Ramses

Kenz240z, I have to do the same thing to my '73. Where did you get all those parts, how much did it cost and did you do the work yourself? Did you do the rear as well? That is the next project that I have to do and I am taking my time to start ordering the parts, because I am unsure of how easy it is. Thanks.

I found mine on ebay. It was a copy of a service manual, but it was relatively cheap. I just unbound it and put it in a 3 ring binder. It has been very helpful. I agree with you about the Hayes and Chilton repair manuals, they stink.

This stinks. A car that I know is far inferior to mine is getting bids on it higher than I got on mine. A guess a good thing is that most of the bidders have no feedback. I hope it sells, then that will determine weather I will put mine back on the block again.

I agree with ED. I finished the refresh on the body and interior of my '73 and ran out of money. With a divorce, I do not have the time or the space to finish her. She is parked right now because she needs to have the suspension and drive train redone. When I hit a big enough bump the rear wheels hit the fenders and are starting to show wear on them. I tried to sell her, but did not get what I wanted, so she will sit for now and get started only occasionally till I have the time, money and space for replacing the springs, struts, shocks, bushings, u-joints and what ever needs to be replaced.

I have a question about my '73. I have '72 SU carbs the choke works properly and I have been having cold start issues ever since I have owned her. The mechanical electric pump is working well, but the dealer installed electrical fuel pump is disconnected. Could this fact be causing the carbs to starve for fuel during startup? I thought the electrical fuel pump was installed by the dealer to help compensate for the crappy flat top carbs that have been removed from my z. I have everything to connect the electrical fuel pump, but I have been apprehensive to connect it because I think that it is weird that it connects to the electrical system where the voltage reg connects to the car. Any ideas?

Austen, I had a similar problem when I was putting my '73 back together. She kept loosing charge. Before I stopped to think about what was wrong, I over zealously replaced the battery, starter, voltage regulator - twice. Come to find out - after I started to THINK about the problem and stopped trying to fix it, I had a leak in one of my grounds. Basically the electrical system was slowly draining the battery, because it was grounding out. Do yourself a favor. Remove the battery and the starter and have them checked out. When replacing them, check the electrical connections to them and verify that you have a good, strong and clean connection. The solution to my problem was to remove the (-) battery cable, clean and/or replace both ends, clean out the bolt hole for the (-) battery cable where it connects to the chassis, add another (-) battery cable with a new ground to chassis connector and replace the connector to the starter that powers the rest of the car. My connector had one filament sticking out and was touching the (+) battery post on the starter, which was powering my accessories and the voltage regulator, thus draining the battery. A .50 cent fix which ended up costing me over $100.00. Please learn from my mistake, think and solve the problem before you blindly fix it. These older z-cars electrical systems need some serious attention. A wire could be shorted out and give you the impression that something major is wrong. Good luck

I cant believe that it already has a bid of 5k. My car only got bids up to 5400. Boooooooo

Count me in too.

After it has been running for a while and you turn it off does it still do the same thing? It sounds like a cold start valve or something. I have not addressed it on my '73. She does that after it has sit for over 8 hours, otherwise she starts right up. I did not think it was that big of a deal.

Bob C. I did the exact same thing on my '73. Unfortunately, I ended up taking out my z and everything else on the interior through the refresh. I wish I would have taken it out with the dash, but it still was fun. Good luck with the heater core.

AARRGGHH, Please dont drill holes. My '73 is also pre-wired in the kick panels. When I was putting her back together, I got a bit confused about the wiring until I spoke to someone that told me that she was just wired for the step lamps and they were not actually installed.

Normally you can find on ebay for pretty cheap, but I just did a search and could not find one. I am not sure if the lack of a firewall grommet is causing your linkage to stick. I have not looked at my linkage in a while, so I can not help, but I sure that some people on this forum can. Good luck

Try removing the plugs to relieve the pressure. Try it without using the starter. If you can't then something else is freezing up the engine.

Randy, It looks like I am in the minority, but I do not like the stripes.

I had to take my dash out to get the heater core out. When I finished installing it I realized I forgot to replace the heater control valve...Oops, so I had to loosen the dash and do what Arne said, it was slow and tedious. I am tall and did not use a piece of wood to sit on, but that sounds like a good idea.

Yes please post some pics. Enigma knows what he is talking about. On my '73 I had already committed too much time before I realized that she was probably too far gone. I fixed her any way. I pulled EVERYTHING off the car and waited till I had enough money to replace the floor boards with frame rails, rear quarter panel, heat shield around batter tray, front passenger fender - inner and that is only the metal. Good luck and please post some pics, before you get too far.

Congratulations. My auction did not go over the $5400.00 and I still have her.

It did not sell. Enigma was right about it only getting a bid of $5400.00. I have one other option to sell her to someone that will appreciate her. Otherwise I will have to find a place to store her for the time being.

Enigma, You were right. The highest offer was $5400.00. I am going to have to find a place to store her for a time, till I get back on my feet, unless someone wants her for $7k. Ramses

If they used a filler, you should be able to see the back end of the holes after you take to panel off the door. That is what I did on my '73

I am one of those people that has to sell there z. I need the money and I do not have the space to store her. I understand your point, so this is what I have done. I have a local friend of mine that has over 20 z's in need of repair. He does not part them out and he does not like selling them. They just sit there and when he has the time he refreshes them and sells them. When I sell mine for my reserve on ebay, see link http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1973-Datsun-240z_W0QQitemZ300083780255QQihZ020QQcategoryZ6187QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem I am going to buy the best one one for the best price and start the whole thing over again. It took me 5 years to get the above z in that good of shape and I learned a whole bunch. My body shop friend of mine, will help me store and work on the car, when he is slow, so I have nothing to loose. I can not store such a clean car as my '73 there, unfortunately, I also need the money. I know it sounds silly, but I do have the z bug and hopefully, it will mean on more z on the road when I am finished. :nervous: Chuck

It looks like it is better shape than my '73.

The first thing that I did on my '73 was to buy a FSM (Factory Service Manual). Then I isolated the dash from all of the other items that were connected to it: Battery, Engine bay harness, cab harness, all the instruments in the console and all the connectors at the steering wheel. I labeled all these as well. Especially make sure that you label all the connectors to the relay panel under the passenger dash (if a 280z has a relay panel). From what I remember, after you take off the cowel cover, there are 7 screws that hold the dash to the engine bay heat shield, 4 bolts that hold the dash to the steering wheel, 2 bolts that hold the dash to the place where it connects to the console area and 1 screw on either side of dash above where your legs go next to the doors. You also have to disconnect the speedo. The fuse box comes out with the dash. It should come out easily and you should be able to turn it upside down to replace the harness. It is a lot of work but I agree with Mike it is easier than trying to replace with the dash still on. Good Luck

I hope you get more than what 280z1975 is offering. It looks like you have spent well over double that. I know I have and I am currently selling mine. Mine is he red one in Houston. I can understand your grief on coming to the decision to sell her. Good luck.

Randy, I wish I could fit in a small car like the tr6. When I was in high school, 20+yrs ago, my neighbor had one when I had my 1st z. It was pretty cool to see both of them sitting next to each other. I hope you enjoy spring this year, with a convertible. I'm jealous.