dar5052

My post is in reference to people being butthurt when the the discussion of removing emissions controls comes up in discussion. I guess things said across forums can be misinterpreted given the nature of electronic communication. If I have misinterpreted, then my apologies. However, As of now, I have only gotten two responses that are of benefit on this forum. The rest are of criticism, for unknown reason?

@Barefootdan that looks great, hopefully mine can look like this when Im finished. I pulled all the interior and wiring this weekend. Its basically ready for the patch work and paint! keep up the good work!

Well that got a lot of attention... I guess my point was that it seems when You ask a question on the forums related to removing anything from the emissions system, there is a lot of pushback from the community on what not to do instead of how to do it. Sorry that I've offended so many people. @dutchzcarguy you are correct in your observation to an extent... I've posted multiple threads on my post and contributed to one or two others... but I recently joined... maybe you can cut me some slack on my lack of posting on topics... Perhaps it was my mistake for not asking the question on EGR directly... I used the search function and the results I got back are what I was reporting in the thread... I guess you're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't for using the search function... lord knows if I would have asked the question I would have been bombarded with "use the search function, its been discussed a million times" @Barefootdan thank you for your genuine post. @siteunseennice looking setup... thanks for rubbing it in my face that as an engineer I should be wiser... Well done my friend. I thought forums were for discussion, not for demoralizing people. I guess this forum is like many others and I am not welcome here for sharing my observations, thoughts, or projects. Noted and thank you...

This may be a contentious topic but in searching for ways to clean up my engine bay, everyone seems to harp on reading the FSM instead of actually giving beneficial feedback on the subject? I understand the importance of EGR, etc, and its functionality but it seems to be clouded by a automatic response of "its there for a reason". The only reason its there is for emission purposes.. I am an engineer that works in the oil and gas industry and completely understand the process because we do the same thing... for emission purposes. People build cars for various applications, some are purists, others are restomods, and some are somewhere in between (myself included). its easy to jump and say "read the FSM" but why not give real world experience and respect other peoples builds regardless of what you think is correct?

I use Sata jet 3000 HVLP for my standard gun and I have a minijet 4 for small projects. Before using Sata, I would always dread painting because I never knew what I was going to run into. After switching, I find painting enjoyable😀. My brother in law, who is a professional painter said that he tried out the high end HF gun and it is surprisingly good. Cant beat it for $220. The other key is to have contstant air supply pressure. If you don't already have one, invest in an air regulator.

It was a slow day in the office today so I figured I would make good use of it and pull the motor and trans. The benefits of working from home🤣 I have off tomorrow so I'll continue the disassembly through the weekend. For some reason I can't upload photos anymore? Error -200? Any suggestions?

No turning back now! Finally moved my car off the rack and started disassembly.... This will be a laborious task since I'm bagging and tagging every part. Found rot on both the front corners of the rocker panels behind the fenders. The driver side was repaired at some point long ago and did not hold up well. Are the front sections of the rocker panels sold separately or with the complete rocker? I checked zcardepot and they just have complete rockers.... and yes, I did shear off the two bolts holding the fender on... The driver side wasn't as bad..

@Patcon what's the method of removing with DI? Ive never heard of it.. also, is it recommended do do so with a clean body? sorry @Barefootdanfor hijacking the thread....

@Zed HeadI agree, if it ran good once, it will run good again... but I guess that would have been my next question... what was the PO hiding by doing things the way he did? At this point it doesn't matter because I own the car... just curious to know what I might expect as I correct the "wrongs". I doubt the car was "adjusted" to run the way it is right now seeing as it was a work in progress that the PO gave up on. From what I was told, he just took the best motor he had and put it in the best body he had... made some suspension and brake improvements and the rest is up to me.

@Barefootdanwhat did you use to scuff down the floors? And how was it getting the tar pad off? I have it on my floors and am debating if I want to take it off or keep it? Seeing as mine doesn't have as much floor damage as yours, would you recommend leaving it on or removing it? I have pneumatic sanding equipment and sand blaster at my disposal so I'm torn as to which way I should go... Personally, I was thinking of removing it and using POR15 throughout. Also, what do you plan to do with the undercarriage? Thanks in advance for your input.

@Zed Head got it! I guess that makes sense then if the valve cover hose is properly connected and the PCV valve is properly connected, it creates a balanced system through the motor.

Wow, if someone is willing to pay 11,700 for that with a BIN of 19K, I got a great deal on my car😀 Makes me feel better about myself... Thank you Copart!

As of this morning, the car wouldn't start at all. It would just crank over. I decided to start with the easiest of tests... Didn't take long to find the culprit... I pulled the spark plugs out of 5 and 6 and tested both. The cylinder 6 spark plug was shot while 5 worked fine in both wires. I didn't bother checking the rest of them and just went and got a new set of plugs. As I removed the rest of the plugs, I could see that each plug was still wet with gasoline so I figured I was getting fuel in each cylinder. After changing all the plugs, it fired right up and now runs better than it did when I got it! @Zed Head I found the connection under the intake manifold. Is this what you are referring to? Where would a hose go to/from here? I guess that the valve cover connection should run to the tee connection to recirculate any gases from inside the head. I've seen some people just put a filter on it and let it vent to atmosphere. Not sure if that affects performance or not but certainly doesn't help the environment.... that said, my car hasn't run in so long that the smoke coming out of the tailpipe is nasty which I am sure is great for the environment. But hey, its a classic and I don't need to do emissions....😁 On a side note, I looked through the stack of receipts I have and confirmed that it is a ATK reman engine installed April 1990.

Yeah I am going to start with the easy things like test for spark and bench test each injector. Good point on removing the valve cover to see if any slipped and check the lash. It looks like cylinder 6 is still firing because the end of the plug was dry, black... but dry. If I can get it running smooth again, I will probably dump kerosene into the cylinders to soften up the rings in the event they are stuck. That might help with the oil bypassing the piston. I really wanted to keep running this motor and do all the bodywork and then build a second motor after I have a clean running car. Worst case, I'll end up rebuilding this one while I do the body work.

Finally made it back to the shop today to clean up and catalog all the parts I got with the car. Then looked around the car a little more and it looks like the engine is a reman from ATK. Still has the tags on it. I inspected the body a little more and it looks like there is some filler on the rockers but not a lot. All in all the body is solid. I then started the car and the first time it started up just fine... however, the second time it started and shut back off. I restarted it and it was running really rough, like a bad misfire on a couple cylinders. I didn't have time left in the day to start diagnosing it but I took a look around and noticed oil around the spark plug on cylinder 6. I removed the plug, which was very loose, and could see evidence of oil on the threads and around the spark plug well. I suspect there is a valve stuck open or not fully seating or worse, the piston rings are shot or seized up. Any suggestions? The car ran beautifully last week when I put it in the garage.

the front wheel gap (front to back) seems very offset? Pushed forward. When I turn the wheel, I rub on the front bumper. Perhaps its just to due to the lowering kit and the currently installed front bumper?

@Barefootdan I've read your entire post on your build and loving it!! Keep up the good work!

The more I think about it, I am considering skipping the media blast and just strip the car down to the shell and paint over the existing conditions. Seeing as the car seems fairly solid throughout, I am convincing myself out of opening a can of worms by doing the media blast. I can tell that there has been some bondo applied around the windshield area and throughout the body but nothing major, presumably to cover up surface pitting due to rust areas. As I mentioned previously, the inside of the panels feel solid. All in all, the work done to it seems like it was done correctly maintaining the proper body lines. The only reason I mention the bondo work is because I can see the sanding marks through the primer. Not a huge concern as I can work them out. Anyone have any advice? Open the can or let sleeping dogs lie?

thanks for the tips @dutchzcarguy . The pics I posted were from the previous owner but I will be sure to follow your tips! I have a few manuals that came with the car so I will be sure to read up on them. @Barefootdan Thanks for the reference and yes I am on FI. I'll read up on it!

Hello, I am new to the forum and just joined today since I picked up my first Z car today. A little about me, I live in Pennsylvania (Lancaster) and have been working on cars since before I got my license (20 years). I've done a ton of body work and a good amount of mechanical. I don't have the patience for electrical work but I am working on it. My daily driver is a Ford pickup, my other daily is a F80 M3, and I have a few Ducatis for some extra fun on the side... 😃 So as if that wasn't enough, I decided its time for a new project and picked up a '76 280Z. The car seems very straight and solid but the previous owner put the body in primer so I don't know what demons could be lurking underneath. But from feeling around the inside of all accessible panels, there is little to no rust. The floors look solid except for maybe a couple "half dollar" sized patches that need to be addressed. From the previous owners description, this is what I got: Tokico suspension (not sure what that consists of as I have not gotten under the car yet), polyurethane bushings throughout all the suspension, New Brembo brakes all around, new u-joints on axles, all new steering components (again not sure what that consists of), high flow fuel filter, new brake master, new clutch master and slave, and Rota wheels. The inside of the tank has been cleaned and sealed as well. The engine is not original but I have a stack of maintenance records for the engine in the car. Additionally, I got two extra transmissions, two complete heads, and about 5 boxes of extra parts from partouts he has done. My plans for the car are to strip it down to the shell, have it media blasted, paint it, and reassemble. This seems like a $^!# ton of work the more I look at the car but I am not a fan of the original Burnt Brown/Orange color, not sure what to call it. Anyone have any input on how bad this job actually is? I also plan to buy a block and build a complete turbo motor to swap in using one of the extra heads, likely using megasquirt but open to suggestions. The motor runs well with an occasional misfire and the driveshaft occasionally makes some noise where it goes into the trans (the first time I heard it, I thought I was scraping the front bumper on the driveway). Since I plan on pulling the engine and trans, I will do a refresh on both, any suggestions on what to look out for or what to address first? The intent for the car will be to have a good weekend driver that I don't feel embarrassed of in case someone starts looking at it closely, hence why I want to strip the shell, fix all imperfections, and do a complete paint job. That said, while I trailered the car home today, I had multiple people nearly break their necks looking at the car in its current state. I am open to suggestions and am open to hearing your thoughts, good, bad, or indifferent on my purchase. While I know proper forum etiquette and using the "search" function, please be patient if I ask any stupid questions in my haste to get the car done... Much appreciated.