NewZed

I was just trying to show that you're making decisions on very little actual knowledge. Like the statement above - the car already has power (booster-assisted) brakes. If you meant "more powerful" there are numerous threads that talk about how the stock brakes work fine and are balanced correctly for the car, when they're in proper working order. And numerous threads talking about how the "upgraded" Toyota brakes, and rear discs, are biased to the front. You asked for suggestions. I say read more, take everyone's advice with a grain of salt (people inherently defend decisions that they've made. Objectivity is hard), drive the car for a little while, and make decisions based on a clear view of how you want the car to behave.

"Bigger brakes" in your first post was the clue. You haven't studied enough to know what's what. You're on the bling path. Form over function. All good, just that your plan doesn't fit your stated goal.

Many people, those that have done it especially, feel that Megasquirt alone is an upgrade, even on a stock engine. The 70's cars were surrounded by carb'ed cars so the EFI seemed clean and efficient. But compared to today's EFI systems, the old EFI is clunky, dirty, and problematic. But until you drive one, and compare it to a modern EFI car, like a Pathfinder or Buick, you won't really know.

You should wait until you have the car, and think a lot more about what you want it to be. You just have a list of random things to do, but they don't really fit together to make a better car. Pretty easy to spend a lot of money and just make a Frankenstein monster. Weird-looking and doesn't work well. You can't really upgrade anything until you know what "better" is. By the way, these are 240Z shocks. Only two of them will work in your 280Z. http://www.amazon.com/KYB-FRONT-REAR-shocks-struts/dp/B002T4HDY6?tag=viglink20591-20 You want these. If you want stock style. http://www.amazon.com/KYB-FRONT-REAR-shocks-struts/dp/B002T037EK

You said heat soak, vapor lock, and heat issues but didn't really describe what happens, or when. The typical problem seems to come from hot injectors. Running the water pump and fuel pump would probably help. But you'll be using your fuel as a cooling medium. Many people have had luck by just installing an aluminum fuel rail. But you probably already have one of those. Wrapping the rail might make the problem worse since it won't allow the rail to radiate heat away from the injectors. If your heat shield is missing that will make the problem worse. Nissan spent a lot of effort trying to keep heat away (shields) or remove it (fans) from the fuel lines. Sounds like you've deleted both of their fixes.

Extend the fuel rail return line in to the cabin and run it under your foot so that you can press it closed as you drive. More foot pressure = more fuel pressure. You could also put a potentiometer on the CHTS circuit. Turn up the resistance to get more fuel. The AFM's tend to get lean as they get old for some reason.

"On" typically means the "Run" position. "Start" typically means the position to send power to the starter solenoid and turn the engine over. "Trying to turn it on" could mean either. You can get clicks in both positions. Have you measured voltage anywhere? At the battery, at the starter? Get a meter and measure some stuff. Could be a dirty cable connection.

Which of the three operations are a problem? The shift rod hole enlarging and the clearance work for the gear are fairly easy. The enlargement of the bearing hole requires more accurate work. If you swap to the smaller bearing, you don't need that. Most machinists pause at the bearing hole work. Xnke has a trick for that but may or may not share it.

Good luck. You've only defined one "problem" and it doesn't seem like big deal. Idle AFR is a bit rich, but everything else is correct.. Here's a decent reference. It's Megasquirt and you don't have the tuneability, but since you're only worried about idle you could open up the idle air adjustment screw on the AFM. Described in the Engine Fuel chapter of the FSM. "Batch fire engines, however, have issues at idle with intake pulse reversion sending some of the fuel into an adjacent cylinder. So, if your engine is batch fire, you'll need to add a little more fuel so all the cylinders can stay at 14.7:1 or richer. Batch fire engines typically idle best in the mid 13's, so if you're leaner than that, put in some more fuel and see if that stabilizes the idle.:" http://www.diyautotune.com/tech_articles/megasquirt_idle_tuning.html

Idles rich, or drives rich? Rich as defined by an AFR number? "Correct" means that resistance matches temperature as shown in the chart? Or it means "continuity"? Testing was done at the ECU connector or the component? The temperature sensors don't "output" anything. Numbers are your friend when working on the EFI system. Numbers make a big difference on the forums. Without numbers you're just part of the herd.

http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/240z/1972/FE%20Fuel%20and%20Exhaust%20Systems.pdf

So there is a silver lining to all of those blue Subaru clones out on the streets. Seems a little down on power capacity though. Weaker than factory, isn't it. Shouldn't be spec.'ed in HP anyway. Product Description This is for you guys installing a R180 from a STI in what ever you can get it under. This stub is a 300m part capable of over 100Hp and ready to have a 108mm CV bolted up to it. http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/car-comparison-tests/reviews/a6306/2015-subaru-wrx-vs-sti/

Which one? - http://dupont.materialdatacenter.com/profiler/7MblW/standard/main/ds Just kidding. Kind of. Most thermoplastic polymers aren't suitable for constant high loads. They "creep". The fine threads of the gland nut put a pretty high load on the shock and spacer with any appreciable torque. If you cut your spacer so that it contacts the shock body via a sharp corner or small area, that area will deform easily. Add some heat and things get worse. Just something to be aware of. Get the design right. http://www.dupont.com/products-and-services/plastics-polymers-resins/thermoplastics/brands/delrin-acetal-resin.html Easier to go wrong than right with Delrin, in that application.

The ECU just reacts to what Pin 18 does. When the coil discharges, the voltage pulse on Pin 18 makes the ECU ground the injector circuits. So if you're getting spark and Pin 18 is connected to the coil negative terminal, something's not working right in the ECU.

All of those "good"s just mean maybe. Why didn't you write the numbers down? The ECU grounds the injectors when it sees action on a certain pin at the ECU, which is connected to the coil's negative terminal. Which is also connected to the ignition module. Maybe you disconnected a wire by accident. The module you replaced is the matchbox on the side of the distributor, right? And you said no power, implying at the injectors, but didn't say that you actually tested for power at the injector plugs. I would check for power at the injector connections, and confirm that the trigger wire to the ECU, the one connected to coil -, is intact. Unfortunately, there aren't any good wiring diagrams for 1983 that I know of. It's a difficult car to work on. 1982 might be the same. Worth a shot. Looks like Pin 18 at the ECU should be connected to coil -. http://xenonzcar.com/s130/images/wiring/1982%20Datsun%20280ZX%20non%20turbo.pdf

Delrin would probably creep or deform and you'd lose your gland nut torque. Metal's a better option.

If you don't have a meter, a test light will do. Anything besides just turning the key and wiggling wires. Measure the power paths (aka crcuits) and see where the break is. First confirm battery voltage across the posts themselves. Then across the cable terminals attached to the posts. Then the cable ends at the starter. Starter lug to engine block. Starter lug to body panel. Things like that. You're not even using the most basic troubleshooting method.

The auto parts store guys will usually pull a CV shaft out to let you look at it. Awkward phraseology...

He installed adjustable control arms at the same time. So, still undefined. Just saying, make sure. Also, it's not clear how the kit works with bolt in R180 axles. How do you attach that adapter to the splined shaft? I don't know the R180's very well though, so maybe it's obvious. Or maybe you need the truck diff. A phone call would probably clear it up.

Got a meter? Measure resistance of the cable. Measure secondary circuit resistance with the cable inserted in the coil. Seems like you're stuck on some pretty basic stuff.

Ermish looks new to the scene. A 510 guy getting in to the Z market. Better be careful on length, there are no signs on the site that he's actually used those axles in a Z. Improper length is where everyone gets burned.

Actually, you'd want to know how many amps the ECU lets pass through the wire. There might be resistance on the ECU side and 12 volts direct from the battery might just burn the wire up. But if there is resistance on the MAFS wire then it's probably controlled there and a switch would work. That speed sensor controls other things also though, like fuel cut during deceleration. Without fuel cut, you'll get the gassy smell. Kind of defeating the purpose of a more modern system. Look through the EFEC chapter and see how many things have "speed sensor" as a control parameter. Actually, there's a table on EFEC-33 (1987) that shows 4 things that use the speed sensor.

This may be why so many people seem to get this swap "almost right" as far as the way the engine runs. A bunch of dirty MAFS wires out there.

Here's the two side-by-side. Same parameters, just a better explanation.

This is interesting. Nissan rewrote the chart for 1987 MAFS self-cleaning operation. Don't know if the chart was wrong or they changed the operation parameters. I'm guessing that the 1984 chart was wrong and/or confusing. You didn't say which Z31 you had so you'll have to draw your own conclusions. Looks like the basic design is that it cleans the wire as long as three conditions are met - engine speed went above 1500 RPM, vehicle speed went above 12 mph, engine not overheating, and engine shut off normally. As soon as the engine is turned off, it waits 5 seconds and cleans for one second. So it looks like you need the speed sensor if you want the self-cleaning to work.