'Picked up my 280Z Today :D

[DatsunZsRule]

nah Not offended at all. I'm pretty far away If you can, try to do the tune up yourself if you can. The more you can do on your own, the cheaper it will cost you Feel free to e-mail me as well if you have a question My address is in my signature.

Yes, you can order online from Courtesy. http://www.courtesyparts.com/secondtier_s30.html

I've always have had really good luck with them. They are the ones that sell the F.S.M. on CD Rom as well. You'll see it when you go to there site. About the shift knobs. What can I say? There are many many different ones to choose from and we all have our own tast

Yep, I'd get the fusible link covers A.S.A.P. Nissan put them there for a reason:) It's not exactly water proof Water can get in from driving around in the rain and we all know that water/moisture doesn't mix too good with electrical contacts

Best of luck.

[dhoneycutt]

I just got my new billet shift knob from Z-Tek manufacturing with the Z logo on it. I must say...I LIKE IT LOL LOL

[KDMatt]

Heheh.. yep, I'll get to learn by doing.

Well... another quirk has developed with the car today, one that's going to take higher precedence than the other things listed here. The starter seems to be getting selective about cranking. Most of the time the starter will crank, and the engine will start, but sometimes when I turn the key in the ignition, all I get is the infamous "click."

So, first on my agenda, I'm going to just buy a new or rebuilt starter, before this "quirk" develops into a "problem."

After that I'll get some tuneup stuff and get to work on making my Z run a little bit better. The auto parts store I usually go to doesn't stock the NGK ignition wires, only Autolite (and for a bit less money too), but I can at least get NGK plugs there, in addition to a new distributor cap and rotor from...some brand I can't remember...

Then after that... it's just onto the speaker wiring and shifter bushings... ah... so many quirks, so little time.

I'm actually trekking down to Chicago tomorrow with my mom. We're not takin' the Z though, we're going in her Civic. However, she said that if the Z were conceivably quieter, and had a working air-conditioner, we'd be driving in that, just because it's so much more cozy inside. Gotta love them GTs!

I'll be back on Sunday.

[dhoneycutt]

Before you go out and buy a starter, I would take a close look at the battery cables and make sure that their is NO corrosion on either terminal and make sure that they are good and tight. Also make sure the battery is fully charged and that the alternator and voltage regulator are functioning properly. Just my .02 worth.

[KDMatt]

The starter thing is so intermittent I don't even worry about it. When it does happen, I can usually get it to crank with a couple more attempts at turning the key... so nothing serious as of yet. My neighbor (the "Beater-Z" Guy) says I should just bang on the thing with a wrench if it won't turn.

I ordered some stuff (including the fusible link covers) from Courtesy a few minutes ago (Thanks again for the link Jared!) I ended up saving about 6 or 7 dollars by ordering a rotor head and the NGK plugs from them instead of going to Checker. Now all I need are the wires and dizzy cap and I should be in good shape.

[=Resurected280=]

Just a note so far as banging the starter motor with a wrench, only do this as a last resort and be VERY careful when doing this because if you hit it too hard some of the magnets in the starter motor can become dislodged (I believe they're only glued on) and then your starter is finished. I know this because this happened with my wiper motor. If you have to do this though I'd use a plastic dead blow hammer.

Good Luck with your Z!!!!!!!!!!

[240ZX]

Just a note so far as banging the starter motor with a wrench, only do this as a last resort and be VERY careful when doing this because if you hit it too hard some of the magnets in the starter motor can become dislodged (I believe they're only glued on) and then your starter is finished. I know this because this happened with my wiper motor. If you have to do this though I'd use a plastic dead blow hammer.

Good Luck with your Z!!!!!!!!!!

I don't think there are any magnets in a starter motor. Once the coils are energized they become electro-magnets....but no real magnets exist in the starter!

[daveinc]

I had the same problems with my starter. (1978 280Z) The P.O. had a heater hose leak and fixed it with Duct Tape (no comment). Of course one of the first things I did was replace all the hoses (along with the other normal things everyone has metioned: spark plugs, dist cap, oil, etc). After taking the starter off and disassembling, I found it was completly gunked up from antifreeze, dirt & water. The O rings were rotted and the contact bushing would not move. A good cleaning, some di-electric grease and she was good as new - almost!!! Then when I cleaned up all the cables, especially the ground conection it is perfect. Saved $100 for a new starter. It's the small victories and learning something new that make my day! Best wishes, David

[DatsunZsRule]

No problem man. happy to help as always

Good choice going through courtesy Nissan. Nothing beats factory

Why didn't you get a factory distributor cap from them??? If you got the Nissan Rotor from them then you really do need to use the same brand cap. Why? Because when pairing caps & rotors of two different manufacturers can result in the incorrect rotor air gap. Excessive rotor air gap can cause excessively high spark initiation voltage, which can result in incomplete combustion. Just a tip

About the starter acting up. I agree that hitting it with a hammer is a stupid thing to do. Like "=Resurected280=" said. if you happen to hit it too hard, you can cause damage to the starter internally and then your stuck. Just replace it and be done with it. It's not worth getting stuck somewhere in my opinion. By spending the extra money for a new starter and having it working properly willresult in less B.S. and worry. My $0.02 cents.

Good luck with getting your Z running the way it's suppose to

[KDMatt]

Thanks man,

I actually decided, in the moment, to only go with the rotor head instead of the rotor head and dizzy cap because the latter is more than twice as much from Nissan as what I'd pay at Checker, *shrug* ... 'though I suppose if it's going to be a serious issue I could splurge a bit and just be safer knowing that the rotor and distributor cap match. That's probably what I'll do... my Z deserves it, neh?

I'm actually sort of mad that I ordered my tuneup stuff and fusible link covers together... because courtesy is out of the NGK sparkplugs... and so I have to wait an additional 2 to 3 days for them to get them in stock before they can ship out my order... which will take an addition 2 to 3 days of shipping time... So... another week 'til I get my fusible link covers basically.

I'm praying our dry-spell holds until then.

Thanks for the starter info too (no wrenches!). It's holding out just fine now, and I haven't done anything... It just seems to be an intermittent fluke, and it doesn't really bother me too much.

Hey, also, I have a question. How do the highbeams work? I mean I know on most cars you have the lever and when you pull it back, the highbeams flash, and when you push the lever forward the highbeams 'stick' on... that doesn't seem to happen on my Z... so either I'm just dumb and can't figure out the highbeams, or my Z doesn't have any (that work).

[DatsunZsRule]

Hey man,

Sorry to hear about the delay on your order. The people at courtesy are really cool and they will get them to you as soon as they can. Thats part of owning an older classic Z Sometimes you have to be patient when buying parts for them.

Of course your Z deserves the best. Spend the little extra on the cap that is of the same brand as the rotor and you won't have any problems.

Also about your High Beams- I think your trying the wrong lever To turn them on, use the lever on the left side of the wheel that also activates the turn signals.

UP= right turn

DOWN= left turn

BACK= flash high beams

FORWARD= highbeams will stay on. Make sence?

[GunnerRob]

UP= right turn

DOWN= left turn

BACK= flash high beams

FORWARD= highbeams will stay on. Make sence?

Huh? Are the early high beam switches that much different? My '75 and previous '78 worked a bit differently.

UP= right turn

DOWN= left turn

PULL BACK AND RELEASE= high beams on

PULL BACK AND RELEASE AGAIN= high beams off