NewZed

You were on the right track with this comment. Apparently the ignition system is working and the coil is creating enough energy for a spark. But it's not being distributed by the distributor. It has to be going to ground somewhere. Make sure that the path from the coil wire through the distributor cap, to the rotor, from the rotor tip across the gap to the individual electrodes and down the wires to the plugs is there, and not shorted to ground along the way. A simple start would be with an ohm-meter, measuring from an electrode inside the cap to the tip of the spark plug, and from electrode to ground. There should only be continuity to the spark plug tip.

Your swap will be very similar to what's described here, except no turbo - http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/38461-240z-260z-280z-turbo-swap-guide/ The 240Z small fuel line issue can probably be found with searching. The high volume/pressure EFI pumps will apparently develop enough back pressure on the return line to increase your fuel pressure, making it uncontrollable by the FPR, so that's a valid concern. Read through the L-Series forum in the FAQ/Powertrain section for more general EFI L6 information. - http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/forum/90-l-series/

Not for this thread...

Y'all should read some of those threads about boost pressure versus air flow. The pressure measured (boost) is essentially back-pressure or resistance to flow. Flow allows power and pressure increases flow, but flow probably does not increase with pressure linearly, in most cases.

The L Series engine forum is difficult to find for some reason but here's a link - http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/forum/90-l-series/

Swap the VR wires? Maybe your VR voltage pulse is backward.

You mentioned lots of blue smoke with a fuel rich smell, in the first post. Have you pulled a plug or two right after it won't start? It sounds like it's flooding, and it takes a day to dry out. Check your CHTS, if it's not working or disconnected, you'll end up with too much fuel.

Since it's okay to muddy this thread up I might as well throw in two plugs worth. On a completely stock 1976 280Z EFI engine I found that having plugs 3 - 6 all indexed between 10 and 2, and plugs 1 and 2 at 7 o'clock and 5 o'clock, respectively, gave a poor and rough idle. Getting 1 and 2 indexed between 10 and 2 also, smoothed the idle out dramatically. This is with NGK BPR6ES-11 plugs. I was surprised that indexing had a big effect, but it was real and noticeable. I only put the effort in because my engine's idle just doesn't seem as smooth as it should be, even with essentially identical cylinder pressure numbers and all new tuneup parts. And a couple of side notes - projected tip plugs really do increase the tendency to ping/knock/detonate, requiring retarding the time a few degrees. And the batch firing seems to give a different idle depending on which sets of two cylinders each start the injection cycle. Stopping and restarting the engine can clear up a bumpy idle. Just wanted get that out there while the details were fresh...

Do you mean the shock absorber inserts themselves? Are you just looking for the travel or a point to point dimension? Which points? I have a couple of old rear replacement inserts and the original style (oil bathed) fronts out in the garage from a 76 and 78.

The diagrams are in the FSMs and the FSMs are available for free download at the xenons30 and xenons130 web sites.

These old ECUs don't have the "limp home" mode that the newer computers do. They're primitive. Have you measured fuel pressure with the engine running? Fuel flow doesn't tell you much. Your problem sounds more like it's fuel related, with the lack of high RPM power, the dying and the backfiring. By the way, I think that your 1977 280Z is supposed to have 188 cc injectors. Are you running non-stock injectors or is that a typo?

I'm curious about what you heard about the MSA rebuilt AFMs. What did you hear and who did you hear it from? There aren't that many sources for rebuilt AFMs. MSA'a are actually rebuilt by Fuel Injection corporation, whoever that is.

The AFM, in general,is supposed to match the ECU. The ECU takes the voltage returned from the AFM to determine injector open time. I don't know if the Nissan engineers actually changed the potentiometer circuit or the spring tension or the shape of the air flow channel between the various AFM numbers, so couldn't say what the difference is between those two AFMs. Some AFM numbers appear to be the same AFM in function, except for small differences like the fuel pump contact switch. But there might be bigger changes that cause problems like you're having. The ECU and AFM inputs and outputs are kind of mysterious. You might get more ideas if you gave some history on the car. Did it run with the "wrecked" AFM? Has it ever run? Can you put the old one back on and get it to run? Things like that.

What year car? Why did you buy A31-625-000 if yours was A31-601-000 (or vice-versa, can't tell which is old and which is new from your description)? The backfiring sounds like what mine was doing when I had a bad AFM.

1978 used the same ECU so the AFMs are probably not that different. Maybe Nissan tuned the spring tension differently for emissions or use with EGR. I had a 1978 with AFM # A31-604-000 and the same A11-600-000 ECU that my 1976 had. There are only a few circuits in the AFM, the potentiometer circuit that tells the ECU how much air is passing through, the air temperature sensor and the fuel pump contact switch. Getting the right parts together is a worthy goal but "running rich" is a common problem and has many causes. You might check the other reasons for running rich before you go too far though. Fuel pressure control, temperature sensors, TPS adjustment, etc. Here is a thread from classiczcar that tells a story - http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?42574-MPG-timing-fuel-and . He had a similar dilemma. 1975-1977 are your best candidates for finding the right AFM part number. Check the glue blob under the cover to see if it's been tampered with. It's very common for people to get inside and muck around with the spring tension for "tuning" purposes.

That is the right ECU number for 1976. What is the number for your current AFM? It might not be mismatched for the ECU. For example, Nissan changed the part number for 1978 AFMs to show no fuel pump contact switch but but some of them still have the parts. 1978 has the same ECU number, but a different AFM number. What problem are you trying to solve?

What is it that "goes away" when you shut the car off, after letting it run for a while? I saw your other post, which is more descriptive since you say that you have spark. If you have spark, and the engine turns over, and it ran just a few seconds earlier, then fuel would be the place to look. Do you have fuel pressure on the second try, and are the injectors firing?

There's a diagram in the FSM.

PCV system connected (crankcase to intake) or blocked off? Taking the oil fill cap off opens up the PCV system to atmosphere. No response when you remove the cap implies that it's already open.

Page FE-4 in the FSM has a pretty good diagram.

There's not that much stuff in the transmission tunnel. You could follow it out and see where the other end is.

Most of the auto parts stores have loaner tools. Pay a deposit, use it, return it, get your money back. I've seen the brake line flaring kits at O'Reillys.

Sounds just like dirty battery terminals. They get enough corrosion between the battery and the connector to either heat up and break the connection or not. Easy to clean and check.

The answers to most of your questions are in these forums somewhere. The Search function is free. This site is popular and one of the originals for the V8 swap - http://www.jagsthatrun.com/

The original poster's question doesn't match the title of his thread. He asked about everything, but only titled about control arms. 1975 is a 280Z. 1972 is a 240Z. There is quite a bit of difference for most of the components. Read #6 in this thread for a short summary - http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/101070-easy-r200-clsd-question-about-axles/page__pid__947746#entry947746