clive parker

Harbour frieght do a great `tumbler` for nuts and bolts, it needs to work for about 24 hrs but does a great job, Alluminium parts are best cleaned in boiling, or as hot as you can get`Antifreeze` Yes! and it brings them up like new.

How hot did this motor get before you noticed it needed a new rad! and what damage was done?

Yes headers make a world of difference but only if used with head mods and carbs as a breathing package, Best to go with 6-2-1 as opposed to 6-1 which is only good for top end power, the 6-2-1 will give you much better torque

OK If you have found the advance weights to be free then you should start looking some place else, I assume you have checked obvious things like the choke butterflys are not jammed up and that the pistons in the SUs are both free and feel equal, I doubt if it is the fuel pump but nevertheless pull the pipe off the carb and aim it into a container and crank the motor, With problems like this it is very dificult to diagnose a fault If you do not have hands on, A Z car is not rocket science so a good local garage should be able to help you, It may be a Idea to change the condenser but there again if the car was running good 4 months ago then I doubt if this is the problem, My money is still on the dist. and If i remember the cam is removed by way of a screw located beneath the rotor arm. I am In England for the next 3 weeks so let me know what the problem turns out to be!

Beter still i will come and fix It for free! Just send air fare and put a couple of 6 packs in the cooler!!!!!!

The vacum advance is only for idle and slow speed, what i am talking about is a pair of weights that are located underneath the plate that the points are screwed to and by centrifugal force advance the ign.timing. If they have become gummed up and sticky this would account for your problem, You obviously have a spark at the points but checking the dwell or (gap) wouldnt be a bad idea, put the car in 5th gear not 1st as you will never be able to push it! If the problem turns out to be the advance weights all that is needed is to remove ,clean and reassemble with a light lub. Good luck

I have a tank from a 78 280z that is in very good condition It was removed from vehicle last year and is boxed and ready to ship, $100 + shipping. Private sale

It sounds like your mechanical advance weights have seized up , Remove dist.cap and try to move the rotor arm, you should feel some movement against a spring return, This would not effect the timing under idle conditions. Best to check before going shopping!

Check out `Painless wireing` They do a great line in off the shelf harnesses, I have just got one as I am in the same situation and it looks pretty straight forward. Good luck

The black hood you refer to was used to cut down reflection on the works `Datsun ` rally cars in the early 70s, as to the similarity with the `Samuri` cars of the same period the hood or `Bonnet` colour was `Chrisler Tango Metalic`and was more often found on `Hillman` cars in the UK. The reason I know this is that I made most of the air dams and painted them. Good to see a pic. of old `Big Sam

The problem you describe can be caused by many factors, not necesarily the carbs but that does sound favorite, You do not know the choke size, this should be 30mm if the rest of the engine is standard, The bigest thing that will affect the running is that you are trying to get more fuel mixture into the motor by running the webers, but what goes in has to come out and the best thing you can do is to get a good set of headers and also a head job! not increasing the valve size but matching the port size If you do not do this you will never get the advantage of the larger carbs, It is well worth the effort and then you can think about the jet size but what you have providing the choke size is not to large sounds about right, Did you check that all the jets match! as quite often the size stamped on them does not match the hole size due to many years of experts!!! messing with them, Stick with them and providing the rest of your motor is sound you will not regret it.

My guess that this is no ordinary breakers yard This looks very much like a police compound, My guess that there is a little more to this story than meets the eye!

Thats the funiest thing I have seen for a long time. Good to see he`s wearing his helmet!

Penetrating fluid, Band aids, industrial strength hand cleaner and a sense of humor often come in handy when taking on an old `Z`

Do you have a duel points distributor? If so junk it and fit an earlier single point one. I had the same problem after swaping the auto for a 5 spd, I also fitted a MSD ign box, transformed the car.