NewZed

There are no signs of dyno capability on the wongsperformance web site. Testimonials about what a great guy he is and listings of bolt-on packages but no dyno tuning descriptions. Looks like he's just a good mechanic who probably tunes by ear or AFR gauge.

One of your connections may be missing. Check the wiring diagram for 72 and you'll see the four connections between alt. and regulator. F, A, E, N. Engine Electrical chapter > Charging Circuit. The letters are usually cast in to the back of the alternator and may be marked on the regulator also. http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/240z/

One reason left to use the site's search engine instead of using Google and "site:hybridz.org" is the "Find Author" tool. But the 4 letter limit on word size kind of kills that usefulness also. Just tried to search OBX and a user name but couldn't do it. OBX is too small. Other useful three letter acronyms and words are KYB, LSD, NOS, OEM, MSA, DIY, oil, L28, L26, L24, Z31, Z32, SBC, BBC, LS1, LS2, LS3, LSX, FPR, HEI, low, S30, and WTB. All fairly useful and specific. Example - someone posted on low oil pressure. With the user name and "low oil pressure", the odds of finding the thread are pretty good. Without low and oil though, you have to search pressure alone which will give many more results to wade through. Same with OBX or HEI or KYB. Pretty specific terms, but not allowed. Just a suggestion.

Read motoman's post again. The end of the cable from the negative post should be attached to the starter case using a starter mounting bolt. This gives the shortest path for current back to the battery. You have it attached to the body, so that current has to flow through the starter case, in to the block, then through those small melting ground wires to the body, on its way back to the battery. Move the cable end to the starter mounting bolt. Your positive cable end looks pretty nasty also. It will give you problems in the future. RockAuto has cheap OEM-style cables.

Without the clips the axle can push in to the diff and probably destroy your side seal. Other bad things could probably happen if it pulls out and binds up. doesn't seem like a good idea. I think I've read of others having problems with clips in the OBX. Can't remember where though. I think that the 280ZXT axles were designed for clips in the diff, so that might be worth a try. Why did you start with clips on the axles? The internal clips are still available from Nissan. http://www.courtesyparts.com/clip-side-p-351272.html

motoman's theory makes the most sense. Take his suggestion first. The big cable from the battery negative post isn't passing the current it should be.

That's what ground wires are for. Follow the wire that burned backward toward the battery. It must be short-circuited, or it's too small for the current it's carrying. Ground wires should have a device or electrical component between the grounding point and the battery or alternator. The component is what limits current flow. Check the wires connected to your starter since it happens when you try to start the car. As for the hand-written wiring diagram you used, it's full of question marks and un-needed wires. Look at the turbo swap threads on this forum and see if you can find better instructions.

Side seal sounds right. I'd get the Nissan part if it's still available. Call your local dealer. Compare pictures if you decide to go RockAuto. http://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsunS30/DatsunZIndex/PowerTrain/DifferentialGear/R200/tabid/1727/Default.aspx http://www.courtesyparts.com/seal-oil-p-351859.html

The relatively clean perimeters of the piston tops is a sign of bad oil rings, I believe. The oil left behind washes the edges clean. A fresh head might run better but things will probably recarbonify pretty quick and oil consumption will stay high. No expert, just testing what I've learned.

Still no picture. I'm going to guess speedometer cable.

johnc also had a good point about mechanically adjusting the rears. They're supposed to self-adjust with parking brake usage but the mechanism tends to get gummed up and stop working. On my car I can tell when I get another notch, because the brake pedal gets a little higher. If the rears are out of adjustment you'll have wasted pedal travel.

The booster has a big effect on effort. When they go bad, the engine idle speed will change when the brake pedal is pressed. The stock brakes actually work well when everything is adjusted right. In other words, it's not normal for a Z to have crap brakes. The brake light isn't tied to fluid level on the Z's (ZX's maybe), it's used to indicate an imbalance between front and rear systems. The light went out because you fixed enough of the imbalance when you bled the fronts to keep the switch centered. Check that the PO didn't put the calipers on the wrong sides also. Bleed valve should be up.

Check your tension/compression (TC) rods. When they break, the wheel can move forward easily, and backward too if the rod comes out of the socket. I broke one and the tire left a nice wear mark on the front inside of the fender well.

Did you remember to remove the chain wedge?

I've seen several small block chevy engines do this after wiping a cam lobe. Might check the mechanicals since the electrical and fuel look right. I've seen it described also, on this forum that the press-fit distributor shaft can spin. Timing verification is a good idea. Checking for a tooth jump on the cam chain is easy enough, using the notch and groove, and the zero timing mark.

Could be the BCDD 10 mph switch.

Sounds like your rotating the crankshaft, sprocket and chain as one, after pulling the sprocket off of the camshaft Take the chain off of the sprocket, rotate the sprocket to the desired hole position independently of anything else moving, put the chain back on the sprocket, carefully turn the camshaft the 4 degrees or so necessary to get the sprocket to line up on the dowel and put it back on. Start the whole operation with the timing mark at zero (#1 piston at TDC) and don't rotate the crankshaft at all. Don't forget to make sure that you're turning the engine the proper way also, when you check for chain stretch. If you turn it backward your marks won't line up right.

It's in there but it just says "Bleed air as follows; Rear wheels --> Front wheels" .

I've wondered about the insulators (retainers) also. I have the open type on my engine now, the kind with the stand-offs that leave the injector body exposed (might be why the fan works for me). It sounds like you might have the enclosed type that look like they would retain heat. One exposes the injector body to radiant heat, the other shields the body from convective cooling. Which is worse? On the manifolds - I wonder if people with headers have less problem since the mass of the header pipes is less than the mass of the factory cast manifold. I am pretty sure it was cgsheen that suggested side-feed injectors would help avoid the problem since they run fuel around or through the body instead of passing it over a supply hose. With our injectors the fuel passes ~2 inches away from the injector body, only convection mixes cool fuel with hot during a prime.

Sounds interesting but you've basically moved on to basic engine parts cooling. My main interest was in the pros and cons of the 72 degree thermostat versus the 82 degree. Basically, is there a trade-off in running one thermostat versus another. I have a fix for injector heat soak, I'm just trying to learn more other stuff, in general. Sorry I can't help but it bothers me just to see pictures of Z's with the hood cracked, let alone drive around that way (no offense to those who do). Plus putting up with all of the people trying to signal me that my hood is open as I drive around.

Might not matter, but that would be 8 mm and 10 mm, most likely.

If you read through the MSD site you'll see that the 6AL is essentially the same as the 6A except for the addition of some rev limiters and internal upgrades. That's why the 6A is NLA. But the external wiring is exactly the same (Page 4 of the instructions for both the 6201 and 6425 is identical). The instructions for the 8910 and the 8921 show that the ignition control used doesn't really matter, it's the tach type that determines which to use. And, for anyone that wanted to dig deeper, it really looks like the 8910 is just a condenser/capacitor in a fancy package, and the 8921 is just a small amplifier. Probably why some people get their early tachs to work by adding a few more loops to the circuit in the tach. You get a stronger magnetic field with more current or more windings. http://www.msdignition.com/instructiondownload.aspx

Start at the link below. You can print the EFEC pages for your Datsun specialist or get a multimeter and do the testing yourself. Good luck. http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/

Do the TPS test at the ECU. Take the plug off, identify the TPS pins and do the test. See what the ECU sees. Then you'll know for sure. New parts may not be communicating properly. Actually, at this point, sitting by the ECU plug with the FSM and a multimeter could find you a solution. At least you can be more confident it's not electrical and spend your time looking at the mechanical things like the various vacuum valves. One off-the-beaten-path possibility is a corroded EGR passage or stuck EGR valve. Full time EGR might cause your symptoms. Doing the ECU tests at the ECU first makes sense though. It's tedious but you'll probably find some things that aren't quite right.

Did the new distributor fix the original, cold start (warm up) problem, or do you have a new problem in addition? Two problems now, or one new one? Have you tested the TVS (throttle valve switch, aka TPS, page EFEC-56) ? The ECU uses it to know if the throttle is at idle, mid, or full throttle. Your two problems seem to fit a TPS issue.