Jeff G 78

Based on that info, I'd say there is only a detent spring on the reverse side, but??? Thanks for taking the time to research it.

That is about what I remember. Mine has nothing on the left. When I do a 2-3 shift, I have to aim the shifter to the right. In the past, I always remember the shifter gliding from the 1-2 gate into the 3-4 gate.

I can't tell from the FSM if the spring would act on both sides or not. Can somebody tell me if their Z does or does feel like there is a detent spring on the left? I used to have five 4-speed transmissions sitting in my garage before I moved across the country, but I gave them all away. I don't have anything else to compare it to now.

Sorry Zed. I purposely didn't link FB for that reason. I will cut and paste the discussion without the posters' names. It sounds like there is no spring on the left side after a few new responses. Here is the OP's question... "Should my shift lever spring back to center from both the right and left? Currently it only springs back to center from the right. This is a 5 speed from a 280ZX. Thanks." And here are a few of the responses... "The people who say it should spring back from both sides are wrong. (Unless you have a turbo with a T56 or the KA24 5 speed upgrade). The only spring on the 5 speed is from the reverse/5 gear position. The other side falls back towards center sometimes, but that’s just the linkages and forks putting pressure on the shifter." "When I rebuilt my 5 speed I was sure that it was broken because you could feel the spring only on one side. Tearing into it I was suprised to find it was supposed to be that way. After doing some learning realized it was all the Datsun 4/5 speeds. But the way the forks and stuff are weighted it does naturally rest in the middle so it can seem like a return spring in there. Part of the reason I'm upgrading to the FS5W71C is they added the dual return over the 71B models. That and it being way more robust!" I thought my old 4 and 5 speed transmissions had centering springs on both sides, but I could easily be wrong. My current trans only returns on the right side.

A question came up on FB around the late S30/Early S130 5-speed transmissions. The OP asked if there is supposed to be a return spring on the 1-2 gate as well as on the 5-R gate. He stated that his only has a detent spring on the right side, but not the left side. My transmission does the same thing, but I swear it is supposed to have the detent on both sides returning the shifter to the 3-4 gate, with a heavier spring on the right and a light spring on the left. There seems to be conflicting info if there is supposed to be a detent spring on the left side. If there is supposed to be a detent spring on the left, is it repairable without a complete teardown? I assume not.

You don't see many wrinkle finish SU domes. Nice Z!

Sorry we never got to meet in person now that I'm in the valley too. I understand your reasons, as I've had to make hard decisions too. I've thought about selling my Z a few times, but, in the end, I could never walk away even though I rarely get to enjoy it. I hope your sale goes well and you stick around to chime in. Your knowledge is always welcome here!

S30 entrants are at a distinct disadvantage. The S30 drivers and navigators are woosy from the exhaust fumes! 😛

I read a 13 year old post about this and it sounds like there is no distinct date range for the sloped floor. Many '77's have the flat floor, but some were sloped with no early/late build date distinction. It would be interesting to get a real answer as to the story behind the sloped floor. Nissan did some odd things over the years such as the unique flange on the '75 differential pinion.

The '77 was an odd year for the hatch area. Like Cliff @siteunseen correctly stated, a plastic panel covered the tail light bulbs and wiring in all years except the '77 which had the sloped wood deck floor (the sloped floor didn't exactly follow the '77 model year either). For '78, they changed to a flat wood floor and used the plastic cover for the rear lights and wiring. The '78 floor is about 4" higher than the '70 - '76 floors which only had a cardboard cover for the spare tire well. The later cars had WAY less cargo volume due to the raised deck, but, at least, it was flat and there is room to hide stereo equipment under the wood floor. As for the original question, you don't use the plastic panel if you have the sloped floor. I can't remember the actual start and stop dates for the sloped panel, but I had a '77 about 35 years ago that didn't have the sloped floor. I believe it had the '78 flat wood floor. I have the plastic hook and I use it all the time while working on stuff. That wood floor is heavy!

You don't have to buy new handles. You can simply swap the handles left to right. They are identical and have two arms each. When an arm breaks off, the unused arm is still good. When you swap them left to right, you are using the good arms on both handles.

You need to check both speedometer and odometer error. My '78 280Z riding on 225/50R16 tires (same OD as 195/70R14) shows about 10% fast on the speedometer, but the odometer is dead accurate. I once did a road trip and watched the odometer over 100 miles and compared it to the mile markers on the side of the highway. After 100 miles, it was within 0.2 miles. The S30 speedometers are notoriously optimistic, so you will never get both the speedo and odo to read accurately. You can change the speedometer drive gear in the trans, but before you do, get an accurate reading on the odometer using either GPS or mile markers.

I've never heard of any vibration issues due to the eccentric, so I tend to agree. That said, it's one more thing in the torque stack that could cause the bolt to come loose. I wouldn't take it apart to remove it, but if the bolt ever needs to come out for something else, I'd ditch the eccentric.

Gotcha.

Remove the mechanical pump and install a block off plate to cover the hole.

Nice project. We collectively have thousands of hours of Z knowledge on this site and we are happy to guide you along the way. I a few years, you will be on here offering advice to the next generation of Z owners. I have had a damper bolt come loose (in race conditions), so I now always Loctite the threads. I doubt it would happen on a street Z, but it could. Good luck with your Z project!

This should make you feel better. I found the picture of mine before I installed the new chain kit. Notice how much stick out I had. The only change was replacing the chain, gears, guides, and tensioner.

The lack of the notch doesn't bother me, but if you really want the notch, there is nothing wrong with using the cam gear from another supplier. Just don't mix and match new and used parts. The gears and chain will last 100,000 more miles, so it's not like any of us are daily driving these cars enough to worry about the next rebuild for a street car. I've never used a zip tie on the tensioner, but it probably makes it a bit easier. I never really thought about it when I install the chain set.

I really like the Cloyes kit. Summit has the chain, gears, tensioner, and guides for $88. Not bad for a Made in USA kit. The only downside is that it doesn't have the notch in the cam gear.

This is a reminder to check your fuel hoses on a regular basis. My '78 280Z started losing fuel pressure overnight, making it hard to start. I had previously installed a check valve in the supply hose between the filter and the rail, so it always fired right up prior to this. I wasn't sure if the check valve had failed, or if there was something else going on. I was also getting some fuel smell, so I suspected that there was a leak somewhere. Upon inspection, I found a wet spot on the hose between the chassis supply pipe and the fuel filter. The Gates hose, which was maybe 10 years old, was failing at both ends. I swapped the hose and all is well again. I'm not sure why this particular hose failed since it's one of the newer hoses on the car. I replaced all of the FI hoses about 15 years ago. One end had an OE wire clamp and the other end had a regular hose clamp. Both ends looked the same and both were leaking. Luckily, the leak was on the cold side of the engine.

LOL. No spacers. P79 head shaved 0.050" on a F54 block and stock valves. I dialed in the Web Racing cam with a degree wheel an the GM bushings. The motor pulled hard to 7,000 RPM.

The GM eccentric bushings worked great, though they take longer to dial in than an adjustable gear. The beauty is that I could use any timing set with no extra cost. The bushings were like $8 from Summit and can be reused over and over. I had no problem with the fit. I did have to make a plug to put behind the washer. The bushings are thin enough that they can walk out past the cam pin. The plug held the bushing in on the pin. I used a Made in USA Cloyes timing set that included everything for less than $90. I think I got it at Summit as well.

Here is mine after the new timing set with 0.050" milled with a FelPro head gasket. Notice the slot on the top of the guide. There was about 1/4" of stick out with the used timing set.

When I built my L28 race engine, I milled 0.050" off the head. By modifying new chain guides, I was able to get the new chain set and tensioner installed with zero stick out. I tried to reuse the old chain and gears and I had quite a bit of stick out, but with a new timing set, it was all the way in. You can slot the guides more than normal to take up additional slack. I'm guessing that the combination of an old chain and gears, worn guides, a 1mm head gasket, and a milled head have added up to WAY too much stick out. Take the time and fix it right. Even if it means pulling the front cover with the engine installed, I'd replace the guides and timing set before starting it up.

My biggest probem doing the diff oil is getting the damn drain and fill plugs out. When I did my trans, I tried everything to get the fill plug out with no success, so I did like I always do and filled through the reverse switch. I'm sure my diff oil is ancient, but I'm sure those plugs are all but welded in as well.