ZHoob2004

The bright/marked links only work if you know where both of them are. The far more important thing is to set the block and cam both to TDC and then simply put the chain on wherever it falls. The bright links won't line up on the marks correctly every rotation, and it's entirely possible you have the chain in the wrong spot if you didn't verify the bright link on the crank gear as well. I recommend you turn your balancer to TDC and look at the cam sprocket to see if the TDC mark lines up. The notch and line/groove should be pretty closely aligned with the balancer at TDC and the cam lobes on the #1 cylinder should both be upright away from the rockers.. Positions 1, 2, and 3 are for accounting for chain stretch so it could be any one of those.

I haven't done this myself, but I think that your best bet is to cut a piece of steel a little larger than the base of the recess such that it sits flush on the low side and rides up the edge on the high side, then weld it in and fill the remaining gap.

I'm not particularly familiar with California smog inspections, but I was under the impression that if it's not an OE part and it doesn't have a carb number, then it's not going to pass, so your intake would disqualify you immediately. That said, I understand you can get away with quite a lot depending on who you take the car to for an inspection. Might want to hold onto a stock intake and think of a way to swap it on in case you have any trouble with that. Someone else can provide better information on the motor build, but iirc you don't need much for 300, maybe pistons? I've heard that the non-turbo pistons have weaker ring lands and you might as well benefit from the 50+ years of development that piston technology has had since these motors were new. R200 diff should get you there just fine, LSD more so.

I did energy suspension on the whole car (77) and removed the bushings and outer sleeves from every location with the exception of the transmission crossmember, where the bushing shell must be left in place.

I don't have specific experience with the 280zx and these bushings, but if the crossmember I linked above fits both cars, and the bushings go in the crossmember, wouldn't it stand to reason that the bushings fit your car, despite what energy suspension might have on their site? And for $15 with easy returns, I'm not sure why you wouldn't just buy the bushings and visually check them before doing anything irreversible.

The link was just an example. There are energy suspension parts for early Z cars, and if the crossmember is the same that means the bushings are the same. https://www.amazon.com/Energy-Suspension-7-1101G-Transmission-Crossmember/dp/B004ALJWHM Special note with these - You have to keep the bushing shells installed in the crossmember. This is the opposite of normal energy suspension bushing installs, so double check every step before you destroy the bushing shells completely.

Like this crossmember? https://zcarsource.com/transmission-crossmember-240z-260z-280z-280zx-72-83-coupe-74-78-2-2-used It would appear that was used from 72-83, so you should use the same parts as for an S30 if they aren't listed for S130

The 280z tach (as far as I'm aware) needs a high voltage impulse, so a standard 5v or 12v square wave isn't going to cut it. If I were you, what I would do is set up a mini ignition system using a coil, some sort of ignition module (just about any will do) and an old spark plug. You can trigger the ignition module with your square wave generator, and connect the tach to the coil negative just as it is in the car.

archive.org https://web.archive.org/web/20110430025055/http://members.cox.net/chipsbyal/page/project/280z/index.htm

I don't think I have pictures, but I'm doing basically the same as above using RX8 seats except I'm using the mazda sliders, so my adapters go between the sliders and the chassis. I just bent a few pieces of steel strap to mount the new sliders at the same angle as the stock seats and then I'm going to weld on a few cross bars of the same material to adapt to the wider rails of the new seats. Looks kinda like this from the side ________ / |__ I'm going to have to do something like above to clear the seat pan, but I think I'll end up with seats just barely lower than stock with a lot more bolster and most of the slider range from the rx8, which being a 2+2 car is a lot of range. I'll likely gusset the 90 degree bend on the rear part of my adapters as well just for some added peace of mind, but I don't think they're going to flex once they're all bolted in.

My car had disconnected AC and non-functioning vents when I bought it, and it currently has no dash or anything else, so it's not really relevant until I start reassembly again.

If you're not happy with it, why not give them a call and send them the pictures? Any vendor worth dealing with will have insured that shipment, and I don't speak for them, but I think they should gladly take that back and send you a new set without the damage.

There's a vacuum hose that passes through the firewall near the glovebox and normally goes to the vacuum tank, then goes to the intake manifold. There should be a check valve somewhere in there, but mine was missing so I don't know where it goes. What I did as a temporary/permanent fix was to buy a vacuum check valve off the shelf at my local parts store and run a line from the intake, through the check valve, to the line inside the car. Vents seem to work just fine, though they may drift out of place under prolonged periods of WOT (but they'll go back as soon as you lift)

I can't speak for apex, but I know technotoytuning and @Invincibleextremes both make the same or similar parts, and I know at least T3 will sell them separately (they'll sell you anything separately).

Injector order isn't really that important on these engines. I can't remember if the injectors are fired in 3s or all 6 at once, but either way it's not a precise event. I assume the distributor rotor is pointing at #1 with the engine at TDC?