Oddmanout84

LMAO Either he's ignorant or a crook.

If I could FIND a donor roof in this part of the country, you can bet I'd do this to get rid of my "sunroof".

Ok, here goes. I recieved my *new* '78 280Z ignition relay yesterday. No wonder I couldn't find these before! The part number has changed! Luckily, since I ordered it from Nissan, their system took the old part number (PN: 25230-89958) and redirected to the new part No.! Looks like Nissan did a sort of dynamic component upgrade for that old relay. This is the box with the new part number on it; And here is the new relay ASSEMBLY; As you can see, the one six blade relay has been spit into two. I'm by no means an expert when it comes to electrical systems, in fact I'd say its my weakest point. But from what I can tell from my limited knowledge it seems that this relay (and the old original one) did NOT share a common power, only a common ground. On the old unit, the ground was self contained within the relay and connected to the outer metal case. This new one, as you can see, has a black jumper wire connecting the two relays which then leads out to an actual ground wire with an eye. The cases of the relays are made out of hard plastic, which is obviously why they went this way. I think I prefer this design better, as my previous relay lost its ground due to internal corrosion on the case. I'll be plugging this in later to make absolutely sure that it works just like the original, which I'm pretty sure it will do. Hopefully anyone else having problems with their old ign relay will benefit from this. I know this isn't as exciting as me finding some way to Macgyver a new solution, but this option is much more plug and play, and probably reliable in the long run. The relay assy is priced at almost $60 from Nissan, which is by no means cheap, but still pretty average for a relay switch. Not a terrible deal, IMO.

For the most part, the engine is running quite well now. Chalk it up to some stupid mistakes yesterday that made it run poorly. I decided this morning to swap the old, "attempted to fix" distributor and plopped in the new one. While Doing so I realized that I had forgotten to plug in the AFM! DURRRR!!! I was just trying the startup yesterday on a whim, so I guess I can allow myself such a stupid mistake. The computer doesn't know how to adjust the air/fuel ratio without the AFM? No, really?? The car started up without a hiccup, and ran nicely at a steady RPM. Boy, was it smoky! It was at least 5 min until all the white smoke and exhaust fumes cleared out, and the exhaust ran clean. Also during these 5 min and intermittently afterwards, a high pitched buzzing sound was coming from the engine on the intake side. Sounded like it was coming from the EGR or BPT valve. Those things really need to go away... Sound died down after the car warmed up, but was still there. My gauges were all screwy, probably thanks to the hack-job ign relay I have hooked up. I have to pinch the solder point of the ground against its case to get the engine to start. Once I let go, the engine will continue to run, but I'm taking an educated guess its why (most of) my gauges die afterwards. Good thing I have a replacement on the way. Datsun723, you were right. The twice-pipes sound like sex. No, not like loud thumping sounds followed by crying, you know what I mean... It sounds like the gutteral roar of an unrestricted machine. Awesome. Another nice suprise; Since my headers were FINALLY subjected to the heat they needed, the ceramic paint cured and darkened the orange color to match my valve cover. I'm tickled pink. My work is far from over, but I'd also like to thank everyone who helped with troubleshooting ideas, especially Wizardblack and Daeron who have been prettymuch regulars to my thread. Its also good to see that my antics have even gained positive attention! This build is by no means over, and I'll continue to post my progress.

*Sigh* Another wrecked GTR. Looks like another case of someone relying too much on technology and not enough on actual driving skill.

I laughed at this post when I read it... Laughed, I tell you. But that was two weeks ago, and last night, Big Phil invaded my dreams... I was just having dream dinner with the entire family at some sort of reunion. It was at some big restaurant with an outdoor patio and it was summer, or at least a hell of a lot warmer than it is on the Northeast coast right now. Then BAM, Big Phil shows up out of nowhere and challenges me and my cousin to a round of shots. I downed the first quickly, my cousin with his pink liver pukes over the side railing of the patio. The next few go well, but then the final shot comes. The alcohol was concentrated into a black syrupy substance (I HATE sweet alcohol!!). My mother passed it to me, and on the count of three we drank our shots. After this was over and everyone was laughing and having a good time, I got up from my seat and walked to the other side of the table and shook Big Phil's hand and introduced myself. "Hey, I'm oddmanout84 on Hybrid Z. Awesome work you've done on your car! Big fan of the youtube videos!" Phil gets a distressed look on his face and turns pale, then buries his head in his hands. "Oh no... Not another one!!" "oh no!" "Oh No!" "OH NO!" I woke up this morning yelling "oh no"... And I knew what I had to do. I had to post this. To anyone else who's having similar problems, you are not alone...

The valves could use adjusting, since I remember a tapping sound coming from the upper engine last time it ran well. This time, the twice pipes were too loud for me to hear it, lol. That and my mind was on other things. I don't think adjusting the valves would help in this case either, at least not for this type of rough idling. What I'm thinking right now is either the Air regulating valve, or the EGR system (which has a hole on the bottom of my intake manifold that is currently plugged with duct tape). I ripped out the piping from the old exhaust manifold when I installed the headers, so the duct tape is over the hole to control any vacuum leaks. All the EGR equipment is still in place until I can figure out a way to get rid of it and plug up the system. However, something tells me that movement inside the air regulation valve is restricted. Being out in the elements for a few years was enough to turn my distributor into cauliflower, so I have no doubts that the air regulator is far from immaculate. It might explain why my unstable idle is slow and "roller coaster" like, and how it sometimes seems to level out for a few seconds. The exhaust is also white and smells of gas. I have a lot of things to check, and more to fix. But at least I've finally made visable progress in running the engine. Hopefully it'll make tuning a lot less "blind" from now on.

lol

Tried my "last" resort today, the local Nissan dealership, because I was in the area. They had the part number in their system, and were able to order it from their warehouse. Go figure...

The car is RUNNING!! Although I've yet to determine exactly what I did, two things were changed since I last attempted to start the car. 1. I plugged in my spare computer (got it off ebay a while ago) for shits and giggles. 2. I fiddled with my Ign Relay. The soldering point is so poor where my makeshift ground is that I have to pinch it against the metal case for it to complete the circuit. Then it clicks. Once the engine is "self sustaining," I can let go and it seems to continue to run (albeit quite roughly). The engine seems to bounce between running rough and smooth. For several seconds it may seem to idle decently, then it will stumble and rev itself faster to keep itself alive. The cycle usually continues until the engine dies at some point. I'll have to troubleshoot it some more. I'll test the old computer again later to make sure that's the problem. The fact that I got the engine to run again is beyond awesome. But at the same time, I'm pretty pissed. Why? That Ign Relay is the only one rockauto and the other parts suppliers don't offer. Murphy's law is a pain... Now I have to continue to try and source one, or discover a replacement. I'd certainly rather the former though, as splicing wires is not something I enjoy doing on this old equiptment, since it seems to repel solder like water does to oil.

Except hands. Put on too many gloves and it becomes something similar to watching someone try to hand tighten a bolt using a pair of summer sausages. Either that or they're cold and numb. You can't win with hands in the cold.

I'm pretty sure they are Turbine wheels, but not positive. They used to be metal colored, but I painted them flat black. Any lettering on the centercaps or wheels themselves is faded and illegible, so I can't confirm this 100%.

MP's are total dicks. I'm suprised I never got pulled over during my year at Pendleton. Especially with all the shenanigans I pulled on my Harley.

Peel that rubber insulation crap off your floorboards... Rust likes to hide there, and you'd best catch it quick and kill it.

Being cold builds character... I have a small plug in electric oil radiator that keeps the temp at 55+ fahrenheit when the doors are closed. Made by Kenwood, bought at Home Depot. Good enough to work in. Doors get opened to vent the garage when I paint stuff. Sometimes when I'm really pissed at something, the temp in the room jumps up to the mid 60's. Lol. Not joking, either.

Stock (?) Turbine wheels, 14", 195/70/R14 Firestone Afinity tires. Lol. Unknown offset, width is probably <7.

Usually, my doctrine is function over form. However, since I'm already planning on painting this bucket in spring, I've allowed myself to deviate from my usual method. Yes, the JDM Fender mirrors are in. I finally bit the bullet and got a set from ebay (with a "relatively" low buyitnow price). Came direct from Japan, new in box, and they came here QUICK! So of course I took no time drilling holes in my fenders to install them. Not saying that I didn't do it carefully. I meticulously followed a diagram that had the measurements mirrored from the RHD diagram. I am absolutely anal when it comes to drilling holes in expensive and rare metal so it paid off. I can't decide whether I'm going to paint them black or not... They're so shiny... yes... my precious... I also mocked up my fender flares just to give myself an idea of how it will look. Keep in mind that they are by no means in the position that I will be drilling holes at. Just temporary. Wow... those pictures turned out like crap. You can barely see any definition in the flares... Oh, and as you can see, the car is no longer flying a foot above the ground. I had to drop it to mock up the flares, and because I'm sick of it floating there. Holy crap! I forgot how low this car was! And the springs only lowered it about 1-1.5". I'm only 5'9" and I'm towering over it. I'm also not showing off the refurbished front suspension for a reason. I still have the stock front brakes hooked up to the hubs, so they're brown and look like crap. At least the calipers and everything else are a nice blue color though. Stay tuned for the madness that ensues...

I just remembered a little while after I posted... I DID get pulled over in my Z once! On the way back home when I brought it from California, I was pulled over in North Carolina for passing a semi at 90. The cop walked up to my window and asked if I was a Marine. I said yes, and he told me to drive more carefully and be on my way. Thank god for bumper stickers!

I used to have an "arrest me" red '94 3000GT. One week after buying it, got pulled over for doing 55 in a 25. Only speeding ticket I ever got, never got pulled over (and I did some pretty stupid stuff in that car, between the ages of 17 and 19). The only thing I really got miffed about was the only accident I've had. Parked by the side of the road, signaling that I wanted to pull out with the wheels slightly turned and the front left fender just at the white line. The jetta I was waiting to pass by clipped my fender as I sat there. Some stupid highschool chick on her cell phone with all her friends in the car. Because she cried to the cop, it became my fault.

Awesome! I'm saving this thread for when I begin to sort out my harness!

Well, I did check out Rock Auto some time ago, in fact I bought several relays off of them. The only years that display a "Fuel Injection Relay" tab are 75-77, and all of them display the same relay that has a terminal pattern inconsistent with what in installed in my car. 1978 has no tab for fuel injection relay.

Get your hands dirty and follow the lines?

I think the tail lights bear a closer resemblance to an R34 GTR. Those front projectors look sick too, even though its a bit too modern for a 30+ year old car.

Well it also depends if you want the Polyurethane bushings or OEM rubber. Poly bushings offer a much tighter ride, and don't flex as much. That kit is made by Energy Suspension. Modern Motorsports also sells it, in addition to a bunch of other places. And yes, you will probably need every bushing in that kit, and additionally more (if you want front swaybar bushings).

This should be stickied... awesome writeup. This method should help for the MSA fiberglass hoods as well (if I'm not mistaken), because they don't use the stock latch.