jahighold14

I am in desperate need of a stock ecm for my '79 280z. This car is a right hand drive and is japanese spec. I have been searching for an ecm for this car for months now with no results. Any one who had one they are willing to part with or who knows where I could get one please contact me. Thanks

zxguy1986

Not sure what the difference is with the Japanese models - but if nobody here has what you want, check out car-part.com. Looks like they have 50 or 60 of them listed with recyclers around the country. Search 'USA only' and sort them by distance from your zip code.

Maybe you can drive to it to check it out before you buy.

Jbaker1121

try yahoo auctions japan

zxguy1986

Is the problem that you cannot read the part number because it's in Japanese? Gotta be someone/someplace you can contact to find out which ECM numbers are compatible with that Z model.

jahighold14

That is part of the problem. The other part is that the original ecm was not in the car when it was purchased. The previous owner had installed a megasquirt ecm although he couldn't even get the car running with that system in there. I had the car running for about a month before the megasquirt system died on me and I'm now trying to find a replacement ecm for it. I would prefer to put a stock ecm in but if I have to I will use a stand alone. The only vin I have to go off is the vin assigned by customs when the car was brought into the states. Aside from that, everything else on the car is in Japanese, so it makes it a little difficult to find out anything about it.

zxguy1986

I guess you will have to start with Nissan USA and work through them to find contacts in Japan. I know that when a dealer here has to special order a part for me, he needs to phone Nissan USA central office somewhere, either in New Jersey or CA. Those people at the USA hub would know how to go about contacting Japan to search for a part.

To begin, you need to get a Nissan part number for a compatible ECU/ECM before you can locate one. A VIN assigned to the car here in the USA is of no value. Make sure there isn't some unique identifying number on the car that was assigned at the assembly plant. I can't believe that the plant didn't engrave something on it somewhere you haven't looked yet. If it's in Japanese, take a photo of it to share with your contacts. Check everywhere, console, glove compartment, doors, frame, engine compartment, etc. The car has to have a unique ID.

Also give JDM a shout and see how they go about getting all those used motors from Japan. I bet they have a network of contacts they work through.