grannyknot

Don, I have an L28 engine in my 70/240z but I'm using the 240 distributor and the Pertronix module. The only combo I found to work was to take the G/W and B/W wire that had the ballast resistor between them and connect them together, then the long B/W wire from the tach goes to the Pos side of coil (just the way you have it now) Then red wire from Pertronix module goes to Pos side of coil as well and black wire from Pertronixs module goes to Neg side of coil. Very important that the coil is a 3.0 ohm unit not the 1.5 ohm unit needed for the ballast resistor. Give that a try.

Burl, I should have given better directions to the article that AX-240z mentioned, go to the Z Car Home Page then to Index of Tech Articles, then Engine, then Cooling Systems, 280ZX cooling system problems. J.R.Demers has done most of the grunt work in producing this chart at the top of this post. It is an excellent article and well worth the read but the quick way is just remove the wire going to the temp sensor and measure the ohms from the temp sensor to grnd when the engine is hot and turned off. I did it today after a good run and came up with 27.6 ohms which confirms my IR readings putting me at 195-198* F Chris

I think this is the article that AZ-240z was refering to, the Z Car Home Page the overheating article in the tech library.

Just got the car on the road recently with a new to me close ratio 5 spd tranny. In all ways I would say it works very well except in 3rd and 4th gear on hard acceleration there is a high pitched rattling from the trans that I can hear and feel in the car and can hear coming from under the car through the windows. Does this mean a rebuild is needed? I'm running Redline MTL 75/90 trans fluid. Thanks, Chris

We are in the low 80's right now but since I just got it on the road I have been pushing the engine a bit. Today after a good run I parked it in the garage, jumped out and pointed the IR thermometer at the T stat housing, 195* F. I did the same measurement after 3-4 min and I got 199*F. I'm certainly going to throw a bottle of water wetter into the rad but I'm not worried at all. GL

NO it doesn't, I bought one on ebay for $40 and gave it a try for the same reason you are, you can have mine for free. By the way, I have a 3 core rad, new water pump, new 180* Nissan Tstat and my gauge reads just before the last leg or down stroke of the M

Bart, I know where you mean, the original doors have had a lot of work done to them over the years but I didn't find that out until I had scraped all that paint and putty off. I should have just tried to source 2 better doors to start with. Both of the front fenders are new Nissan steel and although Nissan isn't producing them anymore, they are very good quality repops they may bulge out a bit too far or the doors have been worked so they are flatter then they should be. If you look at the pics with this in mind, the back of the new front fenders are bowing out toward the viewer and that is what is making the shadow of gap. The gap is larger then it should be but it's in a direction that is 90* to what is usual. Didn't mean to go on so long but I spent a lot of time trying to correct but couldn't.

Thanks guys, Hardway, the bumpers are original and one of the PO had them re-chromed a few years ago. Ksechler, the air damn is an aftermarket from the late 70's. Pacemkr, are you going to the Sharon show soon?

Got the cut, polish and wax done last night,

Steve, how the hell did you you get a comment in between my posts? They were back to back. And yes I was grinning from ear to ear. Chris

A few more shots,, The End? Once I buff and wax I'll post pics using the better camera.

I finally got her running, took it out for a 100 mile run after work today. Very different car than the one I parked in Sept. last year. First impressions, lots more power! Handles much better then before, some strange high pitched rattling coming from the either the tranny or under the dash somewhere. I'm very happy. But I'll pick up from where I left off. ZTherapy anyone? Straight out of the box. Carbs on, throttle linkage gone and cable installed, New reg and gauge, Bottom of rear spoiler, double sided 3M stick tape, This is Twit of the year award. If you don't see it at first keep looking, not a staged shot. I had just tighten the crank bolt to 100 ft lbs and was backing off the piston so I could remove the rope from the piston chamber, I forgot about the wrench and started her up and pulled out of the garage, parked it down on the level where you see it and walked back up for a few tools. As soon as I saw the crank bolt, washer and 1/2" drive I ran back down a shut her off. Thank GOD for woodruff keys. A few engine shots, I have not washed or buffed this paint!

Finally got 100 miles on the new suspension system and the heights have evened out, 3 season old Tokiko Illumina shocks, New Eibach springs and all other wearable suspension parts are also new. Measuring from the top of the wheel arch my heights are, driver front - 26.125" driver rear - 26" passenger front - 26.250" passenger rear - 25.5" So my "1inch taller in the front" isn't so cut and dry as it was. The passenger rear has me a little concerned.

I never removed that oil pump, the engine would have run for the PO with the oil pump shaft in that position, weird, perhaps the distributor faults didn't have as much effect as I thought. I'm still trying to figure out what I did wrong when I swapped the 2.4L distributor into the new engine the first time. I'm pretty sure I wired it the same as it is now but I've always been bad with my notes. But from what I remember I didn't keep the old dizzy in very long once I found that the engine wouldn't fire up, I should have pursued it a little longer, that and taking proper notes would have saved me lot of headaches.

EUREKA, IT IDLES !!!! Thanks a lot everyone, see ya. heheheheh, just messing with ya. I received the carbs last Monday and bolted them on, no difference, no change of any kind. This morning Laverne, a Z engine guru and member from Ont.Z Club came over at 9am and we spent until 2pm re-trying everything I've been doing over the last couple months, Laverne found that the oil pump/distributor shaft was one tooth advanced. To my eye it looked exactly like the photo in the manual but it wasn't, I was so happy we found something wrong that I didn't mind at all feeling the fool. So we fixed it and tried it again, it made little to no difference. Then Laverne noticed that the distributor that came with the engine had the base plate from another year and was not allowing full adjustment movement, he also noticed it was missing a plastic locator that keeps the cap from turning. So some slop could have been introduced there, after compensating for those faults the engine still would not idle. We stood there for a long while shaking our heads, I mentioned that I had tried the distributor from the 2.4L but it had not made any difference but Laverne said "What do we have to loose?" So we installed the old dizzy with the Pertronix magnetic pick-up and it started idling roughly, while Lavern tweaked the carbs I breathed in the sweet smell of exhaust loaded with raw un-burnt gasoline...intoxicating! So, what was the fix? It could be this is one of those Z's that refuses to run with a HEI ignition module, or a combination of that and the oil pump/distributor shaft was one tooth off. It could also be that the old SU's although good enough for a tried old 2.4L were just too far out of adjustment for this healthy new engine when I tried the old distributor the first time. Whatever the answer is I'm glad it's over, Not very satisfying for you sleuths who helped so much but I really do appreciate all your help. The Cheeseburger Demon Squirrel Award goes to.... you guys figure that out. I started working on it tonight, I should have it together in a couple of days. Chris

TechnoVersions - Home of MeterMatch, TachMatch and MotorMatch The tach match might be worth looking into.

I have two brake lights! SteveJ it was nice knowing what parts were in there before opening it up, and as you said very straight forward. It just needed a good clean up and one contact tab to be bent a little more. Thank you for the effort you put into that analysis. Chris

John, I'm measuring from the top of the wheel arch on the fender to the ground using the same wheel/tire combo.

Hazard switch and turn signals work fine, but when I step on the brakes only the diverside rear light comes on, with the ignition turned off and my foot still on the brake if I push the turn signal arm down to the left the driverside brake light turns off and the passenger side brake light turns on. After reviewing SteveJ's fantastic Turn signal Analysis, Hazard Switch ? Brake Light ? Turn Signal Circuit Analysis | Fiddling With Z Cars I'm thinking there might be something screwy going on with the T/S switch. Just wondering what you guys think before I open the switch up? Thanks, Chris

Mike, BINGO, your theory was bang on. I ran a new wire out to the horns and they work beautifully. Thanks so much. Now I just have to get both of the brake lights working and the engine running and I can go for a drive again. Chris

Mike, thanks, I'll try that today when I get home.

The wire coming out of the horn switch at about 1 o'clock is a 12v hot lead, it is normally attached to the screw at 3 o'clock, when I push the horn pad down that hot lead is grounded out on the steering housing which is connected to the steering shaft and that is the short, that is where the fuse blows. What am I missing here? Shouldn't the horn switch connect a hot lead to a neutral that becomes hot to complete the circuit?

When I hit the horn I can hear the relay click and a little chirp from the horns, if I keep the horn switch down there is no sound from the horns then it blows the 10amp fuse in about 4 seconds. I have jumpered power from the battery to the aftermarket horns and they honk loudly so I know they work and are grounded. There is continuity between the green horn wire and the H terminal on the relay, as well as continuity between the S terminal on the relay and the horn contact switch. There is 12v at the B terminal on the relay, all is as it should be except this short that is happening. Not sure how to proceed, Thanks, Chris

I sure am paying for all that progress I made during the winter, I am getting it finished though, all pretty self-explanatory, the muffin fan epoxied to the fresh air duct is something I'm trying to get more cool air into the cab, it might not work but it didn't take long to do it. The seats are from an Integra and very comfy. Sorry about the relay, that's not suppose to be there but couldn't figure out how to delete it.

Hey Bart, they said the carbs were shipped on the 15th so with any luck I'll see them next week, I'm certainly ready for them. And Bart this is for you, I pulled it off the original motor and cleaned it up just in case I need it.