Zed Head

There's a guy on zcar.com who wrecked his old Z and his seat belts snapped. Busted up his nose on the steering wheel. Seat belt replacement should really be a topic of discussion. The material degrades in the sun with little visible sign that it's weakened.

Looks like he has Z car envy - " IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A Z-CAR, GO AND LOOK FOR A Z-CAR AND DO NOT COMPARE THIS ONE WITH A Z WHEN YOU CALL!"

With dual carbs and intake manifolds you have essentially two separate engines connected by a common crankshaft. The fact that it always runs and allows you to get home, and that the plugs don't get wetter and darker with extra fuel, could be from one carb suction piston getting stuck down, blocking the jet. If I understand how they work. That would kill or wound (lean out) three cylinders. The old plug color wouldn't burn off so you wouldn't see it on the plugs. It would allow idle but act up when more fuel is needed. From Post # 5 - " It does idle perfectly when this happens, accelerates ok, but under load it's a no go." The other three cylinders have normal power, so you have half an engine to get home on. You could probably force it to run on three cylinders to see if the symptoms are the same. Lock a piston down maybe.

Looks like someone picked up a decent car at an estate sale and doesn't really know much about what they have. Probably have to go there and take a look to really get a feel for it. The body gaps look pretty good. The paint on the driver's side looks a bit wavy, maybe a little body filler there and a repaint. The driver's side inner door panel seems to be missing. Not bad looking overall.

Looks like ceramic muffler patch compound. The metal between the sides corrodes. I plugged an EGR port with that stuff.

No offense...

I found the old thread on it if you want to repost it, plus an old sale ad.

The image is broken. Probably a good thing.

Just say what you're asking for. This reads like a late night 900 number ad or one of those scams from Nigeria.

The auto stores sell lengths of coated steel fuel line that might work. Not that expensive and they come in various lengths and diameters. Probably bendable if careful and they're stainless so should hold up. Copied an example, most stores have a variety hanging in the back. They even have the beaded ends, if you can find the right length, although you'd have to cut the fitting off. Or use it with a nipple fitting added. I used a 2 foot length as the return line for my fuel rail modification. Good stuff. http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/DOE0/800156/N1650.oap?ck=Search_N1650_-1_-1&pt=N1650&ppt=C0290 Here's a better list. Up to 3/8" diameter. I think that Autozone's stuff might have a better finish. Mine is a matte olive green color. http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/search/Steel+Fuel+Line+Repair+Kits/N1650/C0290.oap

"the plate might , which could mess up the gap between the steel teeth" Doesn't really work. Site, take a camera! Sounds like photographic opportunities abound.

Should be okay as long it doesn't stick advanced. I'd pull the vacuum hose and leave it disconnected, then make sure that static timing is right. You'll just lose some low PRM pep and mileage will be down somewhat. Can't remember though if those bearings also keep the breaker plate level and stable. I think that they do, so if the bearings come out one side only, the plate might ****, which could mess up the gap between the steel teeth. I ran a 280Z distributor with no bearings for a little while, just smoothed the plastic cage remnants and lubed it up. Action was slow compared to bearings, but it worked. Short term, you could just make sure the teeth don't, remove the vacuum advance hose, and check timing. Run with no vacuum advance, the carb guys do it all day long. Edit - the plate might "get cocked", not ****. Second edit - recommendation: Do not Google "****" if you're looking for a quick definition to post in a thread. Third edit - apparently, **** can be pasted from other web sites without the filter catching it. Verb - cock verbDefinition of ****intransitive verb1: strut, swagger2: to turn, tip, or stick up3: to position the hammer of a firearm for firing

Consider getting up under the glove box and replacing the inside heater hoses, since everything's drained. If you have the stringy hose in the engine bay it's almost certainly the 30+ year old hose inside. I had a piece split out of nowhere, one of the engine bay pieces. Way past design life.

I don't mean to put a downer on your trip. Just saying that there's not much to see in that part of the country. I was driving in the winter when it was cold and wet. Summertime when you can stop and hear the silence will be a different story. Just had my battery crap out (it was old) - check your battery!

I took highway 50 just to see what was there. It cuts across the little hills, with miles of flat mud in between. Each little hill was just Nevada tricking me into thinking the mud was over. Just more mud on the other side. Here's the view for S30's route - https://www.google.com/maps/@41.648043,-114.819495,3a,75y,158.64h,79.38t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1s8YBxh1s7eZcpu0M4Cd2fDA!2e0?hl=en

Core plug. From the casting process. Anyway, no real need to remove the drain plug. I wouldn't, too much trouble. I wouldn't even remove the heater lines unless you plan to replace them because they're old. On the other hand if you plan to flush the block or something then removing the drain plug might be a good idea. I removed one from an engine on a stand, using a long handled wrench. Not terrible, just requires lots of leverage. I used a 7/8" wrench, but I think it's actually 22 mm. Hex head bolt style, not the funky square ones. How do you plan to remove the core plug?

Don't know about the other years but my 76 has a ground wire from the harness for the alternator. To the E post. It's branched to several others on the the way to where ever it's attached. Considering the years, maybe corrosion affects its ability to function also. An added wire from post E to the engine block might be good insurance.

The fan clutch looks like the worrisome piece now. Do you have the "stoppers" on your motor mounts? Might save some damage in a hard stop or bumper bender.

Consider bending east to Salt Lake City and coming down through Utah to Vegas. That stretch of upper Nevada is desolation. On the other hand it will make you intensely grateful for civilization afterward.

That's a 280ZX or 80's Maxima or truck lever (ZX style I know, not so sure on the Maxima or truck. That's a guess based on year). The two tan plastic bushings give it away. The bushing is spring-loaded, the lever can be pressed down against the spring. Not really sure why they did that, maybe to change the action, or make it more comfortable. Could be a different 71B transmission than the one that came with the car if the shift lever came with it. Better gear ratio spread if it's from an 80-83 ZX, but works best with a 3.9 ratio diff.

Have you looked at the transmission? Could be a 71C swap. A look through the shifter hole would tell.

I had thought this same thing but I had a "half-power" ignition module I've posted about it before, recently. I damaged it by running the engine with two plug wires off. Not sure exactly what caused the damage. It showed a weak orange spark and would start and run with starting fluid, but not without the fluid. And this was on a warm engine (note - starting fluid in a warm engine will cause detonation. I only started it a couple of times and it knocked loudly as it started). What is this "no-points" system you have now? My problem was with a GM HEI module.

Nice find. Yes, that is the switch I was talking about and it should only affect ignition timing by about 6 degrees. When it's disconnected, like yours, timing just stays where it would be when warm anyway. Many people don't use that feature anymore, it's only there for cold engine emissions. It never even gets tested. Notice the two sensors with the two prong, injector style, connectors. The big one on the left is the thermotime switch, and the other, with the white connector, is the coolant sensor. But without knowing which wire is which, you can't really tell if they've been switched by accident, without going to the ECU connector. Hard to tell if you're flooded or lean, but knowing that the coolant sensor is right is very important. It's the most important sensor on the engine, besides the AFM. I would at least take that one measurement at the ECU connector. If you have some starting fluid you might see if it will start that way. If it starts, runs for a few seconds, then dies, that's a clue. Also, try to add lots of detail to the problem description. "Tries to start" could mean it runs for ten seconds then dies, or pops just once. Totally different causes for those two things. CO - I finally realized why that extra EFI/Pump relay was in the car. I had thought it was a typical mis-diagnosis by a PO. Not the case. There were signs of heat in the cover, brown spatter marks from vaporized insulation, I assume. I got a lot of miles out of it though before it crapped out again.

The connector with the brown plug behind your ginger might be the coolant temperature sensor. CO, I'm not sure that that is the thermotime switch. The thermotime has an EV1 connection like the coolant sensor. That's why they get mixed up. There is a temperature switch for the second ignition circuit in the ignition module on the Federal models though, that uses wires like those, that typically get work hardened and flexed off. If you can see both EV1 connectors, the one with the bigger wrench flats, like that broken wire one in your picture, is the thermotime switch. The coolant sensor is smaller. On my relay picture - I think you're right and it wasn't corroded connections. I dinked around with it some more after I posted that, with a 9 volt battery and a meter, and the EFI coil opened up to super high resistance and quit working. Out of nowhere, just like the problem in the car. When I had the problem in the car, I removed a spark plug and it was dry, even though I have a second switch to run my pump independently. No injectors opening. Blink, you should really get a meter and go to that ECU connector. The ECU connectors get corroded also, so just removing it to think about it would be worth doing.

Still no beer sales on Sunday? What kind of football town does that? Something's fishy on the Schuylkill...