I have a 1978 280z that I've recently put back together after rebuilding the engine, rust work, and paint. I've gotten the car to the point that it has run three times for various lengths of time. The second time running, I timed it and got it as close as possible but ran out of adjustment on the distributor. When it ran this time I had it on for around 25 minutes and with the initial break-in done decided to go for a ride. I made it 1/2 a mile down the road before it died grabbing fourth and wouldn't run afterward. After an emergency tow home, it would briefly fire up for maybe one second and then die. The next afternoon I tested to see if I had fuel flowing to the rail (I haven't tested pressure) and there is definitely fuel flowing while cranking. Knowing this, I tried running it again and it fired right up and idled for about a minute until I pushed the clutch in to back out of the garage where it died and would not restart. At this point, I have done lots of troubleshooting to get it to this point and any help would be greatly appreciated.

 Did you clean the gas tank?

I have not cleaned the gas tank, how would I test If something is clogging the lines?

What do plugs look like?

10 minutes ago, 240260280 said:

What do plugs look like?

Here is a picture of #2 because I don't trust myself to describe it

Try cleaning all plugs with carb cleaner and brass wire brush then see how long it will idle.  If they carbon foul again then you have too much fuel.  There are a few causes. Give it a go then get back to us.

Cap and rotor button new also?  I would double check the wires firing order too.  Running out of adjust on the dizzy sounds suspect to me.

6 minutes ago, siteunseen said:

Cap and rotor button new also?  I would double check the wires firing order too.  Running out of adjust on the dizzy sounds suspect to me.

I had them in the wrong place at one point and the distributor off a tooth at on point but both are fixed now. Yes, the Cap and Rotor are new.

Sounds like possible a fuel delivery issue. Buy a fuel pressure gauge and put it on the fuel line after the filter. Particulates in the fuel can settle when the car is off but then slowly reclog the system after a bit of time under pressure. You’ll be able to watch the pressure gauge and know what’s happening. My 2 cents



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Some history might help us out. How was it running before you tore it apart, etc?

14 hours ago, 240260280 said:

Try cleaning all plugs with carb cleaner and brass wire brush then see how long it will idle.  If they carbon foul again then you have too much fuel.  There are a few causes. Give it a go then get back to us.

I cleaned the plugs this morning and after it fired right up and ran for 10 seconds and died, I could still hear the fuel pump running afterward though.

12 hours ago, rcb280z said:

Some history might help us out. How was it running before you tore it apart, etc?

I drove it around for a few months about a year ago until I checked the oil one morning and had a milkshake because of a cracked head. It needed rust work anyway so I pulled the engine to rebuild while the chassis was away.