The Woj

With body kit or just bumpers taken off?

Ok, so I tried to start the car again earlier, and it started just just fine. It was still almost dying at idle, and it was still having trouble with about 50% throttle from 1000-3000 RPM. I noticed that it almost died when the throttle was depressed. I checked out the intake and all of the hoses and such around it, and I think I found my problem. Well, if it isn't the problem it probably should be. I have included a couple of cameraphone pictures of my intake, the first shows the location I am talking about and the second is a closeup. What I found was a rubber large rubber hose clamped onto a smaller rubber hose in order to act as a turnaround. I do not know what these hoses are routing, but it seems like a shoddy way of doing it. If I remember correctly, the top hose had one or two sensors attached to it on the other side of the air filter. On a (hopefully) unrelated note, the previous owner also mentioned that it was going through water pumps every few thousand miles. I think I found the astoundingly obvious reason why this is occurring, but would like to see if you all think the same way. Here is a picture of the lower radiator hose going to the water pump (the upper one is also like this at the connection): Could the kink be causing the water pumps to be going bad? Thanks for the help, Greg

I might have found the problem. Whenever I hit the gas on the car (while it was running) I could hear the sound of air coming from the engine and the throttle response was relatively slow. This would occur for a second or two and then everything would return to normal. Furthermore, it sounded like it was being sucked into the engine. I knew this was out of place but just brushed it off as a peculiarity of the engine. I was reading through some troubleshooting and someone mentioned vacuum leak. I googled it and it sounds like what is occuring on my engine. The guy I bought the car from said he pieced together several intakes from mustangs to get it all working. So, could vacuum leak be causing my problem?

Found this posted here. 1983 Mercury Grand Marquis Ignition System Malfunction When starting When warm Q: I have a 1983 Mercury Grand Marquis, 302 v8 EFI, with the duraspark III ignition system. This problem just recently started. The car starts fine when cold, but after about 4 or 5 minutes the car shuts itself off, and won't start again for about 10 to 20 minutes. I had the ignition module tested and it checked out as good. I haven't had a chance to check the crank case position sensor yet. Do you think that might be the problem? I checked the ignition coil after the car stoped and there is no spark, but the engine turns over like it is trying to start. And i found out that if i turn the key from off to start, about every 6th try i get one spark, and thats it. Any suggestions? A: Crank case position sensor???. I guess you mean crank shaft position sensor. That could be your problem. It has happened before. So my next question would be: is it a good idea to add an aftermarket ignition and would that solve my Duraspark problem (assuming it is Duraspark)? Any system I install will have to be smog legal, too (I'm pretty sure there are many smog legal aftermarket ignition systems). How hard is it to install aftermarket ignition?

Fuel injected, the entire engine including all the smog components are there as far as I know. I'll look up the ignition problem, thanks. Anything else it could be? Fuel pump? The previous owner made sure to point out where the fuel pump was, kinda awkward and maybe a little suspicious? Here's a picture of the engine:

The newest addition to my Z family has given me it's first grief. It's a 1979 280ZX which I purchased with a 1987 Ford 5.0 in it. It was built on a bet by a naval engineer, and sold to me by his buddy who owns a machine shop and did a lot of the custom stuff. According to the previous owner the car has HO heads and a hot cam in it - but did not provide any further information on it. I bought the car with the engine already swapped, and know virtually nothing about Ford engines. I drove the car from San Diego to the LA area without a problem, but upon arrival trouble began. To make a long story short, within the past few weeks it has been dying at idle - at first it would start to stall, then catch itself. But now, it just dies after warming up a little. So, I got a tank of gas last night (91 octane), and it seemed to be doing better, but today I started it and it died after maybe 30 seconds. Now, the starter will engage but it won't fire. Anyone have any idea why it would start? Or a suggestion on where to start? As I said earlier, I know very little about Ford engines and have only worked on cars for a short period of time. Thus, any information would be appreciated. Thanks, Greg

If it's a Z, there is a Z place in Glendale on Colorado Blvd. Never used them before, and they never seem to have any Z's on the premises, but here's a link to their address and phone number: California Z Cars.

It's currently a little tall, cut off about 10% top and/or bottom and it will be correct. That kind of difference probably doesn't matter though, I'd imagine.

Don't know what it means, but custom blue plates definately seemed like a perk when I bought the car. On a related note, the tags on the plate are older than I am.

1a. 1976 280z 1b. 1973 240z 2. California 3a. 400 SBC 3b. None (L28ET in the future) 4. Performance and Reliability (a JTR-like SR20DET swap kit would be a cool hypothetical product imo)

Go to www.imageshack.us and click browse. When you've done that hit host it and it will upload the picture to their site and give you a nice forum link to copy and paste. If you want to, you can also register with them for free and they will give you a directory where you can review all the pictures you have submitted. It will also create code for multiple pictures in html or forum. That's how I do it atleast. -Greg

As Tyson said, I do plan on replacing most of the core components of the engine. It's just that with the limited mechanical experience I have that engine looks really imposing; but that's probably just me reading a book by it's cover. I think I'm going to see if I can get that '81 parts car without people around me bitching too much. I think the engine pictures are a good start to a convincing argument for a parts car. BTW, I forgot to mention in the first post but the car is $700 complete and running. The guy says it was a special edition too, upgraded brakes, larger wheels, and some other stuff. Thanks for the responses guys, and I'm going to get you all sorted out Tyson. Thanks, Greg

...for $300? '82 Turbo engine, no harness or computer. The same guy offered me a rough (running) '81 turbo parts car, but my mom would kill me with a butter knife if I brought home another Datsun ('but it followed me home' is no longer a cute line). Thanks, Greg

The white one is for sale in classifieds at the moment. The [blue,white,gray,primer,bare-metal] 240z is my goal for this hypothetical engine. It had a numbers matching block installed in it (as seen in picture), but the guy I bought it from (Jacque or Jack was his name, I think - said he's been around Z's forever) kept it as I was planning a v8 swap anyways. By the by, I found this: DATSUN 280z 3.0L, New rebuilt zero miles engine, still in plastic wrapping. All new parts with gaskets. $1,600 in a local advertisement, but the only info I got out of the guy is that it is a 75 280z block, and comes with N57 (N47?) head. Guy says the compression will be a little higher than a stock turbo. Any opinions as to whether this could be built into a turbo engine? I know the details are kind of lacking... Thanks, -Greg

Cool, thanks for the responses.

Hey all, I have been lurking around for awhile gathering information and planning a build for my next Z. I just wanted to see what you all think about this build. My goal is about 250-300 rwhp, which I guess is about 300-350 flywheel hp. My original plan was to do a V8, but it just seems like too much torque in the low end which will cause wheelspin off the line, and lacks the alluring sound of the turbo/bov. Also, I was hoping for a semi-dependable daily driver (ha!). Anyways, this is what I was thinking about with prices and sources: *Turbo Engine + AC - $400 pick-a-part or http://www.ebay.com *Rebuilt T3/T4 Hybrid Turbo - $400 http://www.ebay.com *240sx Throttle Body - $110 http://www.freewebs.com/pallnet/products.htm *3" Mandrel Bent Exhaust - $200 Exhaust Shop *Flowmaster Muffler - $65 http://www.ebay.com *Ignition - $200 http://www.ebay.com or http://www.summitracing.com *Fuel Delivery System - $600 http://www.jimwolftechnology.com/ *Intercooler - $200 http://www.ebay.com *High Pressure Fuel Pump - $99 http://www.arizonazcar.com/inject.html or http://www.ebay.com *280Z Gas Tank - $50 pick-a-part or http://www.ebay.com *High Performance Injectors - $50 pick-a-part or http://www.ebay.com *Blow off Valve - $100 http://www.ebay.com For a grand total of: $2473. I'm sure I was a bit optimistic on my pricing for some parts, but I'm pretty sure others are perhaps overkill (JWT comp?). I had a second list going which was about a thousand more including forged pistons, a performance valve job, and external wastegate. Are these things very important for my goal of 250-300 rwhp?

The thought of changing VIN's with a 1975 has been explored, but having my car suspected as being stolen and being crushed doesn't seem like much fun at all. Also, I'm not sure I want to cut into my firewall at this point. As for the lions on the prowl asking how much my car is, thanks for your interest but please give me a couple of days to consider my options (I'll get back to you). And to the rest of you, thanks a lot for all the advice. -Greg

Yeah, I'm 19.

Yeah, I probably paid more for my car then I could get if I tried to sell it now. That kind of detracts from the idea of selling it for me. The car is as close to rust free as a 30 year old car can get though, and it looks pretty nice in my opinion atleast. I was hoping to hold onto it, but it's starting to sound like selling it and cutting my losses, and buying another might just be the thing to do. Otherwise I'll have to smog it every 2 years for the rest of her life.

I'm pretty sure it's permanently '75, Governator signed off the bill removing the 30 year rolling exemption (my car would have been legal next year) and signed in a permanent 1975 and older don't have to be smogged. I posted this on the hotrodders.com forum also (http://www.hotrodders.com/t64978.html) and so far the general consensus seems to be cut my losses, sell it, and buy something smog exempt. One idea I heard that sounded interesting was some creative work with the VIN. A 1975 280z is smog exempt, and would be visually the same as my car...

Hey all, first time posting here. I have not worked on cars before, and therefore ask you to please be patient with me. Now then, about a month ago I purchased my first project car - a 1976 Datsun 280Z with a Chevy small block 400 crammed into it, behind which sits a TH350 tranny, and what I believe to be the stock Datsun rear diff. I purchased the car in Washington, and U-Hauled it down to SoCal. I let the car vegetate in my backyard for about a month, during which time I only replaced a leaking tranny line. Last Friday I called a referree center and scheduled a Monday appointment. On Monday I took the car to the referree, popped the hood, and they told me that I could keep my block but everything attached to it would have to go. Apparently the car was setup as a track car, and as such it is unfit for California driving. The referree pointed out just a few examples of changes that would have to be made including but not limited to: -Carbeurator (Carter Competition Series) -Intake (Not sure) -Exhaust (Pipes lead into dual glass packs, then converge into what I was told was a baffle) As far as I know, the rest of the engine is still stock (but that is probably not the case). I'll include a couple of pictures I have of the engine at the end of the post. So now, I come to my decision I was hoping you all could help me with. So far, I have come up with 3 solutions (and I'm open to suggestions): 1. Remove everything from the block and start over, sell all my old parts to help recuperate money. I don't really like carbeurators so far though, so I'll move on to... 2. Swap the 400 over to TPI. In the process I would be replacing most of what (I assume) the referrees will be looking at. 3. Swap out the engine for something else. As I said before, I don't really like carbeurators so far so I was thinking something along the lines of an 85-92 Corvette/Camaro engine. The cost will be offset by whatever I can sell a complete 400ci for. Right now I'm leaning towards option 2, I'm not sure that I want to start pulling engines already, and as for carbs... For all 3 options I will still be stuck putting catalytic converters on my exhaust. Also, I was told by an outside source I might have to remove my glass packs (the car runs pretty quiet right now though). Money is fairly tight after buying the car, but I would much rather save up and do the right thing than do a half-a__ job. I apologize if I left anything out. -Greg Here are the only pictures of my engine that I have at the moment (I can take more if need be).