Patcon

So I bought a truck from the salvage auction a little while back. The batteries in it are of an unknown age. They were completely dead! So I tried to charge them. The automatic charge settings wouldn't do anything. So on a whim I tried the manual 2 Amp setting for a while. I have one back up over 12 volts. The other is still only about 6 volts. I noticed that it might read 12.6 when I take it off the charger but then settles some over time. Like to maybe 12.2 V. Is that normal for them to settle at a lower voltage? What is the likelihood that if I get them up to 12.6 volts that they will actually be good for anything?

Nope. You can look at other cars to see what vin numbers have what number engines but that will only get you close. You still won't be able to definitively determine if you have the original engine

What are we looking at in these pictures? What is the yellow stuff?

I agree with the others. I would keep it as close to original as possible. It will also, most likely, retain the most value that way too. You might be able to do much of the maintenance yourself as most dealers don't have anyone old enough to be experts on these older cars. If I thought the car would make the trip, I would drive it. Mind you, I would wait until after the salt is gone

Is that yours now Jerry?

@maxdiesel

That is the part that can really get on my nerves. you just have to accept that's what it takes to get it right.

I really believe these cars are much harder to make perfect without substantial filler than many cars of a similar era. The metal is much thinner than American cars of the era. So on an heavy thick bodied muscle car you can get the metal close and then use a body file to remove some of the unevenness. This make the metal thinner in some spots but reduces the need for filler. Add to that, the fact that the original stampings were not perfect. Which means blocking an original door flat is going to require some filler since the original door was never blocked. It was stamped, primed and painted. Modern fillers work really well and if they are applied in layers they tolerate movement pretty well. You have done good prep work, so it should hold up for a long time. I suspect like on many of the panels on my car, there appears to be a lot of filler but in reality it is a very thin layer spread over a wide area. Keep up the good work! i wish I was making this kind of progress!

Are you sure they're rivets? I thought they were self tapping screws for temporary purposes

Sold on Copart today. Last I looked it was $1200 a couple of days ago

So you have removed the wedge bolt that passes through the rod?

Good pictures! I have come to conclude the paint was probably glossy from the factory and became satin looking over time

Possibly both... I am more familiar with the earlier cars. I believe on them, the PCV is connected to the valve cover

I believe there is a flame arrestor inside that hose

What is the possibility of a neutral switch input for the auto ECU?

Hey ya'll, watch dis!

What is the cleaning method for large parts like this? Sanded to what grit?

Tyler has all three of the ads. He wants 3k for a rusted out 260z??? I don't think so!!!

My cheap flaring tool has a two step process for making double flairs. The first is a flat disc with a pin that bulges the end of the line. The second is a cone that flairs the line against the clamp body to complete the flair. You can make the bulges by just using the first step and not over doing it

I don't know if the 280zx tach triggers the same way the older cars do. A little research on the 280zx wiring diagram should help with that

Be careful about disconnecting an alternator while the engine is running. You can damage components on some vehicles this way

280zx? Year?

I guess it depends on who you heard that from... The distributor you have in there is running a lot of Zs just fine, and 510's for that matter. It is missing the vacuum advance by the looks of it. I wouldn't change it for now. Work on the other issues, like the INOP tachometer. Personally I wouldn't make changes to the car unless there is an obvious problem. Once it is 100% sorted, then you can tinker if you want and you will be able to readily see the results of the changes

A quick question, what is the point of going to the MSD box? The distributor is already electronic and the spark should be more than hot enough for most applications

The bulge can be added with a good flairing tool. The first step die for a hand flairer will bulge the line