Just got a call from my brother, and my 280zx is almost home. She spent some time at the mechanics to finish up some wiring issues that I had, but he told my that they were able to fire her up and that she was running like a champ. I cant wait to pull her into her new san diego home

 

w00t!!!

 

its a great feeling to have your baby running isnt it?

 

i will let you know as soon as i am behind the wheel, but hearing that it is running and that the mechanic had minimal problems makes me feel pretty good for my first restoration

 

Ok got to bring her home, not all the way to san diego have to get some paperwork and smog done first. I was fairly impressed with the way she drove almost all of the gauges are reading properly except the water temp gauge is out, and the speedometer needle will jump around until you get her up to about 35mph. The other issue i had was the high idle, it average between 1800-2000 rpms. And the wonderful mechanic did not install the intake&air filter, and he also did not replace the charcoal canister. Can you please tell me the purpose of the charcoal canister, I planned on installing it myself but I was curious about its purpose

 

#1... Check the coolant temp sensor wiring on the thermostat housing. The wiring commonly gets brittle & cracks / breaks.

#2... Bouncing speedo @ low speeds is another common prob. Greasing the ends of the speedo cable usually helps. Also make sure the cable doesn't have any kinks or snags.

#3... High idle can be several things... Check: vacuum leaks, timing, & idle screw.

#4... So there's no air filter at all? No charcoal canister? The canister's job is to catch vapors & send them back to the intake mani to be burned.

 

Nope I sent him the air filter with the intake pipe from MSA but he never attached it so luckily when I drove home i didnt suck up any rock or debris. I figured that the charcoal canister did something like that so it shouldnt be too much hassle to get one and hook it up.

But besides that everything was running beautifully, the only other thing that i found was the ***** to adjust the mirrors is wired incorrectly since lifting it up turns the mirror left down=right, right=up and left=down but that really isnt a big deal for me.

 

Which way is up again? Better check the turn signals......

 

the turn signals head lights brakes lights all work great, i known i need to replace the sensor for the reverse lights cause i broke that when i was connecting everything back to the transmission but that is a small worry for me right now

 

So this weekend I plan on bringing that Datsun to her new garaged home in San Diego. I was wondering if anybody new a good mechanic in the SD area to help me with my timing issue?

 

i can help you with it over the web!

 

Zwhizz near McD's by the 15 freeway @ Aero Drive specializes in Z cars. I've never been to them, but they have been around for quite a while. Also I believe JJones garage in La Mesa also does Z car stuff.

 

A Haynes manual can also help. It has pretty good step by step instructions with some small pics. Those books are usually cheap when found used. $5-15 on eBay if you plan ahead.

I like the quote in your sig. I've said that a few times

 

Ok well looks like i have the pinging issue finally resolved although my crappy *** hearing required me to enlist my best friend, who is the lead electrical engineer for the Cal Poly Formula Team, (had to drop that in) simple adjustment of the timing and she was running much smoother although the idle is still pretty high and I am almost postive that i need a new battery since she would not start up on her own.

 

Well since this thread is opened back up. I just wanted to add something. For the mirrors. You should just be able to take the center console out. And turn the ****. So you have your directionals the correct way. Should be an easy fix. Anyway glad to hear you are making progress. Keep it up.

 

haha mine does the same exact thing, and i bet even when it stops jumping it reads about 8 mph too high? yeah mine and every other Z i have been in do that.. watch out it racks up miles faster than it should in that condition. Also the charcoal canister is just an emissions part, it stops gas vapors from venting from your gas tank directly into the atmosphere. I got rid of mine and the included vacuum lines and she still runs like my baby should.