Hey everybody just thought i should introduce myself. first off i should say that this is my first datsun/nissan and i absolutely know nothing about this car so i look forward to learning about my 280z with the help of you guys. But anyways on to the car now, i got the car from my uncle yesterday for free it has a good amount of rust around the wheel wells and the passenger side floor pan is rusted out. my uncle bought the car new in 1978 and drove it til 1997 due to the headgasket blowing and has since been sitting outside til last night when i pulled it into my shop. the interior is in pretty rough shape as well. Now for my first question what is the best site/sites for parts for my car? And also what is the best repair manual that i should buy/use? Thats pretty much all for now so heres a pic of her:

Hey there. A free Z, that's great. A lot of parts I've bought from local auto stores. Here are a few online places that are very helpful. Have fun! http://atlanticz.ca/index.php/tech-tips.html, http://www.jdmgallery.com/information/s30-manuals/s30/, http://www.motorsportauto.com/sale/, http://www.blackdragonauto.com/, http://www.zcarsource.com/, http://www.courtesyparts.com/240z-260z-280z-parts-s30-1970-1978-c-7724.html,

This site is the place to collect info and parts.

thanks guys, i've started messing with it a little and i've got the passenger seat out and removed the carpet, the hole in the floor isnt as bad as I suspected it would be but its still a decent sized hole but maybe i can get away with installing a piece of sheet metal instead of having to buy new floor pans

how are the frame rails??? Do a search to find the local zcar club and join.

Edited February 6, 201213 yr by az240z

Welcome to the club! I've found a lot of helpful guys on this site...maybe someday we'll hold a convention. Best place to look for parts is doing a Craigslist search via Search Tempest...tons of these cars being parted out (sad, but it is what it is).

the frame rails look good. i was talking to my uncle today and he thinks the reason the floor is rusted out because the heater core leaked a little and he never fixed it.

Unless your uncle ran straight water in the cooling system instead of a proper coolant mix, a leaking heater core shouldn't have caused the floor to rust.

well i know he ran just water in it maybe for 3-4 months before he parked it because he got tired of spending money on coolant. But anyways I plan to take out the rest of the carpet and check for any other rust tomorrow.