rossiz

zed head is right - on the 78 you can turn the key to "on" and simply pull the lead off the oil pressure sender (low on the center of the block under the spark plugs) and the fuel pump will run. i used to do this all the time to prime my system when having hot-start issues. you should be able to hear the pump running.

my 78 280 rear hatch defroster doesn't work - all the horizontal filaments are compromised in one or more locations. there is power at the clips up on the ceiling and the console switch works fine. i drive the car every day and in seattle winters the hatch glass is constantly fogged. i upgraded to a honda blower fan, which will eventually de-fog the rear if i blast the defroster on high, but it's so slow getting the warm air back there that i often reach my destination before i can see adequately out back. my idea was to mount a cheapo 12v defroster fan to the back panel that covers the tail lights, pointing up at the hatch glass and hopefully do a better job of keeping things clear. my concern is i don't want to melt the circuit and/or blow fuses. the add says it draws 150 watts - anyone know if this is doable?

is that por15 engine block paint? i used that on my L28 rebuild and was very happy with it - hadn't thought about using it elsewhere

might want to make your replacement chain tool from something other than wood - delrin would be great (but $$). wood tends to swell and jam, unlike slippery plastics. i found that out the hard way... just read your post above about hammering it in and yanking it out - sounds fishy to me, it doesn't have to be super tight, just enough to hold the tensioner spring inside it's guide. if it's that tight i might be concerned the tensioner isn't set up correctly (this also happened to me and ended badly). the tool really just slips in and out quite easily.

always trying

any news? such a cool project and i need a fix since i don't have any projects going right now and need to live vicariously through yours!

i went through the same drama with the scuff plates - took hours to get the nasty curled-up vinyl wrap off and wire wheel them down to clean metal. i tried to re-wrap with vinyl but couldn't get anything to stick well enough so i went with black epoxy paint and they've held up pretty well. when i cleaned out my seat belts i found corroded coins, cigarette butts and several false fingernail tips (ewwww!) inside - they work better now...

be gentle when removing the water pump - there are some long bolts that go through the pump housing and act to clamp the front cover to the block and these can corrode and break. makes for a longer project in my experience...

+1 that it looks like a PO used a "stop-leak" type of additive - combined w/rust from the block and corrosion from the aluminum head. if you find a suitable chemical that will dissolve the crud, lots of filling/flushing is a good first start. if you don't have a flushing fitting for the radiator, you can use a piece of old garden hose cut and clamped onto the heater hose output at the back of the head to pressure flush, might want to isolate the radiator so you don't push some big chunks out of the block, through the big radiator hoses and plug up the small radiator core passages. you can also pop out the freeze plugs (new sets are cheap) and use a pressure washer to flush out the block from those openings. i did mine with the head off and flushed down through the water passages from the top and mounds of poop came out the frost plug holes. nasty. not fun, but you will sleep better having gotten as much of that stuff out of the engine as possible.

i commandeered a couple of large bath towels that i fold up triple thickness the long way and put on top of the fenders when i work on the car - in addition to avoiding scratches/chips, it also spreads the load a bit to avoid dents. i'm careful NOT to cover up the access hatches though, as they are way too delicate...

what's the reason for keeping the header on? i've always found putting the header on inside the engine bay pretty easy - provided you have a decent U-Joint for your socket set along with the right length extensions. i wrap the U-joint in electrical tape, which keeps it stiff enough so the socket doesn't flop around (easier to "find" hidden stud nuts) but still allows it to flex/do its job. i haven't personally removed a steering rod, but i did replace the rubber insulator disc and found that to be a pita so given the choice i'd deal w/the header...

i used sound mat (tar-like adhesive side w/foil top surface) throughout the floor pans, inside of the door skins and on the underside of the roof and then followed with a heavy, rubber-backed carpet with thick jute backing and it made a significant difference on my 280. later i did the inside of the spare tire well and was impressed with the further quieting that occurred. the tire well rings like a bell to the knuckle and after sound mat just a dull thud. seems like the high frequency noise was most removed, kinda like turning down the treble knob on the road noise. the doors sound a lot more "solid" with the sound mat, less like a tin can. i bought the sound mat in a roll and had plenty, so i did the whole floor pan and tunnel - not sure if it was necessary, but i was in there so just did it all.

yes, my rails are dented - i figured a PO used a hydraulic bottle jack and put the jack head right in the middle of the flat part of the rail without any wood or metal to spread the load. my jack stand support cradles reach around so the support is on the corners of the rails, using the vertical part of the metal vs. the horizontal. hasn't been an issue for me, but again this is support, not jacking... my floor jack has a wide disk and i always put it under the center of the car to lift (front crossmember, rear diff support) and don't ever jack from a corner of the car. the reason is that i notice when the car is up on stands the body flexes enough that the door seals hit the the body trim up at the top - the car basically bends about 1/8" or so. it straightens out when it's back on the wheels, but i never wanted to lift one corner for fear of introducing a twist into the body. never had a car do this before, but just assumed it was the thin sheet metal and lack of full frame. is this common w/these cars, or should i be worried? there isn't any rust in the body or rails that i can see.

i have one of these on my rebuilt L28 it's a nice part - i had the engine internals & clutch & flywheel all balanced to 1/2 gram and it revs really smoothly all the way up to 7K. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Datsun-70-83-240Z-260Z-280Z-280ZX-L28-Crankshaft-Harmonic-Balancer-Damper-044-/331724815985?hash=item4d3c56fe71:g:s1UAAMXQyY1TVtVX&vxp=mtr looks like you're not using the extra pulleys anyways, so for $90 why bother with a rebuild?

i'm betting the farm on it being related to the fan - is it hitting the shroud? i'm guessing the fan clutch is needing some fluid or otherwise worn, as perhaps it is slipping completely when cold, then starting to spin once it warms up a bit. on another note, it seems like your motor is a bit hard starting - are you using the choke?

gorgeous cars - and glad to hear you're getting all the goods from those carbs now!

why not use the frame rails? i always use the hydraulic floor jack under the front cross member and at the rear i use the diff mount, then i set the jack stands under the frame rails. am i doing something wrong??

nice - always fun to read the hype of the day

i'm thinking of the scene in Charlie Brown's Christmas when he and Linus bring home the little tree... tears to my eyes every time

love the pics - beautiful car. but i can't believe you allowed that model to sit on the hood & fenders!

just a note on the pcv hose - it's in a very hot area near the exhaust, so you may want to consider some flexible heat shield to extend its life. they tend to roast out and it's pretty hard to see the problem when everything is installed. i've had better luck with the foil & coil style than the cloth type, as the cloth ones seem to unravel and fall apart. the foil & coil stuff seems a bit more robust and holds its shape well, follows hose bends without crumpling up. i used something similar to this on mine: http://www.hawkinsspeedshop.com/heat-protection-products/3-thermo-tec-thermo-flex-aluminum-heat-shield-sleeves-heat-barrier-shield-thermo-flex-wires--hoses-s.html

if the fuel system is not venting properly, you could run lean - if she dies, after checking the fuel pressure then loosen the gas cap and see if the "whoosh" happens again and if that helps her re-start. a simple test, costs nothing... the fuel-soaked gravel, pointing to fuel leaks are worrisome, as the fuel injection system is at a fairly high pressure and a pin-hole leak from a loose fitting or cracked hose can squirt a bunch of fuel quickly. please, please don't check with matches! s30 driver and i were working on his car right before he left for a long trip and just wiggling his fuel rail caused the injector hoses to crack (they were old) and it was spraying fuel all over the place. the fuel leak may or may not have anything to do w/the stalling, as the pump may generate more flow/pressure than the leak, but it's still something that needs to be addressed. if i recall from early posts, your fuel hoses have been replaced by a previous owner - the hard lines come up the body on the passenger side right under the battery, and many have found corrosion on them due to leaky batteries over the years - worth a check.

youth is wasted on the young

I'd agree about the chain tensioner tool - but if three people say it, three, can you imagine, three people walking in, giving that advice and walking out. They may think it's an organization.

the eibach springs i used are different lengths for the front vs. rear - and yes, i mixed them up during my install even though they are clearly marked... sometimes it pays to eliminate the easy, dumb mistakes first before going to big measures such as straightening the body (no shame in dumb mistakes - plenty of them here). just to be absolutely sure, i'd put the rear on jack stands under the frame rails, pull both rear wheels, remove both complete strut assemblies and compare them side by side to verify they are the same length and have the same isolators. you can do this without removing the control arms - disconnect the flexible brake lines and remove the half-shafts to let the hub drop down low enough to clear the mouth of the strut tower up inside the wheel well. then, with the struts removed, you can set the control arms level to the floor and measure up to the inside of the strut towers, which should verify that your body-to-wheel dimension is the same both sides. my gut tells me you'll find the problem in the struts - at least that is my hope for you