SteveJ

Thanks @Zed Head. I moved the switch to the port closest to the clutch fork. The switch makes contact in reverse. As I looked more carefully at the transmission, I realized I have the truck 5 speed.

Your suspicions are likely correct. It is probably the switch at the turn signal. It swaps which wire comes into contact with ground. In this case, the switch is not bringing the red/black wire into contact with the ground wire.

I forgot to mention that the transmission is an early 5 speed from a 280Z.

The reverse lights never came on when the car was in reverse in my 240Z. Twenty-four years ago, I replaced the switch, but the lights still didn't come on. I decided to try again. I installed a new OEM switch and checked the leads for continuity. No go. I moved the gear shift and found that the transmission pressed on the reverse switch in 4th gear. I assume there's no way to fix this without opening the transmission.

https://www.zdriver.com/forums/280zx-s130-forums-77/79-83-280zx-distributor-repair-kit-43187/ @kickstand80It's okay to name other Z car sites here and post links to them.

Remove the bolts at the back of the driveshaft.

I found the kit here, too. https://www.ebay.com/itm/182616926711 It is listed for less, too, and the ebay link has photos. The compressor mount is actually goes where the smog pump would be. That is better as long as you don't have vehicle inspections in Switzerland. I'm still wondering about the evaporator integration.

It's an old style kit. The evaporator takes up a lot of the passenger footwear and isn't very efficient. The compressor mount blocks access to the mechanical fuel pump bolts and also limits access to the alternator. The upside is that it will take less time to install than a Vintage Air kit. Edit - I took another look. That kit wasn't the one I thought it was. It's a very generic kit. I suggest passing on it.

Switch panel? As for the solenoid wire, until the advent of the atrocious seatbelt interlock relay, the black/yellow wire went straight to the solenoid. The coil for relay in the wiring diagram is energized by a circuit going through the seatbelt interlock relay that I believe was deleted prior to the 75 coming to market. (https://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2009/11/the-great-safety-belt-interlock-fiasco/) As for the fuse box, pay attention to the source of power for the circuits. I have looked at the Eaton fuse boxes in the past. What I didn't like is that they didn't seem flexible for the different ways circuits are fused in the S30s. By the way, make sure you don't delete the shunt unless you are going to change out the ammeter gauge for a voltmeter.

Take the cover off of the steering column. It's right at the headlight switch. The 9 pin connector looks like this: The 6 pin connector is much flatter and wider.

Either way, it's just something that would have to be cut out of another car.

Didn't the OP say 280Z? http://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsun/Z-1969-1978/body-260z-280z/2-seater/cowl-top-grille

So it looks from your photo, that you need all of the sheet metal under the cowl.

I'm pretty sure it was a stock thing. It was in my 240Z from the time I purchased it.

I decided there was enough time in the day to do a few more little things to the Z. I changed the oil, inspected the reverse switch (no continuity in reverse), and changed out the sending unit at the gas tank. Since I knew I replaced the reverse light switch many years ago, I decided to figure out if it might be a part number issue. I searched CarPartsManual.com for the reverse switches for the 4 speed and the 5 speed. A previous owner swapped in an early 5 speed. It's the same part number. I ordered the switch from Courtesy Nissan. I'm hoping that the aftermarket part I tried 24 years ago was just not made correctly. I'll find out in about a week or so. Aside from trying the new switch when I get it and replacing the intake manifold gasket next Saturday, I'd say my odyssey of getting the 240Z back on the road is pretty much complete. I owe a lot to my local friend, Tim McGovern, and all of the people who have posted here over the years, especially Philip @240260280, for all that I have learned. It's simply amazing all of the knowledge I have accumulated over the last 10 years.

By the way, here is a listing for the FAST system. https://zcardepot.com/products/fuel-injection-retrofit-kit-fast-efi-280z-280zx?_pos=1&_sid=97725d02c&_ss=r

The TBI conversion was about $2000 for me, but that takes a couple of SU carburetors and converts them to throttle bodies. It would be much more involved to do that on a 280ZX and a step backwards to me. As to the "tinkering" start getting photo-happy and post the pictures here. We may be able to help with the mechanical changes. Also start downloading the factory service manuals for the 79-81 280ZX from Xenonzcar. It takes more effort since you have to do it section by section, but it may help you identify electrical and mechanical changes made to your car.

So on the flip side, I converted the 260Z to TBI with a GM ECU. I would do it again tomorrow. Heck, I'm tempted to do it to the 240Z, but I would also get headers for it if I went that way to better accommodate installing an O2 sensor.

My first piece of advice is don't take wild swings on changing things unless you really know what you're doing. When I did that in the past, it typically didn't end well for me. My second piece of advice is don't stray away from electronics. They are SO much better than mechanical once you understand them. Certainly don't consider doing a points distributor. As for rebuilding the distributor, consider contacting someone like this: http://advanceddistributors.com/wordpress1/. A small shop might charge more, but I bet you could trust someone like this better than the rebuild services used by RockAuto and the chain stores. A friend who drives his 280Z EVERYWHERE (over 600,000 miles on the chassis) uses the FAST EFI. I haven't heard him complain about it.

I'm glad you asked. 😉 I checked the valve lash. By the way here's a chart I like to make before starting in order to keep track of what I have checked/adjusted. I just put an "X" for each one as I knock them out. So I adjusted the valves. I finally have done it enough that I can do it quickly. After that I went to adjust the timing, and I could still hear the tick. I used a mechanic's stethoscope on the valve cover, and all of the sounds were nice. I took a short video and sent it to a very good friend who taught me a lot about wrenching on Zs. He confirmed one of my possible causes. He believes it's an exhaust leak. At least I can check that, and I probably have at least one intake/exhaust gasket lying about.

Yes, that is a beautiful build. I saw it at ZCON 2011 in Savannah.

First bath in a LONG time.

Well, for the hardware, post the bolt lengths you have. There shouldn't be much variation. As for bolt diameter, that should be obvious. It has to fit in the holes. Here's a close up shot of one of the anchor points. You can see how I used washers to allow it to pivot. You might see the small spacer I added to the top pivot. It keeps the pivot off of the trim.

I'll try to take some pictures when I wash the 240Z this morning. The belts are from a different company, but the mounting looks the same.

As you may have figured out, there are some anomalies in the wiring diagrams. Some of them can be resolved with the proper application of a multimeter. For instance, I would expect that the blue/red wire for the reverse switch actually ties into the blue/red wire coming off of the fuse box. That could also be going to the wiper. I'm not sure the interlock relay made it into the 75. It depends upon when Nissan was able to react to the change in the requirement for that monstrosity. The other questions would take studying the wiring diagram in detail. I hope you won't be offended if I say that working on my own projects has a higher priority (as does getting some sleep). The challenge for me is that I don't have a 75 that I can confirm your findings with.