depression

Your car sounds a lot like my 240z when I was first trying to get it running. It would start, run for a while then die. After some tinkering with the carbs it would idle great and run great for a few minutes then cut out and die. I even bought Ztherapy SU's and it idled perfect all day in the garage even when it was below 30 degrees outside but as soon as I took it out on the road it would cut out and stall under load. So I finally dropped the gas tank and what do you think I found.... guess.... a MOUSE NEST IN THE F#$*ing gas tank!!!!!

So I took the gas tank to a radiator shop to have it thouroghly cleaned and it gave me daily driver reliability for over a year after that, and would still be if I wasn't a speed junky and decided to do a turbo swap which I am currently working on. Even stock, although the car wasn't a stupidly fast, it was a **** of a lot of fun to drive. A car that weighs less than 3000 lbs with an independent rear suspension and good brakes is almost guaranteed to put a smile on your face through twisty back roads, which are plentiful where I live. And even cruising around town, its fun to have a unique and sexy looking sports car as your ride. It will get you laid if your single, trust me on that

But the story really starts over a year before that. I bought my 240z in September of 2008, and the first time I attempted to drive it wasn't until November of 2009. I spent that year repairing all the rust in the floor boards and frame rails, replacing suspension bushings and struts, springs, and rebuilding the braikes. Not to mention sorting out the numerous electrical issues the previous owner (more commonly referred to as a PO around here) had left me.

The moral of the story is that it takes patience and dedication to take a Z that is in rough condition and make it street worthy again. Your problem sounds like simple case of cleaning all the electrical connections and replacing all the soft rubber lines for fuel and vacuum. I would go ahead and replace the fuel pump and pressure regulator and blow compressed air through all the hard fuel lines since fuel delivery seems to be your problem. If problems persist, it may be time to drop the tank which is admittedly a messy job but not that complicated, and inspect it for rust causing blockage or if your as lucky as me a mouse nest. The end reward will far outweigh the time and effort you put into the restoration of your Z.

My opinion of your mechanic is that he simply doesn't understand the pre-OBD II FI system on early Z's and doesn't want to admit it or fool with it so he is taking the easy way out by convincing you to sell it. It's really not a very complicated system at all. I am not a trained mechanic in any way, just a car guy who has experience with racecars (meaning that I have the ability to make things work no matter what, because when it comes down to winning or losing a championship, failure is not an option). When I bought my 1983 280zx turbo that I parted out for my turbo swap, it would not start at all, and the PO had really screwed up the wiring. I downloaded the FSM and had it running beautifully within two weeks. The point being that some research and determination will allow you to get your Z running proudly once again.

So if you think you got what it takes, don't sell it, put some time and effort into it. If not, sell it to someone who will.