NewZed

I re-ordered your story to chronological. Looks like you were disturbed that something about the distributor wasn't where you thought it should be (you never said what was not right) so you messed with your perfect-running engine and got lost in the details. So, nothing broke, you just moved your good parts to the wrong places. That explains "why". If you're sure that the distributor is exactly 180 degrees off then the fix is easy - just run it with the wires 180 out or drop the pump and flip it 180.

You're probably going to convert several decent-to-good engines in to many boxes of parts. The engine in my car now runs excellently and is in great shape and it sat for 10 years, never started, before I got it. Actually the guy I got it from got it running after the ten year spell and probably did a poor job of resurrecting it. But it's still in great shape. 1978 280Z N47/N42 engine. The factory assembly mix-and-match, and assembly, processes are probably much better than yours, done to a set of specifications. Your franken-motors will be no better than the one that you're wondering about. You're just mixing and matching parts that may not be within fit tolerance specs. And they're all essentially stock parts anyway, so it's kind of a pointless exercise. If you're just having fun with puzzle pieces that's one thing but if you're expecting something significantly better than what you already have, the odds are against you. You should build a test stand with engine management and test run all five of them. That would be fun and you'd learn something, without wasting too much money. You'll probably realize that you have at least four and maybe five good-running engines. Modify one and keep or sell the rest.

Do you tell the people at the shop that you're from Pluto? That might be part of the problem.

Blurry. Poor. Some cameras have a close-up option. Usually looks like a flower.

These are half-shafts, in Z car-speak. Drive shafts in Nissan terms. Good luck.

https://row52.com/Vehicle/Index/JN1HZ04S9BX409079 The wrecking yards have databases they can search, connected to other yards. Call and ask.

They worked before, then stopped? Or they've never worked? Push the individual wires up through the bulb sockets, no bulbs, to make sure they haven't worked their way down in the socket to where they're shorting. That happened to me once on the tail light circuit. Insulate the wire ends and see if the problem is still there. If it's gone, the source is in a socket. If not, it's in a wire. And, probably quicker and more effective to use a meter and test the power wire to see if it's shorted to ground. You can do one socket at time that way. Actually, you should do the test to ground before messing with the wires. Just ID the brake power wires and test for continuity to ground. Find the short them mess with the socket internals. Don't forget to check the switch at the brake pedal also. Might be broken and shorting when you press the pedal. The 20-30 VDC is just odd, not really a clue. Are you sure your meter didn't autorange to millivolts?

Here's an example from MSA. Don't know it's only available in 3-2 configuration, but you can see the holes, and they're described. http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/15-6002

I meant designed to replace a stock manifold and maintain stock functions. Hence the air injection ports. A "track" header would probably not have those. Call it a street header.

Looks like a decent 240Z/260Z stock fit header. Equal length tubes, which are nice. I think that those are air injection port holes, so it's designed for street use, with the emissions air pump. Probably 72 - 74 240Z/260Z. Does it have the thick flange? That would be a clue. Many aftermarket headers use a thin flange which makes installation a pain.

If you drop the boost back to 5 the problem disappears? Might just be coincidence. If you have a manual transmission, watch the tach when it dies. If you're still in gear with the key on the tach should still show spark when rolling. If the tach drops to zero while rolling, that would be a sign of an igntion problem, maybe with, maybe without, a fueling problem. Also, you said L28E, not ET, for engine management. Is this a cobbled together turbo setup?

Post the actual numbers from the test. And describe, in detail, what shape the engine is in, including any odd modifications. And fix all of the simple stuff, like "bad gas". Put new gas in. It can take some work to get a car that's been sitting back in shape. Don't assume it's something simple. Tony D mentioned EM, but I think that he meant ET since that's where valve lash adjustment is described, along with the other important tune-up info. One bad spark plug,or wire, or a bad distributor cap, can fail you. EF is worth a look if you want to understand how the control system works. http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/280z/ http://www.xenonzcar.com/

This is from the Schneider page - "All cams are drilled for through cam oiling. Custom tuning or an upgraded ECU is heavily recommended with any of these grinds, but your engine may run fine with the stock tune with our smaller grinds. The larger grinds will require either extensive tuning or a standalone ECU system. Custom grinds are available as well."

Check for constant power to the coil, with a short to ground on the negative side. That would stop spark (no circuit break) and kill the battery. No fuel at the rail is pretty easy. Check the power to the pump, etc. You've done essentially no troubleshooting. Make a list of things to check, check them, write down the numbers, and create another post. You'll probably solve the problem just by doing the first three things.

Seems like a lot of work, and a lot of risk, for not much benefit in performance, probably even a degradation of overall driveability. BRAAP did a lot of work in figuring out how the stock EFI system can be modified and tuned. Then he wrote down all of his thoughts. Worth reading. http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/95316-braaps-l6-efi-induction-advice-and-tips/

What engine, carbs or EFI , and what are your intentions? Most people recommend new or reconditioned rocker arms with a new cam also. That's the real expense. Might be able to find some info here on the cam profiles and the number/letters - http://schneidercams.com/

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/search/Wheel+Lug+Stud/02990/C0337.oap?year=1982&make=Nissan&model=280ZX&vi=1209350&keyword=wheel+stud

Sounds like maybe injector heat soak. AKA "hot start problem". And the misnomer of "vapor lock". That would be independent of the engine management system. Thoughts abound on cause and solutions.

Thanks for the link, interesting reading. The next page after yours has the same question I'm asking. There doesn't seem to be any supporting (no pun intended) information out there about problems if you don't add a bearing or cut the shaft. Just "just in case" thoughts. Nissan went to a plastic locating collar at the end of the distributor shaft with the ZX distributors. Might be easier to fabricate a Delrin or nylon bushing, than going with a metal bearing and assembly. http://the510realm.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4476&start=30 Just wondering. I haven't seen any reports of failure or wear from those that haven't supported the shaft end.

The numbers look right. Be aware that the PCV system is connected to the intake system. A leak in one is a leak in to the other. Described in the Emissions chapter. Also note that many of the old AFM's run lean. The sputtering is a sign, along with popping back through the intake system. Adding a potentiometer to the coolant temperature sensor circuit will allow you to add fuel across the AFM range. It works. Don't mess with the AFM. http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/tempsensorpot/index.html

Does the way the engine runs change? Sound or performance? Could be that your gauge is affected but not the actual AFR. Bad gauge readings can lead you on a wild goose chase.

I think that the rest of just wanted to be included. I have a 280Z. I feel left out.

That's a good thread. Lots of good references inside also. Manifold, head pipe/header, and exhaust system commonly get blended together and confused. Lots to think about. I'm not an expert, I just read a lot. Thanks for the redirect.

You mean Tool Shed? He must not want much help. A stud is a stud, it can't be that special. It might be a bolt though, a unique one. Unclear.

Words and their proper usage are key to really understanding how things work. What I said can't be qualified with "technically, I'm right". You wrote something that is geberally wrong. There's no "technical" involved. It's just wrong. Thank for the link though. Here's a direct quote, just for fun. Although, there's no guarantee that the DSMTuner guy is completely right either. "There is a common misconception that engines need backpressure in order to run properly, generate low end torque, etc. That is simply untrue. Backpressure is a bad thing. Always."