New to the forum, and to the Z... Va

Posted March 14, 201411 yr

hey there, my name is Mark! been a long time fan of the early Z cars and decided to finally bite the bullet and find one to fix up and enjoy! i wanted one i could put some work into, so i looked around for a bit until i found this late model 280z.

car is currently not running but turns over. I'm buying it from a very nice lady that got the car, it stopped running. tried acouple basic things with no luck and let t sit to fix later. well later turned into her just buying a 370z! as I'm told, the owner before her had the car repainted and had a motor rebuild done.

the exterior certainly looks good, but the interior however has seen some better days! all in all I'm happy with it, and i can't wait for it to warm up so i can get started with it!

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March 14, 201411 yr

comment_443366

Looks like a good find! Put up some pics of the engine bay too, sometimes these guys can spot problems just by looking at one. And read post #8 before you start cranking on it since it been sitting so long.

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/introductions-z-stories/22619-waking-sleeping-beast.html He talks about carburetors and you have fuel injection but a lot of good info none the less. Here's some really good stuff too, http://atlanticz.ca/index.php/tech-tips.html

Edited March 14, 201411 yr by siteunseen

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March 14, 201411 yr

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comment_443370

Thanks, those were some great resources I have not come across yet! I'll be sure to post up an engine bay pic here soon.

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March 14, 201411 yr

comment_443377

Yea! Another '78! Nice looking car!

And welcome!

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March 14, 201411 yr

comment_443407

Nice car, I love the Hurricane wheels, had them on my 1st Z, a 76 280. Read the Waking the sleeping beast thread, its well worth you time and will save you some headaches. I'd also suggest you some the EFI threads so you know what you're dealing with. Keep us informed.

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March 14, 201411 yr

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comment_443410

already have the "waking the beast" thread bookmarked, and using it to figure list out parts i want to replace from the get go. ill be sure to start looking into some of the EFI threads as well, thanks.

thanks fast! but it will look nicer when its on the road

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March 15, 201411 yr

comment_443431

Welcome to the site - enjoy the ride!

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March 16, 201411 yr

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comment_443470

Finally got to bring the Z home today! Got to look at some stuff a little closer and test some stuff. I think I need to run through the fuses and bulbs. Going to remove the bumpers and drain the gas tank tomorrow.

Got the pics of the engine bay too, anything stand out?

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March 16, 201411 yr

comment_443482

Looks untouched, which is good and bad. Good that it's original but bad because you've got a lot of work to do. You're going to need to pull the valve cover off to oil the valve train before cranking it so there's your chance to clean that. You're going to need to clean the electrical connections, http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/electricalconnections/index.html. After draining the tank put a cheap clear fuel filter between the tank and the fuel pump, Z Car Tech Tips Fram G3 Filter Installation. Open the air box behind the front bumper and clean all the acorns out then get a new filter, they're cheap. Get a new metal fuel filter, passenger's side of the engine bay up front. Once you have new filters in you could straight wire the fuel pump to build up the pressure, which is about 30 something PSI so be careful, and look for fuel leaks around the clamps and maybe a rotted hose or 2. Change the oil and filter with cheap stuff from Walmart for the 1st time. Drain the radiator and flush it out, pull the old thermostat out and loosen the bottom radiator hose to flush out the engine coolant passages too. That's the first few hours. Oh yeah, I wouldn't spray the engine off with a hose pipe. I know it's tempting but a good Scotch Brite pad and some Simple Green with lots of rags works fine and keeps moisture out of the electronics. You've read all this before but I'm drinking coffee and it's raining! Again, a GREAT looking car.