sblake01

True, that is what a check valve does when it's working right but if not, the residual pressure has to go somewhere. So it find it's way into the system unregulated by the fuel pressure regulator since that car isn't running. A good check valve basically plugs the system when the engine is off and holds the pressure and the fuel wherever it is in the system.

Cool! There's also some pictures of a beautiful red 2000 roadster there. http://www.fairladycafe.jp/gallery/sr311_p/sr_p_05.jpg

I don't think you mentioned that. That would mean that your system is holding fuel pressure which it is supposed to do. But the fuel should spray when you first remove the hose rather than just slowly run out. To prevent this, you jump the cold start valve before you remove any of the fuel hoses. I have a neat little gadget that I made that consists of some wire, a 9 volt battery, an injector connector, and a momentary switch. I remove the connector from the cold start valve and plug my device into it and release the pressure. But it can also be done as shown in this illustration from the FSM.

As far as the second question, I own a 78 280Z and live in California. It has to be smog checked every two years. I've never had a problem. It passed on the first run each of the five times I've had to test it. The first question is tough. I bought mine in 1997 with 60K original miles. It was clean, complete, and unmolested but it had been sitting for over four years. I only paid $275 for mine and to date only have a shade over 2 grand invested in it including the original cost. The market seems to vary depending on the sellers intent. Mine just wanted the car gone.

ACE Hardware has rolls of plastic sheeting that I've used for moisture barriers in cars, in my enclosed patio, etc. It can be cut to shape easily and doesn't rip when you try to remove it.

Plumbers putty. Won't dry out, sticks well, easy to remove if you ever want to. But, rather than using dry cleaning bags, I'd suggest a roll of plastic from the hardware store. Even the thinnest (4mil) will last even longer that the original material.

Yes, 810's and Maximas (80-84) have an L24E engine and an air flow meter designed to run horizontally instead of vertically like the Z car.

Instead of bashing 280z's just get another 240. You can't seem to make up your mind whether a 280z is a 'great car' or one with 'a $^!# load of overweight ugly crap' and 'bumpers that no one would want to put on a 240z (DUH!). Besies, most of the stuff you do want to transfer from your 240 won't fit on a 280 with out modification anyway.

It still sounds like the check valve to me. I had a similar problem on my 810, same fuel pump, and repacement solved it for me. The part number is 17014-N4225. Don't know if they are still available from the dealer but good ones are easy to find in the junkyard. Just check, by blowing through them, that they only let pressure pass through in one direction. I may even have a good one among my parts if your turns out to be bad.

You might not want that L24E air flow meter on a L28E engine. Bill, you're not giving up on the car are you? Did you get the check valve in the mail?

You might want to check the fuel pump check valve since you say the problem happens both cold and warm. A bad check valve would not hold the fuel pressure and each time you crank it, it has to fill up the fuel rail and build up the pressure before it will start.

I have no experience with road racing and automatic transmissions. I do remember that in drag racing, you needed an auto trans 'blanket' for anything above the street classes if you ran an auto trans and a 'scattershield' if you ran a stick.

Been years since I had an SCCA license but I seem to recall that some of the particular venues did have their own requirements in conjunction with the SCCA license.

Not the same. Different tread pattern, different temp and treadwear ratings. And they just don't have that 'old school' look that I'm partial to.

Try this link: http://www.sccaenterprises.com/licensing.html

Up to a point.

And mine is a 5 speed so that would just about cover all of them.

Actually it look just like the one on my car so I'm saying it's from a 77-78 280Z.

That's what I'm saying. I bought the car from the guy that originally bought it from Ontario Datsun in 1977 and neither he nor I have changed the console.

Just slightly tangent to the topic, I have Yokohama A-509 tires on my Z. I absolutely love them but they don't make them anymore and what they do make is not really comparable. These tires stick in the corners, ride smooth, etc. Don't know what I'll do when it's time to replace them.

Also they used the same one for 2 seaters as well as 2+2s and the two seaters have a blanking plate where the 2+2 would have a rear ashtray. Also they had blanking plates in them for the parking switch, fuel warning lignt, as well as the choke lever so this was just a multi use, multi market console.

My 78 has that slot with the plug and it was purchased from the original owner. The part number you list if for 8/76-up. For whatever reason, Nissan kept the choke slot that was present in the earlier versions even though the 77-78 were the only ones that has the console lid and box.

I didn't particularly like them over the round tops it's just that a friend of mine and I were able to get them to work satisfactorily. As I recall, it involved some drilling, machining, filling and basically eliminating the emission aspect of them. I had a set on a Z, a 510, and a 620 and they worked well. He still has a Z shop to this day but he doesn't do much with them anymore due to the lack of parts needed to work on them.

I actually replaced the whole control assembly since one of the plastic levers was broken at the end where a cable attaches. I wasn't too difficult a fix. I examined the old one to see how it works but then tossed it out. Had I thought that anyone could use the parts, I would have kept it. As I recall, it's just a matter of lining it up to where you get all three or four positions for the fan speeds + the off position. I say three or four because IIRC the non ac cars had a three speed fan and the ac cars had a four speed fan.

I liked using them in the past but that's an unpopular viewpoint here in the U.S. The U.S. version flat tops were emissions carbs and people here don't have much interest in them. Their solution is to throw them away and replace them with the famed "Z Therapy" round tops. We did a few of them back in the 70s and 80s with some success but the parts are becomming harder to find here. I understand that the non-U.S. flat tops are different and you might have better luck asking around in the U.K. since there they would have a better insight into the carbs used there.