Hey everyone,

New here, name is Chris, 24yr old apprentice tattoo artist and test technician at an electronics manufacturer, just picked up an '83 Datsun 280zx, NA. It runs alright, feels pretty stable despite age and I'm really excited to start work on it. Ever since I bought my first Z32 300zx(s) in '07, both 1990 NA, I've wanted to get my hands on a Datsun Z car. Since then I've sold one of my Z32 and turned the other into a project car, the user name actually explains the project.

My Datsun is my daily right now and I live in West Jordan, in Utah, work in Pleasant View, the commute is over an hour and I'm hoping to get the car road worth asap. The PO was getting the car ready to restore but things came up and he needed to sell it, so that's where my story starts. It's body is still being prepped and a lot of the dash and interior is pulled apart, and many things aren't connected.

There's also the issue with the Passenger Side Headlight being dim, despite me swapping the headlight. I checked the connector at the combo switch at the steering column, it has a nice burned spot so I am guessing that's where the issue is. Playing with those wires a bit causes the brights to kick on and off, so I'm probably going to have to replace that soon. I'll post pictures later, it's freezing outside and the sun is barely peaking over the mountains. There's also an issue with the heater, it doesn't seem to want to work, and the air in general kicks on and off intermittently. It defrosts just fine, so aside from a cold ride, I can see . PO said he replaced the thermostat, and he thinks the heater core might need to be replaced. Only parts of the dash light up as well, like the turn signals, different warning lights, etc, but the dash itself does not light up, so between a dim headlight and a dark dash, it's not exactly easy to drive at night and not get pulled over. This car has a long way to go and not a ton of time to get there. I need it to last till the end of Spring, then I can park it and really do some work on it.

My question, aside from what might I do to solve the previously mentioned issues, is this: what are the first things I'm going to want to tackle in this car? I know my Z32s had their telltale issues that were always good to get early and there were always things I wanted to check on others when looking at the possibility of buying, but I'm definitely new to the Datsun world. What are things I'm going to want to take care of first and foremost?

I thank you all for reading, I look forward to being a part of this community.

Cleaning the electrical connections helped mine a lot when I first bought it. Replacing dry rotted vacuum lines too, then a good tune up. It was fairly cheap on parts, mostly labor.

Tech Tips

http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/electricalconnections/index.html

Awesome, thanks for the heads up! I have a couple days till I start my job, so I think I'll do some upkeep on the Z on stuff like that.

Also, what's that check button on the dash for?

If I remember right from a ZX I had you push it and it goes through the warning lights to make sure they're working, not too sure though maybe google it?

The pre-ZX Z cars had two fuses for the headlights. left and right. If one burned the other light could still get power through "back-feeding" from the other light. You might check your headlight fuses.

If you don't have it already, download the Service Manual for your car. Index of /FSM/280z

Sorry, meant to reply sooner. The fuses were fine, the first thing I checked, even went as far as just swapping them out with new ones. I ended up checking the connector at the steering wheel, the one with the turn signal assembly, and it has a pretty good looking burn mark, guessing that part will have to be replaced. I cleaned it as best I could and threw it back on, it was a little brighter. Hard part is finding one of those though, I have no idea where to get parts for this car or how I'd replace that connector.

While I was cleaning I also cleaned up as many connections I could find in the engine bay and it runs a bit better, it's nice . I am however having an issue with my ignition lock cylinder, it's become incredibly hard to turn, it was perfectly fine when I got the car a week ago, but it's gotten progressively worst. I'm worried about snapping my key when I try to start the car. Any ideas on how to fix that? Is that a common issue? Thanks again everyone!

Do you pull the pressure off the steering wheel lock as you try and turn the key? I have to do that on mine if the front wheels aren't straight. They're should be a sticker in the glove box with the key code, maybe a new key would be easier? My 240 has a new ignition installed, the guy I bought it from said the old one was worn so bad the key would fall out. I worked at a hardware store out of high school and made keys, house keys and auto 2 sided ones. When a customer brought one back saying it was too hard to turn I would smooth it down further with the wire wheel on the machine, always worked better. If you have access to a bench grinder with a wire wheel give it a try, when it gets too hot to hold you should stop and try it to see if it's any easier to turn. That's my $.02.

After following the previous suggestions, try lubricating the lock cylinder with graphite lock lube. I wouldn't use WD-40 or or any other penetrant on it. They can become sticky over time.

Mark in Portland