zbane

...by Jack Handy (Handey) was what I was expecting. Your list is equally nice. It's true, though. Older cars have a certain feel, smell, mystique that newer cars don't (yet) have. You either love it or hate it (sometimes both simultaneously).

That's great Brian. Where are you having the car shot?

#1My Sharona-The Knack http://www.hotpopsongs.com/Music/Billboard/1979.html

That is one of the best written ads I've seen on ebay. I do wonder about one line however: Is this a reference to the half dash cap?

Ian, the dash swap looks better than I thought it would (though it's odd not seeing the three gauges in the center). Are you going to put some flares on your arches?

Actually, it probably could, assuming you use the proper hitch/towbar. Years ago a friend borrowed my dad's steel trailer (custom built for the MG PB) for a quick towing of his Beetle. The car used to tow the trailer and bug was a mid 80's accord wagon, and it did it very well. Keep in mind that the tow was through town, and down any interstate/freeway, and we were able to use lesser traveled roads, but still it worked fine. If you do this, just make sure that you use the appropriate hookups.

Saw this on ebay, had to share. The car is beautiful, in it's own way, I just never thought anyone would do so much modification to an S130. I wonder how this car would be viewed at a Z car convention... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SPARTAN-II-KIT-CAR-ON-1981-NISSAN-DATSUN-280-ZX_W0QQitemZ120211957259QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item120211957259

My 79 zx is sitting at 69,811...though it has been sitting there for a couple years (broken speedo).

That's what I was thinking when I posted this one. Who knows about the body, but if the dash is complete and crack-free, well that alone might make it a worthy purchase as a parts car.

Just browsing epay and came across this one. Located in Wisconsin. Check out the mirrors, the dash, steering wheel, and the wheels...well maybe not the wheels. Tail lights look good from the photo. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1973-Datsun-240-Z-4-Speed_W0QQitemZ120211488014QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item120211488014 As of now, the price looks good-that is if the dash is indeed without cracks, and the mirrors are the Datsun competition (Black Pearl) ones.

Here's the link itself: www.conceptcarz.com/view/model/185/Datsun/model.aspx

Congratulations on finding a Z, and on finding this site! You will find almost any information you need here, all you need to do is search and/or ask. Even though the car is in rough shape, from what you've said, it will help that you have mechanical skills and the love for the Z car that you will need to see the project through. Again, welcome, and best of luck to you.

Jack, spray some PB blaster on that puppy, make sure that you have the appropriate sized phillips head, apply as much down force as possible, and twist it to the left. You could also attach a pair of vice grips to the screwdriver handle and use it as a breaker bar of sorts.

Bo-thanks for the suggestion, unfortunately, I don't think there is a competent shop in the area...

That's just the on board diagnostic circuit. If you have a headlight burn out, it'll tell you when you push the button. After it has cycled through it's checklist, it'll flash OK if everything is good and then settle on just a red display. Ever since I got my '79, the display has told me that my battery is no good, even when I replaced it. Don't think it has anything to do with the battery, but with a wire I found snipped on the alternator... Still, it's a nice feature, assuming everything is hooked up properly. As to the "brain," our cars have a very redundant brain. It really is nothing more than a set of electrical switches that react solely to the electrical impulses it receives from the various components (Thermotine switch, water temp sensor, air temp sensor, etc.). There is no chip in our "brain" to switch out for a "high performance" chip.

And of the head and gasket (kind of). My apologies for being so long winded (worded?), and thanks for making it this far. Any and all thoughts on this are appreciated, so long as your advice isn't "get a garage." (unless I can borrow yours). My thanks go out to Will and AJ (by extension) for helping with this mess!

Here are the photos of the block.

After fiddling, switching around, and basically making a mess of things, I finally came to the decision that I had to get professional help. I called my insurance and had a truck sent out. We took the car to the shop I’ve been using for several years, about 30 miles away. After fiddling with it while I told them of the things I had done (with them checking some things over again), they told me what I was hoping they wouldn’t (but had a sneaking suspicion it was), blown head gasket. And then they told me that they wouldn’t touch it. “We’ve never done anything like that on an engine like yours” was the reason I was given. So I called a couple recommended shops (we’d love to do it, can you stop by in two weeks?). I called my “local” Nissan dealership. “Head gasket? Sure, that’ll be $86, and it’ll be here in a week. And to have it installed will run @ $870.” Call the insurance back to arrange towing back home. Keep in mind that the zx is my daily driver, and school starts up the next day. Things are not looking good. Tow truck will arrive in about 3 hours. At least I have time to get a rental. Off to the rental place, only to find out that my license had expired (in November, yikes!). Off to the license place (across town, but they drove me) for new license. Finally get the rental, the tow shows up, and back home we go. Disassembly: Day 1- Tuesday. Parts have been ordered directly from Fel-Pro (though Advance Auto). All external hoses and connections are disconnected, except for the EGR valve (won’t budge-heavy PB blaster applied). Day 2- Wednesday. is manifold day. All four intake bolts come out smoothly. Manifold doesn’t budge. Not even a little. Pressure from all directions is applied. No effect, just a little movement. I call Will for advice, and follow all that is offered to no avail. Snow is in the forecast for the evening. I start removing all the bolts holding the heat shield to the intake, thinking that was the problem and round one off in the process. Good thing that unit is only attached to the intake (I was mistaken about that, the FSM barely discusses it). I continue to try to remove the EGR valve. More PB blaster. Day 3- Thursday. Standing in 5 inches of snow, I continue to try to remove the intake. I grab an old sturdy chef knife and drive it down between the gasket and mani, I work it from end to end by tapping it with a hammer (concerned about the injectors, I removed the fuel rail assy. first). No discernable change. I start removing the bolts that I can feel (but not see) from underneath the intake, thinking that they are pass-throughs from intake to exhaust. They are not, and my knuckles are raw. Day 4- Friday (rental is due). I finally start to see progress with the EGR. By applying much force (hard to do when standing on ICE), I manage to get the upper fitting to move a little. Over the course of an hour, I manage to get the thing loose from the intake. Really, it took about an hour. The manifold really has absolutely no reason to be stuck like it is. I remove the throttle body so that I can slide my breaker bar inside for more leverage. Doesn’t help at all. Out of desperation, I grab my little hydraulic jack and fit it under the mani. I brace it and start jacking. The entire engine and transmission are listing to the right (to the extent that I could have removed the mount), and finally it breaks loose. I repeat further up on the mani, and get it loose. I immediately call Will with the news. The exhaust manifold comes loose quite easily; as does the head itself (I used an old pair of pliers to brace the tensioners). I drive off to Brevard to return the rental (they weren’t happy about giving me a ride back. Don’t know why…it’s only 30 miles one way). Obvious washing of cylinder 3, though the gasket seems intact. No cracks are visible in either the block or head. We will see what adventures reassembly brings (hopefully none).

A little bit of background… Some time ago I noticed that I was loosing coolant. At first, it wasn’t much, but the amount continued to increase, yet I couldn’t find the source of the leak. One day, as I was driving to school, I heard a pop! but assumed that I had hit an empty can or some such. Knowing that I had been loosing fluid, I checked the reservoir once I had parked. What I found was that my reservoir had popped open and belched fluid all over the place. Once the radiator was cool enough, I opened it and found that enough fluid had been evacuated to allow me to see the top row of the radiator. I filled it up and drove home to see if the situation would happen again, and it did, though this time the temperature gauge moved up to three quarters for about twenty seconds, then went down to a normal reading, pointing strait up. I figured it was a faulty thermostat, so the next day I purchased a new one. The new thermostat didn’t do a thing to change the condition, as it happened again the next day. I kept driving as it was, checking and filling as needed. After going through more and more fluid, I installed a back-flush kit and back-flushed the system as per the instructions, yet this didn’t help either, so I installed my spare radiator, thinking that the original was the problem, and back-flushed again. Alas, while the “new” radiator did indeed help, the problem of the popping reservoir continued. I watched the engine warm up, and saw air bubbling into the reservoir, and also found a small leak from the J-tube. I replaced the leaking hose segment and while I was at it I ran new hosing to/from the thermal vacuum switch (removed the funky metal tubing and replaced it with FI hosing). Again, things were fine for a few days. In fact, the car was running incredibly strong, full of power, though the gauge was still doing its thing of going up to three quarters and then moving back down to normal within a few seconds. Then, on Friday, January 11 things went terribly wrong. I drove to work third shift, and the car was wonderful. It was a beautiful day, and the car was acting like a kid on the first day of Spring Break. However, when I went to start the car the following morning, all I got was the “rarr, rarr, rarr” of the car trying to start up, but not doing so. The starter had been grinding from time to time (pinion gear not completely engaging), so I left the car at work and went home. Not sure if the problem was indeed the starter, I grabbed all the spare parts I had that would have anything to do with starting the car (starter, distributor, cap, AFM, electrical contact cleaner, etc.) and went to replacing these things the following night at work. I checked relays, fusible links, and fuel pressure. I pulled and cleaned the plugs. I had spark and fuel, but no starting.

Enrique, Carl, and Stephen- I agree entirely. And Stephen- I've always liked that quote as well as: Ford: It's a little like being drunk. Arthur: What's wrong with being drunk? Ford: Ask a glass of water. Mohammed, It's great to see you back! And, to the heart of this thread- My IPO felt it was necessary to use some form of gasket sealant on the intake/exhaust manifold gasket...

I haven't called zbarn in about a year, but when I did, it took about a week for a return call. It's only one person (or it was then) so he could just be way behind.

Jack, regarding the fuel gauge, it could also be that you have an accumulation of crud on the contact point, or the pivot points are clogged up. Attached are several photos so that you may see what I mean. When removing the sending unit, be careful. The two floats stick out at odd places, and you will have to finesse the thing out of there. Getting it back in is also a bit of a chore.