SleeperZ

My Federal 1978 280Z did not come with a catalytic converter. Judging by the limits you posted, it looks like your state uses the Federal emissions standard, and that should be able to pass without a converter. It looks like your test station has incorrect information - yes the California 280Zs came with converters, I think they were added along with fuel injection to meet higher CA standards.

I agree, it doesn't look right. Either the bracket positions the caliper too far from the rotor, or the rotor is too small. In all the designs I've worked with, the entire pad contacts the rotor. It looks like this arrangement could overheat the pads.

My attraction to the Z is more instinctual; I've loved the way it looks since I saw a brand-new one in 1973. I work as an engineer and I have that sort of mind where I appreciate how well the Z does was it was designed to do, and how everyone has a take on how to make it do better, while still keeping it's amazingly simple good looks.

Wow, very impressive, and a beautiful build. I love that blue.

wow..........

Hmm, didn't know that. I thought my 1978 280Z did that, but it's been a long time since I ran the factory computer.

All you should need is a couple of gallons in the tank to ensure the fuel level is high enough to flow to the pump. Stock pump location is very close to tank bottom, but if it was totally dry you may have to siphon fuel to the pump inlet. A vacuum pump and a small T fitting at the pump inlet should be able to get that done.

Purge the lines of what? The EFI is self priming, you just cycle the ignition a few times. The pump will run for a few seconds after turning the key on, turn it off and do it again until you can hear the lines pressure up and you are good to go.

Thanks for doing these videos, I really enjoy all of them, especially the Porsche 911. I have a little bit of regret with that marque, I had a friend give me an old 911 he ran on the track, it was in bad shape, but instead of repairing the engine and body, I parted it out and used the funds on my 280Z. I probably could not have afforded it, Zs are so much cheaper, but I feel like I missed a chance to drive one of those machines.

My T5 is still good after many 13 and 12 second passes, and I know others with the same or faster result. That is 300+ hp and 400+ ft/lb of torque.

Wow, that's quite a difference.

Never heard of a chrome powder coat, but it sure makes a nice look.

Hahaha! That looks easy!

My '78 with mostly stock components, L28ET and BW T-5 transmission, full interior, full 3" exhaust and no bumpers or spare tire was 2600 lbs.

Seems like all rear window defrosters of this era went bad quickly. My 1978 rear window defroster never worked, and I bought that car in 1990. Defrosters on vehicles manufactured in the 90s and newer still work fine in my experience.

It is kind of a hack job. I did that mod on SVO injectors years ago, and it worked just fine. But now I am using the O-ring fuel rail.

DIY Autotune sells both EV-1 and EV-6 clips, they would know what fits.

I'm curious too, I see at the beginning of the video it has a Chevy LS engine, but OMG that car has some balls.

Did you install the 1k resistor in the MS then? 1.3V is too low to reliably trigger.

It must be the factory ECCS that is supplying the CAS output with a 5V pullup, because the sensor does not care.

Well, if the MS 3.0 expects a 5V signal, and we give it 12V, that might present a problem. But I have reviewed all the input circuits, in the context of wiring the ZXT distributor, and I've not seen any 5V specific inputs. The ZXT optical sensor does not output 5V unless you pull the CAS line to 5V instead of 12V (which would work), but from my research I'm fairly sure the ZXT dizzy does not generate or receive 5V in the factory implementation.

The reason for the 1k resistor is to pull up the CAS signal to 12V, it's an open collector optical sensor. The schematic showing this is here: https://www.diyautotune.com/support/tech/install/nissan-datsun/megasquirt-your-280zx-turbo/

Interesting, sounds like he's got a lot of direct experience, but I don't understand it at all. And he may be right about the slip producing the best acceleration. However he also said if you have no slip you have no acceleration, which is clearly wrong. All you need is a frictional force to apply torque, slip is not required to apply that force. Again, he is likely right since we are discussing tire grip and not all of that is purely frictional.

There is a wiring diagram for the distributor somewhere on DIY. The resistor needs to be tied between the red wire and the green wire, that allows the signal to rise to 12V. 1.3V is too low to reliably trigger the ECU. You can probably use either value, they only need to be rated for 1/4 watt.

An ohm meter is the wrong instrument to test this thing. Best way is to hook up power to it, then manually turn the distributor to check the voltage goes high and low when the slots open inside the optical sensor. +12V is applied to red, ground to black, measure voltage on the white and green wires. I forget whether green or white is the ignition position and which is the fine slots, but the ignition position needs a resistor connected from the red to the white or green to measure the voltage properly.