Zed Head

Have you checked the fusible link? The green one that's sitting out in the open in your second picture? So close you could stick it with a meter probe. The headlight circuit wires are all red with stripes or white.

When is the last time the engine ran? Puff-puff-puff while cranking might be an intake valve stuck open or an exhaust valve not opening. Or a leak at the manifolds. Are you sure everything is tight?

You most likely don't need them. You could have a big leak and still maintain pressure in the bar. Do you mean rotational play around the sprocket bolt center? That would change cam timing, but +/- 1 or 2 degrees probably wouldn't be a huge deal. The adjustment holes are 4 degree increments, so Nissan expects a 4 degree range over the life of one adjustment cycle. The bolt is supposed to supply the clamping force to stop slippage, not the dowel. The dowel's purpose is probably locating the sprocket and stopping it from moving while tightening the bolt. If you want to get fairly exact on cam timing you can line up the notch and groove, then tighten the sprocket bolt.

There's a procedure in the FSM, using resistance measurements. But an easier way might be to just to fog it up and apply battery voltage to the terminals. It's one grid, positive on one tab, negative to the other. Polarity doesn't matter.

You could also put a little extra twist in the flat rod that connects the cylinder to the electrical portion. Two pairs of pliers will do it. I had the same problem.

Connect a jumper wire to the small connector on the solenoid (the one that can be pulled off by hand, yellow wire) and hold it to the battery positive post. That should actuate the solenoid, causing its plunger to move, which should then actuate the motor relay and drive the starter gear in to the flywheel. It's what the ignition switch does. It sounds like what you're jumping at the solenoids is just bypassing the solenoid's internal relay. Jumping the solenoid directly from the battery will tell you if the starter is good or bad, then you can focus forward or backward from there.

"78 Datsun 280Z 5spd w/ A/C Comes with tarp and bands to cover leaky area. Apologies if this car is a member's. It's a 78. Even the 240Z classics are't getting close to $10,000.

Way back when I remember seeing seeing general guidelines on sizing o-rings based on the gap they were sealing. They're supposed to compress a certain amount but not fill the gap. The circumference is not meant to stretch much at all, the point is to just gap-filling. The proper word for the purpose is "gland", I believe. So really, you should be measuring the metal parts, not the rubber, to size the ring. Found a few references but there's a ton more out there. You could spend some quality fun time just studying the possibilities. eFunda: Introduction to O-Rings Gland Dimensions http://www.parker.com/literature/ORD%205700%20Parker_O-Ring_Handbook.pdf

There are two types of temperature "sensors" on the Z and ZX thermostat housings. One is typically called a sender and has one connector on it usually a bullet style, using the threads in the housing to ground the circuit. It's used for the temperature gauge. The other has two pins in an EV1 style connector (like the injectors use) and is used by the ECU to know the coolant temperature. You might want a temperature switch instead. Or if the Spal fan has its own temperature measuring circuitry then you'll need to use one that is compatible with it. There are different types among the various car manufacturers and they have different curves. Old Nissan sensor might not be on their list.

Edit - This stuff, designing and fabricating, is harder than it looks. And there is no real volume to be tapped to speak of for these specific parts, so price elasticity doesn't really apply. Take the pictures and your car in to a shop and see what they would charge. Who knows.

Someone took the time to figure out the proper dimensions, put them to paper, get them fabricated or did them themselves, and is offering the results of their work. Try it yourself and come back with your price. Maybe you'll make a few dollars.

That seems a little bit vague and general. If you have the 260Z distributor it's set up for carbs, if you have a ZX distributor with the side module it might have a high advance vacuum system designed for emissions engines. If you have one of the 280Z distributors there are essentially two sets of advance curves, high vacuum, low centrifugal for the EGR systems and vice-versa for the earlier non-EGR. Just saying, it seems like there could be more attention there. It's all part of the fun though.

I think that the early 260Z's might have had R180's. Which might use the plug-in half shafts. Those parts in your link are half-shafts for an R200. The shafts are the same length. It's been studied and verified. The distance between diff and hub is different though, probably where the misconception started. You need to get under your car and see what you have. Pictures will tell the story. And the welded diff would not be helping with parts durability. The early Z axles are kind of weak also. Betamotorsports.com used to have some good information on both the weak 240Z axles and the halfshaft length issue. But the site is gone and the Facebook page doesn't seem to have them either. Maybe johnc could bring them back to life. Edit - actually the stories and pictures might be on Facebook somewhere. Facebook is all about getting you to click ads though so it's difficult to organize. Troll through the content and it might be found. https://www.facebook.com/pages/BetaMotorsports-LLC/143989191670

Clutch kit and flywheel. Make a list of the installation steps, in order, and you'll realize what you'll need to replace or upgrade at each step. You might need/want to recurve your distributor also, or at least check that the curves are right. A Rebello motor probably likes different timing than a stock motor.

A look in the FSM's shows that they are different. I have a 280Z so kind of forget about the early 4 speeds, which were used with the 3.36 rear diff ratios, generally. 3.592 1st vs. 3.321. They all have a 1:1 4th gear though, so probably quicker but not faster. Here's the ratios from the FSM's (MT chapter), looks like the 260Z 4 speed would be the one, if 3-4 closeness trumps: 260Z - 3.592, 2.246, 1.415, 1 280Z - 3.321, 2.077, 1.308, 1

If the 5 speed is pre-1980.5 it will have the same 1-4 ratios as the 4 speed. The 77-80.5 5 speeds were just the old 4 speeds with an extra gear added. If it has two exhaust hangers on the tail-shaft housing it's the pre-1980.5 5 speed.

How does 5th gear do? It shares half the shaft, on the backside of the adapter plate, and a shift fork, with reverse.

Those are wheel axles, and companion flanges, and an odd part. Looks like the companion flanges might be adapters for turbo ZX four-bolt CV half-shafts. I saw your other post and you might want to re-word it. The half-shaft is the drive shaft between the wheel and the differential. One on each side. Typically has u-joints on each end, up until the later ZX's when they went to CV joints.

Even if someone suggests a destination for those wires you should check the integrity with a meter. Just to make sure they really go there and that they're not shorted on the way. Meter lead at choke mechanism, meter lead at wire end, lead at defrost mech, at connector, etc. There are wiring diagrams out there on the web. Not the greatest but might get you closer. Datsun Service Manuals - NICOclub Z Tech Tips Electrical (AtlanticZ.ca)

You'll lose points at the concourse with the ZX nuts. But you'll have an easier time in the future if you ever decide to install an adapter flange for CV axles or 5 lug wheels. ZX nuts give you flexibility. Plus the fact, although unlikely, that your new bearings are damaged and need another replacement. You might need to remove them again. I vote for the ZX nuts just in case the axle needs to come out again.

I meant first appearance in 77. It was there for 78, looks like it's gone again for the ZX models, 79 and on. So two years. Could be that CA's stricter emissions standards made it necessary.

Took a look through the FSM's and see that the "atmospheric pressure signal" didn't show up until 1977. California models only. Page EF-7 in the 76-78 FSM's (not shown in 76, shown in 77). Pins 12 and 9 on EF-25 in the 77 book (now called an altitude switch, shown right next to the ECU). EF-23 confirms it's just a switch. Weird stuff. What's really interesting is that to "go lean" the ECU looks like it changes the resistance on the pin 9 circuit. Might give a clue on another way to tweak the mixture. Maybe the thing shown in the AFM is the reference resistance for the circuit and decreasing its resistance leans the mixture. I'm guessing that Pin 12 is another resistance, added in parallel to pin 9. Someone else with more electrical would know better.

The two white wires have been discussed before. They're "Control Unit Checking Terminals". Can't remember where the altitude wires come out of the harness. You could probably use them to do the same as lowering fuel pressure though. Quick fix. I think that they just need to be shorted, the altitude "sensor" is really just a normally open switch if I recall right. Edit - Actually, superlen and I had an exchange about the wires in a past thread. Apparently there are extra black wires and extra white wires depending on the harness. Probably best to trace the wires to the pins to know exactly what's what. The FSM describes the altitude switch and probably has the diagram back to the pins. You could probably wire in your own switch if you wanted to try it or jump it with some test leads to check it out.

With the switch to encapsulated shock mechanisms it makes you wonder if you shouldn't drill a small hole in the strut tube to let moisture out. Condensation happens everywhere, along with leakage from the gland nut area and it will sink to the bottom of the oil pool at the bottom of the tube. If I was doing my mine again I'd probably drill a hole (undecided as to where) then grease up the shock body with heavy grease before installation. Leave the strut tube dry and the heat from the hub will probably keep it dry. Just thinking. With KYB's or Tokico's the system is not the same as designed.

I've found that the combination of parts can affect the way the engine runs. By parts, I mean the ECU, AFM, injectors, coolant temperature sensor, grounds, etc. I've had a lean-running engine and a rich-running engine with the same AFM, but various other changes. I'm not positive what exactly made the same AFM give a different air-fuel ratio, since I've improved grounds, changed my power supply set-up, swapped injectors, and ECU's, in between. I put an AFM that used to run rich back on my engine because I had since installed an adjustable fuel pressure regulator (thought I could now go low on fuel pressure and use the better AFM) and found that it was now lean at the same pressure as before (I used a potentiometer to tweak it richer and it works great now). So if I was starting with an unknown system the one modification I would make, to start, would be a good adjustable FPR. Then you can go lean or rich. On a stock engine the curve is probably right, it just needs to be moved up or down, as a whole. An adjustable FPR might be that final fine tune to get you away from rich. Drop the fuel pressure 1-5 psi, it won't have a huge affect on spray pattern since Nissan went with the narrow stream on their injectors.