NewZed

You sound like a guy who's got stars in his eyes for high horsepower, The car sounds like someone's project that is not "done" and may not even be well-designed and executed. I wish I could find a GIF for Dirty Harry's "do you feel lucky" line. Shuddering at take-off is usually a clutch engagement problem. Maybe it's slipped a few too many times under all that power. Or the 1st gear ratio is too tall for the diff ratio. Lots of questions. Just buy it and start working on it. Who wants a car that's done anyway.

Is the wheel on the ground and weighted by the car? Looks like you have the wheel hanging. The rod might be at an angle. On the ground makes everything super-easy. Things are incredibly harder than would seem rational with the wheel hanging. .

Compare the new bushing diameter to the old rubber bushing diameter. there's no reason they shouldn't fit., I think that all S30's use the same T/C rods. Make sure also that you read up on urethane bushings and broken T/C rods too. Many people run 1/2 rubber, 1/2 urethane.

Tie rod bushing? What do you mean by "tie rod"? Maybe my memory or general knowledge is off, but I don't recall a tie rod bushing. Post a picture. Edit - just a guess, but maybe you're trying to use the mustache bar bushings in the tension/compression rod spot. They're both big and round. Also note that the T/C rod and its bushings are easiest to replace with the wheels and suspensions weighted. You can reach everything while laying beside the car. Almost impossible to get the bolts back in with the wheel hanging.

Google is full of "280Z firing order" posts and images. Probably easier to look at too, than the attached picture.

Do you have one Tokico shock - HZ3102, 3013, 3015, 3016 or 3038? I have the part, need one shock to fill a set. No gland nut necessary, just the shock, still pressurized and no signs of internal damage. Used is fine.

What, in numbers, is the timing set to, initial, and what does it do when you rev the engine? That will tell you a ton about your timing and distributor quality, more than the finger test of spring tension. After it starts do you move the timing back or do you leave it at maximum advance (whatever that is)? What, exactly, non-essential components did you remove? When you talk about revving, is this while driving, or in neutral? What does "hesitation" mean, if you're in neutral? Odds are high that you have a vacuum leak and something out of adjustment.

They got me. Apparently, there is actually a pump that pressurizes the tank. so weird that I didn't even search first. No wonder cars aren't getting lighter. I think I'll avoid all cars post-1995. http://www.autozone.com/autozone/repairinfo/repairguide/repairGuideContent.jsp?pageId=0996b43f802d818d Edit - although, it doesn't appear the the GMC Sierra uses one. So they were almost right.

Saw this column this morning and thought it looked like BS. Maybe the original Click and Clack have sold their identities or the whole thing is just a show. MIT graduates? The implication is that there's a pump that pressurizes the fuel tank, It would have to be an air pump that pumps outside air in to the tank. Sounds like total nonsense. http://blog.nwautos.com/2014/05/randomly_running_truck_is_confusing_owner.html?prmid=obnetwork

Looks like you're thinking abut buying this car so don't know much about how it was put together. What does the builder say about these issues? Could be something as simple as weak motor and/or transmission mounts. Sounds like a poor job on the swap. Something is loose or mis-aligned or out of balance. Stuttering (shaking?) on deceleration is a sign, since it has nothing to do with peak horsepower. Forgot to say - this isn't a Ford issue, it's more of a general drivetrain or swap issue. You might repost in a different forum to get more looks.

By "idle screw" do you mean the idle air screw, or the idle speed screw? If you added more AFM bypass air that would lean out the mixture. If you just added speed, that won't affect the mixture much. Not clear how warm the engine gets while you're testing. Could be that you switched the coolant sensor plug with the thermotime switch plug. Or the coolant sensor has lost connection. Maybe it's really just very rich, and there is no vacuum leak. Pull one of the small hoses from the intake manifold and see if idle speed goes up or down. If it's already lean from a leak it would probably go down, if it's rich it will probably go up.

Trolling three week old posts to give advice you're not sure about seems a little odd. Post count pumper?

The speedometer determines what type of speedometer drive you need. You need to describe your speedometer. If it's a stock speedometer, people could probably figure it out if they knew what kind of car you're working with. Engines don't require speedometers.

Did you swap the MAP sensor to try and fix the problem or was everything fine until you swapped the sensor?

Web page implies it's been tried and tested. http://www.lojinnovations.com/z32%20kit.htm

Might be something useful here - http://forums.hybridz.org/forum/92-turbosupercharger/

I can't really follow what your expectations are but the attached pictures might help show what the CAS output should be. Two of the wires should show a voltage pulse, from zero to probably ~5 volts. One of the wires will pulse rapidly as you turn the distributor because it's seeing 360 slits per revolution, the other will sit at zero, I believe, and only change state six times per revolution. So, if it were me, I might fabricate a narrow blade-shaped probe that I could slip in beside each wire in the connector while it's plugged in, to measure voltage. With the key on and no CAS movement, you'll probably get a 5 (that's your power supply to the CAS from the ECU), and maybe a 5, and a dead one. Stick the probe in the two that aren't constant 5, and spin. I might be way off, but that seems to what the pictures and text say. Added the "And so forth" picture just for the humor.

Going from 15 to 25 is advancing the timing, not retarding. The obvious next step is to confirm that your pulley timing mark is correct. The notch needs to align with zero at top dead center on cylinder #1. Have you adjusted the valves? If you're not filling the cylinders fully (too much valve lash), then advanced timing would probably help. Have you confirmed that valve timing is correct (groove and notch on the timing sprocket and retainer)?. Incorrect valve timing could have a similar effect. Piece-meal is going to take you forever to get that engine running right but at least you're making progress.

Post the youtube video link. Post the link "on here" about the 300zxtt transmission on the Mercedes motor. There.

The Porsche bumper rubber looks good. Don't park where anyone can park behind you though, many people take "bumper" literally and use them as distance measuring aids when parallel parking.

There are so many people out there these days staring at the internet on their tiny phone screens, I just assumed... Rebuilding "while you're at it" could be false economy, the rebuild kits out there aren't fantastic and some seem to have worse new synchros than used Nissan synchros. If it was in good shape you might just replace the main and counter bearings, while you're in there, fix the fork, and put it back together. Just an opinion. You can replace a fork without pulling any gears. Search Hybridz member duragg for a long thread on modifying the transmission for high RPM duty. Lots of detail in that thread.

Are you on a phone? There's a picture in Post #2. Pretty self-explanatory.

Probably the shift fork.

Here's one. I know nothing about the company, the guy, or the cat. http://www.brokenkitty.com/ http://www.brokenkitty.com/zcar/zcar.htm

Will it stay running? Idle? You can swap injector plugs to see if you have a wiring problem or an injector problem. Take the injector plugs off, one at a time, and note which cylinders work and which don't. Then swap a plug from a cylinder that works to one that doesn't and see if the dead cylinder comes to life. It won't fix things but it will tell you a little more about what's going on. And check your plug wires for firing order. 153624 counterclockwise.