White 240z 260z on M6 Stafford

datsun dave

datsun dave

Club Member
Coming back from Birmingham this morning around Stafford M6 north bound seen a white 240z or 260z 2 seater broken down on the side of the road with a AA van hope you got it sorted.
 
Wait for Jake (JAH) to be along this evening to relate what happened - because it was him on the way to Chris Vega's near Knutsford! I know because I was hanging out with them both this afternoon!
 
Yep after sitting in the car park that is the M6 around B'ham the traffic did eventually get moving at which point my ht lead decided to rub u against rad and drain the spark from the plugs. Thankfully mr AA spotted the problem within minutes and got me going again.
 
Glad you got going Jake. That's the good thing about old cars. They are often fixable at the side of the road.
 
Jake RAH said:
Yep after sitting in the car park that is the M6 around B'ham the traffic did eventually get moving at which point my ht lead decided to rub u against rad and drain the spark from the plugs. Thankfully mr AA spotted the problem within minutes and got me going again.
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so what was the problem Jake - was the main HT lead worn through and shorting out on the rad?
 
And is there a report coming on what you saw in the Vega Alladin's cave?
 
Had the same problem going back home last night. Got about 20 miles from Chris' and flying past a train of lorries on the M6 when the same thing happened, a big loss of power. Again Mr AA came along and we loaded the Z onto his lorry as it was dark, raining and lots of traffic flying past. Pulled into the next services and took a look under the bonnet, everything seemed fine but still a big lack of power. Took the distributor cap off and no signs of tracking and seemed ok, turned the key and it fired up fine. Took it round the services for a few laps and fine. Went back out onto the M6 followed by Mr AA and carried on for a couple of junctions and no problems so Mr AA went on his way. Another 20 miles or so down the road and again the same problem so I checked ht lead & plug leads etc but it was still running like pants, like a weak spark issue. This time Mr AA's brother came along and we loaded the Z onto his lorry and brought her home. Tried firing her up before taking her off the lorry but no joy. So now I'm going to scratch my head for a while and have a cuppa tea, then I'll go and see what happens today. A big thumbs up to the AA guys. Anybody got any ideas what the problem may be? Plug leads are new as of a few weeks ago. Mine's running on a Mallory Hyfire electronic Ignition.
 
That sounds miserable :-(
Are you sure it's not a fuel problem Jake? that sounds exactly like the kind of thing people get with rust blocking fuel filters eventually under suction.
I had the same on mine a few years ago, when like a tw&t I'd put silicone sealant on my fuel level sender unit - every now and then a lump of silcone would get into the neck of the filter and choke the flow.
 
I know nothing about tech stuff and I know the 280ZX is a completely different animal and has FI but it happened to me when I first got my first 280 called AA out 3 times in one journey and after a few weeks of everybody trying to sort out what it was It was fuel pump related as one of the rollers inside the pump was worn and it was only pumping fuel though intermittently

As I saw doubt if it relates to your problem but got to know a few AA drivers that day


NOTE:
And Burnsie is so slow at typing that speedy Jon beat me to it
 
Just for the record and absence of doubt, Jake's car not supplied by VEGA :lol:
You need to get rid of that old jalopy and get yourself a reliable Z :D
 
jonbills said:
And is there a report coming on what you saw in the Vega Alladin's cave?
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Well! lots of lovely Z's :) A stunning 280zx 2 seater, a rust free & very tidy rhd 240Z, Chris' white with electric blue seats Z, a real nice looking 280z in silver and a great project 280 in blue that could be driven 'as is' or given a refresh. He has other but they are elsewhere. I took some video footage of some of the cars, I think Chris will put said footage on line soon so you'll be able to take a look :driving:
I did manage to keep my wallet in my pocket but only just :D
I would say to anyone looking for a decent Z speak to Chris as he has a good selection :thumbs:
 
I did wonder if it was a fuel blockage issue but I did run the car for a few hundred miles after the rebuild (tank came off and got refinished but didn't get any treatment on the inside and fuel lines got replaced except for under the bonnet as that was a job for next week) on one fuel pump and then replaced that with a new Facet red top less than 300 miles ago. I will check the pump filter for crud.
 
So you certainly got your membership fees worth yesterday ... !

Loss of power seems more fuel to me ... and intermittent too.
 
As Jake notes, Chris has a nice selection of cars. The brown 280ZX we've talked about before on the forum - it's time warp condition. Absolutely superb. The two 280Zs are good too. The silver one has a great paint job and just needs a few little cosmetic tweaks to taste (if that) and the blue one (on eBay) is an excellent rolling, registered project.
 
A good test (when it's not running) might be to just pull the fuel supply of the carbs and see if there's fuel pressure. I've got a pressure gauge I could lend you. (and if it's not fixed by Friday, I'd be happy to come over and help)
 
richiep said:
As Jake notes, Chris has a nice selection of cars. The brown 280ZX we've talked about before on the forum - it's time warp condition. Absolutely superb. The two 280Zs are good too. The silver one has a great paint job and just needs a few little cosmetic tweaks to taste (if that) and the blue one (on eBay) is an excellent rolling, registered project.
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Silver 280Z has every receipt from new and a history folder 4 inches thick ( 211k miles hence the size ) and been maintained regardless of cost by Nissan specialist so mileage really not an issue. Paint done to very high standard in 1992 and still looks great as RichieP said.

There are two notebooks detailing by hand every fuel fill up from new :eek: I am not joking. That history alone needs to go in a museum for the anally challenged :rofl: but nice touch !

It will be featured in a weekly classic car rag shortly - tester/freelance journo seemed to really like it but he admitted he knew next to nothing about them :eek: I said he better be careful what he wrote and check his facts thoroughly as Datsun press police on here don't like mis-information that is often banded about. Only appearing it the 'for sale' section so won't be a big write up.
 
jonbills said:
A good test (when it's not running) might be to just pull the fuel supply of the carbs and see if there's fuel pressure. I've got a pressure gauge I could lend you. (and if it's not fixed by Friday, I'd be happy to come over and help)
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I think the guys are right and will be a fuel issue Jake.
He has a fuel pressure gauge in the engine bay but guess what ? Not working.
In hindsight should have asked Bob to fix that too as matter of priority whilst he was doing the wiring job.
 
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