Jeff G 78

Does it run right with the distributor turned into the position in the last pic? If so, the problem has to be the oil pump shaft. If the cam timing was off, the engine would make very good power. Everything *looks* right per the pics, but we haven't seen the distributor shaft. Can you pull the distributor out and take another picture with the engine at #1 TDC. We are looking for a good pic of the distributor end of the oil pump shaft. That will tell us if it's off a tooth or more. Did you change ANYTHING else other than the head gasket? When you pulled the head, did you set the #1 to TDC before you started? If so, was the #1 piston fully up when you pulled the head? I ask because the crank dampers are known to fail, making the timing marks useless after the two halves of the damper twist.

I'll put $20 on timing 180° off. Pull the cam cover when the dizzy points to #1 and check that the #1 cam lobes are both pointing up like rabbit ears.

OK Chris, your shaft is NOT at 11:25 when the rotor is facing at 9 o'clock. If you remove the oil pump and rotate the shaft until the orientation is correct, the distributor rotor will turn counterclockwise from where it is towards 7 o'clock which will be WORSE than it is now. I *think* you have the same distributor issue I had. Can you do one more test? With the distributor still off, turn the rotor until it points exactly at the reference per Blue's picture and then turn the distributor over and take a photo of the shaft slot. I want to compare it to my 260 dizzy that is off by 60°.

Chris, please set the rotor at the #1 firing position and take a picture of the distributor. Next, pull the distributor and take a picture of the shaft and post it. We can easily tell if your shaft is rotated or not.

No, in my case the distributor itself was not aligned "right". It had nothing to do with the mount. The relationship between the rotor and slot on the bottom of the distributor was off.

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=56562&d=1348322302&thumb=1 Siteunseen - No, it would put #1 at ~7 o'clock. If you look at Blue's distributor pic, when my engine should be firing #1, the dizzy is pointing where #5 is shown in Blue's pic. From what I can tell, that's the same position as the OP's. I'm not saying we have the same issue, but it is a possibility, I guess. Most likely, his shaft is rotated, but if not, it could be like mine was with the L26 dizzy. Has ANYONE seen a dizzy orientation like mine? Like I said in the other post, the oil pump shaft orientation is correct. The dizzy itself is off. Wierd...

This is an interesting question because the (as far as I know) stock 74.5 distributor that came in my 260 had the same orientation as the original poster's. I thought the shaft was off a tooth, but when I pulled the distributor, the shaft was indeed in the right orientation. Rather than move the shaft, I reoriented the wires one step counterclockwise from the conventional position and all was fine. I then bought a 280ZX distributor and compared them side by side. Sure enough, my 260 distributor was different than the ZX or any other I've had. The distributor rotor and drive slot are locked into position via a pin, so nothing had moved or slipped. The distributor was simply different. I have never seen this before and I've never read about the issue before. It's *possible* that Chris' dizzy is off like my 74.5 dizzy. Chris, can you take a picture of the oil pump shaft when the distributor is pulled at #1 per Blue's picture? EDIT: My post might have been a bit confusing. When I got my 260, it was a basket case and did not run. I tore the engine down and replaced the plug wires and cap per the normal orientation. That's when I found the same issue as the OP and when I moved the wires to make it run.

Thanks for the update Frank. Sounds like it's worth the asking price then as long as the mods don't bother prospective buyers.

Nice looking car. There are a few things I don't care for, but it appears to be well done. Looks like a $15k car to me.

Foiled again!

Steve, do friend's cars count or does it have to be a Z in the wild? There are a few forum members in the area that might stop by my house someday.

For the record, you can drive a Z very easily with a bad slave. With the engine off, put it in gear and start it. Then just shift as normal without the clutch. If you drive easy and smoothly, your passenger can't tell that you are shifting without the clutch. To downshift, pull it into neutral and blip the throttle before downshifting. To stop, just pull it into neutral and repeat the process. I drove a '77 Z for over a week this way while I awaited my new slave to come in. You can do this with most manual cars, but some like it much more than others. I have yet to find a trans that shifts clutchless easier than a Z trans.

As far as I know, there is no exterior difference between the '77 and '78. If you looked in the back window, you could probably see the floor slope if it was a '77, but from the outside, they were the same AFAIK. The '75 - '76 can be differentiated by the seat belt anchor location. The '75 hangs from the roof while the '76 is on the strut tower. The overrider was a dealer or aftermarket add-on, so it means nothing.

Ask any old-timer Z owner about iridium plugs. We've all tried expensive plugs and we all go back to the $1.99 NGK copper for best results.

If you have 30 minutes to kill, go on SearchTempest and search Datsun with "any" for the distance. The asking prices are going through the roof. Crappy daily drivers are advertised for more than a nearly pristine car went for just a few years ago. I was shocked.

I saw one, I saw one!!! Tonight on my way home from work, I saw a 2+2 S130 at a gas station. I couldn't tell what condition it was in or even what it looked like, but this is the first Datsun of any kind I have seen on the streets in years around here. For the record, it was on Sheldon Rd and Six Mile in Plymouth, MI.

It's looking really good! I'm glad it runs well and doesn't have any steering shake!

So when are we going to get some pics? Sounds like your car is coming along nicely. EDIT: Ignore this post. I just found your new thread with the pics.

It means the BCDD adjuster wasn't frozen like most of our's are. He turned the screw on the bottom of the BCDD per the FSM.

Coop, I got my panoramic mirror from IOPort. I really like it. For 24 hour races, rear vision is critical and the wink just made a mess of all the headlights. I figured you couldn't change your geometry. That sucks. Your hands never stop moving. Nice driving!

Hey Coop, do you like your wink mirror? I used one for a few races and hated it. I switched to a panoramic mirror with huge improvements in vision. The other thing I notice is that it looks like you have a lot of bump steer. I moved my LCA pivots up and mine is now rock solid. My street Z is still stock and it is just like your race car. The wheel is all over the place through bumpy curves. Nice video, BTW! Looks like fun.

The link doesn't work Rob. It thinks I'm trying to edit a video.

All of the cloth insert seats I've seen have been in AZ cars. I think the black vinyl cooked enough legs that somebody started doing cloth retrofits. It was either done new by the dealer, or the sun killed the original vinyl on the doors and seats and someone had it redone at an upholstery shop . I bought one 240 that had something similar, but with a SouthWest pattern. It was nasty looking. I probably have old film pics somewhere.

I think our race seat is an Evo I and it fits OK with a cage. Not sure how the Evo 2 differs, but if it's ANY wider, it won't fit. We use the stock 260Z sliders and just had to make cross bars to match the width to the car. Sorry, I couldn't find any pictures of the seat in the car. The plan is to replace the Sparco seat with a Momo seat I bought last year. It's a bit nicer and came with Momo sliders which should be stronger than the stock ones.

I'd have an easier time spotting unicorns around these parts. The only thing rarer than Z cars in S.E. Michigan are 510's. It's really sad.