NocturnalEmber

@Zed Head I had that website saved and lost it when I installed a new nvme drive in my PC, thanks for that! I kept googling trying to find it and I was using just the wrong amount of keywords to not get a positive hit. @Yarb Strange indeed, I think they were looking for anything obvious and just didn't go past a visual inspection, because of the lack of tampering I've found anywhere. I really wish I had taken more pictures. How long does a car have to sit for the brake fluid to turn to powder anyway? I've never seen that before, though being that basic things weren't even touched, like fuses, I think it was largely left alone. If only I had a crystal ball.

@Yarb you're right, it wasn't physically bolted to the body. I have no way of knowing that it wasn't removed, but based on everything else around the car I feel comfortable saying it's original. ex: Fuses being oxidized to the point they had so much resistance that interior electronics wouldn't work. Brake and clutch master fluid had turned to powder, anything in the car was dating back decades, etc. Of course this doesn't guarantee anything, but it correlates with the story that the car sat in a garage for quite awhile, so I'd be inclined to believe it's an original ECU.

@Yarb, I got a pretty good look under there before/after I replaced the engine harness and I couldn't see anything amiss connection wise. While I can't say for certain, the way the retaining screw and ECU plug on the old harness had attached themselves together, I'd be willing to bet that it's original. Plus the general condition of other components that I've replaced, it doesn't seem like much of the car was touched, seems like it sat untouched for quite awhile if I had to guess.

Random thought - Hopefully someone can chime in. I do seem to be missing the bolts that hold the ECU to the bracket. Does anyone know what spec these are so I can source some replacement hardware? Searching hasn't turned up any definitive answers, and being that I don't have any, I can't replicate based on that.

I'm hoping that's the definitive cause of all of this. No idea how it could go from running to not running when absolutely nothing was touched on it. Should hopefully be able to borrow an ECU to test and verify. I didn't notice anything on the ECU pins or the harness side connector myself.

I plan on holding onto my old ECU, so I'll likely see about getting the cover off and looking into those joints. I've had to redo some cold solder joints in some of the electronics on another car so I've got some experience in re flowing/redoing them. Ideally with a known good ecu I'll be able to finally have it consistently running right.

@Zed Head I went back down to the car, verified it still won't start. At that point I took your advice and Slapped the ecu around a bit, and it got to where it would start and idle. It did sound like it was running a bit rough, but it would start, idle ( 800~ rpm) and rev. Do i turn my attention at this point to the ECU? Didn't do anything aside from smacking the ecu and shaking it around a bit.

I mean at this point what's some free maintenance going to cost me? I'll go give it a kick or two and report back.

I actually thought to check that, though not for the same reason - I wanted to make sure it wasn't a vacc leak. No gas in the vacuum line coming off the FPR. What gets me is what can happen to the car when it is off, with the battery disconnected, over the course of two days? It's in a sealed garage, no one messed with it, and it was actually running when i turned it off. Just doesn't' make any sense.

I checked them all a second time after they were connected two days ago and again tonight. As far as I can tell, absolutely nothing was changed between when it was running and idling fine on its own with the new harness and earlier when it wouldn't start. All the connections were/are secure and clean. The car was turned off while running fine, sat for two days, and now this.

Pressure at cranking and running is 32~ psi.

78 280Z 2+2 I finally got around to doing some more work on the Z, and for every step I take its almost as if its two steps back. Two days ago I changed out the engine/ecu harness because mine had virtually every clip broken. After I connected everything back up I started the car to verify it was running okay. Engine seemed to idle fine, rev fine. I did rev it once and it died when the RPMs settled, but it started right back up and ran fine from what I could gather. I shut the car down. I have not touched it since. Two days have passed. I go out to road test the car, and it wont start at all, just cranks. I will occasionally hear it try to start here and there, but its endless cranking otherwise *unless* I give it throttle during this period, then it will run, albeit horribly, as long as I keep the throttle applied. Full throttle will get it to maybe 1,200 rpms, all the while misfiring and smoking horribly (it doesn't smoke when it normally runs.) Honestly at my wits end here, I've changed out and replaced a bunch of components along the way for the sake of troubleshooting and just due to age, and now this. Absolutely nothing happened to the car that I know of between two days ago, turning it off after replacing the harness, it running fine then, and trying to start it today and this happening. I did notice that after the fuel tank replacement, the car will leakdown to zero psi overnight, seems to hold pressure fine though during cranking/running (when it ran two days ago.) If anyone has any advice I'd appreciate it. Google doc below of what I've done so far: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1eRC31JowXWN3sx6-Y-zguYGn5HORvq0jeS9s4Pt3rxM/edit?gid=1386834576#gid=1386834576

Unfortunately I just heard back from Datsun Spirit, they are apparently booked for the next two years. Anyone that has a shop they can recommend that isn't booked out to that extent and has experience on bodywork with S30's would be appreciated!

Title. Discovered some rust at the bottom of my drivers side quarter panel where it had rusted through and caused the paint to bubble, resulting in 3 nickel sized holes. Dogleg portion has a bubble of paint that flaked off to reveal what looks like surface only, but with rust who knows. Entire pinch weld looks sound, but there's what looks like powdery rust residue running along the seam of the pinch weld where it meets the rocker panel, nothing else visible so I have no idea how serious it is. Also battery tray has some surface rust that I've hit with inhibitor and taken a screw driver to, metal seems sound, but would need addressed. The rest of the car *looks* okay, but I can't tell if anything else is hiding. Spare tire well looks fine, and when I had the gas tank out to reinstall a new one from S30World, I didn't see anything on the other side from underneath. Floor panels and everything else look okay under the car. I really want to keep the car and get it back into shape, but I'm also facing a move and transporting an extra car would be another logistical challenge, but I may hang onto it if I can make the repairs work. Car is a 2+2 so I know this may complicate matters in terms of finding panels. Thus onto my question, does anyone have any recommendations for restoration shops on the east coast? A quick google search revealed Datsun Spirit, But they are apparently booked for the next two years. Granted I know most people aren't a body shop or work at one, but what is the estimated cost to have this done properly? (cut & weld new panels if needed, etc)? I've seen the numbers range in the single digit thousands, so I'm not entirely sure.

Google spreadsheet has been made! Edit: Car does not have a catalyst, I haven't checked the muffler. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1eRC31JowXWN3sx6-Y-zguYGn5HORvq0jeS9s4Pt3rxM/edit?usp=sharing

The harness is next to go on, probably in the next day or two! I was wondering why the fuel pressure leaked down to 0 PSI over the course of a day, its never done that before. The car didn't have any problems building or holding fuel pressure while on though. Going to check the reverse lights out at the same time as the harness, I'm expecting corrosion. I'm hoping for burnt out bulbs, but I'm thinking its probably going to be corrosion.

Well, progress happens incrementally I'd say. An update: The tank is in, So after a startup and safety check I took it for a drive to the gas station about a mile up the road. I thought a 25mph limit with plenty of stop signs would be a good way to give it a public road maiden voyage. Some observations: * Fuel pressure seems to be in the 30's (though I want to say it was nearly 40 when I turned the engine off to get gas.) - seems a bit high ? * I noticed the fuel pressure had leaked down to 0 in the 24~ hours since I had installed the tank and ran it last night. Not sure what caused that, I perhaps need to tighten the fuel clamps more on the feed/return line at the tank? The only lines that were touched were the ones going to the tank (and the vent lines up top), I also replaced the O ring when I transferred the sender over. I didn't see any fuel leakage though, and the pressure while running has remained consistently stable. * Car will still bog under anything more than light throttle. I can go WoT and the RPMs will struggle to rise, I want to say the highest I was able to get it at was four after a few seconds of WoT. My harness plugs are all broken and I noticed that the #1 injector plug was almost completely off, while the others were on there. I put it on and revved it at idle and it seemed like it was fine, I doubt it was solely the loose connector though, but I have a replacement harness on hand that I plan on installing while also making sure all the connections are cleaned in addition to being secured. * When I gave it WoT I smelled a distinct burnt rubber smell. It went about as fast as it came, but it seemed to only occur when engine speed increased and subsided when it slowed down. I'm certain its not a clutch smell, just based on how pungent a burnt clutch smell is (at least to me.) I didn't see any smoke, and it didn't smell like oil, coolant, or brakes. I was thinking maybe the belts could be rubbing? I don't hear any squealing from the drive belts, though. I'll inspect tomorrow. * Reverse lights don't work (I was told that one came on for a split second when I put it in reverse, but then went out and now nothing.) Anyway, if anyone has any suggestions they can think of I'd appreciate it, currently formulating my next strategy and looking over the FSM.

I haven't, but when I ran the car with the gas can serving as the fuel tank, it ran fine fuel pressure wise for 20~ minutes before I turned it off. Something to keep in mind though. Everything else has been replaced at this point otherwise.

Well, it's been awhile, but the tank finally arrived. Unfortunately, S30World no longer has a warehouse in the states and sent it NLPost/USPS, so there was a bit of a tracking black out until it got to/cleared customs. They also just didn't use packing material on one side of the box, so the seam on the left side of the tank wore through the cardboard and got bent. I'm really hoping this tank doesn't leak because of how close the seam is to where it bent. They seem open to working with me though if there is a problem, so that's ideal. Hopefully that stays the same if I end up needing a replacement. I managed to get the factory tank dropped and stopped there for the night. Somewhat difficult to see in there, but it looks like there's sediment on the bottom, but it doesn't look too bad. I'm hoping the pickup screen inside that cylinder that I can't see inside is where the problem lies, because when I used the gas can as a makeshift fuel tank, that seemed to solve the problem (and when I crimped off the return line, the fuel pressure stayed the same, so I'm hoping its a clogged tank being that the pump and filter and rubber lines are all new.) I've got the tank mounting bolts soaking in brake parts cleaner, they were caked with dirt/grease, and I didn't want to damage the threads. Does anyone happen to know if its safe to use fuel injection clamps on those two vent hoses on top of the tank? The clamps that were on there weren't rusty at all (or the one on the filler neck either now that I think about it) but I did somewhat disfigure the head getting them out, so if I can replace them with EFI fuel clamps that I happen to have a surplus of, that would be ideal.

That..is an enormous amount of sediment/dirt, etc. If the temp sensor wasn't brand new (I still do need to perform the test at the ECU though) and if the car didn't run and hold normal fuel pressure for the 20~ minutes I had it running when the fuel feed/return lines were connected to my red gas can I'd be more skeptical that it could be the temp sensor, or that the temp sensor might have something major to do with it. I do still plan on testing it though, just to be safe. But I'm hoping the major culprit was that the tank has some sort of blockage in it considering how my fuel pressure went right to normal levels and the engine ran mostly fine when I took the fuel tank out of the equation.

Well, the new tank is ordered. I have no idea how long S30 world will take to get it here, but they say they have a warehouse in the US, so maybe not too long. I'm hoping that based on how smooth and stable the fuel pressure was (for the 20 minutes I ran the car for) with the feed/return line coming out of my red gas can as opposed to the gas tank itself, that I may have found the culprit. Of course I'm still looking at other issues, too, since I doubt this was a cure all, but the engine did sound like the closest to a normal happy engine I've heard since I bought it (though like I mentioned, it did stumble and recover after I revved it once.) Feedback on next steps in the meantme? While waiting on the tank and fresh engine harness I plan on : - Cleaning contacts - Replacing vacuum hose - Adjusting valve lash (It was listed in the FSM as something to check/verify during the troubleshooting process.) - re sealing valve cover

I did drain the fuel a few times. What caught me as odd is that it never looked dingy, dirty, or full of rust flakes. There was one time when I went to perform this test last night or the day before for the initial time (when I left the return line connected to the gas tank) that I saw a rust flake about the size of a pinhead sitting in the fram inline filter. The fuel had a slightly yellow tint to it, but I didn't think anything of it as the fuel wasn't visibly contaminated with sediment. But with the car holding steady fuel pressure with its feed/return lines connected to the gas can, I honestly don't know what other culprit there is at this point, I would think it points in the direction of the tank being suspect. As a result, that means i'll be placing an order for a "new" tank. That link does provide some good info to be mindful for when the tank gets here, much appreciated!

Well, a major update I suppose you could say. I drained enough gas out of the main tank to fill up my two gallon, placed both feed and return lines inside the two gallon can, and started it up. By my watch, the car ran for twenty minutes and sounded significantly better, with fuel pressure being about 34 PSI the whole time. It did abruptly die once at the end of the twenty minute mark with absolutley no warning, just completely died. Though it did restart right away with no issues and continued to run fine. Idle was at 1,500~ RPM, and I adjusted it down to about 1,000 via the set screw. I only attempted to rev it once due to how late it is, it seemed to rev mostly okay but stumbled as the RPM's dropped to around idle speed, though it did settle back into its idle shortly after. I did notice after I crossed over the twenty minute mark and restarted it after it had abruptly died, the fuel pressure did drop down to about 32~. If I unplugged the vacuum line on the FPR, it would get to near 40 PSi. It wasn't 100% by any means, but it sounded like it was actually running rather than missing and stumbling while trying to run. So, I'm assuming the elephant in the room must be the gas tank?

I'm still in the garage, so I'll try that right now, gonna drain some gas back into the two gallon can.

Okay, so a potential major update - @Yarb @Zed Head, like you suggested, I took the feed line off the tank, and stuck it down into my two gallon gas can that was basically at capacity. Left the return line going to the factory tank. Started the car up, fuel pressure was spot on, car sounded great. I didn't try to rev it, but it was a noticable difference from its shaking/misfiring, etc. However, after about a minute or so, the pump had sucked up so much fuel from my two gallon gas can (and started puking gas out the feed line in the cars gas tank while it was at it) my fuel pressure again dropped into the teens and it died. So I attempted the test later tonight, refilled my two gallon gas can, but this time I blocked off my feed line on the cars gas tank to keep fuel from spilling everywhere. Same result, initial startup, fuel pressure was great, in the 30's, but as the two gallon can started to run out, the fuel pressure dropped and I shut the engine off by the time it had gotten to 8~ psi. Fuel pressure at initial startup: Fuel pressure after the car had been running for a minute or two (enough to suck the can low enough where the feed hose wasn't likely getting as much gas, causing the fuel pressure to drop (my best guess.) Does this point to the tank being clogged, or the pump itself? I'm kind of at a loss.