Healeyalt

Lots of good info on that Atlantic Z car club site and I'll try the Carb Cleaner and toothbrush approach. Thank you

The hose from the AFM to the throttle body is cracked so I'm taking things apart and cleaning them up before i put a new hose on. I see the service manual says not to get water in and/or around the AFM. What would be the best way to clean both the outside of the AFM and inside the barrel of it. For example, would it hurt the AFM to get some kind of carb clean and take it outside and spray it down? Or is there a better and safer way to clean it up? Thanks Gary

Thanks Bruce, there is a Home Depot right across the road from where I work and I'm be heading there after work. Gary

I'm cleaning-up my air cleaner housing on my 76 and there is a gasket (seal) under the lid aorund the outter edge. It was all dried and cracked so I scraped it off. Does anyone know where I can purchase a new one of these or will I have to make my own. Any help is greatly appreciated Thanks Gary

Hi Willoughby Z, I did a search as suggested and did find some excellent posts on this, thanks

I've got my frontend all cleaned up and painted and soon I'll be putting it all back together. The pads under the cowl finisher were disintegrated and I'm wonder where I can get replacements. I don't see them listed in the Black Dragon catalogue or do you guys make them out of the correct thiskness of rubber mud flaps or something? Also, what do you guys use for the foam tape seal that runs vertical (top-to-bottom) behind the front fenders just ahead of the door hinges? May be I should just use a heavy bead of good silicone caulking? What ever I used for these materials, I'm thinking they shouldn't be able to hold moisture Any suggestions are appreciated Thanks Gary

I've used POR15 for years on other projects and I also agree, its great stuff. I've never tried to do a body restoration over the Winter months. In a few weeks the temp will be in the single digits around here and during much of January, February, and even into March temps can reach sub-zero (eg, 25 below). That's why leaving a window open or the garage door cracked for any length of time in such temps isn't much an option (I've also got water pipes in this garage that could freeze) and I was just curious about a different type of low vapor rust proof paint. But even so, you are correct that I should get an appropriate respirator. I wouldn't slop just anything on it just to get it done over the Winter and so if I can't find something satisfactory for preserving it, I will let the project sit until Spring. Gary

I went to NAPA this morning and they suggested a water-based epoxy from True Value such as PPG which would be low odor. http://www.ppg.com/coatings/pmc/hpc/keyproducts/Documents/PittTech%20Plus%209-07.pdf It does look to be very low odor, very corrosion resistant, somewhat flexible, very durable, etc, etc. Its made for direct to metal application. Its probably that tough industrial paint you see coating those huge pipes in factories. Of course it would have to be low odor since the work often has to be indoors. Its a to part mix and is kind of expensive being about $100 for a gallon, but that should do the entire underside of the car, fender wells, etc. Anyway, have any of you guys or gals used any thing like this on your cars? Do you see any problems using this on my car during my Winter restoration work? Thanks Gary

Rainman, what you describe (pale yellow paint under the splatered rough undercoating) is pretty much the same as what I'm seeing on mine. And wow, looks like you did a great job. It really looks like it turned out awesome! Well worth all the hard work.

I've got a nice heated garage to work in this Winter and I plan on taking my car apart piece by piece from front to back and cleaning it up the fender wells, underside, back side of the fenders, etc and coating with a rust preventive paint. I've already taken the front fenders off and I'm ready to clean the little bit of surface rust along some of the edges.. I've used POR15 products such as marine clean and metal ready for years. They are non-harzardous, but without ventilation, the POR15 paint will probably kill me! Does anyone know of a rust preventive paint that is safe to use indoors? I did find this stuff with a google search, but I never tried it and don't know where I could get it http://www.sanchem.com/safegard.html Has anyone had any experience using this stuff or know of any other non--toxic rust preventive paint that can be used indoors? Does anyone know if Eastwood or Rust-oleum makes a rust preventive paint which is non-toxic for indoor use? I don't want to wait until Spring to paint and I don't want to have to keep windows open and go broke paying heating bills. Thanks Gary

I'm just now getting to the inspecting the underside of the 76 2+2 I bought a couple of weeks ago and it seems to have been sprayed many many years ago with some sort of undercoating, especially in the rear wheel wells. Was this standard practice from the company or did a prior owner have this done? In places where its fallen off, its seem to have worked because there doesn't look to be any rust on the metal underneath. I guess my next consideration will be how to get it all off so I can clean everything up real well and paint it. Anyone have any suggestions? I do want to be careful scrapping it so I don't scratch-up the metal under it. I'm not sure if there is any kind of solvent that would remove this stuff. Thanks Gary.

Everythiing but the back end of the frame rails seems solid. And now I see where the manual is saying to place them. I'm glad I asked tho, I didn't realize the service manuals were available on-line for free. That helps. Thank you.

I'm finding that my "100% rust free" 280z 2+2 I bought a couple of weeks ago isn't so rust free. All four of the ends of the frame rails where prior owner probably placed jacks and scratched the metal are pretty much rusted to pieces. However, at least the entire rest of the bottom of the car (eg, floor boards, trany tunnel, outriggers/cross members, etc) are completely free of rust. I have to keep reminding myself this thing was built 36 years ago and there has to be some rust. My first question is, in light of the above rusted frame rails, where would be the best spot to place jack stands? The jack stands I typically use on my vehicles are kind of big, heavy duty ones and there isn't a whole lot of room around the rear cross member. And where on the front end would be the best place to be them.? if anyone has a couple of pics of their car on stands, that would help. My second question is, in light of the entire rest of the car underneath being solid with no rust, how much of the structural integrity of the car is jepordized by the ends of the frame raills being bad? I'm sure I'll have to replace them, but I'm not sure if its a priority before driving? Thanks Gary

I've pretty much thrown in the towel regarding finding good used rubber bumper ends for my 76 280z 2+2 and new ones are just too pricey. For those that have done the conversion to the fiberglass air dams w/ bumper detail and matching rear one, do you have any installation instructions and experience you could share with me. For example, is there a lot of grinding of the fiberglass to make a good fit or do they come pretty well fitting? How do they connect (eg, bolt on somehow to the old bumper brackets or bond them on, etc) Taking the front bumper shocks off looks easy enough, but do I need to take the rear bumper shocks off to get them out of the way or can I collapse them? (I hate dropping gas tanks, sometimes having trouble getting the tank back up and in place). Anyhow, if someone who has done this could take a minute and share with me how these install, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks Gary

Thanks guys, lots of great info which I'll be throwing on my favorites and collecting for when I get a chance to really dive into it. For now however, because I live in Northern Michigan and Winter is fastly appproaching, it may have to stay parked until the weather get better this Spring. Blue, this knd of off topic, but your car looks awesome. I need to do something with my chrrome bumpers and rotted rubber end caps. Is the bumper/air dam you have the one they refer to as fiberglass type 2 on the Zcar source site? And your photo doesn't show the back bumper, is it the matching one (eg 50-4073)? Thanks Gary

I finally got a chance to get back to looking over the car. I checked the vacuum hoses as Zed Head suggested and found the line that goes from the distributor and AFM had a hole burned in it from the exhaust manifold. I fixed that hoping it would run better. However, I could just barely get it to start and it ran very rough for a less than a minute before it died and now it won't even fire. I'm kind of an old carb guy, This FI stuff looks pretty complicated. I do have an official service manual for it but I'm not even sure where to start. Does anyone know of a link to a technical paper on these engines that would outline steps for trouble shooting (eg, do I first check for spark and how, then check fuel pump flow and pressure, then fuel injectors, etc, etc.) Or is it kind of beyond the typical shade tree mechanic to trouble shoot this stuff and I'll have to find someone who's familar with these cars and pay the $$$$$. Any advice or words of wisdom or warning are apreciated. As mentioned above, I really like this car, the cool looks and practicality, and really want to get it fixed up. Also, I live way up in Northern Michigan and Winter is closing in so unfortunately I may have to let it sit until Spring. Gary

Thanks sblake01. My car's number is 34031 so it must be a 76 with a transplanted 5sp from a later Z. That helps.

My car does still have that plate, but the lettering is kind of faint and really difficult to read. I'll have to look at it better when I get home tonight. So on your tag, your car was produced in November of 1975?. Thanks

A couple of weeks ago I bought a 280z 2+2. The title says its a 1976, but I'm a little confused because even though the back bumper for example, looks like a 1976, the sticker on the inside of the driver's side fender says it has 170 hp which I didn't think came out until 1977 and it also has a 5 sp trany which I didn't think was available until 1977. The numbers on the engine match the numbers on the fender sticker so I think its the original engine. Anyhow, how can I verify what year it is? (eg, what sticker or are there stamped numbers, etc). Thanks Gary

Hi grantf, yours do look nice, good job. Mine are trash --- chunks are missing, etc. I saw where a guy had some listed for $35 each on a web site but when I called him he said they were already gone and that was an old listing. I guess these are a hot item. But with all the cars they produced, you'd think there'd be some laying around yet in some junk yard good enough to fix like yours. I only wish mine looked as good as your. Gary

It's not so much wether I like the OEM bumper, but when the previous owner repainted the car, he didn't take off the bumper end caps and now that they have pretty much fallen to pieces, if I don't replace them with original ones, you'll see the old paint color. I do plan on having the car repainted someday, but paints job are expensive and I'll have to wait awhile for that, So I'm looking for a "hold over" for now to make the car look halfway decent until I can have the entire car repainted with the bumpers of my choice. Gary

Does anyone know of a place that might have used ones for sale? (eg; Datsun Z salvage yards, etc) It looks like there are still some places that sell them new, but they want almost $300 each for them. That being the case, I now know why I see so many Zs with fiberglass or urethane air dams/bumper conversions, which would be much less expensive. And I think the bumper end caps for a 1975 and 1976 are the same. Thanks or any help or suggestions Gary

Thank you Zed Head. Before I jump into anything major, I'll first check all the hoses as you suggest. I once heard that instead of the carb cleaner or starting fluid approach, using a small propane torch (not lit of course) will also alter the RPM as the propane gets drawn in by the leak (safer and less messy also). So I think I'll start with your suggestion and check every hose and fitting as best I can. Thanks Gary

I picked up a 1976 280Z 2+2 over the weekend. According to the seller, "starts right up, really purrrs, positive acceleration". However, that is far from what's happening (buyer beware). When I try to start it, it doesn't start very well, really idles rough, and when I give it some gas (not even under load), it stumbles, boggs, and backfires a little before it picks up rpm. Once I get it up around 1500 to 2000 rpm, it smooths outs and runs OK and doesn't make excessive noises. The good; The oil pressure seems good; there isn't any blue or black smoke from the tail pipe up[on start up or reving; the exhaust coming out the tail pipe at say 2000 rpm is steady and smooth. The antifreeze in the radiator looks good (no oil signs) and the oil looks good (no antifreeze signs). The bad; As noted above, especially concern over the backfires. I kind of hate to start it for fear of it jumping timing or doing some damage before I figure things out. The ugly; There is none. These are really cool looking cars! I love the looks of the car and really want to get this thing fixed up. I haven't had a chance to check the compression yet or do other mechanical test of the engine. Nor have I had a change to check the timing and the distributor/rotor for cracks, etc, or how it advances, etc. It looks like the seller just put new plugs in and so I haven't even pulled them to see how they are burning. I guess I was looking for some advice on where to start looking/testing. The engine is the original with about 80k miles and it doesn't look like the fuel injectors have every been changed, or the fuel pump, etc. So before I start, I was wondering if anyone else has had similar "symptoms" and has advice. Thanks Gary

Next week I'm picking up a 1976 with the orginal motor which supposedly runs pretty well, Its got around 80K miles on it (hopefully not 180K). Anyway, the first thing I plan on doing is checking the oil and changing it and the oil filter. I'm thinking of pulling the valve cover and oil pan first to clean out any "gunk". Have or would any of you guys use somehing like Amsoil engine oil flush in these motors? Or would this just open up a lot of leaks and other problems? I'm sure down the road I'm looking at a rebuild, but I don't currently have the time or money so I'm thinking of changing all the fluids for now (antifreeze, brake fluid, differential fluid, etc) and cleaning things up as best as I can. I appreciate any advice or experiience. Thanks Gary