WRC17

Yes this is exactly the problem. If it sits for 10 or 15 minutes it doesn't run well. If I let it sit for an hour or so, it's completely fine. There is a shield in between the exhaust and intake. I plan on installing an electric fan soon, so hopefully that could solve this issue. Are there any other things I might be able to do?

Ok, I've been having this issue for a while now and have been searching but I can't find anybody with a similar problem, so here we go. I have a stock 77 280Z L28. Sometimes when I start the car up when the engine is warm, I get really low il pressure and the engine seems to stumble a lot and has low power. If I start driving the stumbling slowly dies, the oil pressure rises, and I have full power. Is this an oil pump issue? Fuel? I'm really stumped. Thanks for helping!

Do you know if there is a difference in the length of the master cylinder rod of the new and old one? The issue with the second master cylinder I got from Autozone was that the rod wasn't long enough so it wasn't building up enough pressure in the system. One of the first things I noticed was that the pedal travel wasn't nearly as long as it used to be. I replaced it with one I bought online (I think from The Z Store) and the rod was much longer, which allowed for more pedal travel.

The issues you are talking about are the same issues I had. There isn't enough pressure being built up in the clutch system so the clutch isn't fully disengaging, which is why it jumps when you start it in gear. As long as you are positive the system has been bled I would say the issue is your clutch master cylinder. I do have a few tips if you decide to change it. 1) Don't buy one from AutoZone. I bought two of them and they don't fit on the car. The first one I bought online and the holes to bolt it to the firewall didn't line up. I took it to a store and they gave me one with the right holes, but the rod that the clutch pedal attaches to wasn't long enough. You are better off spending a bit extra and buying it at a place that specializes in Z parts. 2) When you hook up the master cylinder to the pedal, make sure there is enough pedal travel to allow the master cylinder to build up enough pressure. I made this mistake and I had a really hard time shifting when I first installed my master cylinder. I adjusted the pedal travel and it made all the difference. I hope this helps!

To add to what I said above, first just replace all the things to just keep the car going. Right now you say it just needs a clutch, but I guarantee you will find more. Check the brakes, electrical, bushings (anything rubber really), suspension, tires, etc. Once the car is running reliably, then start looking at modifying it.

I just replaced my clutch last year with a Centerforce Dual Friction clutch. It is supposed to be good for 300hp but it's still a very easy clutch to use. I would definitely recommend it. As far as mods go, it all depends on what you want. Looks? Power? Handling? Do you just want a street car? track car? show car? drag car? It's really hard to suggest things because people do vastly different things with these cars.

Have you checked the fusible links? I know they can be troublesome.

I actually recently just replaced all these parts on my car. They are all shifter bushings. The white cap on the right goes on the bottom of the shift lever. The two clear caps go on the pin and the pin attaches the shift lever to the transmission. I believe the small clip then holds the pin in place.

^Definitely this! When I first bought my Z the fuel tank was screaming all the time. I knew the car had been sitting for over a decade so I took the tank out and it sounded like a maraca. When I bought the car the previous owner said the fuel pump was recently replaced, but it took no time at all for it to clog up again.

The MSD pump came with brackets (they are even lined in rubber to keep it quiet). All you need to do is drill holes in the plate to attach them to.

I've heard of a lot of people using the MSD-2225. I actually just bought one for my 280Z, but I haven't put it on the car yet so I can't tell you how well it works.

Are you trying to remove the center gauges or the tach/speedo?

I think this also depends on the condition of the car when you got it and how nice you want it to look / drive. Also, preventative maintenance adds to that. For example, the day I drove my Z home a flywheel bolt backed out into the clutch and the clutch slave cylinder was leaking. So, while I was replacing stuff, I replaced the throwout bearing and the clutch master cylinder along with the clutch, flywheel and slave. Why? So i don't have to take the transmission out again! At this point my car is driveable so I could just stop now and drive the car until it breaks again, but now I'm spending money on things like replacing 36 year old suspension bushings. They don't need to be replaced, but the car will drive a lot better if they are.

Yeah, I have to say when I bought the car I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. The reason I bought it is because it has almost no rust and then engine and trans were great, but everything else is all kinds of messed up. It can be super frustrating sometimes, but I have learned a lot about how this car works because of it. I originally wasn't really planning on this much of a project, but I'm too invested in it now to just give up, so I'll just keep on throwing money at it until I'm happy with it!

I don't know what your definition of "not breaking the bank" is, but I can tell you that any 240, 260, or 280Z is not going to be cheap. Not necessarily because parts themselves are expensive (although certain parts are), but because they are old and require a lot of work. Even the newest 280z is 35 years old, so expect to spend quite a bit fixing the car, or spending 15k or more if you find a well maintained one that has already has everything done. I agree doing some research and narrowing down your questions is a good idea though. Look around at what other people have done or look around and see if other people have already done what you have in mind. I just bought my 280Z in March and have been browsing the internet and looking at what other people have done and would eventually like to incorporate different parts of other people's projects into my own. First thing though, look at how much you are willing to spend and decide if buying one is worth your investment. I bought my car for 2.5k and have put more then that into it since March and it still looks like crap, but the sense of accomplishment is much greater when you can look at a car and see all the work you have done to it yourself and you can feel the difference in how the car drives as you progressively improve it. So, decide how much you are willing to invest in a Z and then go from there.