bratliff

Yep! That's them.

You Sir, win all of the internets for today. Thank you for pointing out how much of an idiot I was. Just went to the garage swapped the battery form end to end and the car fired right up and idled nicely. Since you were so right on this first point, I'm going to order an oil pan gasket and try and change that out in place. If I can fix the passenger rail rust without stripping the car down, then I can go on with my original plan of a rolling restoration. I agree, I do not wanna look at boxes of old car parts for the next couple of years.

Did some work on the Z today. Cleaned out the interior. No rear carpeting, but the rear deck is very clean. Also found the original tool kit plus two yellow metal wheel choks with "Nissan" on them. Were these part of the tool kit too? I took the old battery to get tested and it was dead dead. Bought a new one. I decided to hook it up so I could test the electrics, etc. As soon as I did, smoke started coming out of the alternator. Obviously I disconnected the battery. All the connections on the alternator appeared to be in place and there were no obvious bare wires or anything. I decided to pull the alternator so I can test it. Since the bottom bolt would be easier to reach from under the car I jacked it up and put it on jack stands. Undid the connectors and loosened the tensioning bolt for the alternator and then went under the car. First thing I noticed is that a lot of the under body rust protection is peeling off. This isn't so bad as it revealed that the primered metal underneath is in good shape except for one spot. It looks like at some point the car went over a curb or something and came down on the passenger side frame rail. It's kinda crushed/bent and the rust protection is scraped off and it's rusted out. The bottom section about 18 inches in length plus a spot towards the front on the inner side. I've never done any welding. Is this something that can be done in place, or will the car need to be up in the air to do? Also with all the under side rust coating coming off, I'm guessing I need to do something about that as well or I'm just asking for trouble in the future right? The other thing I noticed was oil. The entire bottom of the engine back to the transmission is covered in oily gunk. It's obvious the oil pan gasket is completely failed. It looks like you have to remove the suspension cross member to drop the oil pan, am I right? So now I'd like some advice from you guys who have been through all this. I was hoping to just do a rolling restoration as the body is for the most part very sound and I thought rust free. I did not intend to rebuild the engine (at least in the near future) but, going through the electrical system I can see a lot of wiring that's looking pretty sketchy (brittle sheathing, etc) and with an alternator that starts smoking just by having a battery hooked up I'm beginning to wonder if I need to go through all of that as well. It looks like my dad did his own installation of the alarm and stereo and I don't really like how he tapped into the wiring for power, etc. Do I just say screw it and strip the car down completely and do a full restoration knowing it'll be several years before it's back on the road or am I making too much of this stuff? I appreciate your advice.

Got the Z into the garage this evening, pulled the battery and had a good poke around. Here's a shot of the engine bay. A little dirty but not bad really. Cleaner than my BMW's at any rate. Here's a shot of the vehicle tag with the serial number, etc. Serial number is 303038 in case it isn't clear. Can anyone tell me what this white thing is? Vacuum pump or something? The top of this canister looks like it should have three hoses. The bottom one here looks missing/broken but it appears to be capped off. Should there be a connection here? I think the little flashlight is the neatest feature on these cars. Where I can I get a replacement bulb as I think this one is burned out? This next picture shows a hose that appears to be broken. Is this a vacuum line? There's a hose that it runs right along with... ... that's in this picture and this is where it terminates. Any idea where that first hose should be routed? Thank you all for your help!

That's a gorgeous color on that 240z.

I've got a multi-meter already. I try not to shot gun troubleshoot an issue. I like to really try and isolate it if for no other reason than I know what the actual problem was. That's why I want to get the car running and driving first before I really start restoring it and replacing parts. The weather seals are shot though. I've looked at pretty much all of them and they need to be replaced especially since we get a lot of rain in GA. It'll be parked in a garage (and has been it's whole life) but it'll get wet if I drive it any. Is there any consensus on the MSA seal kit?

I do plan on keeping the car mostly stock, but I think the bumpers are coming off. I think the bumpers detract from what I feel are the true lines of the car. I'm going to leave the office early this afternoon so I can put in a little time with the Z. I'll get the VIN and post it then. I want to say it was 30308, but I'm going off of memory (it might be 300308). I'll check though. It's technically a three owner car (with me as the third owner) but it's always been in my family so I kinda consider it one owner. Neither my uncle or my father are really gear heads so, aside from a front air dam my dad had put on and a crappy after market radio everything on the car is as it left the showroom.

Yep. I read this in Hardway's thread. I wouldn't be surprised if my tranny had never been opened so I'm a little concerned over what I might find. Hopefully I get a bunch of nasty oil and that's all.

Thank you for the offer! I think the digital version will work for me just fine so maybe hold on to that for someone else. Like you, I've lurked here for a while reading reading reading. I've learned a lot but these cars are so very different from my BMW (my other project car) so I'm having to learn a lot.

Thanks for the info on the intake Zed Head. I thought it was a weird design when I was looking at it yesterday. I know that the hatch leaks (father told me this) so first on the list of parts is seals for basically everything. I found a couple of places that sell full kits so I'll probably just buy one of those and replace it all at once. The plan at this point is, get it running, and drive it recreationally while I go through and restore it. Hoses, belts and fuel lines are on the top of the list, along with all fluids. Reading Hardway's thread about finding a nearly bone dry tranny prompted me to add transmission fluid to this weekends list of things to do on the Z.

Thanks Steve! Hopefully I can hunt down Tim just to hook up with our cars vs needing his help! I really don't think getting her started will take much. I'm going through the due diligence just to minimize potential damage or extra work down the road.

Everything on the engine is stock. I plan on going through everything at some point and replacing/upgrading as required but right now, the goal is to get the car started and on the road. I'll pick up some seafoam tonight! Thanks for the tip.

I'm off of the Hugh Howell exit of Hwy78 just north of Stone Mountain.

Perfect! Thanks HaZmatt! I'll drop this on my iPad and I'll be ready to go!

Swung by AutoZone last night and picked up an oil filter, fuel filter and air filter, as well as five quarts of Valvoline 10w30 high mileage. Just chose this as it was fairly cheap and I want new oil in the engine while I wake her up. Is five quarts enough? I need to get an owners manual/Haynes manual for the Z. Any recommendations what/where to get one? I admit I haven't even looked yet. Tonight I'll pull the battery and put it on a trickle charger (I think it's dead but, never hurts to try right?) and remove the spark plugs and put some atf in there. In the waking the beast thread, NGK BP6ES plugs are whats called out as replacements. Is this the correct plug for a '76 z?

I didn't realize it referred to motor oil! I'll have to take a look. I did a quick Google and it looks like 10w30 high mileage type oil will be fine. I do plan on doing a full fluid flush and fill, which will include the brake fluid, diff, trans, etc. but I first want to get it running.

Excellant! Thank you. I looked for the code where S30Driver said and found the sticker, but the only number that I could read was "0." Everything else had faded over the past 40 years. Looks like the color is 240 Racing Green. I'll definitely spend some time on that tech tips site, thank you. Stupid question time though. I've searched this forum and that tech tips link and elsewhere but I haven't found an answer. What kind of oil should I use? My BMW is quite particular and only likes a certain brand and flavor. I doubt the Z is as picky but I'm sure the collective wisdom out there has settled on a "correct" answer to this question. I want to run to the auto parts store tonight and pick up filters and fluids so I can start bringing the beast back to life. Thank you!

Thanks S30Driver and rcb280z. You guys are right. I'll drain the gas tank and inspect for rust. If I see any, I'll remove it and have it cleaned and repaired. I'll also change the oil and lube the engine as suggested. I am focusing on running items first and then looks. Maybe the bumpers will grow on me.