SteveJ

Dang, I miss one club meeting, and I don't hear about this. I'm not sure if I can get my car done in time to show up.

What is the condition of the engine wiring harness? I have a brother in Huntsville that could possibly pick it up for me.

That's why you also need to check your compression.

Search the posts over at Zcar.com by a user named Tony D. He seems to be one of the few people who claim to have no problems with the flattops.

Are you sure you have the correct firing order? Have you grounded each plug to verify it has a spark? Also, don't hang your hat on the misfire being related to having to decellerate suddenly. You might have just picked up on something being wrong after it happened. Have you checked your timing lately?

The equipment to do a compression check is cheap. You can find a tester here for $10 to $20: http://da.harborfreight.com/cpisearch/web/search.do?keyword=compression. Auto parts stores will be a little more expensive, but they should still be near that range. Of course, you would need a spark plug socket and ratchet to remove & replace the plugs, but it sounds like you already have that. As for a facility to check your compression, if you could check/replace your plugs, you obviously have the facility to do a compression check. If your battery moves around, secure it before you drive the car again! If it shorts against the chassis, you could have some major problems including catching your wiring on fire. (Been there. Done that. Got the t-shirt.) When you downshifted, did you over-rev the engine? What was your speed?

Okay, how about some details? 1. Did you slam on your brakes, downshift, both, or do something else? 2. Which cylinder had the fouled plug? 3. Have you done a compression test? What were the results? 4. Have you tried a fresh plug? Did it foul? 5. Did anything shift when you stopped hard (such as the battery)?

Not everybody is going to agree with you. Random affirmation doesn't mean you're correct. However, you seem to have issues with people who have opinions that differ from yours, such as with the Pinks engine lottery. Do you hold yourself completely blameless for what happened?

You can get directions on how to do the jumpers for the 260Z & 280Z at this site: http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/alternatorswap/index.html.

If it's coming out of the exhaust, you have too much unburned fuel in your exhaust. This can come from running rich, a weak spark, or wrong timing to name some possibilities.

I second that.

Not everybody uses that nomeclature, so it is better to ask than to assume.

Is it backfiring out the intake or the exhaust?

Post an ad in the classifieds.

You might want to double check. There are two different part numbers for each supplier. One is for an automatice transmission. The other is for a manual transmission. However, they are for California cars (non-federal) as I mentioned before. Of course, are you sure your car didn't start out as a California car?

Here's a listing of EGR valves: http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductList.aspx?PartType=282&PTSet=A&SearchFor=EGR%20Valve

EGR= exhaust gas recirculation valve Since you don't know what one is, there are two distinct possibilities. 1. You haven't inspected it. 2. You have a non-California Z that may not have an EGR. I believe that while you do have some electrical/corrosion issues, that is coincidental to your other problem. I'm not sure how I would nail it down unfortunately.

My first question is why do you think it's electrical? Similar stalling can be caused by a bad EGR. I experienced this on a manual transmission car, and replacing the EGR cleared it right up. While corrosion in the electrical system isn't good, the easy restart makes me think the source of the problem could lie elsewhere.

You can get a CD copy from Courtesy Nissan (http://www.courtesyparts.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=CP&Product_Code=CDS3072). You might want to print it out and put it in page protectors. They also pop up in the classifieds every now again on this site & at http://www.zcar.com. You can also try eBay

Don't forget that a bad regulator can cause such a draw. I had that about 11 years ago.

Did you bleed the master & slave cylinder on the clutch? I can't remember where I saw a write-up on how bleeding them differs from bleeding brakes...Ah the joy of growing old.

Apparently, the shell had issues as well. Over at Zcar.com, someone posted that the passenger door could not be made to work, so it was welded on. As for the drivetrain issues, it seems more like they took some chances and wound up with a combination that was not optimized. My thoughts on the whole affair is that in the end Pinks, as with any other "reality" show (including TV news), is entertainment and not reality (and accuracy does not count, either). They tweak the rules and editing to get the most emotion going and showing. Unless you are good friends with the production staff, you take your chances on how they want to portray you. The HybridZ team was made to look out of their league, whether or not that was the true case. There is an old saying that people who love the law or sausage should not watch either being made. You could probably add "reality" TV to the list.

It's funny to me when you call Black Dragon an internet parts source. Until recently, they haven't had much of a presence on the web except for a phone number and address to ask for a catalog. Black Dragon can be good, but do not rely upon them for expertise/information. They know about as much about our cars as the local Autozone. Be careful, though, because sometimes you will get a wrong part. For instance, many years ago, I ordered a mechanical fuel pump and received one that was not right for my car, despite it being listed as the correct part in their catalog. They took it back. Motorsport Auto has much more expertise than Black Dragon. Most of the complaints I've heard about them center around poor customer service with regard to ordering parts out of stock or no longer available. They are working on some reproduction parts to help the enthusiast. Keep in mind that you're looking for parts for a 30 year old car that was produced in a lower volume than most of the popular American cars of the same vintage. American cars also tended to share parts, especially for the powertrain. That adds up to much lower prices for American car parts. Parts pricing for our Zs tend to be MUCH higher.

Unfortunately you don't provide any specific examples of price for comparison, so I cannot agree or disagree with your original premise. Parts for restoration are going up, so I could see how you could be wrong. On the other hand, from the timeframe you gave, there were possibly some Z cars restored under the Nissan program. The program could have possibly inflated prices for the short-term. In the end, I'm not planning on buying another hobby car (lack of space for as far out as I can plan), and I'm planning on holding on to my Z until circumstances prevent it. So, all I'm truly concerned with is the parts market.

It might be easier if you supply a few details. 1. What do you mean by a few years ago? 2. Have you looked at the physical condition of the cars back then vs now? 3. Are you going by the start of the auction or the end? 4. What year cars are you talking about?