-speed within the first year :classic: . Wish I knew the VIN on it. There are only a couple differences in the wiring, I believe between auto and manual. The auto has a dual-point distributor. And there is some kind of relay in the ignition circuit. Anyway, I just can't see Humble's numbers being right.

Just make sure you're recognizing the difference in the numbers we're talking about. The 060039 number is raised, and cast into the block under the exhaust manifold, down near the edge of the block skirt. The number on mine actually has a letter in it ("F"). It has always been my understanding that the actual block number is punched on the raised pad next to the L24 punch, on the rear, right side of the engine (passenger side for LHD, drivers side for RHD). But then again, I had never noticed these raised casting areas on the block....

I still have an old Tweeks catalog that I keep just for fun. I think it's from 1997. And is that back or front Porch(e) stuff ROFL ?

At least that seller has learned how to use his camera, and has gotten away from the "I wish I had a better picture for you" on every auction...

Oh, I already have a fiche CD, and I walked in with part numbers. However, their computers have some superseding numbers that confused him, since their fiche only goes back to the S130. And I actually went there to see how much more expensive they were than Chloe - answer: a lot (20% plus or minus)! That's what I figured, but you never know. I was just looking for some tuneup stuff this time. Believe me, Chloe probably knows my credit card number by heart by now!