NewZed

Look in Engine Fuel of the FSM for a description of how the thermotime switch works, what it's for and how to test it. It's only purpose is for easier starting.

Get a used one. That might be a point of discussion though, a mismatch between cam and rocker arms. Not sure, but I don't think the rocker arms are as sensitive as the lash pads. I think that I've read accounts of swapping cam only, with no issues. But, your whole thread is mainly about peace of mind anyway. In the end, you're probably looking at about the same cost and effort to fix the spray bar and reinstall it on a cam that might already be damaged and dying, versus installing a used cam that might not like the rocker arms, and die. Those spray bars are difficult to find, but a local wrecking yard might have one. They're used up to late 77 on all of the L6s, 240 through 280. Edit - here's what will probably happen - you'll find an old Z car or engine, take the valve cover off and there will either be a usable spray bar or a usable internally oiled cam. That's when you'll have to decide.

I just re-hosed 6 injectors using 5/16" (7.9 mm) Gates 225 psi (that was the rating, I don't know where it would ever be seen) FI hose from Baxter Auto. They're installed, with about 100 miles of running on them, no signs of leakage or weepage, not even the smell of gasoline with my nose right over the fitting. No clamps on the injector side, just the barb and ferrule (if that's the proper name). They went on nice and tight, with a good bulge at the barbs. 1/4" (6.3 mm) seems a little tight, that puts more strain on the hose, which could lead to earlier cracking with age, but would probably be fine with good quality hose, if you can get it jammed on to the barbs. I've seen 7.5 mm printed on what looked like factory hose. That's probably the ideal, design size, since these are metric devices. A little too tight or a little too loose, or search around and probably pay more money for 7.5 mm hose.

Couldn't the OP just get an internally oiled cam, block the spray bar holes and live happily ever after? Less chance of ground up cam debris in the oil. Seems odd, but the L24 and the L28 used the same cam, according to the atlanticz info. I think that the internal oiling came around in late 77 with the N47 head.

Thanks for taking away the feeling of security I used to have, riding around on E, knowing that there was still 4-5 gallons in the tank.

http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/cam/index.htm If you find that it's a stock cam, you can download the FSM and look in Engine Mechanical for the valve lash specs. Your cam lobes will most likely die if you don't fix the spray bar.

You've probably seen them, and I don't know if he has design specs in them, but if you search "throttle bodies" under the username Derek you'll get three threads that might help.

I think that laser is used to help set the pinion shaft parallel with the transmission output shaft. You may have got lucky and your pinion shaft and output shaft are on the same center line, or you might be able to get better results with a little more adjusting. If you can put the laser on the center of the transmission output shaft and it points back at the center of the pinion shaft, then they're on the same center. Otherwise, you want to adjust until you get the same offset pointing backward as frontward. Point the laser backward and measure offset from the pinion shaft center to the laser line, move the laser to the back and point it forward and measure offset from the output shaft center to the laser line. Adjust until the offsets are the same, both up and down and side to side. That will give equal and offsetting movement of the front and back u-joints, nullifying the vibrations. That's my understanding.

11 - 12 gallons is typical for a fill on my 76 if I let the gauge get down close to E. The capacity is only 17 1/8 gallons. The fuel pickup starts sucking air on hard left turns when the gauge reads ~1/4 full so I get about 12 gallons on every fill, filling up with ~4- 5 gallons still in the tank. The needle tops out above F after a fill. The needle also drops fairly normally to 1/2, sits there for a long time, then drops rapidly. Needle position doesn't really tell much about how much gas is left in the tank. Why do you say that the gauge works perfectly? You could check how much you really have after a fill by siphoning and draining the tank dry if you wanted to know for sure.

http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/electrical.htm http://xenons30.com/reference.html Buy a volt/ohm meter. Even a cheap Harbor Freight unit will be better than guessing.

The 79 ZXs had the older 5 speed, with the 3.321 first gear. Probably why they came with the 3.364 or the 3.7 rear, but not the 3.9. Just to confuse things even more.

By "long stop" do you mean coasting to a stop? Is it your foot on the brake pedal when the high idle happens? Does the idle drop when you take your foot off the brake, and does it go back up when you press the brake again? Could be the brake booster. But more details would help the diagnosis.

Should have mentioned also, that the 5 speed the 3.9 came with had a 3.062 first gear ratio in the ZXs. The 4 and 5 speeds that the 280Z with a 3.54 came with had a 3.321 first gear. So it also matters which 5 speed that you have. Lots of possible combinations out there.

If you're talking about the blob or orangy colored stuff on the end of the can, that's just the factory seal of the adjustment hole. It's stock. The thermotime has two wires to a two wire EV1 plug, and looks jsut like the water temperature sensor plug. Don't get them mixed up. The temperature sensor for the gauge is one wire, maybe that's what you're looking at. Unplug it and see what the temperature gauges does. The resistor in line with the water temperature sensor circuit is a fairly common old time way to richen the mixture. It makes the engine temp look colder to the ECU, which then adds gas. It seems to pop up a lot on 78s for some reason. I have a 76, that seems to run on the rich side, but the ECU, AFM, block and head are all essentially identical to the 78, so the whole thing is kind of unclear to me. But several people have found them on their 78 cars. Maybe there was a rogue mechanic out there in the past, installing resistors on every Z he worked on.

Whether you have a 4 or a 5 speed matters also. The 3.9 typically came with the 5 speeds, the 3.54 typically had a 4 speed or automatic.

I was just pointing out the recommendations a for stock Nissan engine. Hence the trailing "For whatever it's worth". The PO said he's doing a stock rebuild. Since Nissan wrote the Owner's Manual for the domestic market, I assume that they meant whatever standard was used in the USA in the 70s, but were probably erring on the side of caution, like they did with their timing specs. From what I've gathered, fuel quality is so variable around the country that the PO won't really know until he drives it. So he'll just have to gather as many facts as he can and make an educated guess on what might work and how much risk he wants to take. Don't forget to factor in 15% ethanol if you're in Oregon.

If you use tiny tires with the 3.54 you can get the same overall ratio as with the 3.9. Edit - actually, they don't have to be tiny. There's not a ton of difference between them. 3.54 - higher top speed, 3.9 - quicker (more acceleration from a stop).

Automatic?

The octane rating specified by Nissan for the stock 8.3 CR L28 in the 280Zs is 91. Are you planning your build for the capability to run low octane gas? If you're doing a stock rebuild, the octane rating specified is probably in the Owners Manual for the year of the engine. For whatever it's worth...

The GR-2 is called Excel-G now - http://www.kyb.com/service/color.php I don't have much shock experience, I've only experienced stock shocks (oil-submerged inserts in the strut tubes), one of which was blown and bound, and the KYB GR-2/Excel-Gs that I replaced them with. The KYBs are much better. I don't really notice them, which seems like a good thing, no urge for something better. It's a street only car. My car is also lowered about an inch and a half on cut springs, with no problems. The ride is firm and they take the bumps well.

Tsk, tsk. All of these facts in the first post and you could have had all of the answers in post #2. You might be able to derive it using the measurement given and the photo. Take the ratio. You'll have to estimate the camera viewing angle. You can even see where the seal rode.

With the regulator unplugged, the power to the windings in the alternator is gone. No power means no magnet means no charging. If you got 17 when it was plugged in that means the alternator works. You most likely have a break in the wire that tells the regulator what the voltage of the system is at any point in time (the current voltage, no pun intended). In an internally regulated alternator it would be the S wire. I don't know which wire it is in the external system. The FSM has a good description of how the external regulator works and, I believe, describes which of the wires to the regulator is the one that should be connected to battery voltage. It also has a test procedure for determining if the regulator is working correctly. It porbably has the typical bad/good test and a more involved test and adjustment procedure. You should go through the tests in the FSM and report the results back to the group so there will be something concrete to work with. You will probably find one wire that is dead when it should have battery voltage.

Here's what they look like - http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/14037N36 Don't know why MSA calls them "spacers", maybe because they span the space between the manifolds. Even the pros are confused.

I haven't seen this noted before but wouldn't the 60 - 90 psi of a stock EFI unregulated pump crush the floats in the Holley? Just a thought, there may be more work to do if he's got the EFI pump on. Just noticed that the OP has been driving this around like this, with the intake half-bolted on and the Holley pouring fuel in to the manifold leaking on to the hot headers, revving to high RPM. It's got to catch fire eventually.

Follow the flow path of the gasoline from the filter through the lines to where ever it ends. It doesn't flow through the intake manifold. You're missing the clamping washers. Each stud or bolt holds between the intake and exhaust splits its clamping force between them. It's probably not idling because you have a huge intake manifold vacuum leak. You have quite a bit of work to do to get things right. If you've been trying to run it with the gas leak and the vacuum leak, you're on the edge of an engine fire. Lean backfires and gas fumes are a bad blend. The pictures are better, at least they are equally gigantic. Good luck.