KDMatt

Just goes to show ya, that no matter how many friends you may think you have... the only TRUE friend you could ever have is yourself!

Well... the Z isn't American (technically) ... and on that point, he gave the RX-8 very high praise and also seemed fairly smitten with the Chrysler Crossfire convertible.

So... some good news at my household... My dad has finally decided to scrap his dream of owning an Eclipse and wants, instead, a 350z (perhaps not the best incarnation, but definitely a step in the right direction IMHO). So now that I'm so eagerly embracing his new-found Z-love I've been pulling up lots of reviews and videos of them on youtube so that he can see the Z33 in action before he drives one. I've found a small number of clips from the British show "Top Gear," (and they really seem to hate this car) one such clip is called "New Z vs. Old Z" ... in which different generations are pitted against one another... with interesting results. I thought this would be fun to share. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q7OFf5216s

Well, the EFI tanks are different than the carbed tanks that I know for sure. Other than that I think, size-wise, they're all pretty similar (??)

Oh no, right I get that. I guess I should have mentioned that I didn't mean to imply that if all of those items weren't pristine that one should pass on the car. I merely meant that those are things that should be looked at before any used car purchase to get a general sense of what kind of care the car has received in its lifetime. I paid $2300 for mine about two years ago, and a lot of that stuff was far from pristine... (the shifter bushings were and still are toast) didn't stop me though

Wow, sounds like you're seller is pretty confident in the quality of what he's selling if he's meeting you at a shop of your choice to have a techie check it out. Again, I think that spells good news for you... (and presumably good news for him too, if his car comes back with a good report it'll make it easier to sell if you don't end up buying it) In picking a mechanic/shop ... obviously it would be nice to find a place that knows imports or classics ... I think it looks like your looking for a standard 20-point inspection or something to that effect... all shops are a little different but provided you get the essentials checked out that's all your looking for... Someone feel free to ammend to this list too, this is only me (li'l ol' me), not the most car savvy person on here I know, making this list... U-joints (clicking, squealing, excess play) Clutch (as well as the involved hydraulics) Brakes; rotors, pads, shoes, drums (also with involved hydraulics) Transmission (shift quality, gear grinding, etc.) Suspension (ride quality, play or movement in joints or bushings) Belts and Hoses (looking for cracks or excessive wear) Tires (looking, again, for excessive or unusual wear...) Compression Check (I know this has been mentioned) It probably also would be beneficial to have the sparkplugs read. Looking at the deposits on the plugs can determine how well (or poorly) the engine is running, and looking at them with a mechanic right there can't be a bad idea either. Also, I know that in CA certain vehicles are required to test for emissions... I don't know if this particular vehicle is exempt or what, but it's probably in your best interests to FIND OUT. You don't want to get stuck with a car that won't pass emissions testing. Many good men have been driven to madness in a desperate attempt to get their car to pass... We wouldn't want the same to happen to you! :dead: Good luck sir!

This I think, gives one a better scope of what happened. http://www.flickr.com/photos/80651083@N00/984662521/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/hellyes/988956334/

Thank you for thinking of me, I used to drive that stretch quite often as it's only a few blocks from where I go to school in Minneapolis. At last report the death toll is a lot lower than they initially thought it was going to be (8 confirmed dead, over 100 injured)... but still very tragic and very shocking... Just thank God

Hello Kiboy, welcome to the forums! I'm very pleased to hear that you're considering a 280z as your next vehicle. Okay, so here is my experience, and this is just me. First, I would like to say that I'm a student, so funds are extremely tight for me most of the time. I use my '76 280z to commute to work almost every day, I also use it to bring loads of laundry back home etc. etc. you know, daily driving. It rarely gives me any problems... I'd say maybe a moderate issue every two thousand miles or so... which, for me, equates to one moderate issue per summer pretty much. You just can't be afraid to fall in to the learning curve straight away, and you must also be prepared to resign yourself to the fact that there are some jobs you aren't going to be able to do right of way... When I first got the car the alternator went out... I could probably easily replace it myself now... but back then I had no clue what I was doing, so I hacked up the $200 or so and took it to a shop... I still kick myself in the @$$ for that one. Now granted, my Z hasn't even hit 90k yet on the odometer (and yes, that's 90k I'm talking about, not 190k or 290k)... but believe me, these cars WILL go the distance if you care for them. A gentleman in my local Z-club has over 350k miles on his! One thing you have going for you is that it's a four-seater... from my experience (and it's limited), most people who beat the hell out of these cars prefer the two-seater coupe version, and not the the more "family-friendly" installment... There's a complete list of things to look at when you go take a peek at the car, but keep an eye out for rust or even little pocky 'bubbles' that tend to signify larger problems... I'm sure that at $2600 there'll be a few little spots, but hopefully nothing too major. Take a peek underneath at the "frame" too... the underside of these cars is often the first thing to go... and once that's gone you really don't have a car anymore, so pay extra attention here. It's also a commonly held conception (one that happens to be true) that white is the best color to paint a car if you wish to conceal blemishes... just keep that in mind. My final thoughts: The Good - The Datsun Z-car is generally pretty affordable for a 'classic' or 'vintage' car that actually looks cool and goes fast. - These cars can also be very reliable... - ... and affordable to maintain ... Common parts are not hard to come by at retail-chain auto part stores at good prices... at least cheaper than any of the parts for cars that my friends/parents drive (i.e. starter, radiator, various sensors, etc.) - Chicks dig 'em ... (Ricers/Tuners hate 'em... for that reason I think too!) The Not-so-Good - The 280z in particular relies on a sophisticated network of electronic sensors and relays, so diagnosing various conditions can be a bit... cumbersome... especially with 30-year-old wiring - Despite their rock solid design, stuff does break on these cars... probably no more than a domestic car of a newer vintage, but still... it's a car, its not infallible - Specialty parts (various relays, engine pieces, body parts, etc. ) can be harder to come by... if something very specific goes out on the car, it's not unheard of to have to wait a few days to a week for the part to arrive So, I hope I didn't scare you off. with all of my rambling I love my Z, and I wouldn't drive anything else, and I hope that you consider all of your factors and make a very informed, well-reasoned decision free from emotion. If you decide to buy it, there will be plenty of time to let your emotions go nuts later.

Wow, that's an amazing story. I remember once letting a guy sit in my car. He owned a 260 back in the day apparently and just wanted to briefly relive his experiences... I didn't let him drive it though... my stick is wobbly and sloppy because of bad bushings and finding third is tricky enough without someone who doesn't know how... but you get extra bonus points for going that far. That's probably the one-up we have on more 'exclusive' car communities... The Z was within financial reach of far more people than say, Corvettes ever were so they managed to affect more people. Do I get to drive Kharma too if you ever make it to MN? ... or better yet Sylvia?

Darb nooo!! Some day you can sell it to me! HAHA For the record folks, I don't care what Darbji says about that car, it's hot and I want one.

Haha, no, it wasn't KARR... it was some other car ... I just remember Michael Knight saying "Man... it would have taken some serious horsepower to push a sports car over a cliff like that" ... and I was like "It's just discs in the front and drums in the back... it probably wouldn't be too hard..."

My Z = Lindsey ... or ... LinZ ? ... haha

Hrm, I was under the impression that there are plenty of Deloreans left for anybody who wants one... The last time I checked you can get totally mint, low-mileage DeLoreans for about 20k on ebay motors. On the topic of Z's in the movies/TV I've seen a number of S30's in Knight Rider... a 240z got creamed by an evil supercar in a third season episode.

Beautiful pictures! I'm curious, the '240z' decals down the side, or those original ones or the MSA reproductions?

I imagine there is a simple way to determine what kind of draw you're dealing with... This reminds me of an experience my mom's Honda recently went through. I could get the car to start with a jump and everything was fine, but once I tried to get it to work under its own power it was a no-go ... turns out the battery only had 12 amps worth of cranking power (whereas it was rated to about 400) ... The difference there is that I replaced the battery with a better one (now 500 amps strong) and all is right once again... however that's not doing it for you. Personally, I don't imagine the alternator necessarily being the problem. When mine died and the car was left to run on the battery alone, it was dead in about five or ten minutes... and I can't remember does the 260 have an Ammeter in the dash or a Voltmeter? Either way, you'd probably know if your alternator was going south. Regardless, a lot of shops and some auto-parts stores will do free diagnostics on your charging system, this was how I found out for sure that all my mom's car needed was a new battery. Just make sure you have somebody along who can jump your car again, just in case. Just out of curiosity, is your new battery the correct replacement? 'Seems like a dumb question I know... but if it's not supplying enough cranking amps I can see how that might be a problem (or if something is sucking away your cranking amps)...

Hrm, okay let's see. Is it possible that maybe you have some junk in your fuel lines? I imagine it's possible that maybe you're getting spotty fuel flow, causing low rpm's, then maybe when you give it some gas you clear some junk out of the way causing a stable idle? Otherwise you could examine your auxiliary air regulator, I think part of its job is to raise the idle speed a bit when the engine is cold. If it regulates in too much/too little air it could cause wacky idling. Those are just my stabs in the dark, sorry I can't be of more help. Welcome to the club, '76 and '75 seem like underrepresented years for the Z. Since you just got the car, it might not hurt to run a can of seafoam through there either. Mgood: Your VIN is only 5000 off of mine it looks like (Mine = 286119)

Very nice acquisition, it looks like you've already made some good headway on the project! ... and I agree that the cobwebs are a very interesting touch So, how do you plan to breath life back into her?

I'm no expert on the 240's, so I'll let someone else help out in more detail... .. but if I recall, there's a choke lever that's supposed to help more gas make it into the combustions chambers when the engine is cold. Are you using this correctly, is it hooked up properly? When you replaced the mechanicals, did that include the fuel pump? Is that working properly? 'might be good places to start looking... Good luck

I just calculated my mileage for last week, and it was about 18 mpg for mixed driving, both highway and city. I feel pretty good about that, considering my leaky injectors, bad u-joints and low tranny and diff fluid levels... which hopefully are all getting corrected in the next month.

Oh Carl, I realize you tried to protect yourself by noting that this statement is merely your opinion, and I really, truly, have to disagree. Darbji is totally right on about calling her Z a woman... Z's are girls, they are beautiful and need care... sure maybe they're not high-maintenance Paris Hilton girls, but they are women nonetheless... In a veerrrrrry traditional (old-fashioned, sexist) sense, men are the money-makers, and women money-users ... which category does your Z fall in? ...Besides, I'm gonna be really freaked out if you tell me that I've been saying "I love you baby," and making all sorts of promises to a car that's been a guy this whole time... I just don't see it Carl, sorry. :nervous: JimmyZ ... Highway Star is an excellent choice too, I should have thought of that, Deep Purple freakin' rocks!

I didn't say it, but you know I was thinkin' it. Darbji When I eventually do my Z montage like that, I plan to use "Strangelove" by Depeche Mode... maybe a bit more fitting for my case.

Chris, there is an EFI Manual (available online in pdft format) that tells you about every electric circuit in the system (including a wiring diagram) and this is a fabulous place to start. There are many mentions to it on these forums, but if you still can't find it, let me know and I can send it to you. Included are step-by-step circuit tests which are really not hard to do at all. The best of luck sir!

He didn't start really pulling ahead of me until I was deep into second gear it seemed like... He also had a rolling start... lameass ... I'm still a bit sour about it... seeing as I think I managed to 'burn off' more diff fluid in this race... I don't have a 'clunk' back there which is good, but it definitely feels more 'stiff' today. Hopefully new U-joints and new fluid for the tranny and diff tomorrow. ... which reminds me... how do you folks feel about those electric 2-3 psi superchargers on Ebay?

What?? Me?? No way!! :stupid: