One Way

Thanks so much for all the input and great offer on the EFI system. As originally stated, the engine is quite a way down the road with this resurrection project and have been saving all the great info and trying to formulate a workable future plan for this project. Sounds like the original EFI system is getting the most favorable opinions. I have no verifiable history on why this vehicle was taken off the road so long ago, but poor storage and several indications of it being water flooded at some time , do concern me with the electronics. I will slowly progress with the project and have gratefully noted all the experienced opinions and recommendations. Thanks, John-Lugoff, SC.

Thanks for the responses from the Z experts. As usual, I was a day late and a dollar short on the intake manifold. There are no intentions on making this resurrection project a high performance version, just a normal , easy to maintain, driveable street vehicle. The engine will get a complete rebuild with stock internals. Upgraded electronic distributor most likely will be needed as well. I will cost compare new EFI components vs 4bbl conversion and see how that goes. All of the injectors look very bad, as do all of the connectors, wiring, seals, etc. I work for O'Reilly Auto Parts and they offer a very generous team member discount. BWD brand injectors and connectors are still available through O'Reilly's as well as the Holley 390 CFM carburetor. I also have a 68 Datsun 2000 with the SU carbs and not all that thrilled with getting those to work properly. It has been years since I worked on Holley carbs in my younger muscle car days, but always thought they performed well and were quite easy to adjust when needed. Also if I did do the conversion, I would be able to sell off some of the original parts to offset the cost. There is quite a price difference in the Clifford manifold vs the Arizona Z version. I have not really checked into any other brands that may be available. Any suggestions or alternatives ? Thanks again for the helpful suggestions, John-Lugoff, SC

The resurrection project is not even close to getting into the engine department yet, but I have an opportunity to pick up a 4 bbl ARIZONA intake manifold at a very reasonable price. All of the original injector parts are in very rough shape-purchased the project car that had been off the road for almost 20 years-and I know all the components will need to be replaced. Just some questions about the conversion. Would it be less expensive, less complicated? What do you do with the ECU component and wiring? What type of lower pressure fuel pump would be required? What about all the fuel and vapor return lines to the tank? Any helpful comments will be greatly appreciated. I have been picking up a few odds and ends for my Z that will not be needed until far in the future, but it is hard to pass up some of the good deals on certain items. Thanks, John-Lugoff, SC.

Thanks for the responses. Been very busy at work this past week and several other projects going on at home and church, so the Z project got put to the back burner. Did not even check my e-mails or Z-car site. I will have to check out the map for the GA location and see if it is any where near our daughter. I never realized how big a state Georgia was until they moved there and purchased a home . They are about 4-4-1/2 hours away from us. We will see how things work out. Shipping such a part would be awkward and costly. Thanks again, John-Lugoff,SC.

I am beginning to formulate the battle plan for replacing the floor pans and front frame rails on the project car. It looks like there are a few good options available for purchasing new pieces. Other small areas that should be replaced I am pretty confident I can fabricate some repair pieces with 20 gauge sheet metal. The spare tire compartment is in real poor shape. I do not have any confidence of fabricating that part. I have looked at a few trunk sections from some newer vehicles and have come very close with the same dimensions as the original. Any thoughts on cutting one out of a salvage yard car and dropping it into the 280Z? The 2 hanger brackets on the bottom of the spare tire compartment could be easily welded on the replacement component. There are no intentions of this project being a show piece, just a solid fun runner on a budget . It seems that the depths of the newer car compartments are a bit deeper than the original, but the diameters are nearly identical. I am sure roaming through our local Pull-A-Part I can locate something very close. Any helpful suggestions welcomed. Thanks again, John-Lugoff, SC.

Patience is a virtue that the LORD has helped me develop over the years. I will have to weigh out the options and prices of reworking the stock exhaust manifold-my labor rate is pretty cheap-vs buying a header. Not sure about trusting a used header. I have not really cleaned and inspected the intake at all yet. I do know the PCV valve is completely rotted off. Hopefully the threaded portion will come out of the intake easily. Thanks again for the tips, John-Lugoff, SC. I will not have any time the rest of this week to work on the project due to work schedule.

I had a bit of time this morning before going into work and did some clean up on the N47 exhaust manifold. I will not trust the 3 exhaust pipe studs. After cleaning ,what I thought may have been hex heads on the exposed ends of the studs turned out to be rusted through 10-15% of the diameter. The areas right at the manifold are also rusted a bit thin. So much for just cleaning and running a die to clean up the threads. Definitely will need an oxy-acetylene torch for enough heat. The 6 exhaust port mounting flanges really cleaned up nicely with just a touch of the angle grinder with a flap disc and finished with a 3M scuff pad. I have a slight concern with the #6 port that the stud was missing / snapped off in the head. I have no idea how long the engine may have been run like that-has not been on the road since 1995 according to the info when I purchased it last year. The rear outer edge near the stud hole is either a bad casting or worn away by running with a missing stud. The gasket was definitely gone in that area when everything was removed. The rest of the gasket was all intact on the front 5 ports. Can the edge be welded up and ground flat or just use a good quality gasket properly torqued. The inner sealing area right at the port looks great as do the other 5 ports. Just not quite as much flat surface for the flange as the #1 port has. Looking for recommendations from the Z experts again. This will not be a modified engine for performance. Just a complete but budget friendly rebuild on the engine. Quite a few stock parts can be purchased-timing components, water pump, oil pump, distributor, etc-for the cost of the aftermarket headers, but I will bite the bullet if the MSA headers are the only solution. Thanks again. John-Lugoff, SC.

The info is worth a bit more than .06 total. I just may clean up the 3 studs for the exhaust pipe with a thread die and fix the very end tips which have no threads but seem badly deformed. I thought that originally the studs may have had a small hex shape to install them into the manifold but not really sure. I looked into the pipe and muffler kits that MSA offers and that looks to be the easiest and most economical solution. I will need the extension pipe since my project is the 2+2 model. Hopefully on Monday I can spend a little time on the broken EGR fitting on the exhaust manifold as well as the PCV valve rotted off on the intake. The MAPP gas and the PB Blaster hopefully will do the trick before media cleaning the manifolds and then painting with some hi temp products. Thanks again for the helpful hints. The 2 mufflers originally on the car must certainly have been a restriction on flow. Looking forward to the project challenge and learning experience on the Datsun Z. John-Lugoff, SC.

Both manifolds removed. 3 exhaust studs snapped off right at the nut so there is something to work with there when I remove the head. The back stud was already broken and appears to be snapped off inside the head. That will be the major concern. The large EGR fitting also snapped off in the intake manifold. Also another project for another day. Looking for recommendations on exhaust options. Keep the stock manifold, remove the EGR fitting, replace the 3 intact but looking pretty poor exhaust pipe studs, blast and hi-temp paint-or purchase an aftermarket header ? The exhaust pipe looks pretty good, although I have not removed the heat shield around it yet. Center muffler not the greatest, rear pipe and muffler defintely bad. This is a budget project and most likely keeping the engine basically stock. Thanks for any advice from the Z experts. The MAPP gas definitely gets things hotter and faster. The exhaust pipe nuts came free rather easily after a little torch time with the MAPP gas. I will see how it works trying to remove the EGR fittings out of the exhaust and intake manifolds. Thanks again, John-Lugoff, SC.

I have seen the FREEZE sprays available now but have never tried any. Great to hear an advertisement from a real user rather than just the promised amazing results printed on the can. Over the years I have had good success with PB BLASTER, some heat, and a lot of patience. Looking forward to tackling this segment of the project. Thanks again, john-Lugoff, SC.

Thanks for the tips. Broken stud removal is definitely a chore to be done with the cylinder head removed. That will be a separate project down the road. I am sure the head will need to be milled, machined and gone through thoroughly. This project was purchased knowing it had been sitting over 19 years, so I kind of expected a complete mechanical rebuild on all areas of the Z. I am just trying to refurbish some of the smaller components, like the manifolds, cleaning, media blasting and painting as we go. That kind of stuff is not too hard on the checkbook right now. I have a bit of time off from work tomorrow so my game plan is to try and get those manifolds removed. I have the pro grade nozzle and will try some of the MAPP gas on it. That is supposed to get hotter than the propane. The propane set up I have has done very well on the stubborn fasteners I have encountered so far but not as well on the EGR tubes and exhaust manifold fasteners. The oversize exhaust studs may be an upgrade I will do as it seems there have been numerous comments about them failing, especially the rear one. I will keep you posted and looking forward to more input from the Z experts. Thanks, John-Lugoff, SC.

Continuing the tear down on my project. I have been slowly removing components to evaluate and refurbish as the project slowly moves forward. The engine is still in the car-less storage space needed. I have been struggling with the manifolds. i have been spraying the hardware with Blaster everytime the hood has been popped for the past several weeks. The rear exhaust stud is missing and I snapped off the front one with barely any force. The center bolt did come out OK. The factory service manual simply states remove the EGR valve, etc. The valve has been successfully removed with the Blaster and a bit of heat but the connecting tubes are a different story. Any tips or suggestions will be appreciated, even an elimination of the EGR system if that would not cause performance or driveability issues with the engine after we get it rebuilt and running. Thanks for the help in advance. John-Lugoff, SC

I have not removed any floor pans yet but I did clean up a few spots where the pans are seamed to the body rails and it sure looks like the sealer is between the 2 pieces of sheet metal. The sealer certainly covers over the spot welds and looks like a lot of messy grinding to remove the sealer to access the spot welds to drill them out when I get ready to install new floor pans. Any easier suggestions from those who have done the floor pan-frame rail replacements? Thanks in advance, John-Lugoff, SC.

Making steady progress on the old factory sound deadener-(See previous post with great responses). Game plan is to blast or dip this project along with some new floor pans. Some of the original seam sealer just crumbles off with rust beneath it while much of it still really looks good and tight. Some came out when removing the sound deadener especially around the center tunnel. Looking forward to more great advice from all the Z experts on this great website. I am really enjoying my project although it is going slow with family and work responsibilities taking priority. Is the seam sealer actually between the metal flanges or is it just spread over the seams? Not sure how the actual manufacturing process went back in 1978 but it seems that the sealant would not make for very good welding on those panels. Thanks in advance for any helpful info and discussion, John-Lugoff, SC.

Seems to be always good words said about Zedd Findings and I have certainly checked out their website previously. Thanks for the input, John-Lugoff, SC.

Teardown and evaluation process continues on this project. I am a bit unclear on whether the front floor pans and front frame rails seen on some of the suppliers websites will fit on a 2+2 model. Front fenders seem to be the same, rocker panels and doors I believe are different, but not sure on the other body parts. Passenger seat mount is near perfect, driver side is a bit rusty, but front floor pans are definitely bad. Rear floor pans not nearly as bad but I have not seen those on any supplier catalog. Helpful advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance, John-Lugoff, SC.

Successful removal of all 3 main harnesses today. I will definitely need lots of new plastic mounting clips when ready to reassemble. The EFI harness will also need some help. All of the injector connectors were very brittle. A few of them just kind of crumbled with slight pressure and several of them were full of green corrosion. The rubber sealing boots were mostly cracked or very brittle too. All in all a major step in the tear down process. Thanks for all the helpful info, John-Lugoff, SC

Thanks for the heads up on the connector housing near the fuse box. Captain Obvious certainly got it right. That project is the type the Lord sends our way to help us build patience-"Knowing this, that tribulation brings about patience" Romans 5:3-It took a good 45 minutes of wiggling, jiggling, no cursing, and a handful of tiny screwdrivers to get those connectors out of the block. All without breaking any of the tabs or connectors. Obviously designed to be a one time process only by Datsun engineers. I have removed the entire engine room harness-found only 1 broken wire-connector to the switch that goes into the bell housing. After lunch I hope to get the EFI or interior harness out, maybe even both. Where is a good source to get the factory style plastic clips used to secure the harnesses? Most of mine were very brittle and cracked. Thanks again-John-Lugoff, SC.

As usual, thanks for the tips. I always go to the factory service manual to get a general idea of how any of the systems work, and thought the section on the harnesses was pretty good, but not too much info on removal or restoration of the harnesses. I am quite amazed on how good the harnesses look on this car but as stated before you might find some problems underneath the tape wrap and other issues when I actually get the whole harnesses pulled out. Thanks again, John. I never like unwrapping all that factory tape and my wrap jobs never seem to come out as good as the factory. I also like to cover the tape wrap with split wire loom for added protection and appearance. Not sure if that is the best approach but we will see when we get that far into the project.

The teardown slowly continues. Gameplan is a dip or blast of the stripped down car so I want to remove all the harnesses. The harnesses are a huge improvement over the wiring I found in my 68 Datsun 2000 roadster, but also much more complicated. So far it looks like the large plugs are self explanatory and the smaller ones ( contrary to the 68 roadster) are actually color coordinated. I will be taking careful notes and diagrams, and tagging all the ends of the wires but am looking for any helpful tips some of you Z experts may have learned in your years of experience. As a whole the harnesses look very good-RR tail light wiring is damaged-appears to have been chewed through during the many years this vehicle was neglected and parked- and I will eventually clean up the harnesses when and if the reassembly process begins. I am finding a bit more structural damage the more the vehicle has been torn down but I will remain optimistic about the project. Suggestions for removal, cleaning, retaping, rerouting, etc.will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, John-Lugoff, SC.

Thanks for the input. The refinishing process is still well down the road, but I am trying to formulate a good game plan for the project as I evaluate the vehicle during the tear down process. Thanks again-John-Lugoff, SC

The tear down continues on the Z and evaluating as we go. A lot of bad areas of rust but also a lot of sections looking like new. Game plan is to blast or dip the bare shell eventually before replacing bad sections and then reassembly process. Should I keep the factory deadener material on over the tunnel area or try to remove it? That is one of the areas that looks factory fresh with the original paint still showing some shine. Also what is best recommendation for the painting of the shell after the cleaning? Loads of products out there all promising to prevent any rust but looking for hands on experience suggestions. I have used the POR-15 brush on system on some other projects and have been pleased with the results but a whole body shell would be a much larger project than I have tackled before. Thanks for any suggestions, John-Lugoff, SC

I guess the weight difference may depend on how much of the Z is rusted away! Based on the total weight of the car I think the bare shell would be more toward the 600-700 pound range, but certainly an interesting question. Never thought my original post would generate so much activity. Thanks for the input, John-Lugoff, SC

Thanks for all the fast replies and helpful suggestions. Did not think of looking for a used unit someone may not have a need for anymore. John-Lugoff, SC.

I have also seen some of the wooden ones on the internet. Probably much easier to build but they do look possibly unsafe. The engine stands seem to be a good starting point but the height factor is my concern. The 78 280Z has the extended impact absorber bumper mounts which look to be a good mounting point. Thanks for the info. Adding to the height of an engine stand would not be too difficult but would like to know the best height for the pivot. John-Lugoff, SC