NewZed

Thanks. Still not clear, but a test will tell. There's no signal generated, just monitoring of the coil's charge/discharge activity via a wire to the ECU. Here's a copy of the 1976 280Z advance information.

What is the IE? I see the following statement on the attached link and don't really understand why it would be the case. Does the Tune model not like to have other wires on the coil's negative terminal? The tachometer runs off of coil negative also. Maybe it's a misconception, an overly broad statement (D-, K- or L-Jetronic) or based on limited information. Pretty important for any 280Z or 280ZX owners looking at the product. " Note:Tune models are Not suited for Bosch Jetronic injection systems. But work nicely on the Bosch Mechanically injected motors or carburated models. " http://www.123ignitionusa.com/tune-models.html

71 is not like 72 is not like 76 is not like 79 (especially, not an S30) could be partial cause for the confusion. The 78 5 speed will swap straight over to a 76, shifter and all. You'll lose the top gear switch that activates the solenoid for the distributor's vacuum advance,

Well done. Don't forget to check your fusible link for damage.

You have a short somewhere. All you can do is check wires. Check the alternator B post for continuity to ground with a meter. You might have a bad alternator. Also make sure that you don't have other things connected to the B post. Like the black ground wire.

You've made all of the classic errors. Condolences. You should have read a few threads on cam swaps, there are many stories out there about the wedge and the rocker arms. I think that the rocker arms can be reconditioned to get rid of the wear patterns. No idea on cost. Someone might reply with a recommendation, I think that one of the popular cam shops will do it.

Sounds like you have the main charging wire connected to ground somehow. The big white wire. Did you connect it to the ground (E) post by accident? Instead of B, for battery.

Switched positive for negative? Cable colors are often backward on the old Z cars. That's another benefit of using the plug. Unplug it and you'll know if your wiring is wrong or something else.

As Xnke said, everything should swap over just fine if you kept things in order. If you just threw the rocker arms in a pile, you've made an error. Did you wedge the timing chain well, and set cam timing to zero before pulling the cam? P90A heads came with hydraulic pivots, for the most part. NA cars typically have P79 heads.

Clutter? That's the point of the thread, and a forum, in general. Share the knowledge so others don't make the same mistakes.

Still can't get over the pictures of the work and the statements about $100,000 cars, etc. The two do not fit together at all. Why did you edit out the name of the company? I looked at their site and they don't advertise fabrication work, they just sell parts. Are you sure that some sales guy didn't talk you in to work on the side. Still just an odd story.

That's my thought. No need to cut up the original harness and the plug holds all the loose ends together. Just one way to do it.

If I was going to do the swap again I would cut the plug off of the old external reg and connect the wires there. It will look better and be reversible. If you're doing a 76 you might find that you have a battery drain when you're done.

Yes, the 280Z's came with 60 amp alternators. The only reason to swap to an internal regulator would be for fewer parts, or better dependability (assuming that one internally regulated alternator is better than the external system), or just for the fun of doing electrical work.

More clarity - an alternator option for the 73 240Z's, and the standard for the 280Z's, was a 60 amp alternator. Only the early 240Z's had the 40 or 50 amp units.

Looks interesting, has it been tried? Pictures installed? I notice also in the manual that there are only four settings for full advance below 4500 RPM for the switched unit - 2400, 3000, 3600 and 4000. I'm not an expert but the L6 seems to like full advance earlier, from what I've been able to figure out. The tuning options seem limited. Just trying to add some clarity. Can't really figure out what's possible from the web site. You should offer a forum member a unit for evaluation, to get some feedback. Edit - I downloaded the Tune software and it looks promising. Draggable advance settings on an easy to view screen. Pretty cool. Note also - I don't think that comment on the web page about the injector trigger is correct. The L-Jetronic ECU uses the coil negative to trigger the injectors and already has electronic ignition. So it should just see the same thing, no matter what ignition system is used. For example, the GM HEI module is a pretty common swap for the Nissan module. No problems. Might be limiting sales with that comment. The Tune model should work, I would guess and it's the most desirable.

Thanks for the details and the link. I didn't know there was a four pinion open option. More knowledge. I'm going to assume you can do more one wheel burnouts with a four-pinion than a two-pinion. Four is better than two.

Isn't the machined outer surface of the carrier the odd thing for a Nissan R200 diff? Most have a rough cast outer surface. Is that an R200 or an R180? Seems skinny, but I don't know that they put R180's in the 300ZX's.

Maybe it's the economy. I have a ton of ideas and would love to be working on them and talking about them but can't justify it. The other forums I frequent are slow too.

The one in your car looks like an "A" cam, which typically came on the 280Z or early ZX engines. "A" doesn't seem right for a 1983. So you might have a non-stock engine or non-stock cam. Non-stock cam replacement may explain the failure. You didn't show any significant failure pictures. You said the rocker arms looked different but didn't show any rocker arms. Anyway, in general, people say the rocker arms should follow the cam lobes. Hopefully, you marked or bagged each rocker arm with the cam lobe it was used on. If not, based on several cam swap stories, you will probably damage another cam. Others know more. Good luck. Edit - Xnke knows more. Maybe it's not an A cam. Or maybe it's a CWC with a stock "A" grind.

Post pictures. Everybody loves them. Your letter/numbers seem odd, are you looking at the back of the camshaft? Attached a picture of a 1981 F cam for reference.

Body Electrical is the chapter. Relays are boring. If you can't find the shape of the relay, go through the diagrams and match the plug. The pattern and pin number is usually unique to the relay. Each diagram has a drawing of the connector and its pins.

Could be that he has actually seen effects after ceramic coating. But it's unlikely that they're related to the noise the metal makes when it's tapped on. Correlation confused with cause/effect. Really though, your story just sounds like someone being messed with, or his general MO is to cause confusion and look crazy so that nobody can figure out he makes his power. It's a diversion, like a magic trick. His manifolds are probably all ceramic-coated.

Some race car teams install speakers in the engine bay. They've found that the engine makes more power when Metallica is played, Madonna slows the car down, and Lynyrd Skynyrd causes the car to spin the wheels and crash in to other cars. Rap music causes the engine to shoot nuts and bolts through the fenders. What race engine experience did he state? Dirt track or Formula 1?

The flange in that picture looks the proper thickness. The set that I have may be old, maybe Pace Setter actually changed their design to fix problems. Or mine might be counterfeit. Edit - Noticed that the center pipes in your picture seem to be touching, maybe even bridged by coating. They don't look like the current sales pictures for Pace Setter headers. Do you have the original thread for that picture? Are you sure that those are Pace Setters? Also, here's an eBay link to MSA's 70-76 offering. Square ports in to round flange holes. Can't tell if they do a better job of blending square into round. Any projection in to the flow path is bad, especially on the outer radius. http://www.ebay.com/itm/MSA-3-2-TBC-Header-240Z-260Z-280Z-Datsun-Ceramic-Coated-Motorsport-1970-1976-/261382593963