SilverSurfer

Alright, I've got a photo of one of the spark plugs: A few things to consider: - I pulled three and all three are the same. So, I am assuming the other three are the same. - Please remember I was running the previous AFM for some time (about 6 months) before replacing it with the "new" one (only about 10 miles on this one) Because the car, with the new AFM behaved like it was running a bit lean, I adjusted the Idle Mixture Adjustment Screw about a quarter turn toward rich (clockwise). I'd read that it only adjusts the mixture at idle (and, thus, the name), but the car is running really well now, both in idle and when running. It has a lot of power, too (contrary to previously). However, I did go through everything and make sure the connectors were firmly connected and that both ends were tight (where the tubes for the air filter and the other end connect). I took her out on the road, city and highway, and she was running smoothly at all speeds. In any case, I will drive it for a while, see if it acts up again, and monitor the gas mileage.

Thanks, guys. Great info! I appreciate this.

AFM = Air Flow Meter.

Dude. I asked you to stay out of this thread and let others help. I care how the information is given. There are plenty of doctors one can see that can provide basic care, but I won't go to one that is an arse. Same goes for help here. I did state the car had new plugs, new wires, etc. While I should have said it was tuned, normally swapping out the plugs and wires, etc., is a part of tuning the car (and, yes, there is more to it than that). No, I have not gone through the Engine Fuel chapter. I will look that over.

Sorry. I assumed I was looking for help, not an attitude. You came right off with one. Sorry that I am not a mechanic to describe things to your specifications (also, as stated in the first post). I suppose you missed that one, too. "Chug" pretty easy to figure out. If you read books (those things with a plethora of words in them) that tell stories, often descriptive words are used to help someone see an image, etc. In this case, chug, when not being used to describe drinking a liquid, means to move along slowly. In fact, the word "chug" has a specific definition when it comes to cars and engines, as per this definition (straight from a dictionary): "emit a series of regular muffled explosive sounds, as of an engine running slowly." It's not my fault if you do not understand a common English term nor how it is commonly used (especially when Google is so near at hand). In any case, thank you so much for attempting to ruin my experience here. I would appreciate it if you would back out of this thread and allow one of the more helpful people to assist me. If my words are not correct or I am not describing something properly (again, I am NOT a mechanic), then I hope that one of these other helpful people will be so kind as to help me by pointing me in the right direction.

Typically when one says they have a 5-speed, they mean they have a 5-speed, shifted transmission, not an automatic. And I stated this in the first sentence. I was in third gear while going up the entrance ramp. With the previous AFM I could easily go up this same ramp in third, shift to fourth, and enter the highway at 55 with no issues. As stated above, I could not get the car past 35 MPH. I did not see the RPMs but will look the next time I take the Z out. As stated, it's a stock engine (inline 6). I assumed (yes, dangerous) that people understood what that means. There have been no modifications, etc. The car had a decent amount of work on it from a mechanic who is reliable. The fuel lines are all new, as is the fuel pump and filters. The plugs, wires, injectors, pig tails, are all new, too. The AFM was not and, as I stated, swapping out the AFM caused the engine to idle beautifully compared to the original one. From what the mechanic had said, fuel pressure was fine.

Hello! I have a 1977 280Z stock 5-speed. The original AFM seemed like it was having some issues. The engine was running rich (you could smell it and I was getting horrible gas mileage), at idle the engine did not run steady/consistent (it revved up and down sort of like ooooOOOOooooOOOOoooo ... if that makes any sense ... and the tach would move with it below 1000 RPMs to slightly about 1000 RPMs), and, lastly, sometimes when going slow in third the car would hit a point where it would jerk until you either sped up or slowed down even further. I had a spare (used) AFM and swapped it out today. The first thing I noticed is the car idled smoothly/evenly right about about 1000 RPMs. This is the best this car's sounded since I've had it. So, I took it for a ride. That's when I ran across another problem. The car seemed to do great when driving in the city (no jerking when running slowly in 3rd gear), but I ran into a problem when I went on the highway. The entrance ramp I was using is pretty steep (uphill) and the car chugged. I could barely get 'er over 35-40 and so I could not get up to highway speed. Once on the highway I was able to get her going, albeit slowly. Once up to speed, she had a lot more pep. I am assuming that she is now running a tad lean? But I am no mechanic. Not by a long shot. Obviously the new AFM made a difference, solving a few issues and introducing a new one. So, where do I go from here? What should I check? And how do I tweak this? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

For now, I am opting for two small boxes in the hatch area, each with a 6x9 speaker. That will get me through the rest of the restoration of this vehicle. After that? We'll see ...

Thanks for pointing that out (about the mounts). I should have read instead of just looking at the pretty pictures. I was wondering about installing them here:

Thanks, Jarvo2! I like the mounts in your second link! That looks about perfect. As far as the door cards, I have a few extras for each door ... so I wasn't too worried about that . Definitely don't want them in the headrests. My seats still have good, original leather on them.

Hello all! I am getting ready to replace the speakers in the rear section of my 280Z 2+2 and thought about adding two more smaller speakers in the doors near the front ... or somewhere else, if possible ... to have a decent, four speaker system. My question is, where would you install these speakers? I currently have the inner door panels off and I don't see a convenient place to install speakers, though there is a circular indent near the bottom toward the front of the door (the side that hinges to the car body). This is an indentation, not a cut out. Can I cut this out and install a speaker there? If I do, would it interfere with something, such as the raising/lowering of the window? So, yeah, if any of you have any suggestions where to place two speakers toward the front of the car, that would be great. Thanks in advance.

Right. So, since I am getting 11-12 city and 17 hwy, I need to find out what's going on.

Thanks. I have heard about people doing this. However, even if I end up doing a lot more work, I'd like to see if I can get my Z to get better gas mileage with the injectors. If not ... well ... I am definitely open to suggestions.

Sorry, but I am dense. What is a "set of su's with sm needles"?

Thanks! That was a big help. Now I know and, as they say, knowing is half the battle!

So, let me see if I understand this. There are the three "rivets" holding the top of the external light housing in place. But are the lights also attached to it somehow? In other words, do I have to remove the small nuts on the long studs, slide out BOTH the external light housing AND the lights (all attached), and then remove more screws to remove the actual lights (the colored lenses and chrome frame, etc.) from the external housing? Or does the external housing simply come off when the plastic "rivets" are removed? It seems like the external housing is too firmly in place to just be held there by three plastic rivets. (oh, and, thanks, btw )

It's been a while, but I wanted to add an update: I drove the car for about 4 hours the other day (took 'er on a road trip, I did). My MPG ended up a little over 17 MPG on the highway. Not great, but better. The speedometer is off by about 5-7 MPH depending on how fast I am going ... in this case, up in the 65-75 MPH range. The tripometer appears to be working properly as I checked it against mile markers on the highway. I will try to pull a spark plug and photo it tomorrow and post photos here.

Hey, all! Please forgive my stupidity, but how do you remove the outside parts to a 1977 280Z tail light housing (as shown in this photo)? How do the plastic parts on top (they are the three circular piece on top) come out? Do I have to remove the interior rear plastic piece and undo all the nuts holding the light housing in place? Any help or step-by-step would be much appreciated. I want to sand this piece down and prep it for primer and painting. Thanks!

I have not checked the speedometer for accuracy, but it appears to be accurate when compared to other drivers on the highway and when I am following a friend in their car, etc. It also "feels" like its going the right speed compared to what the speedometer is saying, too. The 5 speed tranny and rear end are all stock, so the gears should be as they are supposed to be for this car. I can drive a little fast from time to time, but not enough to knock it down to 11 MPG! The spark plugs are all new, as are the fuel injectors and pigtails. The air filter is new, too.

Hello all! I have been slowly getting my '77 280Z 2+2 5 speed manual up and running. It seems to be going well for the most part. However, the last two tanks have been giving me some pretty poor MPG! When I first got the car running, I filled the tank, set the tripometer to zeros, and drove until I used what I thought to be about a quarter tank of gas. I refilled, did the math, and I was getting about 15 MPG. This was with a combination of in city and highway driving. I would have liked it to have been better, but could have lived with it if I had to. However, over the last two tanks of gas, when calculating MPG I am getting between 11 and 12 MPG! Again, this takes into consideration both in city and highway. However, the majority of the driving has been highway. According to what I've read, the 280Z should be getting 15 MPG in city and up to 27 MPG highway, so an average of 11 or 12 is pretty darned low. What sorts of things should I be looking for to improve this and where would you recommend I start? Thanks in advance for any help.

Thanks. I appreciate the reply. I was looking at the Koenig Rewinds myself, but there are others I like better. That's why I was asking about the offset. I know that zero offset is ideal for the '77 280Z. But I wondered if any of the other offsets worked as well.

Hello! I am looking to purchase new wheels for my '77 280Z. I am running 205/55R16 tires (and they are virtually new), so I will be going with a 16" rim, most likely with a 7" depth. Here is my question: What is the max offset that I can use? I would prefer zero offset, but the wheel selection at zero offset is limited. Before I really start to shop, I would like to know what my ranges are for offset, if possible. I already know the bolt pattern, etc. Thanks in advance for any help!

This is awesome, folks! Thanks a ton! I truly appreciate it!

Hello! I am still going through my '77 280Z 2+2 and getting this thing and that thing working again. I've noticed that the vents on the car do not seem to be working correctly. I will see if I can explain what I am experiencing: - When I run the vent and have the fan up all the way, I can barely feel the air moving, though I can hear the fan really whirring away. If I put my hand up to the vent, I feel the air, but it's as if the air is not coming from the vent ... but from somewhere else? I am wondering if things are not hooked up properly and or if there is a clog, etc. - If I try to run the defrost/defogger, I hear the fan again (it sounds strong), but no air is getting to the vents on the dash by the windscreen. So, no defogger (which is very bad in the rain!). - This car used to have air, but the compressor, etc., had been removed (this is just FYI). - The heat does not seem to be working. Again, I hear the fan just fine, but feel no heat (see the next point). - When sliding the slider to move from hot to cold, it is stiff and does not want to move at all. I am assuming it is jammed, etc. I plan to pull all this out and have a look, but I've not done this before. Do I need to remove the dash? Or is it sufficient to remove the four screws that hold in the controls to the air/defog/heat, pull that out, and work from there? I just want a little info before I just start pulling stuff out. Any help/advice is much appreciated.

I had fuses blown for the hazards/turn signals and one other. So this would be why the red wire is attached to the fuse. I partially traced it to the firewall, where it passes through into the engine compartment. I just looked up "ignition relay" and it looks like a pretty easy and inexpensive part to get. Why would someone bypass it? The radio did not work at all ... key in the Acc. position or the car fully on. But I've since removed it.