FastWoman

I confess I don't know what "ACV" stands for. I'll contribute this thought, though, for whatever purpose it might serve: If your cold start valve is working, but your injectors are not, then you will get that initial start, followed by the engine immediately dying. The lack of sound from your injectors is consistent with this. There (-) wire on your coil should also connect to the tach AND the #1 pin on your ECU. If there is no connection to the ECU, then the ECU won't have the trigger signal it needs to inject fuel once every three sparks (once per engine rotation). I'd do a continuity check to see that the (-) on the coil connects to the #1 pin. If not, there's your problem.

I used to have a '75 in another warm climate -- central Texas. It was very hard to start when my cold start valve wasn't operating.

Wow, that other gold 280 floating around in the Austin area.... I think that might be my beloved old Z that I bought while in college -- the same Z my ex made me sell!!! Could it be? Maybe? If so, then it's too cool for words. I've emailed the owner.

Bryan, you might be able to find/modify something from this company: http://www.smallparts.com/ Here's the category that might be most interesting: http://www.smallparts.com/b/16310181?searchRank=salesrank Then there are subcategories at the top. This is the control cables link: http://www.smallparts.com/b/16411711?refinementHistory=subjectbin%2Cmaterial_browse%2Cmanufacturer%2Citem_package_quantity%2Cbrandtextbin%2Cenc-merchantbin%2Cavailability%2Creview-rating%2Cdate%2Cis_prime&searchNodeID=16411711&searchRank=relevancerank&searchSize=20&searchBinNameList=subjectbin%2Cmaterial_browse%2Cmanufacturer%2Citem_package_quantity%2Cbrandtextbin%2Cenc-merchantbin%2Cavailability%2Creview-rating%2Cdate%2Cis_prime You'll find numerous interesting ball joints there. I know that's not what you're looking for, but just saying... I don't know what bushings you need, but you're sure to find SOMETHING at Small Parts.

Thanks, Adrian! The idea behind putting the cap on the battery side of the relay would be to avoid a current surge through the relay as the cap charges. That would be kinder to the contacts. ;-) Even with this arrangement, there wouldn't be more than 6" of wire between the cap and the HEI module.

I'm going to run a 12 ga (or maybe just 14ga) wire from a maxifuse/fusible-link (essentially from the battery) around the engine compartment to the vicinity of the HEI unit (near the coil). I'll remove the small +12 ignition wire from the (+) post of the coil and connect it to the coil of the relay. Then I'll connect the beefy +12 wire from the battery/maxifuse/fusible-link to one NO terminal of the relay. The other NO terminal will connect to the HEI. I'm told that the HEI is very power-hungry, but mine barely gets warm, so I am doubtful of this claim. That said, I can certainly see the benefit of heavier wiring to stabilize the supply voltage to the HEI. I'll also probably add a big capacitor on the battery side of the relay to quiet voltage transients and provide a bit smoother power to the HEI.

What everyone else has said. In addition... It's not the fuel pump check valve. A failed CV can result in hard starting when the car sits any time, but the engine should still fire up with a bit of cranking. Furthermore, the car won't magically start after 20 or 30 min after refusing to start previously. The fuel pump still has to clear out the air in the lines.

Did you confirm that you have +12 to the (+) terminal of the coil when the ignition is turned on? To test your coil, remove the wires from the (-) terminal. Pull loose the distributor end of the high tension cable running from the coil to the distributor. Position the free end very close (1/4" or closer, but not touching) to a ground point somewhere (e.g. a shock tower bolt). Connect one end of a wire to ground, and tap the other end on the (-) post of the coil. (Don't touch the bare wire!) You should see a spark jumping between the high tension wire and ground. If you have +12 to a good coil and no spark, then your distributor isn't grounding the coil. Either that, or your points might be stuck closed. You'll have to trace it from there. (I'm assuming the 260Z has a points ignition -- don't know for sure.)

Hi Adrian, Thanks! Your post leads me to feel that I ultimately took the right direction: I retrofitted my car with a GM HEI-type ignition module to replace my factory IM. It worked great and took care of much of my misfiring and tach twitch problem. I think the remaining issues probably relate to fuel injection. That's been on my "to-do" list for way too long now. It's hard to get excited about working on my car in this horrible weather! Very soon now.... I hope.... ;-) Peace, Sarah

John, you can get rebuilt distributors pretty cheaply from Autozone. Mine was less than $100 (not including the core, of course). The problem with used parts is that the breaker plate assemblies reliably go bad and stick/jam. There's a lifetime warranty on the rebuilt part, so when that weak link fails, the remedy is free and relatively quick. FAIW, electronic ignitions were used prior to the ZX lineage. My '78 is electronic, and so was my '75. I ultimately converted my ignition to a GM HEI module, which is still working great. It's a very inexpensive solution. If you were to go this route, an electronic retrofit (distributor and ignition module) would cost you less than $125. I have it on good authority that I should beef up the + supply to my HEI unit, so that will be one of my next projects when the weather turns better. I'll be powering it with a relay (another $5).

I had somewhat the opposite experience. Before my Z, I owned a BMW Z3 Roadster 3.0i. That was an amazing little car. When you hit WOT, the little car would take off like a rocket, and it cornered like it was glued to the road. Ah, but then I saw my Z. Yeahhhhh.... It's beautiful lines, it's familiarity, the engine that you can actually see. It didn't hold a candle to the Z3 in performance, still doesn't, and probably never will. However, the Z3 will never have the coolness and nostalgia factor of the 280Z. For me, it's not the quickness of the ride, so much as the quality of the ride that counts. I sort of miss the Z3, just a little, to be perfectly honest. However I don't miss it very much.

Anthony, in the 1978 models, all the relays are inside that box the fusible links are mounted to. In previous years many of these relays were located inside the cabin. I think the starter wire should run from the key switch to the solenoid, but it might run through a couple of connectors to get there. Do you have a factory service manual to help you with this job? Someone posted a '78 wiring diagram not long ago. See if you can find it. If you can't, perhaps I can email it to you.

Hi Jenny, When you take off the oil filler cap, you're introducing unmetered air, causing your engine to run leaner. If it runs better that way, it means the engine ordinarily runs too richly. You can probably smell raw fuel in the exhaust, right? As to vacuum line sizes, you'll need to go by ID. Measure the pipe/tube the line fits onto. Do that by tightening a crescent wrench across the pipe, and measuring the gap between the jaws. You can then use approximate imperial equivalents, for the most part: mm -- in 3 -- 1/8 4 -- 5/32 6 -- 1/4 8 -- 5/16 10 -- 3/8 12 -- 1/2

Depending on how long you need to wait, you could use your two heater hoses to run a bypass. Use one to connect the two ports together from your engine. Use the other to connect between the two heater nipples on the firewall (to keep the heater core clean). Use zip ties to hold them out of harm's way.

That's probably a very good approach, Jenny! There are a lot of old, brittle parts that are easy to break, even if you're tugging/prying/twisting on them the CORRECT way! ;-)

Compared to modern computer connectors, there's nothing at all delicate about the ECU connector. Just pull down the wiring harness as you rotate the connector around the bottom hinge point. Then unhook it from the bottom. That's how it's meant to be done.

First the Toyotas, and now the Datsuns... :-(

I just reused my O-ring gasket, with the same apprehensions you cite. As far as I can tell, that's what others do too. No leaking so far. I figure the oil has kept the gasket pretty pliable over the years.

Does the clutch spin, or is it locked up? If it still spins, you can rebuild it yourself. It's easy. Just unbolt and separate the two shell halves. Clean out what's left of the sticky silicone oil with brake cleaner. Let it dry. Fill the deeper half with 90 wt gear oil, and reassemble. I did mine (160,000 mi original), and it works great now. It used to spin too aggressively (gooey oil) and make the engine sound like a hovercraft. Now it's just right.

The missing with the second startup might relate to burning oil. Maybe the valve guides are worn? The smoke with initial startup might foul the plugs for a short while until all the cylinders start firing again. You can test for a vacuum leak with the power booster by pulling a vacuum on it and seeing if the vacuum holds. It's quite possible for this component to leak. I had a '75 with an asthmatic, semi-leaky power booster at 15 years of age. Ignore any rebuilding instructions in your FSM, as parts weren't even available back then. The best thing you can do with your EFI system is to pull the big harness off of the ECU (just beneath the driver kick panel), and work through it with a multimeter and the FSM. You can measure just about everything on the entire system at that one connector. In general, the most common problems with EFI systems are stray vacuum leaks, resulting in unmetered air (and improper fuel/air ratio). Does the exhaust smell lean? Do the plugs look lean? If the vacuum spaghetti is old, it's good to replace it for good measure. You'll probably find several leaks. Don't forget to check for cracks in the big rubber boot between the airflow meter and the throttle body. Check that the airflow meter vane moves smoothly. Lubricate it for good measure. I'm like Jan: I still have a few issues, including missing at idle and a sometimes-rough re-start. I'd love to hear what you find. I've decided my next step is new injectors, but I just haven't gotten enough free time or good weather to do that. Peace, Sarah

Are you sure your starter is in good shape? You can have that tested too. If you can measure ANY appreciable resistance in the battery cables, they're no good. The better way to test them would be to measure the following voltages with the starter engaged: Battery + post to starter + Starter + to Starter - Starter - to battery - There should be very little voltage on the first and third measurements. Most of the voltage drop should be across the starter. If there's a large voltage across either of your cables, it's probably bad. Cables are pretty cheap anyway. I'd probably just replace them for good measure. Cables don't suddenly fail. Rather, they fade away over time.

Wayne! THANKS! ;-) That critical fold-out had been ripped out of my '78 FSM.

Tomo, Versing, I had the same issue (no rubber piece) and replaced mine with the same autozone unit Zs used. My repair wasn't as elegant or as good, but it worked OK. I just wrapped the pump with electrical tape to almost the ID of the clip area on the tank, and wrapped some rims on either side. Then I finished off with a couple of wraps around the whole thing. It's a bit wobbly when clipped into place, but it stays. Wish I had the rubber thingie.

My experiences with BD are about the same as those expressed above. They've been a good source for aftermarket parts. I have only two mildly negative experiences: I ordered a remote door lock set that was purported to fit ANY 240/260/280. When I went to install it in my '78, there was no place I could mount the servos without custom manufacturing some somewhat complicated linkages. I returned the kit, and they were happy to take the return. I told them there was no way to fit the thing in a '78, and they did not care to correct their claims that the kit would fit ANY 240/260/280. I ordered an EGR valve from them. It was a generic valve with an S30 style base to it. It came with a bag of a few dozen orifice washers and a cross-reference list between the original part numbers from numerous manufacturers and the type of orifice washer to use. I did not have the original part number and couldn't put my fingers on it easily. Therefore I called BD for this information. They flat-out couldn't provide it. I eventually found the PN, but not with their help. They were very friendly and sympathetic, but unable to help. If I had asked to return the EGR, I have no doubt they would have processed the return.

One by one, pull fuses until the noise stops. Identifying which fuse goes with the noise will go a long way towards locating the problem.