1975 280z Build

[nowak1981]

Hello!  

This will be the start of my build progress for a new to me 280z.  This build will take a couple years.  As of right now, I don't have a shop to really take it apart.

About myself:   I've been working on cars on and off my entire adult life.  My best friend at the time car me started on one of my very first cars.  An 81 Crown victoria.  During the late 2000s I had a Ford escort that I did a lot of work too.  Between me and my friend we had 7 lol.  Later on I wanted to build a V8 miata.  I had the miata completely stripped down, every nut and bolt.  Refurbished and painted all the chassis parts and zinc coated all the hardware.  I was getting ready to start putting it back together when I couldn't bring myself to spend 10k on a drivetrain.  I wanted an ls3 which was a common swap and required little effort.  I don't have a lot of fabrication experience and I didn't want to fight it at the time.  So I ended up selling it and I've been kicking myself since.  I paid 1k for it and it had zero rust.  

I was planning on buying another one, but I just didnt like the exteriors of those cars very much and I really wanted a coupe.  So the z car fit the bill.  I wanted something I could use to expand my skills on.  Id like to learn how to weld, and I figured the floor pan and the tire pan would be an easy start since reproductions are available.

I've never owned one of these cars and I have been looking for a project for a while.  I found this car in New Mexico for 3500$.  It does have a little bit of rust.  So far I have found rot on the passenger side floor pan and under the spare tire. 

It appears that the under carriage was undercoated and the heat managed to bake a lot of it to the point that I could pull chips off with my finger.  The original blue paint underneath was very clean.  Otherwise, the outside of the car is scorched but straight.   

 

The car was apparently stored under a carport for a lot of years but was facing the sun and completely baked the interior.  That didn't seem like a big deal to me.  

I feel like my biggest hurdle with this car is going to be the electrical system.  I was told that the ignition system was likely the problem, but browsing around the car,  I have found some loose wires and splices.  All the fuse panels seem to have been removed from their mounting location.

My current goal is to get it running.  I don't know much about these cars so I need to get to know the car a bit better before I go to town on it.  I'm not sure what I want the end result to be.  Once I get my shop built and I've had time with the car. I will stripe it down and rebuild it.  It will likely end up mostly stock with reasonable upgrades, like 4-wheel discs and some engine upgrades.

Edited February 6 by nowak1981
updates

[Zed Head]

It already has front wheel discs.  

Download the FSM, and wiring diagram, and Owners Manual before you get too far along.  And get a multimeter, it will help a lot with the EFI system.  https://www.classiczcars.com/files/

There's also a thread on the forum somewhere about things to do before trying to resurrect an old Z that's been sitting.  You can avoid some damage and increase the odds of a good startup.  I'd read up on that before even trying to turn the engine over.  

Welcome to the Z world.

[Yarb]

Welcome to the forum! There’s a ton of experts IMO that can guide you through. Thanks for saving another Z

[nowak1981]

Today, I spent some time with the car.  Mostly cleaning out the garbage in the interior and looking more closely at the car.  The interior is completely trashed.  I knew this going in.  I'm fine with it.  The driver side exterior door handle is broke and missing.  I got a new one on order as well as a battery hold down bracket. 

 

 

 

The car was sitting long enough that the fuel is bad, I figured as much anyway, So I jacked the car up and peaked under it to see what it was going to take to remove it and get it cleaned.  Its not high on my list of things to do.  The owner had a brand new fuel pump still in the box sitting on the seat when I got it.  I plan on just running a hose to a fuel can until I get the car running.  They cut the wires on the fuel pump.  I feel like I would have just disconnected the terminals lol.

The spare tire was still in the car, and I think its the original tire.  The code on it is CXJ9 W6F075.  I haven't found a website that can decode it.  I didn't look all that hard though.  Apparently tires have different codes prior to 2000 and the ones I found only explain the modern ones.  I managed to poke some holes through the metal, but for the most part it seems solid. 

 

 

The undercarriage looks pretty rot free.  I am able to peel the undercoating off with my finger and the paint underneath and nice and rust free.  The struts still function and it rolls nicely.

.

 

I did find this hole in the door sill.  My guess is that since all the of the rubber seals on this car are roasted,  when it rained some of it got and sat.  I think this may also be the cause of the floor rot.  Ill pull the sill plates off and hope for the best.  The door corners look really good though!

 

I checked the fluids and the oil is full, The radiator is mostly full, Those seem to be good signs.  I didnt look for transmission dipstick, Im guessing since its a manual, it doesnt have one.  The brake fluid is empty, so there is a leak somewhere.

 

I did buy a new battery and turned the key just to see what came on.  The fuel and amp meters moved, the fuel level seems dead.  About half the lights work.  Turn signals work, but the indicator is really gunked up.  The wipers dont appear to work, but I do hear the motor.

I still a bit cold here and we have a cold snap coming through so it will probably be while before I play around with it.  I think my next tasks will be to remove the sill plates and see whats up.  I will probably drain the fuel tank and remove it and I will replace the fuel pump with the new one they gave me.  Ill just run a hose to a fuel can for the time being. Ill pull the spark plugs and throw some oil down the cylinders, just simple stuff.

 

 

[nowak1981]

59 minutes ago, Zed Head said:

It already has front wheel discs.  

Download the FSM, and wiring diagram, and Owners Manual before you get too far along.  And get a multimeter, it will help a lot with the EFI system.  https://www.classiczcars.com/files/

There's also a thread on the forum somewhere about things to do before trying to resurrect an old Z that's been sitting.  You can avoid some damage and increase the odds of a good startup.  I'd read up on that before even trying to turn the engine over.  

Welcome to the Z world.

Thanks for having me!

I did see those links.  Im a paperback guy and Im highly debating on spending the dough on a manual.  I didnt notice some odd things with the digital book.  The wiring diagrams appear to have some funky text to them that was added digitally.  I feel like maybe they were revisions, but their format seems wonky.

Thank you for reminding me about the forum post though,  I need to go through that.  i'd like to do 4-wheel discs

[nowak1981]

1 hour ago, Yarb said:

Welcome to the forum! There’s a ton of experts IMO that can guide you through. Thanks for saving another Z

Thanks!  I will need it.  

[Zed Head]

Somebody put a 280ZX engine in that car.  Maybe they did the 5 speed too.  That would be nice.

The intake manifold and the cooling fan ducts over the valve cover are the tell.  It should run just like the original 75 L28.

Had second thoughts.  Probably not.  Looks like a 75 manifold.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1975-datsun-280z-43/

Edited February 7 by Zed Head

[nowak1981]

wow, I had no idea.  I glad you saw that, I wouldnt have known. Is it a direct swap?  I guess I will have to look for some casting numbers.  hopefully this wont be a bear to deal with.

[Yarb]

Before you even get started on this project, Either hard copy, Which I totally prefer where you can get a feel of the car. Read that manual over thoroughly and get an idea of what the challenges are ahead. Your multimeter will be your best friend.

[Zed Head]

It's not a big deal.  It will only affect things like intake/exhaust manifold gaskets.  Look between the 1 and 2 spark plugs on the cylinder head and you''ll probably see N47 or P79.  Check for numbers on the exhaust manifold.  They might have used the N42 manifold from the 75.  The port shapes are different.

 

[Patcon]

Welcome!

Why dont you provide some personal background and your experience with wrenches?

I would have advised you to buy the exterior door handle off Amazon if you didn't. I bought a matched pair recently.  They look great and they were cheap.

If your going to try to fuel it from a can then both supply and return lines will need to go into it.

I probably wouldn't try to start it without cleaning or replacing all the chassis fuel lines and disassembling the fuel rail and testing the injectors. If the injectors are good and the rail is full of varnish you will ruin them trying to start it up.

I would also start with verifying the fuel pressure regulator is good and works appropriately

You are correct, there is no dipstick on the manual trans

[nowak1981]

1 minute ago, Patcon said:

Welcome!

Why dont you provide some personal background and your experience with wrenches?

I would have advised you to buy the exterior door handle off Amazon if you didn't. I bought a matched pair recently.  They look great and they were cheap.

If your going to try to fuel it from a can then both supply and return lines will need to go into it.

I probably wouldn't try to start it without cleaning or replacing all the chassis fuel lines and disassembling the fuel rail and testing the injectors. If the injectors are good and the rail is full of varnish you will ruin them trying to start it up.

I would also start with verifying the fuel pressure regulator is good and works appropriately

You are correct, there is no dipstick on the manual trans

Ill edit the first post with some info about myself, I should have thought of that.

When I bought the car the old battery was flopping around, part of the reason was that the battery terminals were backwards and the cables werent long enough, so I opted to order a hold down bracket.  At some point I was going to need one anyway.  While I was at it I ordered an aftermarket handle.  Both from zcar depot.  

You are absolutely right about the fuel lines, What I might do is bypass the fuel lines altogether and put the put and can up front for the time being.  but cleaning out the fuel rail is def a good idea.