70 Cam Guy

This is the link I used to help in my ZX swap. I have a 240 but the instructions are more detailed for a 77. It's probably worth a look... http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/distributor/index.html hope this helps!

Thanks Arne! These are definitely old school cool

Actually got mine on Friday but it's been a very busy few days. The mount looks great, very beefy. It reminds me of the rock crawling stuff I order. I will likely not get to installing this until after I tackle my coil overs and bushings. I don't anticipate any problems with the RT mount. Thanks Dave!

Also make sure your throttle return springs are in the correct spot. I swear I look but I have done it twice where I put the spring for the front carb on the idle-up arm.... not a good spot for it. Also make sure the linkage tie rod is not keeping your throttle open (balance tube to center linkage). Maybe pop off one of the ends and make sure. Aside from a good visual, the vacuum leaks are another good place to look. I have had good luck with carb clean. Everything is connected properly? Brake booster hose, balance tube tight, etc

The platform perches are included in the Ground Control kit from what I've seen. It's just another way to install the sleeve

You know, if you were in Richmond California that would be a real risk Thanks Dave, the production part looks beefy I told my friend about this but he's too broke right now. He just bought everything T3 makes for the S30 except the rear end conversion. Coil overs, camber plates, fr/rr control arms, caster rods, etc, etc, blah, blah :eek:

hm since your intake is an FI manifold I'm not sure the best way to do it. With my gasket and studs ready, I placed my header and intake on the studs. I left my balance tube snug but not tight so it would allow the manifold halves to tighten flat against the head. I started all the nuts/washers and got them all snug. I torqued everything in stages so I was certain the torque was even. I did not install my heat shield and carbs until I finished torquing the manifold and header. If your heat shield is anything like mine, it blocks most of your access to the exhaust studs.

You can count me in, this looks great. Your fab guy looks like he does great work. Deburred edges, clean bends, clean TIG welds. This coming from someone that was a QE at my last job, inspector before at the same company, and worked for a machine shop during school. Being a QC inspector can ruin the fun sometimes because after a while, you just notice everything. My friend showed me a ring her bf gave her and I asked her about a flaw that I figured she'd noticed. She hadn't even seen it... I felt like such a jack a** :stupid:

The couple hard-to-get-to nuts I had to use a 1/4 drive universal on an extension. Obviously not ideal with a torque wrench but it was the only way to truly control how tight the nuts were. I actually used an inch-pound torque wrench that was 1/4 drive. I understand not everyone has access to an inch-pound torque wrench but it was much easier than a larger torque wrench I can understand you had to put the carbs on to see how they look but it will be much easier to torque everything with those removed. btw, looking great

On my '73 I am pretty certain my thermostat housing is 1/2" pipe (or similar, and definitely way to big to be 1/4 NPT). Reason being I removed a pipe plug from a junk LT1 water pump and it threaded into my housing by hand until taper prevented further tightening. I went "sweet!", wrapped the plug with teflon tape, restarted the plug by hand, and tightened. In my experience, a different TPI would not allow for tightening by hand or anything else. It's been installed and sealed since I did the header in early September. Maybe something subtle changed in 73? I really don't know, I'm feeling like I got away with a ghetto fix :stupid: Thinking a little more, did the 72's have EGR? The water lines on the 73 go to both the EGR and intake manifold. Maybe they changed to 1/2 NPT to allow for more volume/flow

Originally, all of my intake studs had the flat washers. The very front, the very rear stud, and the 3 middle exhaust studs used the normal washers. The only places for the thick washers are where the exhaust and intake are siamesed on a single stud. I believe the odd stud is for the very rear stud because the engine sling is mounted on that stud. I re-used my stock washers because my header flange is as thick as the intake flange. The threads on my head were a little dirty and the M8 tap grew legs and disappeared on me so I used the double nut method to install the studs using a little anti seize.

You replaced the injectors along with the o-rings? Why do the injectors too? You should try and repeat his test with the carb clean. Be as precise as you can with the spray to isolate the vacuum leak. If you can't locate another vacuum leak, double check your connectors to be sure they are all secure on the injectors and the coolant temp switch. I'm not intimately familiar with the 280 fuel injection, are there any other sensors that are temperature feedback for the ECU? Is there a cylinder head temp sensor or anything? I have never tried a propane torch to look for vacuum leaks but it could work. It might be tough to tell exactly where the leak is I can see logic why it's running smooth at first start. The cold start runs the car rich until the coolant temp warms up, then it leans out. Then you get the idle problems you're experiencing because the air leak creates the lean misfires.

It depends on your emissions requirements. In California, removing/plugging the EGR would fail visual but that may not matter where you are. The tube looks like something that can be made with the right tools. You may even be able to fix that again if you clean the weld and sleeve it/re-weld the break. A simple butt weld would probably crack again (like it did when you removed the tube). The bolts are original on the intake side. I went with the MSA studs because I wanted new exhaust studs and I read it made installing the intake much easier

Wish I could help with the ride height. Pure speculation but maybe one of the insulators settled more than the other side? Maybe the springs need to settle some more? The car is looking really good! I am diggin the 14s! Those are definitely old school cool. I have 205/60R14 on my car. If I can swing it, I'll be getting a set of 16" Fortran wheels. They are total old school Japanese wheels and pretty hard to find.

Cool, glad it worked! You can still upgrade your brakes, but now you have more time I hate being forced into upgrades even when I want to do them...

Red loctite usually requires heat to remove the fasteners (sometimes not). I do not recommend thread using thread locker on studs. I have only ever seen and installed studs finger tight until they bottom out. I believe there is a Saab somewhere out there that takes 30 ft-lb's on studs but you need the cam lock stud remover tool. It would be a nightmare to remove studs if they have loctite Anti seize helps prevent galling of the threads and the corrosion that binds/locks the threads together. This is why it's used on spark plugs. You can use it on water pump studs, and Honda even put it on my wheel studs. Manifold torque in the '73 FSM is on page EM-33 (5.8 - 8.7 ft-lb's)

While I didn't need the ztherapy treatment, a good pair of carbs will fire right away (once the bowls have fuel). I would verify base settings but base settings should get you going. Synching will be needed on any new set of carbs. After fighting a pair of leaky carbs, a nicely sealed set is so nice. Air leaks around the throttle shafts will have you pulling out your hair guaranteed.

I have to agree with E, use your eyes and maybe nose to look for anything apparent. To answer your question about the meter, the resistance may not be overload but it should have some value. I'm honestly not sure how to test the ammeter for function. I imagine it will have a resistance as most components would.

Before disconnecting the line to blow air, try unscrewing the bleeder completely to make sure the orifice isn't clogged. I have seen debris and corrosion close off the bleeder hole until you remove the bleeder. If your pedal is really soft, it does sound like it needs to be bled. You've probably already done so but make sure you're not losing fluid from the wheel cylinders or caliper pistons. With a pocket screwdriver or dental pick, carefully pull back the dust boots and check for fluid. As long as you're not losing fluid from the flex hoses, you should be able to get the system bled if there are no other leaks

If you fried your fused link, the wire from the starter into the thick wire harness, something has shorted to ground. I would no recommend using a jumper in place if there's a short. If you were jiggling a wire, and the fusible link blew at the same time, I might start looking there. If insulation has melted or worn away and wires cross, this could be a source for your short. I have used these sites for help with my car. http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/ The electrical section has a tips link, which is actually pdf instructions for a multimeter. If you really want to familiarize yourself with automotive testing, that may be a good place to start. You have a good project if you were seeing smoke under your dash. The burned wires will need to be identified and fixed. It may be a matter of identifying which wires are supposed to have voltage but have continuity to ground. White wire with a red stripe on our cars are power wires. If you get continuity to ground or zero resistance to ground, you know you need to take a close look at that section of wire

I would have to agree with that. I've had one of the guys at my friend's shop say that even the Bosch remans haven't been reliable for them for some things. The alternator I have was given to me by my friend. When I checked the PN, I found it to be for a 78-80 280. It wasn't charging and one of my dad's customers is an Auto-electric shop in Oakland. They said the diodes were toast. They rebuild everything in house so they fixed it up and I had it back in short order. I honestly like the updated technology but I like to keep it OE looking. I like it when it 'looks' like it belongs there

The stainless lines are easily worth the money. The pedal feels great, I have the MSA stainless lines. They are actually Earl's lines, very good quality. Did you install the long springs in the rear? Are you saying you can't get any fluid to come out of the caliper bleeder? Is someone holding down the brake pedal when you crack the bleeder or line connections? Does that caliper still function when the brake pedal is pressed?

High CO can mean too much fuel or weaker spark (ie incomplete burn). Like everyone has said make sure your TPS is adjusted properly. Temp sensors will also influence how much fuel the computer thinks it needs to add. Can a higher-than-spec fuel pressure cause a rich condition on the 280's? Cleaning the EGR and tube is good and will help with the NOx levels. You are talking about a couple different problems here. You need a friend to follow you when you drive the car. They can tell you if your getting smoke out the tail pipe on acceleration and/or decel. If you are getting gray-blue smoke on decel that is likely the valve seals. With the closed throttle, you pull a high vacuum that pulls the oil past the oil seals. Also, if you see the blue-gray smoke only after the car sits a little while, that can also be a sign of the valve seals. As the oil pools around the valve stem, it can seep down the valve stem and be burned when you first start the engine. If you don't have an apparent external oil leak, and you're losing oil, it's likely being consumed. If your oil smells like gas, you are probably running rich. By the way, most OEM's say that 1 quart per 1000 miles is "normal" consumption, even on new cars. Also, be careful what advice you follow from the tow truck driver. I've heard some absolutely crazy things from some of those guys.

It might be a good idea to have a look at the points. Inspect their condition, check for carbon tracking, soot around the points, and pitting. The contact surface should really have no flaws It sounds like your plugs are fouled... when was the last time you replaced them? A set of NGK copper plugs are not much money if they are old. You may also have some carbon buildup if you're really only cruising at 40mph. You've never jumped on it on the freeway onramps? I think what Sarah means by sparking the plug wire to ground is you pull a wire one at a time while the engine is running and hold it close to a good ground (the cylinder head). You will likely be able to see the spark jump to ground.

The Ace hardware here in town has a good selection of metric fasteners now. It allowed me to mount my ducted spook with metric bolts. If they are nearby it might be worth a look. I'm not sure on the length since I've never removed the factor thermostat housing bolts