Thunderlane

Okay, y'all, sorry about that, I was stressed after a double shift at work. Anyways, I just replaced it with an OEM equivalent 4psi fuel pump from NAPA, with a cheesy dial-type regulator pushing it down to 2.5psi. I ran the engine for a decent amount of time this morning to make sure it was repeatable. The smoke is coming directly from the exhaust manifold, exclusively from that side of the engine and once it reaches a certain amount, it stabilizes regardless of engine speed. I was advised by my local Z club that SU carbs should have a starting point for tuning of 18 flats out on the adjustment nuts. I did lean them out slightly from here, by going 3 flats leaner on each carb. On a different note, I discovered that the engine was missing one of the studs for the exhaust manifold, so that's just one more thing to do.

... Wow, so many assumptions that I'm clueless. I don't know if I should respond or talk to the moderators abotu whether it is acceptable to assume someone is an idiot here... No, I mean the exhaust manifold. I can see it while I drive because the car has no hood. It starts almost immediately, and only increases in volume once the car has warmed up. It has a slightly sweet, sickly smell, much like exhaust fumes. And, no, I don't mean the bloody tailpipe. And the car is under complete overhaul, as I stated in the previous thread I put up that you also posted in. But the only work was to the fuel pump and oil change. I have never tampered with the exhaust manifold. And just a slight side note, I'm not an imbecile, and I certainly wouldn't have purchased a 40 year old project car if I didn't know an exhaust manifold from an exhaust tip, or as you feel it necessary to explain: "the hole in the back".

No, it isn't wrapped and I made sure the valve cover bolts were snugged down, sine I initially thought it was excess oil leaking out and burning. I've ordered a new gasket to replace the questionable one. I'll be sure to clean both the exhaust and intake manifolds before re installing them and I'll also make sure the new gasket is sealing properly. But besides a bad gasket, what could be the cause of this?

Hello, I recently did an oil change (5 quarts), replaced the fuel pump (external electric in-line) and set the mixtures on my SU carburetors to the recommended starting point for tuning (3 turns out). It had been several months since my engine was run for any period of time. However, I took the car out for a celebratory test drive (to celebrate getting the car running on the wiring I did) and I was getting A LOT of white smoke off of the exhaust manifold. It had never done this before, and I'm wondering what this could be. If anyone can get back to me, it'd be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Okay, so indeed it must have been the E12-80 that had gone bad, which sucks because it was supposed to be remanufactured. Bummer. On the bright side, I got the car running, but it wasn't for any kind of time, since the fuel tank isn't in the car. It started faster than ever and sounded stronger than ever. I'll do some more checking when I get off work. Now I need to get it timed, swap for new plugs, etc. For details sake, I disconnected the E12-80 and wired the two wires from the back directly into the magnetic pickup for the MSD. I attached the green MSD wire to the red wire from the distributor and the violet MSD wire to the green wire from the distributor. I am curious however as to how a more efficient ignition system would make more power. I bought the 6AL for the Rev Limiter alone, I was not aware that it would possibly help with power.

I guess I should offer a little more background on my Z. I bought it a year ago from a barn (nearly no rust) when it was half rotted into the ground, covered in spray paint, with no wheels on it. It barely ran, spark was very weak, the originial wiring harness was so hacked together by the Previous owner that nearly nothing worked, save for the front right headlight. So, I finally worked up the plans to take it all out and install a new Painless Pro Street harness (50002). There is no original ignition unit anymore. It was removed with the original harness. I don't know if I still have the original 260Z distributor, as the car came with an L28 in it, and I don't know if the previous owner used a 280Z distributor as well. I believe I stated in the original question that I was installing an aftermarket wiring harness with an after market coil, using an aftermarket ignition because I could not find a wiring diagram that worked with the 260Z distributor. I don't know why the quotations are around "upgrade", because it seems that going from "not working" to "working" is a HUGE upgrade.

Can someone please verify this? I'd very much like to make some progress but I'd TRULY like to not wreck my distributor. I've done some searching, but I can't find anyone that has dissconnected the E12-80 and ran the distributor off an MSD. Any information is helpful! Thanks!

Okay, so I wired up JUST the E12-80, and still no spark. Could this be a result of a faulty unit (E12-80) or a Faulty coil? I wired it according to the wiring diagram below, which appears to be a readily accepted way of properly wiring electronic ignition.

Whoops, sorry! I couldn't find the old thread for some reason so I didn't know someone had replied! I've also fixed the title to something much more straightforward. I'm running an L28 with Roundtop SU carbs. I just picked up a Re-Man 280zx distributor with an E12-80 integrated ignition circuit. I've tried to use the MSD wiring diagram provided by the manual, as well as this diagram here: http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/data/500/1918msd_zx_240z_1r2.jpg I'm hoping that someone here has more experience with MSD ignitions than I do, or has done such a swap prior, since my past 2 months of research has resulted in no proper leads. Also, if a moderator reads this, I feel that this thread here is more appropriately placed than the one in General Trouble shooting. Thanks y'all Thunderlane

Hey! So, I am close to finishing an install of a Painless #50002 Harness into my 260Z. Now, everything is functioning (lights, starter, fuel pump, etc) except for the ignition. I am trying to install an MSD 6AL Ignition along with a 280ZX distributor. I've attempted to wire this setup according to the MSD manual and several wiring diagrams from various forums, but none of them have let me start the car, despite it cranking strong! The only wire provided by the Painless harness is a switched 12V power source. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated! Thanks y'all! Thunderlane