jeff1216

Oh yeah.....I have went thru 4 header gaskets.....leak kept comming back....this time went with felpro gasket and sealer....that puppy aint gonna leak no mo. The smoke has me kinda concerned though. Another concern is the oil leak....it is comming from the top of the timing cover where the head gasket meets the timing cover.............since that is not under pressure and is leaking from the chain spinning the oil around.....is there anything I can put on the seam to stop it from leaking.....I REALLY dont want to take this head off again.

Finally got her going....Ended up being a major vacuum leak under the Arizona intake.......................It was torked to hell....The only way to stop it was use some gasket sealer....I dont like using that stuff on an intake but it did the trick. It does not have the power that it should...but it does run very smooth.......from here on out it is the easy stuff..............hot valve adjustment.....fine tune the timing and carb. I am going to have to pulle the timing cover one more time ( I hope not the head) From the timing cover being taken on and off so many times, I have a small oil leak at the top of the timing cover)......I hope a little gasket maker will do the trick....I really dont feel like pulling this head again. I have some blueish smoke under heavy excell ...... God I hope my carb is just rich.

I was having a cup of cofee this morning thinking what the problem could be.....................Cam across some info on ignition systems. From what I gathered with me converting my 78 to a holley carb that I could not use my stock dizzy and ignition module....I had to find them from a 79 or 80 with the module on the dizzy......I thought my problem was solved.....went to a junkyard....bought the parts off of an 80.....mounted them up and what I have a a high $$$ peice of $^!# motor.............Still runs like crap! Just venting Jeff

I thought the Holley would make things simpler.... I agree that the comp. is High....I know what I have done to the head....I dont know what the previous owner has done to the bottom...he is dead. The valve timing will be done once more this week (not by choice) My 9 year old was holding the light and knocked a screw down into the timing cover. It does not get any better than this. I can only laugh at this point. HA HA

yes....still popping fuel back just not as bad.....I have a light...would be hard to use though because you cat keep the car at a constant rpm

OK....here is where I am now. I can get the car to start a little easier.....still will not idle and you have to constantly feather the gas to keep it running (running very rough I might ad) One thing it has started to do..................While feathering the gas it will all of a sudden RACE to a very high RPM until the excess gas burns off......over and over....feather the gas....give it more gas let off the gas and she runs up to a high rpm from the previous gas pushing.....any ideas? Am I getting any closer???

Comp. results Less than 6 revolutions 180-190 per cylinder If you let it turn over and build max pressure it builds to and holds 230 to 235 psi What does that mean?

In regards to this 180 out thing......If I put the motor at top dead center and my rotor is pointing at the #1 cylinder....isnt it impossible to be 180 out?

I am grasping for straws here. Just a reminder: 78 280Z removed the stock head, fuel injection,cpu, and wiring harness Mounted an E88 head Arizona intake Holley 390 For the 4th time......I pulled the the timing cover and chain off ( even bought a new timing set) Crank and cam are set on the money Dizzy is on the money firing order is on the money. I can get the car running but you have to pump the gas and keep the rpms high.........keeps kicking gas back thru the carb. All point to the timing being off.....BUT it is not! Here is my only thought.................. When I removed the wiring harness did I remove something to the ignition module? Does this car have an ignition module? Since I have the stock electronic dizzy did I need to run the 2 wires from the dizzy somewhere else after removing the comp.? When the 240 or 260 guys install a late model electronic dizzy on there car where do they run the 2 power wires to? Do they install an ignition module? Please give any suggestion that you can......I am all out of ideas.

yes its true........................................................ Bought a new timing set and gonna break her down and start from the beginning one last time. If she dont start there will be a few things for sale. F54 block with flat top pistons and low miles Heavily modded (port & polished, oversized valves, heavy springs,Hot cam) E88 head. Arizona intake new holley 390cfm New square port MS header Keep an eye on this thread I am a very calm man.....dont get pissed about much but this thing has put me over the edge. If she dont run this weekend I have a 400 SB that I am gonna start prepping Jeff

Ok......here we go Part of this is my fault for taking the machine shops word......The intake valves were adj. to cold spec..........the exhaust walves were either not opening or barely opening.....I adjusted to spec. I expected the car to fire right up after that.....NOPE Now it will not start at all.........................Back to backfiring thru the carb. I am totaly lost.

1978 280Z F54 block with flat top pistons E88 head Ported polished oversized valves Wild cam (stage III) Arizona intake Holley 390cfm A little more info........................I was suprised to find that my 78 had an F54 block.....when I pulled the head off the pistons looked new...very little carbon. I do not know if it has been bored over or not. E88 head was a lucky find.........I bought all new 280Z valves for it.............the machine shop had me come by...The head looked to be race prepped................Huge intake and exhaust valves.....much larger and thinner than the stock 280 valves. Installed the stage III cam and heavy springs. We can get the car to fire when hard and the gas and will run when pumping the gas and keeping the rpm's high. It still sputters un-burned gas thru the carb and will not idle. Fuel leaking from the intake problem fixed. I am now curious ..... is it possible that the car is making more power and compression than I thought......Maybe need 110 octane to run? (I say this because I have no idea what has been done to the bottom end. OR With the hot cam and HUGE valves....Do I need to re-curve the timing? If so how do I recurve the timing? I can tell you this............when turning the motor over the compression is so strong that it will almost stop a fully charged battery from spinning the motor on the compression stroke. Jeff

I am gonna just tear her down and start over from the begining..............Is there a away to remove the timing cover without dropping the oil pan?

OK..........here is where I am now Got tired of fighting the carb and in anger I went and purchased a new Holley (wait till the wife finds out about that) The only fuel I have leaking now is out of the intake where it meets the head.............With the Arizona intake it is very very hard to get the bolts tight...I am still working on that. I pulled the valve cover off and verified that when at top dead center the cam and crank marks were dead on...They are. The car now starts for a few seconds then backfires hard out of the carb. In regards to seting the dizzy up....what is the trick???? I am doing this by myself....I drop the oil pump.... pull down on the dizzy drive gear reinsert.....wedge something under it while I get back up to look at the position....there has got to be an easier way. Is it 11:25 position while standing beside the car or infront of the car?

Doh!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By the way............it did attempt to fire a couple of times.............but the timing is so retarded that I dont have enough adjust. in the stock set up....bolt is out and I am 1/2" past the max timing rotation on the dizzy

I give it is a carb problem................dumping so much gas that it is impossible for the motor to fire

Grrrrrr I have now set the plug wires to the correct order.......I am still having flooding problems but I turned it over anyway..............Now With all this gas I have puring all over the place....shouldnt my plugs be soaked with gas and fouled???? they are pretty much dry and do not smell like gas. What would cause this??

I am now a really confused .......................Before I did all this work to the car it ran pretty good...........just needed some head work....................................as I pulled the plug wires off the plugs I put a peice of tape on each one and labeled them 1 - 6.......Now when I look at the book.........................it dont match up at all.....................................what postition on the clock should the #1 plug wire be on the dizzy.................I thinik it should be like at 7 or 8 oclcok...but mine is at around 2. Car ran fine like this.....................maybe the previous owner was running it 180 out. My head hurts

Is the plug wire to dizzy in the same position on the dist. cap on all Z cars (240,260,280) In my book it only shows the lay out for the 240Z

1978 280Z L28 with Flat top pistons E88 head ported and polished hot cam Arizona intake Holley 4 barrell New timing chain and gears New Ms Header I just finished putting all the the things above together last night........2 major problems. 1 car will not start......once it loads up with gas it blows a huge fireball out the exhaust. 2 raw fuel is pouring out of my exhaust and filling my # 5 and 6 piston a running out of my header gasket at the manifold When I put the timing mark on the (crank) at 0 my #1 piston is at top dead center..................also the timing mark on my cam gear is lined up with the dash mark. I thought maybe I was 180 out.................so rotated 180 deg....the only way I coulf figure out to do that was drop the oil pump and rotate the dizzy drive gear 180 and put it all back together........is this the right way to do it? I have spark at all plugs. I am at my wits end. Anyone close to Charleston,SC that wants to give me a hand feel free to shout....... :classic:

anyone know how I can contact Arizon Z?? I bought the intake off of ebay

I mounted the intake and Holley 390.....................There is ZERO room for and air cleaner.....Now What???

Is there any advantage to using stock rods and flat top pistons with an LD crank in my L28 or do I need to go with a bore and bigger pistons?

L28 109K on bottom end E88 head (everything new in the head) port and polish Performance springs performance cam arizona intake holley 390 4 barrel square port header new plugs and wires Over $2k invested in head alone 5 speed tranny new clutch $1500.00 takes it