Oddmanout84

Ehhh... I still don't buy it. The hood doesn't have louvers either. Either the owner went through some trouble to make a silly conversion, or that's a 240. It doesn't have the ridiculous embellishments on the side skirts, the rubber strips are missing from the sides, it only has one mirror, and my stock bumpers were WAAAAAY bigger than that. It could easily be a modded 280, but something tells me that its more likely a 240-260 due to all the trouble they would've went through to convert the car, while still leaving the paint job a shiny poo-brown. I just hope that spilling coolant was added for theatrical effect, or that increasingly rare L engine is done.

THAT'S a great color scheme! Very similar to what I'll be doing, only my scoops won't be black and there's won't be an RB under the hood... yet...

Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads...

Yes, the thought has definately come to my mind several times. The biggest obstical for me is the price of a good carb setup, followed by my limited knowlage with them. I could slap on a set of carbs, from a new kit or an ebay purchase, but where would I go from there? Wouldn't I have to replace my fuel pump for something lower volume, as well as a ton of other components to get the carbs to operate? Then there's the whole thing about carburators being less fuel efficient... Though I could learn to tune them from my uncle, it seems that at this stage its just another way to mess with the formula of the car, ultimately making it harder for me to get it on the road. Someday though...

No, its either a 240 or 260. 280's have the turn signals in the grill. I can't wait to hear the motor playing two different melodies, must have been one quick engine swap.

Looks like the ignition relay is toast. If it wasn't broke before, its sure d*cked now. A small ground the stupidly installed attached to the casing was broken on disassembly. The lack of my seatbelt warning buzzer and fuel quantity confirms it. So... unless I can somehow repair it, the damage is done and I have to source a new one. Fixed the fusable link (HA!). For some reason the Z doesn't like the solder at all, and it never sticks to components, even with flux. The link should have enough contact now though. The engine will not fire anymore. One step forward, two steps back...

Yup yup... Not to sound like "I already knew that" or anything, but yes, that's been how I've been going about things. As always, I appreciate thoughtful input. I've checked just about everything I test at the 35 pin connector at the component itself as well, and they've checked good for the most part. I also can think of a much better design for the flowchart as well, or at least something to suppliment it. Something like a chart that says "If x component does not work, then y componant or system will not fuction." The chart would of course end up being much bigger... Interesting discoveries tonight though. A while ago while playing with the combination switches (trying to get the dash lights and running lights to operate), I must have crossed a wire because when I touched it there was a sharp POP from somewhere and the dash lights stopped working. Fuses were good, fusable links were good. The lights were still inop, and looking through the body electrical manual stated that it could be a bad ign relay. Tonight I popped that open, but nothing seems to be amiss. No scorch marks, nothing. And the little magnets are doing their job as I felt them clicking last night. However what I did discover, as I was working on that relay by the passenger fender, was that one of my fusable links had become frayed at the connector, most likely due to me working around the engine while messing with the manifolds and such. Its hanging by two strands of wire. Care to guess? Yes, it was the EFI/Ignition link. Dur. I think I'll try repairing that before I crack open any more relays, or maybe just temporarily connect the two contacts with a paper clip or maxi fuse (better option). That may or may not be the problem, but it still brings to mind the question of where that popping sound came from that other night. Once I get this bucket running, I'm immedietly going to replace those stupid things with the two 2 slot maxi fuse blocks that have been sitting on my shefl for the past month. I'm tired of dealing with them, as this will be at least the 5th time I've repaired them. It seems that NAPA auto and Autozone sell their fusable links by gauge size, not the amperage they're rated to take, which makes it even more bothersome trying to find the right wire.

I'd have to agree, that's the funniest ebay ad I've ever seen. If I was still in California, I would be busting @ss to get over there. And by that I don't mean defecating myself.

Yep. Been using the flowchart. So far much of what I've tried points to the computer, unfortunately. Tonight I'll be triple checking everything and if that doesn't work I'll try kicking the computer. Sometimes violence is the best option.

Nope... shouldn't be the battery... The car fires up incredebly quick, but it will not sustain. Something is still preventing the injectors from firing... It really pains me to think that I might have to replace more components, especially since the fuel system is expensive, but that might be how it is... So close!!!

lol I think if he hasn't found that mount kit by now, he's got more problems than that.

Checked the ign relays. Yup, they're clicking when I turn the key. I just had a thought, my battery has seen some time cranking the motor without a recharge. Think it might be that its not sending enough voltage to fire the injectors on cranking? There is enough fuel getting to the motor to make it fire for about 2 seconds, so it must be the cold start valve supplying it. I'm going to try recharging the battery to see if that's the case. In the mean time, I think I'll finish putting the rear suspension back together.

Noid light did not flash on either the #1 or #4 injector when plugged into the harness connectors. Either I'm not using it right or its back to the EFI bible... I hate to say, but I'm pretty sure its the latter.

Oh, I know I am... Ijust hope my Vet plates will keep me from getting pulled over, haha! We'll see if its as much of a bear to fit in as everyone says it is on the 280... No progress yet. The car still fires up, then dies before it can stabilise. Plugged up the EGR hole on the bottom of the intake with duct tape, and replaced the cracked vaccum lines around the disributor with no effect. I'm pretty sure whatever vaccum advance mechanism thats inside the dizzy is dorked up, but I'm hoping that's not the starting problem. It could very well be that my injectors aren't firing, i guess, and that my quick start and die is due to the fuel getting shot in by the cold start valve. Jiggling the throttle has no effect. Time to break out the noid light. With luck though, its just a vaccum leak in one of the lines that I'll soon be fixing. Or it could be something that I stupidly forgot to reconnect when I put the intake back on, my progress last night was due to finding one of those errors .

Woah..... After making my last post I was about to turn in for the night when I realized my battery was still connected to the car. So I went downstairs to the garage and somewhere along the way I thought about the transistor ignition box and the last time I was troubleshooting it. one look in the passenger side proved me right; I had left it disconnected from when I tested the pickup coil! Idiot... Figured "while I was at it" I'd give the key one last turn before I disconnected the battery. Expecting nothing but a cranking motor, the Z scared the dogshit out of me when she roared. I jumped a foot! She... STARTED!! I've finally made progress in discovering my problem, which turns out ws the pickup coil all along! Unfortunately, she can't self sustain. Once the engine fires up it quickly dies, without a sputter. It could be due to the hole I left on the bottom side of the EGR (the exhaust side of the tubing broke off during removal due to corrosion), or it could be the fact the the distributor is really just a piece of junk that I'm trying to make last. Only further troubleshooting will tell. The headers are non EGR, so I'll need to find a way to plug it up anyway. And boy, those 6-2 headers sure are scary loud without the twice pipes hooked up yet. It sounds like a muscle car. I still have a long way to go, but if I can at least get the engine to self sustain I'll be almost there. Finally, I'm going to bed on a happy note.

Well, I hope so... After replacing the dizzy pickup coil tonight I still have no spark. God I hope its not the transitor ignition box...

Well, I agree. The air dam DOES complete the look, which is why I got it (despite also due to a time of lowered judgement). What I was referring to as a waste was that I bought it at a time where my main concern was getting the structural integrity of the car and broken things fixed. So far I've been pretty good at it, the suspension needed work, so I got new shocks and coils, replaced the bushings. The exhaust needed replacing (cause I destroyed the stock system with a hatchet) so I replaced it. The ignition system needs *something* so I'm troubleshooting it. The only thing that doesn't fit is the air dam, because the stock lip really wasn't doing anything that would prevent the car from getting back on the road. Do I regret buying it? No. I think its a great upgrade. I just get the little annoying voice from my concience once in a while that says it wasn't necessary at the time. The voice in my head just says I should have saved it for later.

AAAAAAAAAAAUUUUGH!!! Damn it! They're two different tones!!! Flying twice pipes

I think it looks better.... Besides, its VHT ceramic. The black stuff was applied by motorsport to protect it in shipping so it scraped off easily (but it still wasn't any fun to sand it off) I painted the vinyl a while ago too. The seat trim came out well, but the fuzzy fabric middle just soaked the paint to the bottom, so it still looks brown. The goal was to have a two-tone black and grey scheme. Paint used was duplicolor vinyl/fabric spray paint. The krylon colorbond plastic paint also worked great on a few pieces of the interior trim. Last night I bought a grease gun and warily decided to test out my zert fittings on the fwd suspension. To my suprise, they weren't clogged and purged well. What wasn't suprising was the nastiness that came out. Hopefully I'm using the right stuff, just general purpose grease. Autozone was out of the moly-based stuff I prefer. I'm going to try to use these steering arms for a little bit while I wait to get replacements.

Thanks for the encouragement, its needed! Its been over four years since this thing last saw the road. After finally coming home and seeing her again its really discouraging to have to keep waiting till I can take her for a spin. I'm just about to scrape the last bit of protective paint off the headers so I can apply some VHT. I'm also going to need new boots for my ball joints (steering connectors). I don't know if the groove that I see in the ball is excessive wear or a design function for channelling grease(hoping for the latter). Regardless the condition of the boot shows me that this item in question has had close to none in terms of protection from the outside elements. One more headache. I just hope to god that with the headers on and the dizzy components installed that the car starts, or at least sparks. If not I may lose my mind.

More progress, just because I haven't updated in a while doesn't mean the ball isn't rolling. The pumpkin is in! Its a little dirty, but I'll clean it up once I get the rest of it installed. Still waiting on a set of spindle pins. BTW, do you like my home-made trolly jack? For some reason I decided to spray the hood. I guess want to protect the car from rust until I REALLY paint it, but it wasn't nessissary. More than anything its a test to see how I like the two tone scheme... Thats a preview of what the finished product will look like in the future. The DUBS however, will not be a part of it. The manifolds are off. Interesting fact; I removed the exhaust manifold from the car entirely before touching the intake. I just had to try it since everyone said you had to remove the intake first. My secret; I'm not telling. Hopefully I didn't do something that I'll regret later. This is the mockup of the new exhaust headers. Yes, I know... My car's goal is one of the forced induction kind. You'll be happy to hear that even if my L28ET is sitting on the garage floor at the moment, it will eventually go in the car. Right now however I NEED to get this thing on the road, so the headers were a temporary solution. The turbo motor will be getting rebuilt over the winter, because I want to do it right. With luck, once I install the exhaust and the pickup coil in the distributor, the car will once again start. I know I was unsure of it at the beginning of my build, but now I'm almost 99% positive this is my problem. The engine IS getting fuel, I don't even need the noid light to tell me that now. What it isn't getting is spark. After testing the system with a new coil, testing with a spark checker thingy and running a multimeter on the pickup coil I know I'm not getting any spark. And since I can't find a reman distributor ANYWHERE, I'll have to go with replacing a few of the internals on mine. Bonus: Lets see if someone can recognise this car from the recent CTZCC outing.

Yes, I know... I'm just wondering why he labeled them as Konigs in the picture. A joke or what? I am trying to help others avoid confusion.

If these are Konig rewinds... why is there a Watanabe logo on the center caps? If there ARE rewinds, I'd be interested in seeing more of your specs (offset, etc) cause I'm looking to get a set of wheels to fill out some ZG flares. If they're Wats.... well then I guess that's just out of my price range...

Bwahaha! I'd have to ask the same... looks different than steam from a leaky radiator or mist...

Man its strange looking at the chassis from that angle... Most appreciated!