280Z Full Restore in 5 months, hopefully.

[Captain Obvious]

Shoot me a PM if you want to get together sometime and talk Z's, motorcycles and have some craft brews.

Wow. I sure do!

But I'm near Philadelphia...

[rcb280z]

I have read this entire thread in one sitting and once again am thinking of restoring my 1978 280Z. I am the original owner. I have lived in San Diego since 1979. One thing that really bothers me is the smog testing every two years. The car passes but California toughens up the emissions every time I take it in. Reading your posts has me thinking about a lot of issues my old car may have: cracked vacuum lines, clogged injectors, faulty AFM, poor fuel pressure, etc. The car barely cranks in cold or rainy weather and when it does it acts likes there is no fuel getting to it and back fires (sounds like someone hitting the engine with a hammer?) if you touch the gas. Once it warms up, it's like its old self. I put 244,000 miles on the original engine and a Japanese rebuilt long block now has 65,000 miles on it. Anyhow, have you registered your Z with its modified cams, headers, etc in California yet? Did you run into any issues? Shoot me a PM if you want to get together sometime and talk Z's, motorcycles and have some craft brews.

You will NOT be able to smog in most counties in CA if you alter appearance (engine) and performance of any vehicle 1976 and newer. I have a K&N air filter, exhaust header with egr port, and aftermarket exhaust and that is all I can get away with as far as mods go. Anyone with a cam in a 76 and newer Z car will have problems with passing smog. I have never seen a 280 pass with an aftermarket cam. UNLESS its done illegally. It is hard enough to pass smog with the stock set up anyway. Everything has to be in nearly perfect running order. CA has some of the more stringent smog laws out there. I have to make a couple adjustments, which CA frowns on, just to get mine to pass. CA will close down a shop if it is proven to be guilty of "adjustments" to make a car pass. That is why I had to learn how to do it myself. Dont get me wrong here. They are allowed to "fix" your car but it cant be smogged the same day after Failing. There are lots of restrictions. This is how it happens where I live. Maybe a little different in different counties but close to the same. Good luck.

Edited May 10, 2014 by rcb280z

[CG240Z]

I have read this entire thread in one sitting and once again am thinking of restoring my 1978 280Z. I am the original owner. I have lived in San Diego since 1979. One thing that really bothers me is the smog testing every two years. The car passes but California toughens up the emissions every time I take it in. Reading your posts has me thinking about a lot of issues my old car may have: cracked vacuum lines, clogged injectors, faulty AFM, poor fuel pressure, etc. The car barely cranks in cold or rainy weather and when it does it acts likes there is no fuel getting to it and back fires (sounds like someone hitting the engine with a hammer?) if you touch the gas. Once it warms up, it's like its old self. I put 244,000 miles on the original engine and a Japanese rebuilt long block now has 65,000 miles on it. Anyhow, have you registered your Z with its modified cams, headers, etc in California yet? Did you run into any issues? Shoot me a PM if you want to get together sometime and talk Z's, motorcycles and have some craft brews.

Thanks for reading my thread. It gives me enjoyment that others get enjoyment out of it. Once I get it running I'll have to cruise by your place and check out your original Z, try to get it back on the road. This car has been a lot of work and I can't wait to drive it so I can fully enjoy it.

[CG240Z]

Also, as far as smog, this car is not CA legal, nor do I ever plan on making it. I have the military ID in my wallet and I don't ever plan on putting California plates on this car. A very nice perk of the job, because none of my vehicles would pass.

[CG240Z]

Getting the fuel rail installed and hooked up. Simply and clean design, I like it. I soldered all new quick release injector clips onto my harness. Now I know I'm getting a good connection and they are easy to pop on and off.

[rossiz]

looks great - can you read the fp gauge from the drivers seat with it angled off to the right side?

i'm going to be doing a similar setup and have been wondering about that.

[CG240Z]

looks great - can you read the fp gauge from the drivers seat with it angled off to the right side?

i'm going to be doing a similar setup and have been wondering about that.

Unfortunately I can't, I had to stand over top of the engine to see it.

[CG240Z]

So here's where I'm at guys, I need your help. Got the fuel rail put together, good pressure, new injectors, reset the timing to 10 degrees. Few weeks ago I adjusted the valves to the cam's specs, and I adjusted the afm spring. Soldered new quick release connectors to anything with a fuel injector plug, i.e. fuel injectors, thermotime switch, etc. The car is still popping out the exhaust and will won't idle without some help with the throttle. I've also backyard adjusted the timing just by rotating the distributor while the engine is running. I've also messed around with the AFM spring weight while it's running, both with no results. So here is a video of what I'm talking about, not the best since I filmed it at night, but you can hear what I'm saying. I'm open to all ideas.

[CG240Z]

Also what vacuum hose is suppose to go to the end of this? It looks like it helps with idle. I don't think this is stopping my engine from running right, but it can't be helping either.

[rossiz]

sure sounds like timing...

i learned from Blue that the dashpot stays like that, open to the air - it's just to provide a "soft landing" to the throttle when it closes quickly. i had (mistakenly) put a vacuum hose to mine, rendering it useless. he saved me from myself on that one.

[HaZmatt]

Yea mine didnt have a vacuum line on it when it was running.

[CG240Z]

ok good, that's one thing to check off the list.