MatMan

That TURBO SUX. i'll keep a look out in the SAC area.

what wrxand280z said! Oh, and ... you were wearing a SKIRT?

Eyeball and arrow.... NOT a good combination!!!!

If you have carbs, do you run SUs? If you do, there "should be" what are called banjo filters right between the float bowls and the fuel rail. Those may be gooky. Why do you think the tank is clean? Have you had it boiled within the last few years? My theory with the tank is... when the car is originally started, the gunk and grime is at the bottom of the tank, after running the car a bit, the stuff is swished around, and eventually gets to the pickup tube, and restricts the complete flow of fuel. If you shut the car down for a while, the suction holding the clog is cut off, and the junk falls back to the bottom of the tank. My tank was in bad shape. The entire pick up tube was corroded, allowing only a trickle of fuel through, even though I was running BOTH the mechanical and electric FPs. I think after you do the easy stuff like Naviathan said, the tank's your next best bet.

When you guys add Seafoam to the oil for the crank case cleaning, did you change the oil straight away, or did you leave it in?

I second the tank. Does your L28 have FI or carbs? If its FI, vapor lock is not likely to be happening. I had similar problems. It would run just long enough to get me about 2 miles form my house, then die and not restart. I had my tank boiled and lined, and I have not had that problem since. A radiator shop will be able to help you. Where in CA are you?

That's an interesting idea. I have been seriously contemplating blocking off the grille above the bumper (making a radiator intake box) and installing new lights behind the grill, in cutouts. There is one more thing to consider about auxillary headlamps, at least in CA, they MUST function so that if the OEM high beams are on, all auxillaries are off.

How did you guys get "Big Ball"??? I must not be that good of an engineer! *EDIT* Nevermind, got it!

For the record, Sears will only replace Craftsman hand tools, they will NOT replace anything that runs with electricity or air. It's their new(ish) policy of saving their asses.

Oh, and Black widows can't stand more than 5 good blasts of carb and choke cleaner (Chem B-12, I think). WD-40 and a lighter work also, and also for yellow jackets/wasps/hornets, but carb/choke cleaner with the straw works a bit better, I have found. There are LOTS of paper wasps around here.

All I've been bitten by are a couple dogs, a gopher snake and stung by a few honey bees. Not too shabby for being on this earth 34 years. The worst that I can remember, I was about 12, my dad, a framer, took me to work one day. I have to admit, he told me not to go in the back yard of the place to which he was adding a front room, but I was the type to get bored easily, and had to explore the new place. I unlatched the gate, took two, I mean two steps in, and around the rear of the house a German Shepard streaks. It was in slow motion, but this thing was on me in two bounds. I raised my right arm and he took it, no questions asked. Chomped me from wrist to elbow, and back down again. I pissed myself, and must have screamed like a little girl, because my dad was there before I hit the ground, grabbing the dog off me. My Grandpa, on the other hand, is a walking "bite me" pillar. He went bird hunting one year, I think I was about 10, while trying to recover his prey, he reached into a bush where he heard and saw movement. He snapped his hand back, shaking the irritation away, thinking a sharp twig had scratched him, and reached in again. SNAP again. This time, granddad actually LOOKED to where he was sticking his hand and saw a rattler. Got him twice, but thankfully, didn't inject. Another time, ol' grandpa had to use the facilities while working (construction) in a remote part of Matilaja (mountains around Ojai, CA). The only thing available was an old wood outhouse. Well, as it has already been described with black widow bites, the bite wasn't THAT bad, but it was on the, er- sack... My dad went to visit him the 4th day in the hospital, and the story dad reported to me was grandad saying, "LOOK! I came in here for a spider bite and they gave me a bla- [poster's edit -a larger-] guy's [poster's edit - package]!!!!" Poor grandpa.

Man, what does your cousin (and his friend) do for a living? I am thinking of packing my bags and heading to Rome!

Good points, to be sure. And I am nowhere near old enough to know a fossil while it was living. Please let me say that I understand and accept that being married and a father is a HUGE responsibility not to be taken lightly. I did not mean to imply that laying blame elsewhere by not accepting responsiblity (it's not my fault) was the way I live my life. that was not my intent. That's the main reason I do not ride on the street...I accept that I am a speed freak, and that I will get smeared by someone not expecting/looking/fully under control/caring that I am going to pass. That said, my wife is ok with my choices, if we can afford it, because I am worth 3 times more dead than alive!!! I was trying to offer a solution to BigPhil's woes by offering the suggestion that a change in venue (house location) might do him good if he can afford it. Then he can have his adrenaline thrill without as much potential danger for the general public.

BigPhil. you may want to ease your wife's worries a bit by upping your health/life insurance! motorcycles aren't for me, for I get injured almost every time I ride, and I know myself (as a speed freak). I will NEVER ride on the streets with all the oblivious soccer moms in Tahoes and Excursions! I also have a daughter, and you CAN NOT EVER (read my lips here) NEVER promise a young girl that her daddy will not get ever get hurt. SH!T happens when you least expect it, and it's nearly NEVER your fault. (see my previous statement about soccer moms) So you don't ride anymore, big whoop. I want to mess around in my car all day long and take road trips, but I have to work. That's no fun, either. Can you find some property where you can build a track (dirt or asphalt)? That would kick arse!

Wht kind of starage place did you have it in...? I see visions of Cam's dad's Ferrari being launched in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

JM, if that's who I think you are talking about, riding behind him makes you hungry, he uses french-fry oil in his diesel!!

Is your spare tightened down? I can't recall, is there an expansion tank in the 280s? If so, maybe it's loose? Have you taken the interior panel off to see if there's a mummified varmint in there?

Nope, Separate. If the coil resistor isn't broken, you may have to test continuity at the poles. I had a sender that one of the poles was loose, making a complete circuit intermittent.

Not my ticket, and I don't know the seller.... http://sacramento.craigslist.org/pts/742526412.html

I am interested in this. Any development lately?

thanks for the chuckles, Naviathan!

I'll try. I think you answered you own question. BUT, IF I were you, I would SEARCH for "Clunk" or noise on acceleration. BTW, if you read around the archives at all, you will find that starting a new thread with a new question will get more favorable answers/opinions/responses than drawing an entirely unrelated older thread on and on ad naseum.

That reasoning makes sense to me. And, by that logic, it seems that the ECU either isn't getting the correct message sent to it, or it's not sending the correct message for the mixture WRT engine RPM. Either way, I will pull an O2 sensor off the car we took the AIV unit from, and compare it to the one that's on this car, as well as adjusting the timing (from the tested 16*) to see if the motor still maintains performance. Maybe I should crack opent he EGR, just to prove to myself that the tech was correct... If nothing else, maybe I can bottle brush the tubes.

I am almost POSITIVE the O2 hasn't been changed in 100K. I was thinking the same thing on the slow speed vs high speed readings. Well then, would that point to the TPS? As I understand them, the TPS has three settings: idle, partial throttle and full trottle. It gives the ECU different voltages for each setting, and the ECU them detrrmines mixture. Hmm.

Here is a PDF of the retest took on Saturday. Failed again, BUT the NO went down almost 1000! HCs are up slightly. One of our more helpful members has gratiously pledged his time to look for an ECU for an 86 N/A 300ZX. Thanks Gollum!!! John, the owner of the car, tells me that the car hasn't run this well for over 5 years, so I am stepping in the right direction. I wish there was a "silver bullet" that would kill the problem. I know better. Besides the new stuff the "mechanic" changed out (CAT, alternator, FP), here is what I have done: Cleaned out AIV unit, replaced the vacuum dashppot on top of the AIV, Seafoam treatment in the fuel, oil and intake manifold and new NGK (as specified by NAPA) sparkplugs. The only things that I think are not new to the system are the EGR valve (which passed functionality test), the TPS, The O2 sensor and the ECU. When one changes the CAT, does one need to also swap out the O2 sensor? We'll see. ZX smog II.pdf