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Agree with what Hardway wrote. And, I think 2k is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to getting the 240z running safely. I personally wouldn't abandon the FI in the 280. Jai, I am 90% sure I have a printed 76 fsm. I am traveling this week so won't know for sure until I return. PM me your mailing address and if I have one I will send to you.

I'm fairly new to this web site and have seen several articles on clocks. This is of particular interest to me as I do have some experience with total clock reconditioning. I've been repairing, refurbishing and specializing in 70-83 Datsun /Nissan clocks for the last 8 years and thought I would pass on several bits of trivia and technical information. I never really thought about NOT using oil on a clock as that seems to be common knowledge until a friend came to me years ago with a 240Z clock. Bill knew I worked on all sorts of electronic hardware and was soliciting my input. His problem was that his clock had stopped (like it was the only 240 clock that didn't work). I have a 75 280z and my clock has always worked. I was wondering why bills didn't? I took has clock apart and began to understand why. Bill said he had removed the clock and flushed it out with WD-40? and then lightly oiled all the components. The clock worked for several months and then quit and this was the second time for this occurance. After I looked at the clock in detail I could see why. The automotive environment is very tough on all the components and the most critical parts are hermetically sealed. The first generation 240Z Datsun clocks were not hermetically sealed and susceptible to all the dust, dirt, chemicals, humidity and temperature. JECO, the Datsun subcontractor, who built most of the Datsun clocks never used oiled for good reason. Oil attracts all the nasty contaminants that can wear out critical clock components and eventually grinds the clock to a halt. I know I know everyone always uses oil on their grandfathers clocks. If you think about it we change our engine oil which is filtered for the very same reason, so that the engine will last longer and not wear due to....the dirty oil. The first generation clocks (240z) have what's called a "NO LOAD" motor which keeps the main spring of this clock contiguously wound. The rest of the clock consists of gears, paws, and bearings that rotate and work in unison to move the clock hands. The problem is that any gear or bearing that produces friction slows the entire clock and if sever enough the clock will stop. Are you beginning to see a pattern here. Oil that is used to lubricate (all oil) coats the surface of moving parts and eventually starts to collect contaminants. Eventually this causes the viscosity (on a micro level) to thicken and produce resistance to the overall clock operation. In addition the change in temperature alone will change the oil viscosity. Believe me when I say it takes very very little resistance in any of the clock parts to stop this mechanism. When solvent other than alcohol is used to "flush" the clock all your doing is removing the contaminants, but when you apply oil you start the process all over again. If you don't mind removing your 240z clock every year or so then I guess that's ok. After helping Bill reinstall his clock I'd opt for a clock that would work forever (we did but that's another article). The 240z guys and girls have a rough time compared to rest of us removing and installing their clock. That is unless the dash is removed. This is what I have found works the best, denatured alcohol. You should remove each and every clock part, clean all parts with an artists brush, inspect the cleaned parts, and reassemble (NO OIL). Let me say that again...NO OIL.This can be a rather daunting task and is not for the weak of heart or those with limited patience. I know this works because I've cleaned way to many 240 clocks and I still have one of Bills 240Z clocks on my test bench. It works and it keeps pretty good time. It doesn't get much outside time, but that's why it's still working. If I get enough interest I'll write a weekly article on "how to" for each of the four generation clocks. Like what goes wrong, how do fix it, what's interchangeable, how do I clean it, what kind of paint to use and so on. Hope this was helpful and please give me feedback. Thanks.........Ron This post has been promoted to an article

somewhere on here i have some pics in a thread showing the poop that came oozing out of my block when i pulled the freeze plugs... nasty. i used a pressure washer and pointed the nozzle down all the water galleries from the top (head off) and then into the frost plug openings and it took almost an hour of constant back-and-forth to blow it all out till the water ran clear. PO ran straight water, so no anti-corrosives to keep things from rusting + i'm guessing some stop-leak got in there at some point as well. i used por15 engine enamel and was very pleased with the results. you brush it on and it self-levels to a nice smooth finish - much easier than spraying and you can really work it into all the nooks & crannies and no shadowing as with spray. it put on 3 coats (one can was way more than enough) and it's a really nice thick, durable finish that they say is chemical & heat resistant. pretty decent range of colors too (though not the "perfect" nissan blue).

Stop overthinking this one. If you love S30's, buy it. Heck, even if you don't love S30's, buy it. In conclusion, buy it. Buy it.

A Datsun for just $75 is quite a deal. No pictures of the interior, so may need an expensive make over. I do, however, appreciate that it's a "four on the floor". Looks lowered, too. Any chance the owner drives a Dachshund 240Z? Dennis

My DATSUN tail pipe sniffer.

^ Well I'm sure he knows his machinery better than I do. The guy I used had a pretty powerful setup.

Should be a 76 and a 71.

I have read through this thread multiple times to make sure I understand it. Just to re-cap below. 240z = RedWing Cost estimate to get back on the road = Approx. $2000 Timeline = Long term, 1 - 2 years depending on ability to raise funds Labor needed = many hours Current condition = Has not run in 8 years. Value = one owner series 1 car. Work space = back yard, could be pushed under car port after 280z is sold. 280z = RedBird Cost estimate to get back on the road = Unknown Timeline = Near term, 30 days. Labor needed = Unknown Current condition = Not running but complete and maintained. Car ran correctly up until 6/1 and has had other work already done to it. Value = fuel injected car with regular maintenance. Work space = car port As others above have suggested, get the 280z running again first. It ran well not that long ago and ideally could be brought back to life with some trouble shooting and repair. Could be something simple but I would not ditch the FI unless absolutely necessary. Overall it sounds like a nice car and I think would make a better driver than the 240z in a much shorter amount of time. Get the AC fixed if possible and just drive the 280z. The 240z has a lot more question marks, costs, and time needed. It could easily spin out of financial control. If you sold the 280z and sunk all the proceeds in to the 240z there is no guarantee it would be road worthy after $2K was spent on it. It will need everything plus many weekends of time to tackle all of the known projects. This does not take in to account what will be discovered as things are taken a part to be rebuilt. I fully understand and appreciate the sentimental value the 240z holds. However, it will not be back on the road any time soon and really needs to be gone through bumper to bumper. The money factor is huge at this moment since even at $100/mo she is looking at 20 months just to pay for parts. Working under just a car port is not ideal and will make each project take longer. From the way it sounds the 240z needs to be someone elses project car in a garage so it can be secured when it is apart being repaired. I would say get 280z running, clean up the 240z, take some good pictures, provide an honest description, and sell it. Series-1 cars, as long as they are complete bring good money. That way she would have a running classic Z car that is dependable and money in her pocket for future repairs.

I see two solutions. The movie happy ending solution is that a helpful group of local Z Car do gooders gets together and makes getting her 240Z back on the road a weekend project. The "wake up call" solution is to cut losses, live within the Social Security budget, and get a reliable car. Buying the 40 year old second Z was a bad decision, no matter how good it seemed at the time. Painful as it may be, a time comes to cut losses and move on. I say this as someone who has poured silly money into maintaining my one owner '71 Z mainly because of happy memories driving it. Jai needs to prioritize her needs and determine where fixing two old sports cars fits into the big picture. As described, I don't think they do. But not my decision, only my suggestion. Dennis

If you can, find a reputable body shop, or even a restoration shop in your area and let them take a look at it. For $6000 the seller should be willing to work with you. What is wrong with 905 red? Back in the 70's a red 1970 with black interior was the holy grail!

A couple days ago I had a bottle of Asahi beer. After reading this post I tried to decipher the Katakana on the label. For someone who spent a week studying it (to get more out of the Japanese car magazines that use a lot of it), my Katakana is not very good, but I looked it up in the book. The kana is used for foreign loanwords and other things, it's phonetic. You need to read up on Romaji phonetic translation from English or other languages to make it easier, but to me it's way easier than Kanji, which you also would need to know to actually read Japanese. Anyway, the white kana on the red stripe says Su-Pa-DoRaI (super dry), and the red kana underneath says Asahi Bi-Ru (Asahi beer). After all that work I need another Asahi.