New 1978 280Z owner needs your advise!

[Herr Eickhorn]

Greetings everyone! About a month ago, I bought a beautiful 1978 280Z from the original owner here in Phoenix. Silver exterior and black interior. I wasn’t looking for one, but came across this Z and it was too good to pass up. This car has AC, 5 speed and the black pearl aluminum alloy factory wheels. The original owner took very good care of it and it was in exceptionally fine condition when I bought it. It’s been in Phoenix, Arizona for its entire life and it doesn’t have a spec of rust on it! It’s never even been in a minor fender bender. The metal and structure of this car is as straight and clean as the day it left the assembly line. The interior is almost perfect. The dash has not one crack and the clock even still works. It even still has the original Datsun AM/FM stereo in it. Just about everything is original on the car. I owned a 280Z about 18 years ago so I am really excited to own one again.

The car doesn’t need much. It’s a true survivor! We have already started working on it to make it perfect again. The old worn seats have been rebuilt and recovered in black Ferrari leather with perforated leather used in the pleats. They look great!!!!!! The old worn steering wheel has been replaced with a very nice used OEM one. We have new tires for it. And my mechanic is getting ready to start work on it. He’s one of the best Nissan mechanics in the state with 30 years of Z car experience. With the exception of the seats, our renovation philosophy is to use NOS OEM parts only. We are going to go through the car top to bottom and repair/replace anything that’s needed.

I have been reading on your web site and it has been very helpful so far. I have one comment and one question for everyone.

First, the comment: I have been out of Z cars for 18 years and I see things have changed a lot. By that I mean that people seem to want a lot of money for parts – its like they want their weight in gold! Some of the prices I have been quoted are down right obscene. I have already run into 3 or 4 guys like this. Fortunately, my car doesn’t need much, and the dealership can still get most of the parts. And then I bought 5 tiny emblem clips from a guy on eBay and he charged me $6.00 shipping! I mean, what’s up with that? I was pretty hot about that but vowed not to do anymore business with him. Unfortunately, it seems like some of these parts guys are real greedy jerks.

Now, my question: The AC in this car works great but the heater does not. When switched to heat it doesn’t divert to the floor. It just keeps blowing out the top vents. And it is not hot. I would appreciate any advice or guidance on this. I want to fix the heater to make the car right but am worried it could require us to remove the dash if it is something major. And I am petrified that we may risk cracking the dash if that is necessary.

Thank you for your help! -Mike

[richard1]

I suggest you buy a shop manual and make a basic research in the archives of this site to see if you can find any similar problems.

Check your fuses and the connections to the blower.

[mriz]

As far as ebay goes..get in line . The heater problem is most probably caused by a vacuum leak in the tubing. I attached a couple of pictures of the manifold where the lines attach. Check the mode door acuator and the linkage to the lower vents also . A hand vacuum pump and an FSM helps to trouble shoot leaks . I find it easier to just pull the console and dash out to get to everything . Jim

[hls30.com]

Order the club sd and you can find your own part numbers, then you can find compare prices between the dealer and the ebay guys-especially those that use rare, and NLA on every part they bought from the dealer yesterday...

Will

PS ditto on the vacuum leak-probabaly need top replace all of the small vacuum lines on the Pass side of the engine compartment-they chip away at the connections as they get old and brittle.

[sblake01]

This might help also:

[geezer]

Welcome Mike. Sounds like a very nice car, post pics when you can. Yeah the parts price explosion is slow and steady and the shipping can be a royal pain in the a$$. Lots of reading and links to valuable info can be found here. There is no shortage of good advice & tips from some well versed members also. I am constantly astounded by the knowledge base exibited. Good luck with that heater problem.

That is a good vacuum hose diagram, but a little hard to see. Any way to clear that up a bit Stephen?

[sblake01]

This is more complete than the one I posted earlier.

[mikehos2004]

Mike,

This is my first post since becoming a member. Like you I also just bought a 78 Z, my first one since my first car in 1988, which was a 1975 Z. I'm having fun all over again! Mine is gold with the black pearl wheels (I have one pic posted, I'm going to put up several soon). The car is basically in great shape, the biggest issue is a few small rust spots that I'm working on. But like you my heater doesn't work. A/C works, clock works, etc...so I was surprised to see the heater not working. Thanks everyone for advise on this, I'll check those vaccum tubes for a leak. Also thanks for the diagrams.

Happy driving!

Mike

[Herr Eickhorn]

Order the club sd and you can find your own part numbers, then you can find compare prices between the dealer and the ebay guys-especially those that use rare, and NLA on every part they bought from the dealer yesterday...

Will

PS ditto on the vacuum leak-probabaly need top replace all of the small vacuum lines on the Pass side of the engine compartment-they chip away at the connections as they get old and brittle.

Hi Will,

Thanks for telling me about the parts CD. What a great idea! I didn't know this existed. I'm going to get one ordered right away. And thanks to everyone for the heater repair tips.

My brake lights are staying on all the time. That little rubber stopper on the brake lever that pushes in the micro switch broke. Can someone give me a part number so I can get one ordered. The dealer parts guy can't seem to find the right part number. I'll be happy when I get my parts CD so I can look this stuff up myself. Thanks! -Mike

[sblake01]

Most of us just replace the stopper with a bolt/washer/nut. Not sure if the actual part is still available but the lock nut for it comes up as in stock.

The part numbers are:

46518-21000 ASSY-STOPPER PEDAL

08911-30810 NUT-LOCK

Part 08911-30810 is superseded by 01225-00331.

[Herr Eickhorn]

Hi everyone. "The Z-Car CD-ROM" just arrived in the mail today. Can't wait to surf the microfiche scans later on tonight. This is going to be a very handy reference! Thanks for the tip.

My local Nissan dealership has a "parts locator" program for parts that are NLA. Some of these rare parts can still be found in other USA dealers inventory. Can we get into that parts locator program or is it only for dealers?