bhermes

I recently had my car painted, about 2 weeks ago, and not really all that good of a job. The main issue is that several hail damage dents in the hood (maybe about 20) were not fixed prior to painting. My question is can I use dry ice and/or a hair dryer on the new paint without damaging the paint job. Any other suggestions? Thanks.

Purchaed gauge, tee, barbs, and 5k resistor pot. Going to auto store to get fuel line. I think I want the .125 ID line. Does that sound correct? Should be hooking up soon but 30 degree weather is no fun. Need to get a heater for my shop. Still putting it together. Thanks.

You are comparing a 61 Ferrari GT250 to a 76 280Z. Obviously we are dealing with a much better car here. Going to idle the car for 15-20 minutes then go for some short drives. Eventually I will give it the Italian tuneup. Dropped and cleaned tank and repalced fuel pump and filter. Does anyone have experience with after market fuel pumps?

Is there anyway to simulate actual driving other than driving. I just hate breaking down on the road but maybe the only choice. I am going to assume that if there was you guys would have told me. Thanks.

Most of the over spray is on parts that I plan on replacing - all of the window/door seals etc. Still no excuse. The engine looks like it has paint on it but that is just shadowing. Some of the hoses and a couple parts in the engine bay did get paint on them. I hope some how I can clean up. Any thoughts on what I can use that wont cause other problems? The car has come a long way and with the next paint job, spring, it should be easy to see the hail dents in the hood and correct. It is just part of the process. Trying to talk my wife in letting me purchase some konig rewind rims before the end of the year. Or maybe I will just get them anyway.

Not sure of this is relevant or even sheds any light on the subject. And before I go any further I do plan on putting in the fuel gauge and pot resistance tweak. I let the car idle for about 20-25 minutes. The rpms are reading around 900 and steady. I then rev'd the engine between idle and 2200 rpms for about 15 minutes. I finished with running the engine around 2500-3000 rpms for 10-15 minutes. The car ran fine. I could not recreate the stalling condition. One last note during the 2500-3000 rpm period I had the car in 4th gear. And a few times cycled through the gears. Any thoughts or is this just not going to be the same as driving? Thanks.

I am also getting parts and making the changes soon. It will be interesting to see everyones results and feedback from the changes. Thanks so much for the detailed posts. It really helps someone like me that is still learning my way around the car.

The 1M Ohm makes more since than the 1k Ohm. Thanks.

In the photo with the gauge added are those 1/8" fittings? Seem bigger. Went to hardware store and the smallest fitting they had was 1/4". If the lines are 5/16 should I not be getting 1/4" fittings? Maybe I just dont understand OD vs ID of the lines. I did get the gauge but thought I may need to go to auto store to get the fittings. For temperary hook up will 50 psi tubing work? I may just get the right stuff but if I dont. Thanks.

Great, thanks to both. I feel that it couldn't hurt to have the pressure gauge and the pot. I will start working on both after the 70mph winds go away today. The detail in how to install really helps. I went to radio shack and the smallest pot they had was 5k. I am a little confused in looking at the resistances in the attachment above about installing the pot I see resistances up to 20k. I guess this is not necessary. I assume that 5k may not give the variance I need. Comments? Otherwise I think this is a good plan or start. One other question, if this is a temperature issue or resistance issue causing a call for less fuel inaccurantly will I be able to recreate in the driveway or is driving required. Just want to make sure I go on a nice day in case the car does break down. It usually or maybe always will start after 20-30 minutes either way. I have also pulled a copy of the EFI Bible and will begin looking through. Thanks.

I know that there is a post somewhere on this but could someone please give me some direction on hooking up a pressure gauge so that I can monitor my fuel pressure. Also, what should the pressure be. I think this should probably be the first step. I just that I would also look at adding the pot incase it is an issue with the car heating up a causing a problem with fuel mixture but maybe I should see the pressure issue first. Thanks.

Let me clarify one thing. The increased rpms at stopping last only a few seconds and then returns to normal on its own. Sorry if this was confused. I understand chasing things and causing more problems. I do like the idea of the pot and running fuel into a gas tank to see if I am getting consistant flow. To easy things with not to much damage.

Couple other things before I head into the weekend. I have never really had the car "tuned up" since I have owned it (2 years) and not sure prior to that. Could these symptoms just be caused from that. I have replaced the plugs but not really anything else. What else is part of getting a tune up for the car. Probably not a real good question. And as mentioned before what if my injectors are clogged and that is the reason for the issues. Any chance or would the car be acting worse during most of the drive. Still to would like run some fuel injector clearner through. Just want to have a plan of attack for the next few days since weather is going to be a little warmer here. Right now it looks like adding the pot and running fuel to see if consistant are on the list.

So here is the plan. 1) Turn BCDD 1/2 turn and drive, repeat until rpm spike is reduced 2) Add pot in line with the coolant temp wires and tweak 3) Run fuel pump test to monitor flow out of return line. One question here can you be a little more specific with jumper wires on fuel pump relay? I think the fuel pump is somewhat new but with all of the tank rust issues who knows if it is good. Thanks and this looks like a good start.

One other thing I would like to do is add some Lucas Fuel Injector Cleaner to my gas. Just looking for a few comments on whether this might help clear up some of my problems or if it may cause more. I saw a post about a possible problem someone had after adding the cleaner. Thanks.

I am going to mess with the BCDD this weekend and see if I can dial out the 500 rpm additional rev during stopping. Secondly, I would like to add the 1k linear pot but I am not sure I am completley understanding the photos. I see 2 Thermo time wires, 2 water temp sensor wires, and 1 temp gage wire. Can someone attempt in words where the 2 pot wires go and what happens to the rest of the wires mentioned. I would like to do this over the weekend as well and make the simple crude tweaks. Not sure if I am good enough to make this wiring change. I guess I did successfully make the simple wiring change for the upgraded alternator so maybe I can. Who knows but willing to try. I am always amazed at the knowledge of the people on this site. It is truley a gift to those of us just starting to learn. One day I hope to be able to help others. Thanks in advance.

OK. I have a 4 speed manual. A little confused on how I am to know what rpms should be at a given mph? Bare with me not a mechanic. Trying to learn. Is there a curve somewhere. When you said yours should have been going 80 mph are you refering this based on the rpm readings? During the normal periods the rpm and mph gauges are consistant. When you said jump around or go to zero do you mean during the problem periods or all the time. What I am trying to get at is if this is the problem would it be this random or more consistantly showing issues. Sorry, just hang in there and I will get it. I really need to look at gauges when the issue occurs but damn if I always forget. Just fighting to keep car from stalling and then after a few seconds she is off and running again.

Car is stock. The only thing really changed is an upgrade in the alternator. I also had to replace the ignition switch and had a few issues with the plug under the steering wheel but i think corrected. As far as anything else should be stock. I am not sure if I am loosing power but feels a little worse than sputtering and coughing. If I am actually loosing power what is the easiest way to tell? RPM gauge? My dash lights do not work, probably when I was getting 18 plus volts to the battery, and it was dark out during the trip. I will check out the BCDD tonight, I remember some discussions about this before. Thanks.

I have posted a few times in the past about this issue and have read some other posts but I have gotten myself a little confused on where to go first. I will do the best I can describing the problem/issue or opportunity. Remember I am not a mechanic but tyring to learn. I drove the car really for the first time in almost a year after dropping my gas tank, getting out rust, coating and reinstalling. The Fuel Filter was also replaced. Here we go........... Drove car about 50 miles, some at 30mph, some at 80 mph, and some in stop and go traffic. Car starts up fine, first try no issues. Idles at about 900-1000 rpms. Car ran ok for the majority of the trip. I feel it was a little sluggish off the start and while pushing on the gas at upper speeds (50-80) the car will push back some when letting off the gas pedal. It also revs up about 500 rpms when coming to a stop. But in general the car ran ok. The issue is that 3 times during the trip and I beleive at speeds over 50 mph the car acted like it was running out of gas. It wanted to stop for about 2-3 seconds and then took off again. After the last event of this happening the car drove about 8 miles ok and I was home. It never did completely die. I suspected previously that the rust in the tank was causing the problem but that has been corrected. Could it be injection problems? Again only happened 3 times for a few seconds during a 90 minute drive. Thanks in advance for some initial guidance. I would really love to find someone in my area, KY to drive the car that knows what things should feel like but have been unable to find anyone.

A few photos of my recent paint job. Still needs a good buffing. I now understand the saying you get what you pay for. Although this looks ok from a distance the paint job was not done correctly. You can still see several what appears to look like hail damage and even the old racing strip show through. I probably will wait until the spring to have redone or fixed. A lot of body issues were cleaned up but still not acceptable and I am not really that picky of a person. Need to start thinking about new rims and tires.

Need some wheels......

Posted at end of another thread; however, I need some quick help. I am just completing a new paint job on my z, 110 red, and I am considering some sort of side stripes. I have run accross the MSA side stripes but I am not sure if the 76 280Z actually came stock with any stripe options. I notice that the photo MSA has showing the 280 stripe is for a 240 which I think was common on those models. Also, are the stripes easy to install. Since I have a 2+2 model I will need to purchase two sets since they do not make one long enogh for the 2+2. Any other options out there? Thanks.

Going with no clear coat. According to guy that is painting the car it looks really good. I wont know until I go there tomorrow. Was there any striping packages that came stock with the 76 280? I would like to break up the 110 red with possibly some black striping but not sure. Any other suggestions or photos sent welcome. I have the front and rear MSA Type II body kit so even more paint color without the stock bumpers. Thanks.

OK, I need some help here. I have been reading some posts and want to make sure my paint guy finishes my paint job properly. The car was sanded and red oxide primed and is being sprayed today with Single Stage Urethane House of Kolor Red 110 Paint. Most of what I have read says do not clear coat over the paint. Is this correct? What should be done after spraying? Thanks.

Car is primed with red oxide primer. Still need the hood emblem and a drivers side signal bezel. Painting is starting today and should be finished tomorrow. I am using a single stage paint from House of Kolor but trying to determine if I should also use a clear coat. Will it add protection and will it make the finsih shinnier? Comments?