bratliff

I assume you refer to the looks of the car and that I should keep it stock looking. I want to update the suspension and braking system as well as the intake and exhaust, but these would for the most part be unseen changes. Thank you for taking the time to respond as I am really of two minds here. Seems like the consensus so far is keep it basically stock looking.

Thanks HaZmatt! I've read through your entire thread a couple of times! I'll definitely post more pics when the weather clears. That was with my Nikon d810 at 6400 ISO and really pushed. It's cloudy, overcast and rainy today. Hopefully this weekend I can throw some water over it and take some detailed interior/exterior/engine shots. Yea, the bumpers aren't my favorite either. I'm debating if I want to replace them with 240z bumpers or just remove them entirely. This isn't the first car I've "hot rodded" so to speak. I always start at suspension and braking before I get into the go faster bits. I read the post on awakening the beast. Question I have is I believe the car was last run less than a year ago, so do you think I should do the full fluid change, etc, still? All the cars I've ever worked on were all runners from day 1 so this is the first time I've had to take a car out of storage. And yes, whatever I do I'm going to keep the color. I call it British Racing Green. Does anyone know what the Datsun name is?

I've lurked here for a while, but, never posted since I didn't own a z. This morning, I got a delivery. This car was purchased new by my uncle in 1976, bought by my father from him in the late 80's, and now it's mine. Currently, it's not running. My dad parked it away one winter several years ago and hasn't run it since. He tells me he's started it not too long ago, but the battery is completely dead and the fuel guage shows empty. I tried jump starting it with my truck this morning but no go. It turned over and all the electrics seems to work but it just wouldn't start. I've got the battery on a trickle charger now, although I suspect it's dead dead. I'll get some fresh gasoline this afternoon and try jumping it again. Going through it, the interior needs the most work. The head liner is missing. The carpeting is not secured well but is in good shape. The seats are in excellent condition but dirty and the whole inside needs a detailing. It's got black carpet with cream seats, door cards and head liner. The door seals look shot to me, and I'm guessing the hatch seals are the same. On the exterior, there is one ding on the driver's side and an area that has some filler that's cracked (the car got stolen in the 90's and recovered and had some damage to the hatch that was repaired). Neither is a huge issue, but I"ll address them once I get to redoing the exterior (last on my list). Other than that i's missing a few emblems and needs to be washed and buffed out. Mechanically it looks very sound. No rust anywhere although I haven't gotten up under it yet. The suspension is probably shot, although my dad says it drives fine. The tires are too big (the rears rub when you go over bumps). Right now, plans are to first get it running. I'll do a full fluid/filter change. Then suspension, door/hatch seals, hoses and belts and new tires. I'll also inspect the brakes and service them if needed. Once it's running and driving the way it should, I'll start looking at intake and exhaust. I don't intend to extensively modify this car. I remember driving it back in the 80's/90's and I think it drives very well. To me, the intake looks screwy (sucks from inside the engine bay) and I'd like to put a performance exhaust on it. Any other ideas for lightly modding these engines? I don't intend on rebuilding it at this point. I'd like to see how it performs before I decide if it's needed. The other question I'm struggling with is looks. I like how it looks now. Aside from a lip spoiler my Dad put on (but never had painted) the car is almost 100% stock. Part of me says to leave it this way (although I'll get the body work done and have it repainted). The other part says make it my own and remove the bumpers, put on fender flares, new wheels, etc. Is this car worth preserving as is? I don't intend to sell the car. I'll pass it on to one of my daughters in ten or twenty years (they're 4 and 5 now) so resale value isn't really a consideration. I'd love to hear some opinions!