spikeyamir

Well, I dont have any aircraft but I do have a few trinkets in the ol' car hole. 1950 Chevy Fleetline Deluxe 1976 280Z 1974 VW beetle 1973 Fiat 850 Spyder I have a soft spot for rear engine cars. After owning a 64 Ford Fairlane, my Z is my first truly powerful car. Still regret selling the ford though...

Thanks a bunch guys. Just wanted to make sure everything looked ok.

I followed the FSM for installing the distributor/oil pump shaft and it matches the position and picture in the manual. when i put the distributor in and put the rotor on it seems to be in between two spark plug wires. the engine is set at TDC and i just want to make sure that this is where the rotor is supposed to be pointed at TDC. also, should the #1 spark plug wire be the one on top of the rotor in this position or just below it? Thank you much.

Absolutely. Thanks again.

Thanks Jeff for the info on this setup. I will definitely go get the thickness and flatness checked out this week. I was hoping to get this car finished before my next semester in college but I'd rather do it right the first time and not have things go south on me later. Thanks everyone for the help and all your knowledge. Much appreciated. Oh, just out of curiosity and if things don't work out and I have to ditch the flats, are the stock dish pistons for the 280Z 86mm also?

So you think keeping that head/block combo is ok as long as I use higher octane fuel, say 93 octane? As for the injectors, it had them, but I got me some SU's and was gonna put those on. Will this combo still be ok for the SU's? I was thinking about the P79 head but I saw none at my local yard.. :-( Thanks so much for all the help and insight.

Well this isn't good. I don't know why I didn't realize this before. I have an F54 block and it has an N47 head... There is no way I can run this combination without dire consequences is there..? So lets say, to avoid severe detonation, if I change from flat tops to dished running the same combination block/head, I should be getting 8.3:1 CR. That CR isn't too bad is it? Just a daily driver. Does that seem like a good idea? eep.

Well, as far as I know it wasn't boosted. Everything looked bone stock when I got it. The rest of the pistons look great. No scoring or anything. One thing odd though, the cap at the connecting rod end of that piston was on backwards. Don't know if that would have done anything. Obviously the engine has been worked on before... As far as the piston, whenever I go to a parts store, they only have the "dished" pistons for my car. I have a 76 and it has "flat top" pistons. Another thing, I just got back from the junk yard after pulling 2 heads, one a 75 and the other a 78 just to discover that they both had "dished" pistons! Am I missing something here or aren't these years supposed to have the flats? Best place to get the stock diameter flat top pistons? I only need one. Agh, this project is dragging... thanks.

I never expected to see this when I pulled it out. I knew I had a dead cylinder but I wouldn't have guessed it this bad. What could have caused this carnage? All the PO told me was "yeah, she misses a bit..." Ya think?! Anywho, luckily the cylinder isn't scored bad at all and I was planning on changing out rings and honing the cylinders anyway. You should have seen the nice surprise when I looked at the bottom of the oil pan! So any guessing as to possible reasons? Maybe there is something that I'm missing that might cause this to happen again. Thanks!

I can't seem to find it. Is it an inline fuse? If so, either it was ditched by the PO or I'm just not seeing it. Anyone know where it is located in the car? It's a '76 280Z. Also, is this fuse a single fuse powering several things? It seems to be in several diagrams that indicate it powers several gauges and warning lights. Gracias.

Makes sense to me now Nissanman. So based on this I'm assuming that the Hazard switch doesn't have anything to do with the ign. relay as it does work... Also I noticed that when I turned my turn signals on I hear a single little "click" from the flasher relay. I guess I'm getting that ign. relay after all... Thanks for the help everyone.

Browsing through the FSM (thanks bigoak) I found some troubleshooting info that I attached below. Considering that my Z DOES indeed start and run could it still be the ignition relay? It says if your gauges, along with turn signals, don't work, to replace the ignition relay... Hmm.

So, this has taken a very different turn than I expected. I think my fuses are ok. What could be the issue with my gauges, tach, and turn signal lights? Doesn't the hazard switch work off the same relay as the turn signal switch on the steering column? If so then why do the turn signal lights work with the hazard switch but not with turn signal switch? I've only got experience on old VW Bugs and had to do this on my 74 Bug. This one's a bit trickier it seems... Wow, sounds like I've got my work cut out for me. Thank you for all the help and responses. I'll have to do some hunting tomorrow with a test light. Any help with possible places to look would help greatly. THANKS!

Duh... yes, the top two are for headlights and sure enough, they work. So, that leaves the little guy on the bottom. Could that have something to do with the gauges I wonder...? I'm patient...

Thanks for the quick response. You said the top two were for the headlights? Hmm, I think both my headlights work well. Let me go double check... Thanks again!

I just finished retrofitting my 76 280z with SU's and it starts and runs great! Only problem is that my gauges don't work. The turn signals also don't work although the hazard switch does. I did some reading and searching through the forum and found some very helpful information but I just can't seem to find the problem. I looked at the fuses and three spots aren't getting current. I attached two pics with yellow boxes around the locations on the box that have no current. I have tried tracing those wires and can't find what they go to. If anyone could help me identify these wires and/or tell me what I could try I would appreciate it. I'm trying to get the manual that everyone around here is talking about but money is kinda tight right now (college student). Again any help would be greatly appreciated.

just to make sure... i still need the ECU but i can remove the wires that come from the injectors, correct? you guys rock my socks. :rambo: thanks abunch!

So, I've been doing a lot of research on the conversion from FI to SUs and I know that this is no longer an option but a necessity. The FI system on my Z was badly neglected and would cost WAY to much to get back going. My only question left is what to do with the wiring for the injectors after the swap? I have a 76 280Z. Will there be any electrical issues to take care of in switching from FI to SUs when it comes to the removal(?) of the FI wires? Im guessing that this car has an ECU controlling the injectors? I just got this Z a while ago and it's a neglect nightmare. Surprisingly the body and frame are in good shape and there is very little surface rust. Any help and advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I have a question about the wiring to the injectors. Do I just get rid of it? and how. I've read all of the posts about the switch from FI to the SU's and haven't read anything about what to do with these wires. I just dont want to do something wrong. Sorry for the dumb question. Thanks.