NewZed

The 1976 280Z doesn't have the priming feature. It came on the later year 280ZX's. And often doesn't work, after all of these years. Take the small wire off of the solenoid and turn the key to Start. The pump will run but the engine won't turn over. It's described in the Engine Fuel chapter of the FSM.

Nissan says that if you run the tank dry you need to prime the pump. Can't remember where exactly I saw that, either the FSM or the Owners Manual. You might jack the back end of the car up to be sure the pump inlet gets a little help, getting a good fuel supply to start pumping. You can run the pump by itself by disconnecting the starter solenoid wire and turning the key to start. The aftermarket pumps don't seem to have that problem but the stock pump might.

Did it run before you bought it? Not much to work on here.

You could search the Internet for feedback on any FAST EFI application, I would think, to learn about how it works. zcardepot just put the parts list together to make it east to apply to the L6 engine. FAST has been around for many years. http://www.fuelairspark.com/

Did the axles still end up angled or did you get them back to perpendicular to the hubs?

Pretty sure that I've read a few accounts of sloppy fit for the R200 axles in the OBX diff. Something to consider. The guy that got MFactory to produce a diff apparently put a pretty good product together. Don't know if they're still available or not. Looked better than OBX though.

They fit just like the 280Z rails except for the cold start valve (CSV) extension. You can probably bend and/or cut to make it work. I've had a ZX rail on my 280Z engine but I just cut the CSV stem off (no CSV) and sealed it with a compression fitting.

+ means the alternator is supplying more power than the system is using. That's normal, and good. - means it isn't, that the battery is supplying the power. Apparently, ammeters, or the big wires that supply them, go bad sometimes. They just burn up. http://www.viczcar.com/forum/topic/15680-mysterious-burnt-out-wires-under-dash/

Many, maybe all, of the 280ZX axles are actually 25 spline. Nissan did some weird stuff. People use the 280ZX axles to convert their 240Z's to CV axles. 240Z's are 25 spline also. Better count to be sure. http://www.zhome.com/rnt/FordPower/HalfShaft.html

It's just one guy, if you look closely, escalating from a few veiled insults. He doesn't post much except to protect his perception of the past. Just ignore. There's a setting if you want to make it easy. You can ignore me or anyone else. Hover your cursor over their name and a new screen will pop up. Click "ignore" and their posts won't show up when you're signed in. I used yours for an example. Good luck with your car.

Do you have a VIN? The collectible 240Z's are going up in price. Might be worth a quick buy for somebody to restore to its 240Z state.

You shouldn't be trying to use John Coffey's reputation to improve yours. It's just wrong. He would not be doing what you're doing now. If he had strong opinions he just stated them without the snide personal comments that you use. As a moderator he'd probably be shutting you down in this thread. You're comments are not of John Coffey quality, in any way. Try to stand on your own, if you can.

Wasn't John Coffey building a rally car?

Today's "nano" technology is pretty amazing...

Thought that somebody would have had an opinion by now. You never said what clutch setup you're using now so nobody can really choose a "better" one. Nothing to compare to.

Beware of the stuff that will vaporize from whatever you're using, when the inside of the car gets really hot. It will redeposit on your windows. You'll be cleaning the windshield every other day if you get the wrong materials. Many paints and caulks and filling compounds use plasticizers to make them soft and/or spreadable.

All of this talk about single ground points - engine block, intake manifold, battery negative, etc., whatever - as single points, is pointless. It's the complete circuit that matters. Just be sure that whatever it is that you're powering (and by powering I mean current flow), has a good clean low resistance circuit. It's a circle. If you think in terms of a circuit, then things like your injectors, and the ECU, and your AFR gauge, and your O2 sensors, and your alternator power circuit, and your battery charging circuit (which should be thought of independently of the starter power circuit although the wires might be in the same places), etc., will all make more sense. You can have a fantastic, clean, large gauge wire ground to the intake manifold but if the manifold is not tied well to the block or the alternator of the battery or wherever you decide the current needs to start from and end at, then the perfect excellent contact with the intake manifold won't matter. You have to work out the complete circuit. I think that much confusion is caused by the age-old practice of attaching the alternator power lead to the starter power lug, and the negative cable to the starter close to it. The starter cables are so big that they draw all of the attention.

Blades spinning doesn't mean air flowing. Take some time to study/understand heat flow and how the radiator radiates and you'll see why low air flow is the likely cause. It's called a "radiator" because it disperses/radiates heat in to the air around it. Ideally the heated air leaves. With the heat it absorbed. If it doesn't leave fast enough it gets hot and won't absorb as much heat. There's a time element involved. At speed, on the freeway for example, more air flows through the radiator and the fans are useless. The hot air has to get out of the engine bay also.

Focus on air flow. Bad fan clutch, or intercooler blocking radiator flow.

Don't overlook that when the engine is running and the alternator spinning that the bulk of the current is actually flowing through the alternator circuit. The battery is actually a low current draw. So it's the alternator charge wire and ground that might be most important. The battery is often thought of as the primary power source but when the car is in use, it's not really.

http://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsun/Z-1969-1978/power-train/transmission-control/4-speed

Pretty sure it's just a round pin that locks the striker rod in place. Any hardware might have one that will work. Length is not too important either.

Does "moved through all gears fine" mean that you turned the input shaft and saw the output shaft move, in each gear? Or did you just move the shift lever? If you did swap all of the parts, from flywheel to throwout bearing, and the bearing sleeve, the it seems like you've either jammed the pressure plate open somehow or the transmission is broken internally. I'd pull the rubber boot off of the clutch fork, look inside, and wiggle the fork to make sure that the throwout bearing sleeve is loose on the nose of the transmission. There should be play where the fork sits on the TOB sleeve. You might need a mirror or a camera to get a look since you're head probably won't fit close enough to see inside, and you'll probably want to disconnect the slave cylinder rod. If the pressure plate is applying pressure to the disc and the disc is splined to the input shaft then the input shaft has to turn. If it's turning then the output shaft has to turn when the trans is in gear. Are you sure that you din't leave the clutch disc out? That would make everything look normal but not work.

Here's where the stink got big. I cleared up more about his problem in a few posts than he did in the whole thread. He's blowing up a simple problem in to a huge deal. He should have been able to tell them exactly what was wrong after the first fitting. Take a few measurements before putting it all back together and confirming 'binding". Take some responsibility for part of the problem. To screw up the basics of working with a machine shop, then call me "ignorant' is just too much. This is very basic Machine Shop 101 stuff. Child's play, if they had machine shop classes in grade school. I was just taking the other side to see what's what, but TZS showed what's happening with the "ignorant' comment. If I was DSS I'd give him his money back and say good riddance. Even if they get it right he'll probably screw something up and blame them for it.

I responded to what you communicated in your writing. The ignorance is yours. You said the dust cap, or ridge in this case, contacted the strut casting. Therefore, if it is removed it cannot contact it anymore. Because it's not there anymore. Pretty simple and basic. If that is not the case, then we're stuck with your poor communication. You seem like one of those nightmare customers. Poor communication, maybe due to a lack of understanding, then throwing insults when people question your lack of knowledge or ability. Good luck.