FastWoman

I just checked your weather. Wow, it's COLD in Moscow! It sounds as though you're losing all your heat just from the engine block to the air. You're right that the thermostat lets the water flow when the engine temp rises above the set point; however, it might not completely shut off flow when the engine is below temp. Often thermostats will have a hole that allows a very small amount of water flow. I think it might be to ensure there is actually water flow, so that the thermostat will actually heat up and open. You might be getting a lot of air blowing through the engine compartment if your fan clutch is frozen up or sluggish. Does it sound a bit like a hovercraft when you rev the engine? Is there quite a wind blowing in your face when you've got the hood popped and are standing over the engine? The fan clutch is supposed to slip, and the coupling is supposed to slip more when the air through the radiator is cool and less when it is hot. The clutch is filled with a silicone oil that gets as thick as honey as it ages. Alternatively, the oil can leak out, and you'll either get inadequate torque to the fan, or the clutch can seize up entirely. If the clutch still turns (if you can turn the fan by hand), you can remove it, open it up, wash out all the silicone oil with brake cleaner, dry it completely, refill the deeper half with 90 wt gear oil, and reassemble. That solved the hovercraft effect in my own clutch. Don't worry about exploding springs or hard to match up parts. It's a pretty easy operation.

Cool. Thanks, Tomo!

Where do I find the right stuff for the job?

Cool! I think I'll try that! I'll post pics when I'm able to get to the project.

Brazing... Hmmmm... Is that something I could do with SS and a propane torch? I've never brazed anything (unless you consider soldering a form of brazing). What sort of filler alloy could I use?

Hi Tomo, No, not BARE copper! Ick! No, I'd be painting it with black epoxy. I've fabricated a couple of other pipes this way, and they look quite OK. I like your idea of polished aluminum. The only problem is that it's harder to fabricate (e.g. attaching mounting brackets). I'll be thinking about that one. I had yet another idea that I think has promise and would look pretty cool. Maybe I can use some small dia tubing (1/4" ID?) to run individual lines to the injectors. Then I could bend them neatly at right angles, bundle them neatly together, and bracket them. The end of each tube would end with a 90 deg turn and a length of heat shrink tubing shrunk onto the end, extending to the connector. I could do this with painted copper tubing, with brackets soldered on, and with the bundle soldered together for strength. I might also be able to do it with polished stainless steel brake line. I'd have to figure out the bracketing, but that might not be too hard. (I wish I had the capability to weld. Soldering is something I do very well.) I know I'm sounding pathologically O/C about this thing, but to me, this is the prettiest part of the engine, and I'd like to make it even prettier.

Welcome to Oceanside, then! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that you find a good job. Thanks for sharing your big adventure with all of us! Stay safe, enjoy life, and don't even think of taking your Z near the border! Peace, Sarah

Interesting thoughts and perspectives! Thanks! The heat conductivity issue is something I hadn't considered. Fortunately I have a 1000 ft spool of some nice mil spec wire with Teflon insulation. If I keep the pigtails from the injector connectors short, and patch directly into the high temp wire, I won't have any vinyl-to-copper contact. That should work, I think. I had thought about the wire loom material; however, I just don't like the stuff. I had it all over my Mustang, and I don't think it worked all that well. I eventually replaced a lot of it with colored electrical tape wrappings, which I think looked much better. Part of the reason I want to do this is that I think there is a beauty to the intake and fuel rail systems. (I know, I'm weird that way.) My objective is to camouflage the wiring in with the tubing and perhaps even to accentuate that tubing look. Wire loom material just wouldn't do the job, as it wouldn't look like tubing. Walter, I had thought about the style of connectors you referenced, but would the connections be heavy enough? It would certainly be the neatest sort of connector to use. Tomo, a box tube is worth considering, but where would I find one? I admit I haven't had the same bad luck with Molex connectors. I find them more reliable than the spade style. In fact I have a bunch of gel pack batteries for my photographic work that I've wired through 2-conductor Molex connectors. They're rugged and stand up to a surprising amount of abuse. Kenny, I hear your concerns, particularly with the connector. I had thought about (and am still considering) going connector-less -- nothing but solder/shrink joints between the injector connector and the main harness. I appreciate your input, guys!

Hi all, I'm going to be replacing my 78's injectors and connectors before too long. I have all the parts in. As I contemplate this job, I see how I can clean up almost all of the exposed wiring ontop of the engine by creating a wiring conduit for the injectors and some of the sensor wires. I envision fabricating it out of soldered copper piping (painted), with T-joints where each injector wire comes off. I can heat shrink between a nipple on each T and the barb on the corresponding connector. The conduit would be bracketed just beneath and to the right of the fuel rail (between the rail and the valve cover) and would be integral with the fuel rail system. A harness would exit between the #3 and #4, beneath the fuel rail, and would terminate in a large Molex (?) connector, where it would plug into the existing harness (which would be clamped to the left side of the engine, per stock. The idea of the connector is that the fuel rail and electricals could be disconnected, unplugged, and removed as one unit. Anyway, that's the plan so far. Has anyone done anything like this? If so, what solution did you come to? Do you have any pics? Any suggestions as to a better connector to use? Maybe one that's weather proof? Thanks! Sarah

John, most car parts stores will test your battery for you for free. They have to be able to test batteries to evaluate warranty claims. You say the connections are secured, but are they clean? You could have a corroded cable end (i.e. between the wire and the cable tip). Try connecting from your battery to your starter using your jumper cables (i.e. reinforcing the same connections that are already made). Any improvement? Your starter could also be going bad. I think an auto parts store might test that for you too.

I tend not to name cars. HOWEVER, if my Z ever has an equally cool garage mate for any longer than a year, I suspect they'll become "Thelma" and "Louise." The temptation would be too much.

Frankie, you've got to tell us the end of this great story! Where'd you end up? How'd you get there? Are you happy in your new digs? Peace, Sarah

HEY! Some of us are Z-car GALS, ya' know! I very much like the stock look, but with essential functional mods to overcome design deficiencies and ensure longevity. Whenever I make a mod, I save the stock parts, so that I can return to 100% stock if desired. I've got a bit of color and "bling" under the hood and will have a bit more before I'm finished. However, my car is essentially stock and has a stock feel to it. One curious case in point is the seat belt warning buzzer. When I first bought my car, I enjoyed hearing the NORAD-like sound of that late 1970's buzzer whenever I started up. However, I grew tired of the sound one day when my head was under the dash and the thing wouldn't stop, so I unplugged it while it was there staring me in the face. My SO/co-owner was very pleased. Geof, although you and I feel the same way about the body mods you mention, I have to differ with you on the louvers. In a way, they are period-correct option to the late 70's models. I thought about removing mine but decided to keep them. They are unique to the era and therefore belong on my car, IMO.

To me, what gives a car "greatness" is its impact on the automotive industry and also its impact on a culture. Certain cars tend to define certain aspects of a generation. I think it's quite arbitrary to set any cutoff in age, whether 25 years ago or post-1930. Consider the Ford Model T: THAT was a great car -- the first assembly-line car that put an entire nation on the road. Surely nobody can deny that. The Stutz Bearcat: Arguably the first mass-produced sports car. As I recall, certain incarnations of the car had an 80 hp 4 cyl, 16 valve engine! For a car from the teens, it was pretty amazingly fast. The late '20's Lincolns: These were not only impressive mechanically, but they were the favored car for the elegant body modifications that defined the style of the day. The Auburn Speedsters and the related Duesenbergs: Very advanced machines that would be considered state of the art in many respects until only recently. These are some of the most beautiful cars (to me) that have ever been produced. Even the elegance of the Auburn hood ornament is an oft-referenced symbol of the enormously important art deco movement. The numerous 50's fin cars: They're not my cup of tea, but one can't deny their importance to American culture. The numerous 60's muscle cars: These were beautiful cars aesthetically AND mechanically. Yes, rather ordinary modern cars can run circles around most of them, but they did define a generation. I feel that the Mustangs and Camaros deserve a special place in this category, because they were the muscle cars of the masses. They achieved the greatest popularity. Not many people could afford a vette, after all. The 70's were unique. That's where I spent my teens. I feel that's where imports got their foothold, and the Z was foremost in the invasion. The 70's ushered in a rethinking of automotive design, with much tighter suspensions, more efficient engines, emissions spaghetti, primitive electronic fuel injection. For better or worse, we were in transition. While the Z's and the Mopars muscle cars were among the desireable cars of the day, let's not forget cars like the flaming Ford Pinto. Yes, it was a crappy car, but it defined a movement in the auto industry. It exemplified problems that had to be overcome. I actually saw a Pinto at a gas station a couple of years ago. It looked like @$%, but it made me extremely happy to see it. The owner's wife told me, "Yeah, we get that reaction a lot." I truly wish there were more restored Pintos out there, because I've never seen one. Notable cars since then? I'll pitch another unlikely candidate -- my Saturn SL-2 and the other earliest gen Saturns. They represented an experiment in the US automotive industry to reclaim lost market share from the Japanese. Ultimately the experiment failed, but it was a great little car (with a revolutionary design), a good company, a good business model, and a very admirable try. Next? The Prius, the Tesla Roadster, the Volt... and the beat goes on. My take on automotive history might not be spot-on, but my only point is that all varieties of cars (not just the sleek, fast ones) are worthy of consideration, and any of them might have an important place in automotive history for any variety of reasons

Nissan put a beautiful engine in our Z's, but the distributor wasn't the best designed component of the engine. I read that almost everyone with a Z has a frozen breaker plate. I checked mine, and sure enough, it was frozen up. My approach to the problem was to get an AutoZone Duralast lifetime warranted rebuilt distributor. OK, I accept that these rebuilds can be junk, but it's easy enough to check for a bent shaft (apparently commonly damaged in the rebuild process), and the R&R process is pretty easy on this part. The price for the unit was right around $100. The distributor works great for now, and when I see that the advance mechanisms are no longer working or that the shaft has some wobble to it, I'll be off to AutoZone for a warranty replacement. I figure this is a pretty good deal, because I plan to own my Z for quite a long time, and I anticipate at least a few changes of distributors.

Oh master, Zedyone... Great post! I enjoyed reading it. You obviously know a LOT more about engine design than I do. However, one thing you omit is that Nissan was under pressure from US regulations on auto manufacturers to bring emissions down, so they had to detune their engines, including by lowering the compression ratio. (Pretty sure that's right...) So they were obviously forced away from what they would have considered an ideal engine design. This begs the question of how the Nissan engineers would have designed an ideal street engine if emissions were no longer a huge issue. Of course their going to fuel injection in '75 certainly changed the equation, but weren't they also using fuel injection in other markets for the 240's? From what you know of these engines, how would the 280 engines have been done if not for US emissions concerns? (Interested in your perspective!) Thanks, Sarah

SUPPOSEDLY (i.e. I've read that...) Hyndai and 2nd gen RX-7 (4-lug) space saver spares will also mount up and fit in the '77/'78 Z's spare tire well. See... http://www.zcar.com/forums/read/1/1872826

Jan, my old aftermarket washer motor was splice-connected. I replaced the motor (seized up) and used new splice connections. After having done a bit of other work in that area, I'd highly recommend using a connector of some sort. Otherwise you have to set the washer bottle to the side in precarious positions, with wires dangling, to access that area, and it gets pretty awkward. It's far better to be able to unplug the thing and remove it from the car. The next time I have to access that area, I'm just going to snip out the splice and install a Molex connector -- with the tips soldered and with dielectric grease inserted (water-resistant enough).

Today I bumped into my neighbor across the street, who owns a '68 Camaro that he bought new and who has lovingly kept it in very nice condition. I had just sold my '66 Mustang, which he found disappointing. I asked him how he liked my 280Z, which was sitting in the driveway. He said it's a nice looking car. He said he had a friend who once owned a 280Z and liked it, adding that he's surprised it hasn't changed any over the years. I replied, "It hasn't?" He said, "No, the new models look just like the old ones from the 70's. Long story short, he thought my car was brand new. (Now you would THINK a guy with a very nice little '68 Camaro would know better!) Anyway, the original 280Z -- still in production!

On the '75 there's a circular (dish shaped) hardboard cover over the spare. Starting in '77 they put in a larger tank, made the spare tire depression shallower, used a space saver spare that didn't save space, and raised the hatch floor with a hardboard false floor. However, I think your carpet would have simply laid on the (metal) hatch floor, with the exception of the hardboard covering the tire.

That was fun. I looked up the dealership from my childhood home in Texas -- "Dotson Datsun." I remember the corny commercials Come in to Dotson Datsun... ... or Datsun Dotson ... er... or whatever it is ... Of course Datsuns and foreign cars in general were mysterious, unknown, and generally untrusted, so they were trying to establish a name.

I don't see anything that can't be fixed. Parts are available. Sorry it happened, but I don't think you have to ditch the car. (If you're intent on ditching it, I might be willing to buy it from you for cheap! )

Five year old gas should definitely be thrown out. See if your local waste facility can take it. Alternatively (and I know this is terrible), you can mix it in smallish quantities with fresh gas (perhaps 1:10) until you've used it up. All our old gas goes in the boat, maybe in a 1:3 mix. However, our old gas isn't as old as yours.

You might try getting a male/female 2-conductor Molex pair from Radio Shack. That wouldn't be an OEM solution, of course, but it would be functionally equivalent.

Sort of a minor factor in deciding where to spend the rest of one's life, but do check into the emissions requirements for your first-born child (your Z). Some of those states (including especially California) can be very strict.