Bringing a 1977 Z back life

[siteunseen]

Can't you just use water? 

EDIT: I guess you could though, never tried that.

Edited January 3, 2018 by siteunseen

[Av8ferg]

It’s been below freezing all week and I don’t want to damage the block by putting in water alone. 

[Zed Head]

You might just use water for testing then let it run out or drain it when you're done.  

On the fuel, if you don't want to pull the injectors (nobody does but almost everybody ends up doing so) you could disconnect the return line by the filter and let the pump push whatever is in the rail and injectors out in to a container.  See what was in there.  The injectors and their hoses are dead zones in the flow path so after the initial purge you might reconnect everything and let the pump run.  Diffusion will mix the old dead fuel in the injectors with good fuel and it will end up diluted in the tank.  Otherwise, once you get everything electrical working right you'll be shooting old dead fuel in to the cylinders.  Maybe even water.  Another way to power the pump is to remove the AFM cover and move the vane's counterweight, with the key on.  You should a click and then the pump will run.

Or.  You can pull the injectors and rail and give everything a good rinse.

Seafoam has a following.  But it's really just a mix of oil and stuff that burns.  Makes mysterious smoke.  Gasoline is a super solvent.

[S30Driver]

This is an interesting read that may prove helpful to you.   In addition, a through cleaning of all electrical connections in the engine bay will pay dividends.

Good luck, I like the color ....

[Av8ferg]

Thanks all, you guys rock.  I have my marching orders and will report back in a few days.  Here’s my game plan 

1. Clean all electrical connections in engine compartment.  

2. Flush the fuel system, inspect the added (clear plastic) filter and and use that to assess the fuel tank condition,  if debris comes out of the tank, take it to a radiator shop and have them crack it open and clean and refinish. 

3. Check all ignition connections off the ignition switch and reference the wiring diagrams, 

I’ve already ordered a new starter $33

Current temp conditions pending we’ll see how far I get.  BTW I found some old seats from a 75 280z at a salvage yard 90 miles away. $75 for both,   I’ll grab them and some other parts off that 1975 in the yard.  Anything I should look for that’s hard to find in S30’s while I’m there?

[S30Driver]

The combo & turn signal switch would be good to get,  badges if in decent condition, also ash tray.  

If its an AC car and has the original air dryer with a intact, unbroken switch on it,  I'll take it,  cost plus shipping.

[Zed Head]

The AFM and ECU won't be "correct" for the year but they'll work in your car.  Good to have for testing if you find running problems later.  Depends on cost of course.  The combined EFI/fuel pump relay also.  The FPR if it's cheap.  Check the injectors, they might be newish.  Exhaust manifold if you can get it off without snapping the three studs.  Clutch parts - the 225 mm flywheels are NLA now for the most part.  Half-shafts if the u-joints are in good shape and they don't want too much.

If you can pick up cheap parts they're good to have, just in case.  Later, when you need to remove something and break a stud you'll have the replacement ready.  

[Zed Head]

Forgot to mention the distributor.  If the breaker plate bearings are good.  A very common failure, especially when they sit.  You should probably remove and clean your distributor before the little plastic bearing cage breaks.

There are many little things that can be saved with a little preventive work.  Clean the alternator air openings and oil the bearings, for example.  Stuff most of us never did when we first started our old cars.

[siteunseen]

I'd get the whole motor.

Seriously,  the '75 Non emission N42 intake manifold is a shortcut to a clean and simple motor.  If you bought the motor you could rebuild it on an engine stand and take your time, while driving with the current engine.  That's my nutty thinking and why I have a storage building full of Z parts.  Luckily I have an old junkyard close by that has four or five to pull from.

[siteunseen]

1 hour ago, S30Driver said:

The combo & turn signal switch would be good to get,  badges if in decent condition, also ash tray.  

If its an AC car and has the original air dryer with a intact, unbroken switch on it,  I'll take it,  cost plus shipping.

Hey Jim.  PM me a picture of the switch and I will ride out to my JY and see if I can get it off one of those if aviateferg doesn't get one.

Cliff

[Dave WM]

you are going to want to get a pressure gauge hooked up to the fuel rail for testing. the EFI has no feed back like an O2 sensor, it just relies on sensors for things like temp and air flow, based on what it sees it duty cycles the injectors, but since there is no feed back, it does know if the sensors are faulty and creating a mixture problem. So its very important that the ECU sees accurate results. Reading the plugs will quickly tell the tale of the mixture. the cleaning of the connectors and all the ground helps as well. the Temp sensor is the most problematic of the bunch, but easy to test with a ohm meter and a thermometer. Try to avoid the temptation of going right to the AFM, that tends to be the 1st line of attack by many, and in 40 yrs likely to have been cracked open and messed with. Save that for the last thing if the metering does not seem right, if its not been messed with it prob is ok.

Edited January 3, 2018 by Dave WM

[gwri8]

Vacuum lines are also an important part of the EFI.  A big enough vacuum leak can prevent the engine from starting.  Once you get the ignition figured out and while you disassemble/clean the Fuel injectors, replacing the old cracked vac lines would be easy to do.  The ones in the engine bay are obvious and easily replaced and since there is no current interior, now would be a good opportunity to replace the vac lines to the vacuum selector in the dash.