70 Cam Guy

They sure are http://www.technotoytuning.com/productdetail.php?p=668 I believe there are even some available at MSA. T3 does make some good parts, I have seen a lot of the AE86 bits. Some other interesting products on their news page http://www.technotoytuning.com/racing/

After cleaning a couple more connections and getting nowhere, I pulled the 'new' alternator out again and went to Pep Boys with it for a test. It failed every test on their machine. So, what I thought was a basically unused bosch reman, was an alternator with a bum ticker. One of my dad's long time customers and our mtn biking buddy works for an auto-electric shop so he'll be able rebuild the ZX alternator I have. As far as I can tell, this is the last thing keeping me from driving this Z

Thanks guys, I'll do some more searching. I'll dig up the old Toy calipers from my parts pile and see which ones I've got. It sounds like the IFS calipers (86+) require the larger wheels. The V6 trucks/4Runners had the calipers with the large pistons. IIRC some of the 85 and older (solid front/live axle trucks) came stock with 14" wheels, or so I've been told. http://www.marlincrawler.com/brake/caliper/v6-ifs-front-brake-caliper

This upgrade requires 15" wheels right? I have a pair of calipers I took off the solid axle I'm mounting under my IFS truck so the cost would be minimal. I just don't want to lose my 14" Wat's yet

Thanks guys, all very much appreciated. I'll let you know how it all turns out when I get some more time I honestly couldn't see anything under the dash that would lead me to believe there are any grounds in there. It's possible there's something behind the kick panels but I wanted to minimize the risk of cracking interior pieces so I didn't touch them. Are there more than the one on the firewall, frame rail opposite starter, and main ground to the starter?

Thanks, I think it has to be something simple like that too. I'll clean the alternator ground connection when I get a chance. The to-do list is clean the alt ground, check the connections again, maybe add a engine>body ground, maybe just replace the battery cables altogether since they're inexpensive. If that doesn't work I'm getting the alternator and battery tested. I really don't want to start throwing parts at a problem, I've never liked going forward without a good diagnosis Even with all this it's nice to have my carbs sorted and synched nicely now. Just trying to see a bright side

I think I'm going to get my battery tested if that's the case. Though I came back tonight after work to tinker some more and still have voltage. It's not draining that much, still over 12 volts. I cleaned the firewall ground with scotch brite and sand paper. I snipped the green ends from the battery ground wire (terminal side), exposed fresh wire and re-secured them to the terminal. I can only find the firewall ground and the ground opposite the starter. As far as I can tell, that's it unless I missed something in the service manual or my inspection. I even went so far as to use my jumper cables from the "BATT" terminal to the battery positive, and the negative to the alternator body. The lamp connection has 12 volts and the diode seems to have voltage on the alternator side. I am starting to wonder if the new alternator is not so good. I reread this thread and plan on trying an engine>body ground. I won't have time to pull the 'new' alternator for a couple days so we'll see how everything goes with the alt test and battery test.

I'll be watching this thread as well. I just used the same article to swap in a ZX alternator thinking my original one was not charging. My friend had an extra that he gave me that is Bosch reman for a 78-80 Z/ZX. I am having the same problem down to the voltage across the battery. 12.1 volts with the head lamps on and 12.35 at idle with nothing else on. No change in voltage when holding engine speed at 2500 rpm. Resistance from alt ground to the firewall ground bolt and battery is 0 ohms, and resistance from the 'battery' terminal to the battery positive and starter positive are all effectively 0 ohms. My fusible link is new from MSA and all of the fuses in the center console read 0 ohms. I have not tried cleaning the body ground (on the firewall) yet but it's worth a shot. I'd like to think I am fairly crafty with a multimeter but this has given me a big headache. I finally get my carbs sorted so it's running good and I can't get anything from my charging system :stupid:

I'll echo everyone else, buy quality for threading. Also use some sort of lubricant when cutting threads and don't forget to break your chips! Removing a broken tap is not an easy task If you're only chasing threads, maybe find some thread chasers. They don't remove material and they help to reform the thread. Hell even a common roll tap might be good if you're only chasing threads. Also called a 'rethreader' http://www.mactools.com/product/tabid/120/p-320459-trmset.aspx These will not cut new threads if that is your intention

You've got a good start, you know the pump runs and the battery ok. Remember electricity follows a path from positive to negative. When the path is broken, the circuit is open and electricity will not flow. Probing for voltage 'backwards' won't harm the meter or do anything bad... it just reads a negative voltage. Check voltage by checking the terminal to ground, not across the relay. In other words, place the red probe on the terminal and the black probe to ground (negative battery terminal or suitable engine/body ground) Continuity is continuous or connected from point A to point B. If it has continuity, the meter will usually beep. Using sblake01's middle scan, placing one probe on pin 91 and the other probe on pin 95 should produce a beep from the meter, or 0 ohms resistance. btw, those are great scans from sblake, I'd check all three of those. Good luck!

I would start by checking all my battery condition/connections, fusible links, relays, and verifying my connections and grounds if they're accessible. You put the reman pump in, has it ever worked or is the new unit inop? You're certain it's pump? (ie no fuel pressure, you can't hear the pump running) According to the wiring diagrams, when you key on, you should see 12 volts to the EFI Main Relay and Fuel Pump Control Relay. The control relay gets input signal from the alternator and/or oil pressure switch after the engine is running. It looks like the Control Relay actuates the Fuel Pump Relay. Diagnosis will be much easier if you have a test light or multimeter. The ignition relay should also click when you key to what looks like 'on' or acc. If I follow the decision tree, simply keying 'on' with the engine off will not run the pump like many newer cars. Here's the service manual http://xenons30.com/reference.html You'll find fuel pump troubleshooting and diag on EF-35. The png I attached is from page EF-16 Without a test light or meter you can put your fingers on each relay when you key to start to feel if they are actuating. I hope this helps, I know electrical can be a little intimidating at first. start with just double checking your connections when you replaced the pump. The connectors should be secure and there should be no corrosion. If the connections are good, check your fusible links, relays and ignition switch. You can take the battery out of the equation by connecting a battery charger, another battery or booster pack if starter cranking is weak. I am assuming this is a crank-no start condition

You have to set the bead on your tires somehow

Good work, I just changed the clutch master and slave on my car. It was much more cooperative than the brake master and wheel cylinder. Do yourself a favor and read up in the FSM (factory service manual). Factory manuals are pure gold when working on the car and doing diagnostic work. http://xenons30.com/reference.html I also have the Haynes and Chilton manuals but the guy selling me the header had them for 10 bucks. Sometimes the factory manuals are too technical for what you need and these are easy to navigate. I have found that sometimes the simplest of tasks are the hardest to locate in the fsm Welcome to your new obsession

If you saw a trailer with a brown 73 about a month ago on 680, that might have been me. There's been a good amount of Z stuff on craigslist lately so it may have been from there. Though not many things are moving on CL the last few months. 101 is the other side of the bay for me and I was still working at 5:15 :stupid:

Stock is a safe way to go if you have smog/emissions testing in your area (regarding your RX7). I have my Civic coupe for daily duties so that is box stock except the satellite radio I installed. Add gas, change oil and air filter, and don't worry about it. With the Z I am much less concerned with gas mileage and the like. I don't know if it's true for the RX7 but stock is reliable and you can take to any good Mazda shop or go to a regular parts house and not worry about ordering the correct replacements.

Welcome! looks like a clean car to start with! Is that your FD? Looks pretty awesome. My friend's shop installed an LS7 with T56 into an FD... owner wanted to go to the moon I think :eek:

Well, learn something new (or many things) every day. I thought you were being metaphorical and I find out it's an actual model. :stupid: I would guess having the original wheels will make it more valuable. My muscle car friend was telling me the original honeycomb wheels that came on the early 70s Trans Am's (that everyone tossed) are now selling for a ridiculous amount of money. His 74 with the 455 HO has them, they look awesome on the car now

Nadaguides.com values for a 78 280Z show a pretty wide range.... Low Retail = $3,300; Average retail = $5,750; High Retail = $9,000 My muscle car friend uses NADAguides when he checks on some of the classic cars, I think they stay pretty current Something I've done in the past is search closed ebay auctions for similar cars and keep an eye on Craigslist to watch local prices

Beautiful car! I love the climate controls on the center consol, you just never see anything like that. How you like shifting with the guide plate there? For a more practical question, how do decide when to drive it? Do you keep it low miles or do you say to hell with it, and drive it like you stole it? That car for me has always been about the rear end profile and tail lights. It looks good driving by but just as hot as you watch it pull away Living in the bay area and having lived in the south bay/silicon valley I have had plenty of opportunity to see and hear the exotics. There is simply nothing that sounds like an Italian V8 or V12 when it's accelerating on an onramp or bombing down the freeway

Sorry I went to Long Beach for the weekend (T.O.R.C Toyotafest). They have square ports. Thanks Arne! It looks like they were a good header and it really does have a thick flange.

Since we're talking about headers, does anyone recognize this? It also came with a nice Y pipe that bolts to the flanges. I bought it from a guy cheap on CL and cleaned it up

hey welcome! My dad restored a '47 Willy's CJ-2A that his dad bought after the war and my best friend has a nice YJ, she had her first flop last month (she's fine and hopefully there won't be any more). I'm doing a solid axle swap on my Toyota truck. The outdoors and off roading are my other love

This is a fantastic article that I've read a couple times now. I don't know if it will help your Z run better but it really improved my understanding of what is happening with static and effective compression. There's also a good section on cam timing. http://www.elgincams.com/campaper.html

Right on, I left a reply there too. I'm afraid tach adjustments are going outside my realm of experience. I like your pictures! I hate to copy you but it's cemented my desire to remove the vertical bumper bars from my car

Cool I'm glad you got it figured out! I didn't know you could adjust the tach. I checked the service manual but it didn't mention anything. Sorry man I'm still learning about these Z's so I'm not sure what you can do with it.