Zed Head

You could heat up a screwdriver blade with a torch and melt it in to the plastic of the petcock stub. Might work. Drilling would be fairly easy also, except for the water dripping down on to the drill motor. You could also drill a small hole, or jam a red hot coat hanger through it to make a small hole, let it drain, then heat it up until it softens and pry or twist it out. Actually, if it was mine, I would probably do the last three things. I replaced my plastic one with a metal bolt. It stuck down farther than I liked. Looked like upside down Mickey Mouse ears.

POR-15 apparently is the brand name for a very good external coating, but I don't know that they've built a name in fuel tank sealers. I'm reading some questionable reviews around the interweb. You might want to do some diligence on that repair. Quite a few Z people have coated their tanks and might have some opinions. There are other brands out there. One key to keeping your fuel in good shape is to have the carbon canister, check valves, filler hose, and gas cap all in good working order. To keep air from moving in and out with fresh oxygen and moisture.

I replaced a couple of those spacers last year and they were so molded in to their little space that you wouldn't think they were a separate piece unless you knew before hand. They're pretty well protected, not exposed at all. Mine were shiny. I only replaced them because I had bought the parts before a spring replacement, just in case. I wouldn't bother taking things apart again. I might actually have a picture of them somewhere... Found them. A little farther back than a year. One out, one in, and a comparison of fresh and squished.

Here's something you can check that might be part of your problem. If you have the vacuum advance from your distributor connected, make sure that it is connected to ported vacuum, not full-time vacuum. There's a lot of discussion out there about the pros and cons, but the two main results of using ported vacuum are that the timing is retarded at idle, giving a cleaner burn, and the engine idle speed doesn't bounce around as timing advance moves with intake vacuum. One way for the engine to die,with full time vacuum advance, would be for intake vacuum to drop enough to reduce vacuum advance, causing lower RPM, ultimately leading to the engine dying. A vicious cycle thing, especially if static timing is set with the vacuum advance connected. Just a possibility.

I would find a small block chevy based forum, sign up, and ask a general "how do I tune my Holley" question. That carburetor has been around forever, but not many Z cars use it. I'd go to small block chevy land because there are more of those around. I'm sure that I've seen Holley tuning videos on youtube also. Forget about 1978 280Z, or Datsun, or L28, it has nothing to do with tuning a Holley. Here's a few that popped up when I Google "tuning a Holley carb". Holley Performance Products Forums - Holley Carburetor Tuning Tips - Blogs https://www.holley.com/support/ Holley Tune, Part 1

Looks interesting, but the guys on HybridZ would probably get more excited about it. The word "classic" is in this forum's name for a reason. No offense. They would love to see more Fords over there, the LSX crowd is starting to dominate.

Plain old rubber 5/8" heater hose will work. It's fairly cheap, just buy four feet or so and cut it to fit. Buy five feet in case you make a mistake. There is no hose that goes "through the car" to the heater. There's one from the firewall back to the water pump inlet, another shorter one from the back of the cylinder head to the firewall, and a couple of short ones inside the cabin, pre-bent to the proper shape.

Go directly to the ignition fusible link. It's easy to get to and you'll know a lot more. The connections are exposed and they can oxidize and lose contact. The ignition relay is also pretty easy to get to but is a little more complex to check. There's a color wiring diagram on this forum somewhere that will make things easier. Found it. It's pretty big though and it looks like you're on a phone, from the lack of capital letters and poor punctuation. Too bad. Good luck http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/misc-s30/44992-somewhat-color-wiring-diagram-1978-280zs-enjoy.html

A list of what works and when might offer a clue or two. Key Off, Acc., On, does the starter turn the engine? If it's not working now, check both sides of each fusible ink for power before removing or messing with them. Just carefully poke your voltmeter probe in to the mounting blade without disturbing anything. Then you'll know if that's the problem. If you just rip them off, clean them up and put them back on, and the problem goes away you'll never know if that was really the cause. Actually, I think that there is just one Ignition fusible link, so focus on that one. Check the sides of the mounting block for a label. The ignition relay is another possible cause. It's in a damp location and they do get rusty. Mine was bypassed when I got my car.

It is a tapered pin,or lock bolt, that fits in a notch in the spindle pin to keep it from spinning and moving back and forth. You can try threading the nut back partially, then tapping on the nut to removed the pin. Use the nut to save the threads. You might find though that you still can't remove the spindle pin, the edges of the notch may have deformed and it will bind on its way out. It would save some brake line time if you can do it that way.

How did you "fail"? Might give a clue for some good advice. Search "Arne" and strut replacement and you might find a thread on the 240Z. I think that it was Arne who wrote something up. Yes, you should be able to just swing out the strut and get the job done. It's actually harder for the 280Z's because the strut is longer. Also, yes, the FSM procedure doesn't really work. Nissan didn't know that their spindle pins would be almost impossible to remove.

Ignition modules fail in different manners, but there's almost always heat involved. One trick people use to test them, for the ZX module, is to spray them with some sort of cooling spray or applyi ice to cool them down. Stumbling could be ignition or fuel related but the EFI system will compensate for heat so simple overheating shouldn't really cause stumbling. On the other hand though, if your air-fuel mixture is on the edge of lean, maybe the extra heat pushes it over. It might be worth your while to try the potentiometer in the coolant sensor modification. In your case it would in the CHTS circuit. I haven't seen ZX people with the problem but many 280Z people have added a little resistance to add a little more fuel to the intake air and found good results. The Z's may have been tuned to perfection and today's gas pushes them over, but maybe the ZX's have it too. It's a cheap easy test.

The 123 ignition's electronic ignition module should look the same to the tach and ECU as the factory electronic ignition module, and the commonly used GM HEI module replacement, or even Mallory Unilite, I would think.

I think that the key is to bend the end of the line to get the fitting entering the bore squarely before you try to get the threads to catch. You'll think that you can torque the line enough to get it started and it will pull itself but it won't. Just bend away until it looks perfect and it will probably drop right in.

I also had a lower right hatch leak. It was actually coming through the window seal, but traveling a pretty good distance. What I determined was that the water was leaking in at the top of the rubber, between the metal and the seal along the top edge, running down the open channel between the metal and rubber and coming out inside. I sealed/glued the rubber to the hatch frame all around the seal, top and sides. A new seal probably would have done the job. It's working, in the meantime. I had a similar leak at the windshield, but in-between the glass and rubber. The old rubber just gets stiff and doesn't conform anymore.

Don't forget to check directly at the sensor. Mentioned in case you're still at the ECU. They're not too expensive though so the money spent is almost worth the clean pins on the sensor, by themselves.

I've had the heat-related needle sticking on a running engine, and seen the same from others. Haven't seen a fix yet though, for the original equipment. How about a cooling fan for the gauge? Typically, when it's hot out the gauge will follow RPM up but won't come back down until things cool. I have noticed though that my tach sits 200 RPM high occasionally with just the key on. I'll have to watch the heat and see if there's a correlation. I've never heard of one that just rose on its own with heat. Is the key On? Where would the electrical impulse come from to get it started? I ended up swapping a 78 tach in to my 76. Font mismatch!

I'm thinking this really is 72OJ, under a different name. Couldn't stop talking about how sexy his car was then, now he has to talk about his sexy girlfriend. Somehow, sex always enters the discussion. I've looked and I can't find any confirmation that the LS1 is much lighter than the L6. Most people consider the transmission as part of the package. When you do that the car gets heavier apparently. Here's a thread that he (you) might remember. Post #9. - Weight of an LS1 and an L24 - Gen III & IV Chevy V8Z Tech Board - HybridZ See how the discussion devolved, then died. I predict that there will be an LS engine of some kind in this car, if this thread is really about finding a nice Z for a step-son.

That's normal. The ECU adds more fuel when it's cold. An unplugged CHTS circuit looks very cold to the ECU.

I picked up some brass and aluminum round stock at the hardware store for that kind of work. I'm decent with hand tools but still managed to gouge the hub when driving the old races out. It's a pain to get in there and clean it back up before installing the new bearings. If I was doing another set I might even get some flat stock that's barely smaller than the hub and notch the sides so it locates inside the race. Actually, I don't remember gouging the hub myself but still found gouges after they were out. Could have been the guy previous, who knows. Nevertheless, easy to gouge.

Sounding more and more like 72OJ. You've already decided that the LS1 swap adds "value". You're really just here to find people who agree with you. Nothing wrong with that, at least you're not randomly posting in other people's threads about how great your car is. I think that that is the real reason 72OJ got banned. It will be interesting to see what your step-son ends up with and how much he pays.

Actually, the ground wires are very important and often overlooked. The black wire on the AFM body seems redundant but who knows. If the air temp sensor grounds through the AFM body and the AFM body doesn't have good conductivity through the mounting bolts then that wire becomes important. The EFI harness and ECU also ground through the second, smaller, black wire at the negative post. All of the electrical connections are potential failure points on these old cars. Blue just linked to a good resource in this thread - http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/open-s130-zx-discussions/52710-help-please.html#post460982

Not clear how you could get readings on the other pins but not the air temp. sensor. The wires are all run into the harness at the same spot. Odd. The coolant sensor will have a much bigger effect.

The clicking is from the fuel pump relay. It's probably turning on and off because the switch in the AFM is opening and closing. You might have a vacuum leak or maybe the engine just needs a tuneup. One thing you can do to keep it running while you problem-solve is to turn up the idle speed. It might be a little aggravating to idle at 1100 RPM or so but it will get you by while you troubleshoot. The "fixing itself" is probably just the air-fuel ratio changing as the fuel pressure drops when the pump turns off. It causes RPM to rise, fuel pump turns on, richness happens, RPM drop, repeat. The mix is extra rich when the engine's cold. leans out when warm. Just a possibility. The small details add up. Check all of the hoses to the intake manifold.

That's one weakness of the way the FSM is written. They have a set of quick tests, then a set of more detailed tests. But with a meter at the ECU connector you can just go directly to the full test. You might just have bad connections, not bad relays or sensors. The coolant sensor harness has two bullet connectors in-line, on the top of the intake manifold, that could be disconnected. You can either find and trace the wires or go directly to the sensor and measure resistance across the two pins. I would just go directly to the sensor myself. It's cramped but you can get in there. You can also measure the air temperature circuit at the AFM before you try to replace it. Eurodat had to fabricate a way to use anther sensor in his AFM. It would take some work but may not be necessary in your case. Odds are good that your parts are fine it's just the wires that need work. Best to confirm, once you start wrenching things tend to get broken. Sorry to hear about your colleagues Chas. It wasn't tied to MH17 was it? Things are getting strange in the world.