SteveJ

With no pictures, you'll just get random guesses.

Either your voltmeter is wrong or you still have a problem with your charging system. By the way, what do you mean that you have a fan & a water pump hooked up at the ballast resistor? What current are they rated for? If you are drawing too much current through the ignition, you could heat up the switch. Auxiliary items such as electric fans for cooling the radiator should not be powered through existing circuits since they could potentially overload those circuits.

Okay, go to the EE section that describes the charging system. Since you're a novice, you might need to read this: http://www.wikihow.com/Use-a-Multimeter. http://auto.howstuffworks.com/alternator.htm Note that alternator output is proportional to engine speed. Quite a few "mechanics" today rely upon the car to diagnose itself. If the car's computer gives code X, replace part Y. If the car had X number of miles, replace these parts.

What year? The wiring is slightly different depending upon the year. Anyway, use a voltmeter to see if you have voltage along the circuit. You can find wiring diagrams at xenonS30.com. There is a good chance you haven't reconnected your grounds. (That's my first guess.)

That would be good for a short distance until the battery goes dead.

You won't get much of any answers until you come back with more data. First, download a copy of the FSM for your car. The link is in my signature. Test your electrical system with a meter per the FSM and let us know the results.

No. They are completely different. Any hatch from a non-2+2 S30 would work, though you would want to avoid one with hatch vents.

Even better: http://www.zhome.com/ZCMnL/tech/280Alt.html. Pay attention to the part about the diode.

No, the relay doesn't do anything anymore. I didn't dig into the EF section to see function of the servo that the solenoid actuated, but I can say with a high degree of confidence that the triple Webers don't need that functionality.

There is no mention of the relay or solenoid in the BE or EF sections of the 72 FSM.

The 76 belts are completely different. I don't know when I might have time to root around in the garage. I think I might have the 73 belts, still. As Jim said, it's not very wise to trust 40 year old seat belts. I would get them re-webbed. Seat belts work in part by stretching some. The 40 year old material doesn't have much stretch left. Frankly, I went with seat belts from WESCO. I have made a lot of posts about seat belts. The WESCO seat belts are much more user friendly.

Nice, Jamie. I'm glad you went the extra step there. I'm anxious to see it finished.

According to the BE section of the FSM, that is the Throttle Opener Relay. The coil looks to be energized at startup. It activates a solenoid. You can find a diagram with the solenoid on page EF-10 in the FSM. If the carbs have been swapped out, I would guess that the solenoid may be long gone.

Are you thinking it's the vacuum bottle for the AC at play here?

One of the best ways to do this is to rotate the engine to TDC and see where the rotor is pointing. If the timing is properly advanced, the rotor will be a few degrees past #1 on the cap.

You are correct. It was supposed to be a 4 banger. Nissan sent out a survey to Z owners. I know I panned the concept for the 4 cylinder engine and poor styling of the rear of the car.

When the key is in the Start position, the ignition circuit bypasses the ballast resistor. Keep in mind that there probably is some voltage drop by virtue of the draw of the starter motor. Even if it is above the 6 to 8 volt range, you shouldn't have this circuit live for long. The stock ballast resistor does drop the voltage to about 9V. As for the smoke issue, you aren't very clear. What was smoking? No offense, but my guess is that the smoking component is something you wired. You probably grounded out something, and your fusible link just didn't blow (or has been replaced by wire).

Well... IF someone installed the distributor 180 degrees out of phase, then #1 would be opposite of what all correct documents say.

Here is what happened: you or a previous owner changed the alternator to one that is internally regulated. DO NOT RUN THE CAR until you get this fixed. How easy is this to fix? Pretty easy. Buy this plug (For those of you who do not feel like clicking the link, it is the jumper that MSA sells for the alternator upgrade.). Unplug the voltage regulator. Plug in the part you bought. How sure am I that this will fix your problem? Pretty **** sure.

Unless you routed your plug wires in a strange way, you still don't have them in the correct positions. Look CAREFULLY at the picture Blue posted. Also note that in the second picture you posted, the front of the engine is to the RIGHT. In your first picture (and in Blue's picture) the front of the engine is to the LEFT.

Are you posting from a phone? There seem to be a few autocowrecks in your post. By the way, put the year of your car in your signature. It gives people more information so that we can help you better. Edit: Battery drain - It sounds like there may be an internally regulated alternator in the car with the wiring for the voltage regulator jumpered out. You have a 73, which has a fuel pump relay. The relay was wired between the alternator and regulator. When the regulator is jumpered out for the internally regulated alternator, the fuel pump relay is energized all of the time, causing the battery drain.

I left in one spacer so that I could get the nuts/wrench over the bolt. I may just have to take out those spacers. I guess every millimeter counts.

Make that 6 foot or over. I have to lean my seat back to keep my head from rubbing the headliner.

Does Black Gold need any more commentary than that?

Look at Vintage Connections.