ryanonthevedder

I also found some very creative body work on the floors. Lots of self tapping screws and tar, although it was no piece of art. The most difficult part to reproduce is under the battery tray, hopefully yours is salvageable. Floors are not too bad of a job though. A piece of advice having done the job already is to grind off/out the spot welds where they attach under the doors. I drilled them out one one side and then had to plug weld and grind them flat after. It was way faster just to grind them flush and peel off what was left. Drilling out the seat bracket spot welds worked great because once the new floors are in you just have to fill in the holes while tying them into the new metal. just my 2 cents

For what its worth, I had a heated shop to work in when I refinished the tank. I recently serviced the elec fuel pump and found no evidence of failure after about 8 months of having gas in the tank. As I said before, I was amazed at how clean I was able to get the inside of the tank; it looked like new metal and only cost a gallon of muriatic acid. You can find it in many hardware stores as it is used to wash bricks and tiles. After all that I just followed the instructions in the POR15 kit.

I haven't heard too many bad reviews, but there is a lot of emphasis directed to the prep. I dried mine out with a heat gun and a tiger torch - the sooner it dries the less time rust has to form. Also the repeated muriatic acid washes definitely did the trick. Sorry to hear that yours didn't pan out; must have been a nightmare to clean up that mess!

Mine used to do the same thing until one day the car started starving for fuel. Then I serviced the fuel filter in the electric fuel pump. Presto lots of fuel and the clear filter is full full full.

Do it yourself w/ POR15 http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?45538-My-72-Z-is-acting-up&p=393597#post393597 The cleaning process works very well, mine came up like new; I mean BRAND new.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/76440933@N08/sets/72157629637080227/ Montage of pics from my 2011 refresh on my '73

Make sure you check the filter on the elec fuel pump. If you main filter was plugged I can imagine what the pre-filter looks like. Check it out because it will leave you just as stranded and is much more work to replace (although the job is easy).

Vacuum hose is available pretty much everywhere. Although I am not an expert on Z AC systems. I have bought parts from all of these guys with success. Shipping is a lot more when it has to come across the boarder, so you may want to buy everything you need and go for a little trip down to N.Dakota. http://www.rockauto.com/ http://www.zcarsource.com/ http://www.thezstore.com/ http://www.blackdragonauto.com/ Good Luck

I am in the old school crowd. Keep it stock. If you want to mod one out get a '73. They are less desirable in stock condition and make a willing participant for updating and changes. Mine looks fairly stock under the hood except for round tops and a ZX distributor. Further inspection reveals an N42 head and non #'s block. Looks like the real thing and improvements increased value and drivability over stock. Plus I welded in a new floor and repaired the firewall - took a lot of work, but a good Z is hard to find! If yours is #s matching and in good condition keep it that way and enjoy it http://www.flickr.com/photos/76440933@N08/

Also regarding the fuel problem, change the filter in the elec. fuel pump. Yours is probably plugged, as mine was.

First step: Stop what you are doing! Second step: Install an E12-80 electronic ignition! I just did the swap with my '73 and it works awsomely!!! It is a direct bolt on and only requires a small jumper to utilize the stock wiring. You can find distributors used or new at rock auto and you can select the total advance depending on what year of 280ZX you choose. I am running an '81 w/ 55 degrees advance. It is 8 more than stock but I have a big cam an fully functioning EGR. Instructions for a later car but has all the important info. http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/distributor/index.html Distributor advance chart http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?34192-280ZX-Distributor-Advance-Curve-Reference My points distributor had some kind of very mysterious problem that made me nuts so I got rid of it. My suggestion is to do the same!

I did a resto on my tank before I got my '73 on the road. I filled the tank with hot hater and Muriatic acid. I added a liter of acid per tank of water. I let it sit over night on the second rinse and then another good hour soak with very hot water. I also had a piece of heavy welding rod with a flat hammered on the end to help scape up the layer of varnish and rust. Then neutralize with baking soda and water *important step :-)* then Treat the tank with POR15 tank resto kit. Just make sure the fuel return line is not plugged with POR15 when you leave the tank to final dry. Its a bastard to clear when that stuff sets up. Now my tank, she is a beauty! Highly recommended job, just be careful with all those old tired vent hoses. PS, you will also have to do the filter on the electric fuel pump, they are available and cheap. Same as on early 80's datsun trucks

The heater core is a big job. I restored mine when I had the dash out. At that point it was an easy job and it worked out real nice. I also replaced the control valve because mine was stuck SOLID. The one that came wasn't quite right but I was able to swap the new parts onto my old bracket and presto, no leaks and works smooth. With that said you will have to contort your body to work under there. Good Luck! Control Valves http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/CTGY/SHC03

Well she's all good again. Starts well, idles smooth, and gets up and goes pretty well. I havn't taken it out for a good rip yet, but things seem promising. I was able to lean things out a bit too, and according to the exhaust gas analyzer on my face it is running a lot cleaner. I am a bit more confident that it might pass smog. I appreciate the flat top sentiment, but those round tops look pretty good all cleaned up in there. Thanks for all the comments, I will PM you if I ever figure out the actual culprit.

, not so quick there friend. I have not put the flat tops back on yet. I am inclined to think I won't ever put them back on. I fired the motor up on carb cleaner by spraying it into the open manifolds (carbs off). I then spent my energy blocking off hoses and getting my emissions stuff working better. As you know well, those flatties are a pain to re & re. With all that said, I got the round tops on this afternoon and got the car running OK. I still have to go through with a fine tooth comb to iron out the wrinkles, but it ran not bad; and more importantly it ran with 8 degrees of advance. All is well in the universe. I must apologize for not doing the job one item at a time, and it means that unless I probe deeper into the components I may never know the real cause of the problem. However the car runs again and that was my ultimate goal. Why might I ask did you go back to the flat tops in the end?

Yes I think it might be fixed. It was somewhere in the ignition system; either the coil or the distributor. I am leaning toward the distributor, but as was always the case I could not find anything wrong with it. Once I get the new carbs on I will be able to make the final determination. And those zx distributors, how about that spark. What an improvment!

Ooo, nice throttle shafts. I do have a spare set of flat tops for parts... but I am getting enough grief as it is working long hours in the garage :-) I got the zx distributor installed today. It worked quite well and I just had to make up a little jumper to get it all working. I was able to use all the stock wires, and I was able to pull 12v off of my thermo switch. Great success! I sprayed some carb cleaner into the manifolds and it fired right up. I retarded the distributor all the way and I was still able to get fire out of it. The bonus is that it throws spark faster and stronger than a cop at the Vancouver airport! Horray for electronic ignition!

Yeh, you re right. Hitachis they are. I was considering where to route the vacuum line for the egr, thanks for the suggestion. The insulators and center linkage came with the pkg that I bought and it came off of a 73 as well. The carbs have adaptor plates so I can use the stock 73 air filter and hang on to a somewhat stock look. Plus: I was able to get the egr temp switch working again. It is a bit of a process, and its cheaper than buying one (if you can find it $80). You have to chip out the epoxy filler until you get down to the switch. A bit of heat REALLY helps. There is a steel retainer ring that holds the switch into the brass body, it has to go. You will probably destroy it getting it out (I did) Remove the switch by opening up the lip around the top of the brass body. Once the switch is out de-solder the leads and put them aside. Use a pick to bend back the aluminum rim on the top of the switch and pull out the plastic top. There are three parts inside: the switch (attached to the plastic top), the plastic insulator, and the thermo-activated disc. It is probably the disc that is causing the problem. The disc has a dimple in it that will pop up and down with heat. I found that mine no longer "popped". I used an 1/8" flat faced punch and a small hammer to adjust the dimple. The shallower the dimple the easier it is to pop off. I tested it with a soldering gun and with about 50 degrees C of heat it would jump 2" into the air. When it cooled it would pop back. Success! Reassemble and test several times; cold the switch is closed and hot the switch opens with a click. Seal with epoxy of your choice. Its not related to the topic, but its important to us egr guys. Cheers

That's just not right. , you got it mac. TDC was verified the old fashioned way; rotating and probing. Its somewhere in the ign or fuel system. I had to order a new magnet for my zx distributor so I wont get it in until next week. I will report back then. Meanwhile I ve got some Skinners to rebuild. Cheers

The timing values were taken around 1000 rpm, maybe 1250. Even when I had one hand on the throttle as I retarded it, it would fail no matter how much gas I gave it. So I still agree that the carbs may not be the culprit. My ZX distributor just showed up in Sumas WA so I hope to get it in this weekend. That depends on my radiator too, its getting re-cored. So I will see how she likes it, but I think those round tops might work well on the motor. I do have to pass "air care" up here because I am a little too close to Vancouver.... but there are ways around it. As well, I don't think the techs will notice anything out of the ordinary. I plan on keeping the egr and the SUs I'm getting have an adapter plate to work with the 73 air box so most of it will look stock-ish. I believe the round tops will also help with resale. The owners that champion the flat tops are far and few between.

I know the floats are hooped because I had to set them way lower to get the correct fuel level in the bowls. They dont float the way they used to. I am not convinced that it is a fuel problem either, but having eliminated everything else I am preparing to bail on the flat tops. The power valves were not too hard to figure out and they do help under acceleration. You just need to make sure that they both have the same sized spring inside, then dig out the epoxy on the nipple and expose the adjustment screw. Turning the screw in makes the valve activate with less of a drop in vacuum. I adjusted them so they came on at idle and then backed off 1/2 a turn. This way they come on any time you touch the gas same as an accelerator pump. What I really want out of those round tops is to eliminate all the idle mixture/transfer tubes that run all over the place, they are a pain. The car was running well when it did, but my hope is that with a little massage those round tops will increase the performance as well as simplify the whole mess.

I drove the car home which is not more than 3 or 4 blocks. So it will drive marginally... I was driving the car last summer and it quit last August. It has been sitting in the garage for the last few month while I was at Uni. I have been around the house more so I have made some time to address the 240's needs. So this is round two. The first was last summer, so I it is safe to say that I have been pondering the problem for some months now, and not just the last few weeks. How did you deal with your power valves? Did you get them working or did you eliminate them? I did a bit of drilling and some adjustment of the springs and I dug out the adjustment screws, and they worked OK after all that; but I also know that I need new floats and I think I am going to invest the money into some round tops.

Thanks again for sticking with me there Capt. My car has a single point distributor. The temp switch failed open so the egr system never got activated. I just don't know what else could be causing my issues other than the fuel system. I had good spark no matter where the distributor was set. I re checked the mechanicals today: verified TDC on the dampener, double checked the dizzy drive shaft position/angle at TDC #1, I am not going to recheck the compression because I am sure of the values, I ve already verified that the cam timing hasn't moved a bit, so I am confident that the rotating assembly is good. I went through the ign system a couple of times, I did a re & re on the distributor to make sure the centrifugal advance was OK. I bypassed every wire in the system and replaced the coil and condenser (I have already returned the coil in favour of the 280zx ign). So in reality there is only one thing left in the equation: fuel. The tank was drained and filter was checked, the pressure was around 4 psi, and there was no water or debris in the front carb when I split it open. There didn't appear to be any bad vacuum leaks, the emission control stuff was inactive/OK, PCV was fine. I can't think of anything else that I have missed. Even a novice should be able to get a car w/ points going, and when I pick my head up out of my hands those square eyed carbs are all that there is left to check. I am going to miss drilling out the carb body to get my needle lever pins out....

Thanks guys, I will have a closer look at the cap and rotor. I have checked and overridden all of the connections in the ign circuit with no change. The little ground strap under the cap is OK. It also does not loose spark when I retard it. I checked it w/ my spark tester as I changed the timing (sacrificed #1 cyl). I also verified the spark before I changed the timing initially. It looked all good at 8 degrees advance. I began to believe that someone may have tampered with my fuel because all the ingredients for combustion appeared to be there. So I drained the tank and put in new gas... with no change. I also checked my egr today and it is OK although the temp switch is pooched it is not the cause of my frustration. Thanks for commenting

Thanks Capt. there are a couple of things I need to double check. The egr seemed to be working OK but honestly I did not remove it completely. I ve got a line on a electronic distributor and I think I am going to get rid of the flat tops. I ve poured my heart into those things but like any bad relationship, this one might be over... sob. Thanks for the reply!