Noobie here needs Fuel pump help!

[FastWoman]

Congratulations! Now tell us honestly, don't you think that EFI L28 is a sweet engine?

[JRSGTS]

Thank you Sarah I honestly do think this is a sweet little motor! It should be especially nice with the later bottom end. After all, I am a sucker for a nice bottom end! . After I sort out the brakes..and exhaust, I can finally drive it. I may have to bleed the clutch also. THEN I'll report how much fun it is! Hopefully it won't be a ping monster as the PO described. Any easy suggestions for exhaust? I'll search here so not to go off topic.

Now to see if Z car source will take back the other distributor...

[Captain Obvious]

I am actually working on this 1976 280Z for a customer of mine.

I'm a little confused here... Who actually owns this car?

You sure seem emotionally attached at this point! :laugh:

[FastWoman]

Motor Sport Auto premium exhaust with a Magnaflow 4" midpipe muffler nestled neatly in the tunnel.

Motorsport! 70-78 Premium Exhaust - The Z Store, Nissan-Datsun 240Z-260Z-280Z-280ZX-300ZX(Z31/Z32)-350Z-370Z Parts

A bit of a rumble at idle, but not uncivilized. It doesn't sound at all like some tooner kid's Honda.

It does sound like the Z is endearing itself to you. They do that. My '75 280 was my first EFI car, and I thought all the Rube Goldbergery on the side of the engine (instead of the carbs) was simply awesome. And the chain drive, flat tappet, OHC valve train? Just plain sexy, in a gearhead sort of way. For me, the joy of the Z isn't the performance. My Miata is more nimble, and so many modern cars will leave a stock Z in the dust. (With mods, though, the Z can still fight very respectably.) But there are very few cars that are as sexy as the S30 Z models. And I've always found my Zs (both of them, owned at different periods in my life) a true pleasure to work on. The Z is an easy car to fall in love with.

Edited January 9, 2014 by FastWoman

[JRSGTS]

It's true I am attached a bit. I do that with all my clients "Baby's" I have to. As we all know our cars are VERY important to us, so I make all of them important to me. This Z and I have been through a lot already, and I plan to see it become a great fun car! Someone else can do the body work though!

Thank you Sarah for the exhaust link! That's exactly what it needs next! I'll be selling the owner on it next. I'm glad you prefaced it with not sounding like a fart canned tuner car. I hate those. Any good 6 cyl. with the right exhaust can sound awesome. This car really needs a system bad! I'm hopefully going to get some brakes on it today, then let the owner drive it. That will get him excited for the next phase! Although it is snowing again...That's ok, haven't been drifting in a while!! I'll keep ya posted as always! JR.

[FastWoman]

Well, in all fairness I should tell you that the exhaust is a bit noisy on initial warmup -- at idle, when it's blowing sort of hard. But then again, my idle is too low on warmup because of a stuck AAR. Hearing this, my uncle commented, "Needs a muffler!" Of course he's used to cars you can't quite hear running. Otherwise, the exhaust doesn't have any of that obnoxious raspiness under load. It just has a low, chesty rumble at idle that smooths out around 1200'ish RPM and above.

My intent with this exhaust system was to try the turbo muffler and to replace it if I couldn't live with it. I can live with it, but I'll probably replace it with a conventional muffler next time around. The midpipe muffler is apparently an essential element for taming this system and getting rid of an annoying drone sound at cruising, and it works great. However, if it were available, my preference would be for the OEM-style exhaust -- maybe a tad bigger, but not much.

I should also mention that the system sometimes needs a bit of tweaking for a proper fit, especially around the transmission. Of course that's where you'll add the midpipe muffler, so you'll be modding the system anyway.

Edited January 10, 2014 by FastWoman

[JRSGTS]

Sounds like it will sound just right. I love Dyno-max mufflers. Have run them on lots of cars. To be clear...I thought it looked like this system eliminated the mid pipe muffler..? That would be preferable to me. Especially if this engine is as high comp. as the PO says. I say, open it up, let it breathe, to hell with the DB's! Besides, the mid-muffler is shot! I don't want to have to use it. No worries about fitment issues, got that. Do I need to make a replacement pipe?

I drove it today!! First time! Down the slushy, salty road! ... I can wash it off right in the shop. Ran pretty good. I think we could still do with some injector cleaning/replacement. I've read here to not get the aftermarket inj. I can get them for under $50 each my cost... I think a fresh set would change everything for the better. I have to sell him on that though. Plus the exhaust he has to have. Translates to another grand + for him.... we'll see.. It was fun to drive though!

I will add a Z to my toy box wish list! For the record it's a long list. The Z will be somewhere in the middle..

Finally having some fun!! Thank you everyone! JR.

[Zed Head]

The middle muffler is for "drone" or resonance. It's actually called a resonator by some, although I think anti-resonator might be more technically correct. People that have drone hate it.

[FastWoman]

If free exhaust flow (hang the noise) is what your customer wants, then you don't need the midpipe muffler. That doesn't come with the exhaust kit. That said, the Magnaflow midpipe is a straight turbo muffler and does not restrict exhaust flow. But it certainly makes the exhaust more civilized. We regularly drive my Z between the coast and Richmond. It's a noisy, but otherwise comfortable car. If I had the exhaust drone added to all the road noise, I think that would tip me over the edge. Just saying!

As I recall, this is the one installed on my car:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/mpe-14416/overview/

[JRSGTS]

So the kit Needs something there. I like the idea of less drone. My truck did that before I added an H pipe. Much better. Drone is real harsh in a small 2 person cab that's 50% Glass, the rest straight steel. Thanks for the tip Sarah. Going to let the owner drive it, and see how far he wants to go next.. Hopefully he's ready for some real fun with it now.

I will let you know! JR.

[JRSGTS]

Any thoughts on reasonable injector replacements? If the aftermarket ones are no good, what do you suggest? I do have access to a professional cleaner, I was thinking about trying. JR.

[sscanf]

My 1976 280Z (which is still a work in progress and not on the road yet but right now I'm just waiting for the salt to leave the road before I register and insure it). When I bought the car, most of the EFI, including the intake manifold and throtle body and all of the exhaust were removed. I decided to set aside the old crusty injectors and install FJ707T (discussed in this thread). I have nothing to compare them to because I never experienced the car running with the old injectors but I can report that the FJ707T work just fine on my motor.

Some details on my FJ707T install can be found here.

Also, FYI, I have the MSA 6-1 header and premium exhaust mentioned above (15-6308 - for 6-1 header). I have to say that it is a little loud for me when I stomp on it, but it idles nicely, and pulls like a demon with this set-up. I will probably add a glass pack to tame it a bit.

Edited January 13, 2014 by sscanf
Forgot something