MK1888

And there's good reason to only use a little...it'll affect the tightening torque and even work loose. Also, it contains some hazardous stuff, so if you have a lot of nuts/bolts to do wrap a piece of plastic bag around your finger to apply it.

Also, don't touch the battery positive terminal unless the negative cable is disconnected! The electrical system is negative grounded. You can get a severe shock (and die, if that bothers you) by touching the positive terminal if you unknowingly provide a path to ground like, say, your leg resting against the metal body. If your battery measures 12V, it's dead. Half charged is around 12.4V. No reason not to have one of those cheap multimeters...I got a bunch of them some months ago for $2 each from Harbor Freight and gave them to people.

What's the voltage at the battery with the engine off and with it on? The battery is only used to start the car, so if the alternator is toast you'll get as far as you can get on battery power...all of a couple minutes, and then the battery needs a jump. Voltage regulator might cause it, but you'll know by checking the voltage.

Yeah, and look at the [lack of!] rust.

Oh, yes, I like that one. Mike

Thanks guys. I was curious, since I'm way over in PA.

Neil, what color is your blue Z? Is that factory? I like that a lot.

Your Z has Bosch engine management, right? I've had VWs with Bosch and they had a default super-rich mode when the O2 sensor was bad. I had to circumvent it a couple times in order to get home by disconnecting the coolant temp sensor, which simulated a startup condition and ignored the O2 sensor. I don't even know...Did they have O2 sensors in 1978? Mike

I did that one time on my old VW Bug. Wound up bending pushrods, because I was still able to get it started.

Does the battery read over 12V in the morning? I think 12.6V is fully charged. If the cold is affecting the battery you could keep it warm by taking it inside the house overnight and see if you have a problem the next morning. Just so you know, the "click" is the solenoid pushing the gear out to engage the flywheel. No click means either the solenoid is bad or there isn't enough power getting to it. But generally, a weak battery will still push out the solenoid and just not turn the starter. Temperature can definitely affect electrical parts, especially old parts.

I wonder if anyone in San Fran has taken a look at these and can offer reviews. http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/1958017882.html http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/1955954674.html http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/1954466020.html

I had one of those buzzers on my '77 Honda Accord. Annoying sound, but it worked. It was only a couple dollars back then. You could probably hack it by running the output through a transistor instead of that piezo buzzer, and have it turn on the seatbelt warning buzzer. I'd use an opto-coupler Darlington.

Thanks for all the input. I don't really have a set year to buy, or even that I have to buy a Z. I was going through the local craigslist ads, saw this one, and was like..."Ohhh yeah, I remember those...that's pretty badass...That'd be pretty cool to have as a 3-season fun car (winter in Pittsburgh would eat it up)." I watched a couple YouTube videos, and listened to the exhaust, and was like...."Mmmm hmmm." The one that really gives me a car boner is this: http://maydaygarage.com/2010/01/19/keeping-it-old-school-van-luongs-73-datsun-240z/

Well, I went and poked. I'll post this in case someone might be interested. http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/cto/1934278364.html I'm no expert looking at cars, so I likely didn't find everything wrong. From memory (couple hours ago): * The car does indeed look good. Nice paint, nice interior. Only a tiny area of paint bubbling around one wheel well. * It was originally yellow, now it's blue. * The entire underside *looks* good, but someone went over it with undercoating to cover up the bad spots. * Ride side frame rail is shot. It either has a massive welding bead around most of it, or it was Bondoed (and then undercoated). It's crushed just before it gets to the wheel well area, as if you tried to lift the car right there resting on the edge of a knife. It's patched with sheet metal and pop rivets where it meets the wheel well. Owner claimed ignorance and said that the other interested buyer (who he said knows Z's) said it wasn't structural. Uhh...the frame rails are definitely structural. * Much damage from the battery acid. It's a big area, and down to the frame rail, all patched with sheet metal and pop rivets (and undercoated). * A few holes in the floor (that I found just reaching under and poking). One about the size of a dime, one the size of a quarter, and one the size of a baseball. They all go through to the carpet, despite the owner arguing the contrary. * Trailing edge of driver's door slightly smacks into the door jam when closing. * Suspension bushings are old and cracked. Minor: * Hatch seal leaks water (he washed the car just before I arrived, which I would always be suspicious of). I would redo all of the seals anyway, because the all looked pretty shitty. * Windshield seal leaks water. * Temp and fuel gauges don't work. Heater blower seemed very weak. * Fuel filter at the tank was half-full of orange "fluff". I couldn't tell if it was rust or deteriorating filter. * Heater core hoses are blocked off at the engine. * Choke cable is missing. The owner warmed it up before I got there. Too bad, because it's a badass looking car. I just don't have the room to do the full resoration this Z needs. (I also don't like dealing with dishonest sellers.) Mike

Thanks for the help.

Here are the pics from the ad: Yeah, that's what worries me too, that he's only had it for a few months. He said he bought it for his wife. Okay, so?...she doesn't want it anymore? I don't mind putting some work and money into it. But I got taken before on a car that had a rotted frame that I didn't know about until I started working on it. I'll definitely use the fridge magnet tip.

So it's worth paying $5K? Current owner has only had it a few months and said he bought it from an woman who had it stored in a barn for some years (it was her husband's), said it had several inches of dust on it.

I found a 1973 240Z for sale locally, but I'm not sure what all to look for and how to estimate it's value. Officially has almost 300K miles. Seller claims it's less, but he's only owned it for a few months. It has a 280Z engine and has been repainted. Seller is asking $5000. Repaint scares me, because I assume damage. Also the mileage seems high to be asking $5K. Mike