Mike, you need to post an update! I recently purchased a one owner '72 S30 that also hasn't started for years. I haven't started working on the car yet and I NEED to know how things worked out.

You can check out pics of my car at:

http://ms30.wordpress.com

so any updates?

Carl:

I have a 1977 280Z 2+2, and like the car in this thread it has not run for awhile - probably six years. The reason we stopped driving it was due to a strong vapor smell inside the car that we could not fix.

I assume that for the most part your post would also apply to a 280Z. A few Qs:

How would you recommend that I drain the tank? Siphon? Not sure how much is in there. There is a bolt on the bottom but don't want to get gas everywhere.

This car has EFI instead of carb - anything that I should do here in lieu of your step 3?

Do I need to drop the tank to get to the vapor recovery lines? And how many are there? Is it difficult to put the tank back in?

Anyway to clean out the tank without dropping it?

I do not understand step 11. Any color would be appreciated.

Best, MB

Drain the tank using the plug as you'll be able to see if there is any rust sitting at the bottom. You probably wouldn't be able to tell if you siphoned the tank.

It's not too difficult to put the tank back in and you can do it yourself with a jack to hold it up. It's pretty light when it's empty. You would be best off to remove the tank in order to clean it properly.

For step 11, center plug on the distributor leads to the coil. You could just disconnect the center plug from the distributor.

This Thread is my new bible for Roberta! Thank you gents for the invaluable knowledge.