ZSaint

I just bought a '78 280Z that had been stored for 7 years. I changed fuel lines, checked and/or replaced vacuum lines, changed plugs, drained the gas tank, bought two injectors, had the injectors cleaned (two plugged) and started the car. It ran fine... With one exception: It back fires when I give it small amounts of throttle. If I give it a little more throttle it takes off and accelerates like crazy. Where is this "leaness" coming from? I have never played with EFI. I have changed the computer and the air sensor and it made no difference. I checked for vacuum leaks and it has none. Something is not working and I need to find it and replace it. What do you recommend?

This is a tough time for you. I lost my Dad and I do understand. Just always try to remember the good times you had with your dad. You were lucky to have him around for a long time. Be thankful for the great times you shared.

Didn't we see you guys shoveling 5' of snow 3 or 4 times last winter? It snowed out West but it was gone the next day. It actually snowed 3"! Bruce, I was at my grand nephews soccer game in PDX last weekend. Weather was great! I paid for his soccer camp last year and now he expects me to go to his games. Jeesh! Just finished playing a tournament at Creekside and it rained on us for 15 holes. Not fun at all.

I took the Z out on the freeway today. Buzzed her up to 6500 in the gears and them kept her in 4th gear for 15 miles at 4500 rpm's. Not a sign of smoke. Ran clean. Took her back to the shop, put a trickle charger on her and a cover and let her sit. I will see if she starts smoking again when I restart her in a month or two. Jon you made an excellent observation. This engine blew smoke for 10 minutes w/o stopping. Valve guides do not normally react that way. They puff a little when you start an engine but the oil goes away very quickly. The oil rings were chrome. Maybe the thin cast iron #1 & #2 rings seated but how about those chrome oil skimmers? Everett Hatch always took a little tension out of the oil expander to increase torque in his engines. Hatch is now gone but the guys that build engines at Hatch's still use his techniques. I'll give them a call and see what they say. Maybe all I need to do is "drive her hard" once in a while to keep her from pumping oil.

It is blue smoke. The rings have seated. Cast iron rings seat very quickly. I drove it around PIR for several laps. The engine was broken in correctly. I do not feel it is a ring problem, guys. I wonder where the oil is getting into the bores. I thought maybe it was pulling oil into the manifold somewhere. No visible oil externally. I have built dozens of these engines over the years. This is the first new engine that I have had blow smoke. I had a boring plate made 30 years ago. I know the engine is bored true and round. (How many Z engines are bored with torqued head bolts? I did this for my racing engines) I was just looking for some other explanation other than the valve seal problem.

I am using Mobil 1 synthetic oil. Ran 30W oil for 600 miles to break it in. I think you are on the right track. I can start it and let it run for a couple of minutes to get the oil "burning". I will then check out the plugs for 'oiling'. I have all of the equipment to pump up the cylinder that is suspect. I will pull the springs off and check the valve seal. I will probably replace them anyway just to make certain they are new. I do remember some of the valve seals did not "stick" to the guide very well and needed some extra attention. I hope one of them popped off and is sucking oil into the chamber. I'll go to work on that. Anyone else have a theory? My brake fluid levels are staying the same so it is not suckin fluid into the manifold. I think the valve stem seal is the way to go on my search.

We used cast iron rings and the engine is broken in. It did not smoke for two years and now it started smoking. Why the change?

I built a stroker engine for my '71 Z. Hatch Engines built the bottom and and I put the head together. The valves were also done at a machine shop. It ran perfectly for two years. Engine has 1500 miles on it. I show it occasionally and rarely drive it. I started it a while back to get some fuel in it. I looked in the mirror and saw a lot of smoke coming from the tail pipe. I drove it home and it stopped smoking after driving it for 15 minutes. Today I took the car in for some electrical work. Same think happened. Smoked badly at first and then stopped smoking after I drove it across town. The engine runs well and is responsive. Where is this oil coming from? I wonder if it is leaking down a valve stem? (I did install new seals) Anyone have any ideas?

I have restored a couple of cars. I think cleaning the glue areas was the most difficult. I have done a '68 Dart, '73 Duster, '71 240Z and a '72 510. I have learned a lot from the pros. I discovered a cleaning solution that body shops use. It is designed to take off glue and rubber tailings and does not hurt the paint surface. It is magical! Just stop by a auto paint store and ask them for a pint rubber gasket cleaner. One tip that still haunts me is the time I "stretched" the gasket around the doors. It looks good but eventually the tensions pulls the gasket off. I now make certain that I do not stretch the rubber. I use no tension. The glue keeps the gasket in place forever without tension. I learned the hard way on this one.

The bars fit on w/o any interference. No problems. These are Corvette rotors and calipers.(90-96) I did use a 15/16 M/C. (reverse brake lines, F & R) The only trick was the emergence brake cables. Had to design a new system for the cables. I would not want to try and hold the car on a 20% incline! The Z E-brake holds OK on normal roads, however.

Here are some pics of my installation. Hope this is what you need.

We installed a R200 L/S in my '71 240. We did shorten the ZX axles 1" before the installation. We cut the outer housings in a band saw and then cut 1" out and trued them up in a lathe. They were welded back together and have not been a problem since installed. We were told the axles would not fit in a Z w/o shortening them. I remember the problems we used to have putting stock axles in the racecar with R190's. They just did fit with no clearance over the bolts on the diff. The R200 is a bit larger and the ZX axles are longer. I know people make them fit but we did not want to "pound" them in. We did use the R180 flanges on the R200.

Motorman: I have a question about your pan... What is the welding on the bottom? Was it repaired as some time? Never seen one like this... Just wondering! (Did I miss something in the posts?)

Sounds like a leaky slave cylinder to me. Check out the condition of the slave cylinder. (pass side of bell housing) Can you adjust this linkage? 280Z... probably not.

I believe there was a Z model that was brought into San Francisco. It was called Farilady. I'm not positive of that but it makes sense to me.

Does the R32 have rear steer? I can see the tie rod in the pic. Will this be functional or will it have a permanent set?

I agree. I just intalled a rebuilt head with my new shortblock. I have a stroker engine. I need more power at the upper end. I set the gear in the number #1 hole to retard the carshaft. It is a stock cam so I will not bother to "time" it. If it does not work, I can always set the cam gear at #2 or #3 hole until I have the power where I want it. Datsun engines are very easy to change timing. Now with a high lift cam with a lot of overlap, I use an adjustable timing gear. I will break out the degree wheel, the gauges and the specs and spend a couple of hours playing with my cam timing. See why I use stock cams and stock settings? Funny how you get lazy when you reach 65!

What will these GT-R's run in the US? Where do we get the specifications?

I have run these heads after milling. The cam is usually tight but it will work. If you are comfortable wih the brass seats, go for it. I ran some pretty good cams with a "bend" in the head and they never failed. (.620 lift!) I say go for it. I bet it runs like a champ!

I would go ahead with the head milling. (Keep what you have: good seats, guides, valves, etc) Just make certain your camshaft spins fairly freely after the head is installed. This will raise your compression ratio and advance the camshft timing a bit. Both items will enhance your engine's performance! (Moves power band up a bit) Did you overheat your engine? What caused it to warp?

I just bought a complete cam kit (Cloyes) for a 280Z for $126. The kit comes with both guides, the tensioner, both gears and a new chain. Sounds like this is what you need.

I enjoyed your story about your Datsun. It is very interesting how much detail your remember about this car. You getting in back in very good condition is wonderful. What a thrill it must be to have it back in your posession. Keep us posted.

I put a CF II in my 3.0 Z. It works just fine. I did have a bit of trouble getting enough pedal to release the clutch disc. I have to use the clutch to get the 'fuzz' of the disc and change my linkage to get it to work. It works fine now that eveything is seated in.

I just bought a can of carpet glue. It is sticky and you can lift and move the carpet if it is not perfect. It worked for me. It worked on the vinyl in the rear hatch area, too.

I need to know what you guys are using for engine paint. (Datsun blue) I had one guy tell me it was GM223 Plasti-Cote. Seems too light for me. Anyone else have a brand and color for me?