the_tool_man

Great article, especially the photos. Thanks for sharing. Sent from my QTAQZ3 using Classic Zcar Club mobile

The ballast resistor is hooked up. Last night I read that the coil primary leads could be swapped. I'll have to check that too.

Pics of distributor. When I say they look new, I'm not exaggerating. Sent from my XT1254 using Classic Zcar Club mobile

Progress. I was able to adjust the idle speed a bit and get it to idle long enough to use a timing light. I found that the ignition is skipping on all cylinders. I inspected the distributor cap and interior. They look brand new. However the coil lead to the distributor has a bunch of shallow slices in the insulation and electrical tape wrapped around it in one spot. Going to the parts place tomorrow and get new wires. I'll pick up a set of plugs too while I'm at it. Any particular brand favored? The coil is an Accel brand unit. The coil bracket is MSD. So I assume this car is on its third coil, at least. Do they not last on these cars? I'll test it this weekend. But if it's bad, what brand does everyone recommend? Sent from my XT1254 using Classic Zcar Club mobile

Here's a vid of it running on its own. VID_20170122_144735687.mp4

I swapped in the new AFM. The car runs much better now. Fuel pressure holds at 30psi, give or take. It still misfires and eventually dies if I let it idle for more than a minute. But I was able to get it to run long enough with judicious application of throttle for it to warm up to operating temperature. No fuel leaks, either. My takeaway from this is that a successful bench test of an AFM may not rule out an intermittent contact. I think it was shutting off the fuel pump. Some of you suggested that. But I didn't believe it because the contact measured good on the bench. At least now I know the FPR and injectors are good! I'm going to assume at this point that fuel delivery is good. Now to diagnose the ignition. More to come. Thanks for sticking with me.

+1 to all of the above. When I replaced the injectors on my '77, three of the injector bolts snapped off. I would think manifold bolts will be worse. My car is a time capsule. So at the time I felt it was important to preserve its originality. But now I'm thinking I should have at least done some cleanup mods, like a one-piece fuel rail. If I have to touch it again, I probably will.

Hi all: Well, I'm still alive. Getting the personal stuff out of the way, I don't have cancer. It took most of the summer to get through all the diagnostic junk. But that's all behind me. I also got "promoted" to a new role which takes up a lot more of my time. The quotation marks indicate there was no pay increase, just an increase in responsibility. I turned it down, but was told it wasn't a request, lol. I've been dealing with a lot of other crap I won't bore you with. But things are starting to look up. So. The car. I've replaced the battery cables and cleaned up all of the electrical connections I can get to. Since the car has been sitting for seven months, I drained the tank and refilled it with fresh gas (I love that the tank has a drain). Recall I performed the fuel pump functional test in the FSM and verified it would build and hold pressure back in the spring. It starts and runs again, but no better than before. The fuel pressure drops to nearly zero after starting. It chugs at idle and will rev sluggishly with careful application of throttle. But that's it. I'm kinda bummed that I went to all that trouble to replace the FPR for no reason. Oh well. One less thing. Over the summer, my neighbor introduced me to a guy who lived a few hours from us. While visiting my neighbor, he brought his Z over and took me for a ride. His car is highly modified, and runs and handles great. I had a blast. Even better, he loaned me a known good AFM and a fuel pump to try on my car. I plan to try the AFM first, just because it's easier. I'm hoping the current one is misadjusted or had a bad fuel pump contact, even though my testing showed them to be okay on the bench. That reminds me. I also have a new set of FI connectors. So I can replace the AFM connector if necessary. If all that doesn't work, I guess I'll replace the fuel pump. I'm open to other ideas. Wish me luck. The law of averages would indicate that I'm due for some, lol.

So three good things happened this week. I found a color wiring diagram for my car here. It includes connectors and pinouts, and is much more legible than the photocopied FSM I've been using. One with this detail only seems to exist for a '77. Lucky me. Got a buddy in the office upstairs to print it out on a large color format printer for me, for free. Like I always say, if it's for free, it's for me. Hopefully this will motivate me to press on with the electrical issues resolution. A car very similar to mine in age, mileage and condition just sold on BaT (Bring a Trailer dot com) for $8400. It even has the same wheels, aftermarket sunroof and side moldings. The only difference is an aftermarket '70s era turbo conversion. I'm taking this as good news that I didn't do too badly buying mine for $7800. Yeah, I know. One car isn't a trend. And BaT auctions tend to bring top dollar. And that car runs, though with electrical issues of its own. Still, I'm trying to be optimistic here. Latest blood test pegs my cancer probability at only 33%. That's much better than the 100% I was led to believe before. Biopsy scheduled for mid June. It feels good to have a plan. The glass is half full, right? Excepting rossiz's definition, of course. I might just add that to my sig.

What did you wrap the wiring with? It seems like that would be a real pain with the wires already run. But it's gotta be the best way to get the lengths right. Very nice.

Wow. Thank you for all the supportive words. I really appreciate it. I don't need the money (at least not yet, as the medical bills haven't started). I'm in a weird sort of "simplify my life" mode these days. I have a lifetime of unfinished business that I feel like I need to "fish or cut bait" on. But you're correct that I don't need to be rash here. Honestly, being told the car is worth so much less than I have in it, does give me reservations about selling it. When I bought the car for $7800, I thought I got a deal (seller was asking $11,500). But perhaps I underestimated the value difference between the 240s I see for sale on the west coast, and this car. Maybe the thing to do is let that shop get it running, and see if I can live with the result for a while. Maybe it will appreciate. And in the mean time, I can drive it, which IS why I bought it. Again, thank you for the comments. Considering that we are effectively strangers, I didn't expect such a response. This is truly a special community. It gives me some measure of regret that I haven't met any of you in person.

So it's been a while. A lot has happened. Not to the car; to me. I found out I have cancer. My prognosis is a giant question mark right now. But regardless of what comes next, the car isn't a priority for me. I see two paths forward: Sell the car as is. If you've read this thread, you've seen the photos, and know everything I know about the car. Fuel system is likely good at this point. But there are electrical issues now. Tow the car to a repair shop and pay them to get it running, so I can sell it for more money. There's a place about 30 miles away that specializes in Datsun/Nissan cars. I'm sure they could figure it out. To recap, it's a 94k mile, original 280z with original engine, completely stock right down to the radio, spare, can-o-air, toolkit, etc. Aside from a few minor surface stains in a couple of inconspicuous places, and some surface rust on the pan under the radiator support, there is no rust that I can find. It was re-sprayed original color at some point by a previous owner. Aside from minor touchup on passenger side headlight bucket, and a stress crack on the passenger side above the B-pillar, the paint is really good. Not a scratch or dent anywhere. Aside from minor fading of the rear carpet, and a dash cover likely hiding cracks in the dash, the interior is complete and in great shape. I have had it running to various degrees while diagnosing the AFM and fuel system issues. Once the electrical issue is figured out, it should be drivable. As a reminder, the car has a sunroof, which I know hurts the value. But it also has working A/C. I know it doesn't affect the price. But as a point of reference, counting what I paid for the car, plus new Michelin tires, new injectors, new FPR, taxes, tag and title; I have $8900 in it. I'm sure someone will try to talk me into fixing it. Not gonna happen. My "friend" who went with me to buy the car, and promised to help me through the repairs has been a total no-show throughout. His offer to buy it if I decided to sell it was just words. My world has been turned upside down. I don't want to deal with fixing it myself, and probably never will. I'm also sure someone will PM me and offer to buy parts off the car. I won't bother saying "don't", because someone will anyway. Just know all requests for parts will be ignored. I just need to answer the following two questions: What's it worth as is? What's it worth running?

Good point. My ADD got the better of me.

Since I helped pull this thread off topic, I'll try to help bring it back. Grannyknot, have you considered whether or not you really need the near vertical tube on the passenger side connecting the two attachment points? It would seem to be redundant since it's parallel to the passenger side strut tower. Though as someone pointed out, you could mount a fire extinguisher to it. Still, even in that case, it could be a piece of flat bar instead of tubing, and be a little lighter maybe (depending upon your tubing wall thickness).

True. But stiffer rails help to some degree. We're getting into details here. And I didn't attempt any rigorous analysis. But for my Mustang, the SFCs probably only provided half their stiffness contribution due to stiffening the subframe attachment area. The rest was due to adding more cross section to the floor. Since I haven't studied the Z yet, and I haven't seen pics of Z SFCs, I may be completely wrong. But even stiffening the floorpan has got to help. As far as removing the quote box, I've found a workaround. If you click the "Source" box above and to the left of the reply box, you can manually delete everything, including the HTML code for the quote box. Then click again to restore the normal view and proceed as if nothing ever happened.

FWIW, it looks like even his replacement rails are thicker, and fit over the existing ones. That would stiffen things up over stock.

Yup. But when you do, they handle pretty well. Mine was a SN-95 chassis ('98 Cobra), but pretty much the same story. By that measure, I should be ahead with the Z, lol. Thanks for the source.

I have no experience with the Z chassis (yet). But I can vouch for this reasoning on other cars. I put welded-in subframe connectors on my Mustang, along with a triangulated front strut tower brace. The STB tied into the firewall across its middle third, similar to the one pictured by grannyknot. It made a very big difference in the consistency of the car in rapid transitions. It made a noticeable difference even in normal driving over uneven pavement. To be fair, that car never truly felt planted until I redid the whole rear suspension (torque arm and panhard bar). But the SFC alone improved the stiffness enough that I could jack up one corner of the car and lift both wheels off the ground for rotating the tires. Does anyone make a subframe connector for these cars? There were a variety of kits for Mustangs, ranging from small rectangular tubing to add to the factory bracing, all the way to 2in x 3in tubing that had to be sectioned into the floorpan. My floors are in good shape. So I don't think I'd ever consider cutting them. But if an add-on SFC exists, I'll definitely put them on my list. BTW, don't forget that one of the largest masses in the car is the driver. Any good SFC will provide bracing for the seat mounting points, as well.

Welcome Resurgum. This site is a great place for information, collaboration, inspiration and emotional support, lol. I'm new myself, and have received all of these to varying degrees in my far less ambitious attempt to get a survivor running. I admire anyone who can tackle a full on restoration. I'm looking forward to seeing pictures of your car.

Tonight I tried tapping the injector mounting hole. But J. B. Weld won't hold threads that fine. So I drilled, tapped and helicoiled the hole. It held. I reassembled the fuel rail, reinstalled the harness, and put back all the vacuum hoses and other stuff I'd removed before. With the starter still disconnected, I tried the key. Fuel pressure built to 40psi and would slowly drop to 30 with the key off. It held at 30 for the five minutes or so that I looked for fuel leaks. I hooked up the starter and put the fire extinguisher within easy reach. Then I said a little prayer and tried the key. Click. Nothing. No fuel pump. No door chime. Nothing. Battery measures fine. I guess a fuse blew. Dammit. Im done for tonight.

In the 18 or so years of working on cars, and participating in car related online forums, that is quite possibly the best, most reassuring post I've ever read.

Yes. He is FricFrac. He was introduced to me by that name. When I messaged him on Hybridz, he told me he was Kurk, and gave me links to his FB page and email. As info, his replacement connector kit is $50, as of a few weeks ago. I have no idea what a complete harness would cost.

I'm using a tablet. It defaults to the mobile version. You can always go directly to Facebook and do a search. Or look him up on hybridz.

I talked with Kurk McKay over on Hybridz about replacement connectors. He makes complete harnesses too. You might try him: https://m.facebook.com/mackay.power.products

So I had a little time to play tonight. I practiced installing a helicoil in a scrap piece of aluminum. I'm glad I did. Because it takes a bit of finesse to get the insert installed all the way into the hole without prematurely breaking off the tang. And as we all know, finesse doesn't come naturally to me. Next I removed half the fuel rail and examined the bad hole. It's apparent that when I drilled out the broken screw, I didn't get the hole centered. This left a crescent shaped remnant of the old screw in place that pulled out when I tightened the injector. As you can see, this left an oblong hole. I decided I'd need a new pilot hole to start from. The last photo shows what I did. I filled the hole with J. B. Weld, coated the end of a drill bit with grease to act as a release agent, and pushed it into the hole. I used an injector base to put the bit in the right place, and used the other screw to eyeball the proper angle. I'll let that cure overnight and go from there. I wonder if I could just tap it for an M5 and be done. But for peace of mind I'll probably helicoil it anyway.