OK, im getting an '83 280zx turbo and the car has sat for the past 10 years or so. The reason it was parked was because it had stopped running and they never got it fixed. So basically I am wondering where should i start and what should I do? I have always been around cars in the past and now, just never had a Datsun, or any turbo car in that matter.

Thanks in advance for all your help,

Adam

1) drain and change gas(all fluids would be a good idea as well) warning old gas stinks and if you get it on you or anything you care about-you will be smelling it a while!

2) check\clean\change the plugs put in NGK BPR6ES-II s-don't put any other kind in there-don't let the parts guys tempt you with splitfires, platinum, or anything else-just buy and install NGK BPR6ES-II s.

3) replace the battery and turn her over.

Will

thanks for the info on the plugs, ill definately get those. ill just have to see if i can see anything that would have caused it to stop running like loose connections and such.

what are some of the things that should have been done as normal maintence and changed. i know that they really just changed the oil regularly and that was about it.

Not much different from the scheduled maintenance on any car. Don't make it more difficult than it has to be.

I would probably try to start the car on propane(just run the burner end of a grill hose into the air filter housing) because the injectors are probably stuck from the gas thickening up through time. It will run on propane (if it stumbles, turn up the gas) as long as the ignition system is working and the ecm tells it to.

But...The digital engine management in '83 was problematic-I would suspect the ecm, but try to fire it up. I'll see if I can't round up some of the '83 troubleshooting info and either post, email/snail mail it to you.

Will

thank you very much Will.

what type of battery would be a good one to get? should i just spend the extra now and get an optima battery or not?

what type of battery would be a good one to get? should i just spend the extra now and get an optima battery or not?

Lots of people but those and they don't leak like a regular battery but IMO they're really not necessary. Just get a good quality battery.

I would get a walmart or economy bsttery to start with and use the leftover moeny to buy a good battery charger-you will have it forever. Get a high end battery after the car is done and pretty- if you get overspray on a cheepy it is not important enough to even clean, and if the project takes longer than you think, you don't have an expensive battery sitting going bad.

Will

I'd pull the intake pipe off the front of the turbo an check that it rotates freely and doesnt have any shaft play.

You should try and find out from the PO why the car stoped running in the first place. I'll help you work out exactly what needs to be dont to fix it.

The turbo needing a rebuild won't stop the car from running, and the easiest way to check it is:

A)look for oil in the exhaust pipe while running before everything gets hot. Enough play in the shaft bushings usually will mean oil in the exhaust. I would be more worried about a blocked oil line.

Will