New Z

[Tall John]

hi everyone,

i just picked up a '76 280Z. I don't know anything about the old Z's except that I always thought they looked really cool when I was growing up. I've been messing around with old Suzuki motorcycles for about three years now and now I decided to try my hand at an old car. I'm sure I'll have a lot of questions!

The car doesn't run yet. I have the receipt from a mechanic that did some diagnosis for the previous owner that says the distributor is bad. I picked one up but I'm waiting for the service manual before I try and tear anything apart!

The body is in pretty good shape. I think it's been a Texas car all its life because there is basically no rust anywhere. Only a bit on the rear fender. here's a pic:

[zbane]

Welcome to the club, looks like you've got a good starting point to work from.

search the site for the best steps to take before starting the engine (if it hasn't run for some time), dizzy problems, anything really, and you're bound to find something useful.

[ArnieTX]

Nice car. I think thats the one off of Craigslist I've been watching. I'm south of you around San Antonio.

How's the interior look?

[red_dog007]

Nice find!

How much did you end up getting it for?

[Panamared]

welcome to the club. The car looks good.

[sblake01]

I picked one up but I'm waiting for the service manual before I try and tear anything apart!

Try here for a manual. If it's not available for download, go back again at another time and try it.

http://carfiche.com/manuals020/cars/

[BuDavid]

welcome to the club.. nice Z you are having here..

you just found the correct place to get info from..

good luck with your beauty.

[Tall John]

Nice car. I think thats the one off of Craigslist I've been watching. I'm south of you around San Antonio.

How's the interior look?

yeah, that's the one. the interior is OK. The dash has a couple cracks and people have pulled the carpet up to look at the floor pans. The carpet is good, I think I can just glue it all back down. The seats could use some freshening up, the foam and upholstery is bad at the corners.

someone decided to rewire the interior to a 300zx harness so the steering column cover won't fit anymore and the wiring looks like a mess. I haven't gotten in to look at what teh guy did, but I don't see how any of the gauges could work unless the 300zx uses the same gauge connectors on teh harness?? The old harness came with the car so one of the first things I'm going to do is put the wiring back right.

Thanks a bunch for the manual link. I just finished downloading it!

The next step is some brake work. Pretty sure I'll need to go through the whole system from the pedal to the wheels. one of the drums is stuck so i've been reading a few old posts about that. I've also been reading up on the electrical system and installing distributors. I'd still like to learn some more before I start turning any wrenches on the engine! I'm sure I'll have a ton of newb questions!

[justaZcarguy]

Have fun with it!

That was the year that I started with, beware, this is an addicting thing!

Sblake,

Do you ever see earlier manuals on there?

And what does TnA mean under the Download Column?

[sblake01]

Sblake,

Do you ever see earlier manuals on there?

And what does TnA mean under the Download Column?

Those are the only manuals I've ever seen there. TnA meas temporarily not available. Try it at another time.

[justaZcarguy]

That is a WAY COOL site.

I still DL'd the 76 Manual, still a good reference.

Thanks for that!

~Brian

[beandip]

[quote=Tall John;207834

The next step is some brake work. Pretty sure I'll need to go through the whole system from the pedal to the wheels. one of the drums is stuck so i've been reading a few old posts about that. I've also been reading up on the electrical system and installing distributors. I'd still like to learn some more before I start turning any wrenches on the engine! I'm sure I'll have a ton of newb questions!

Welcome to the Club John , it looks like you have found a gem . One thing I think would be a good idea while you are sorting out the electrical and brakes . Pull the spark plugs and shoot some oil in the cylinders and turn the engine over with a socket on the crank nut . Don't spin it with the starter . this is if the car has been inoperative for a long time .