Paulytunes

Agreed. My daily and my wife's minivan get serviced every 5k miles and will likely have a similar plan for the Z. I probably should invest in a battery tender too. I've been reading through some of the threads on here and going through my FSM to try and diagnose before posting anything. I figure I cannot be the first person to have this issue and I stubbornly want to try and see if I can figure it out myself. I've heard a lot of different ideas like bad gas, rust in the fuel tank, clogged vent lines. I think I can rule out the vent lines, as my son and I carefully pulled out the rear trim and made sure all the vent lines were all free of obstruction. One curious thing I did find was that after the first time the stuttering happened, the fuel tank cap was ridiculously tight, enough that I had to gently hit it with a rubber mallet to free it. Tonight I pulled the AFM and I think I may have found that the air temperature sensor is bad. I cannot get a reading from my ohmmeter for pin 27 (p.EF-52). As I told my wife, this is a father and son bonding and educational experience, which should justify these added costs. I do wish I could make my garage a little bigger or at least tall enough to accommodate a lift. Thanks. I know these are a PITA and will likely require some tool purchases. I'll certainly be going through the FSM to test and see if there's any way to adjust and/or rule out if they are shot before replacing. It does sit a little low in the back and I hit the damn exhaust pipe on the more poorly maintained roads around here that Baltimore County or MD chooses to neglect year after year. My inspiration was a 2+2 I saw at Carlisle Import Nationals a few months ago, I also think I really like and want the rubber rear spoiler. I think that's a show winning car. I've looked into the Retrosound radios, which are a cool idea. Is this different? I think I need to research this a bit more. The speakers are original, but I think I need to perform some rewiring to get them to work. I found what looks to be a rodent nest behind the right rear plastic trim and the right rear speaker wires were chewed up to the point of nonexistence! I think he was looking at the washer tank and was fascinated that the pump was located on the bottom of the tank. Although he did as me about the brakes shortly after I snapped the photo, so he could have very well been looking and thinking about them at that point in time. Yes, I am sure PJ will want to learn how to drive it and will likely want to drive it as soon as he is able. I think if I do let him take it out, I will either need to have some sort of intricate surveillance equipment installed or I will just be on pins and needles. Of course, he will need to learn how to drive stick first, but I am certainly not going to let him learn on the Z! Thanks! I certainly will be posting here. This seems to be one of the best Z forums online. I am not really into the short attention span reddit sites or Facebook (which to me is a tremendous waste of time spent keeping up with the Joneses). Forums, however, are a tremendous resource, especially for classic cars. I hope to contribute as well as learn a lot here.

🤣 That's the main reason I got the Z. Imparting my knowledge to my son should also help keep me on my toes, he asks questions non-stop and has a neverending curiosity of figuring out how things work. He's become quite the mechanic's assistant. The Z needed a few things, as no 47 year old car is going to be perfect. Speaking of which, thus far it has needed a new fuel sending unit, speedometer cable, a new wheel stud and lugs (one on each wheel), battery, and fender resecuring, all of which were performed by the mechanic that performed the inspection. My son and I found that the car didn't have a windshield washer fluid tank, and it needed an oil and filter change, as well as a new fuel filter, so we have done that. It has developed a recent more pressing issue with fuel delivery. The Z runs fine when started cold and warmed up, at least until a significant load is applied and then it begins to drive really rough, eventually stalls, and needs to sit for a long length of time before restarting and is ok to drive again. I will likely ask for help in the technical threads, as I have tried to troubleshoot but it has been driving me insane. As far as long-term plans, I may get it painted (it was once already in the 1990's, but it is showing its age and wasn't the best quality). When I do that I will likely need to get two new front fenders, as these have some rust and Bondo. I'm also not in love with the likely period correct 280Z decals and pinstriping on the lower sides. I think it's also going to need rear shocks. The P.O. also planned on replacing the rear drums with discs, and included the discs in the sale - this and the shocks may be my winter projects. Some Panasport rims and new tires would also be nice. The current 8-track stereo is non-functional, which I may just remove and install a blank panel. With the stock speaker locations and the loudness of the current exhaust (may also be a future change, my mechanic referred to it as a "cheap muffler" and the pipe is noticeably the lowest thing on the car), I think I would be better off using my phone and a nice bluetooth speaker for music. Once upon a time I was into installing stereos, amps, subs, tweeters, mids, etc., but I think there are now far better things I can do with my money. Paul

Thanks to all for the kind words! I posted a build thread here to document progress on my Z:

First, a little history about me and why I love Z cars: Ever since I was a little kid, I have always loved the Datsun Z car. My uncle had a 1970 Datsun 240Z that provided many fond memories. I always told him, “If you ever sell this, call me, I will buy it from you.” Unfortunately, that day never came because it caught fire while parked in the driveway after a Sunday drive many years ago. The fire mechanically totaled it. I was so upset and angry, but I am sure that my grief was nothing compared to my uncle’s emotions. Fast forward to the present (or at least a few years ago). My son (much like his father) develops an interest in cars. I decided that I was serious about getting a collector car and something that I could wrench on and keep my mechanical engineering brain active (I have ascended to a management level professionally and I think my technical skill cells are in danger of being overwhelmed by management and bureaucracy!). Anyway, the first cars I was serious about buying I was a little late to the ball. There was a 280Z that someone had restored online for his son in the Midwest and was selling for ~$7500 if I recall correctly. I missed out on a bid on Bring A Trailer on a nice 260Z a few years ago because the kids were going crazy in the background when the bid ended. I saw a few Z’s locally here in Maryland, but those ended up being too rusted out or basket cases that were beyond my abilities to restore. So I widened my search to all cars I was interested in. I went and looked at a 2000 Corvette C5, but that was a case of never meet your heroes – as I was very bothered by the perceived cheapness and lack of durability of the interior and quality issues that seemed to be present with that car. I missed the ball on a ST-185 Celica Alltrac (always will love those), and got ghosted by another seller when I asked to see it and set up a Pre-Purchase Inspection. Then I came across my Z, which was somewhat local (within 100 miles) and I thought was worth a look. It passed all the tests and a mechanical inspection, and I couldn’t argue with the price, so I walked away the proud new owner of a 1976 Datsun 280Z. I name all of my cars after videogame characters, so I thought with the color and vintage, naming my Z after the main character of the classic video game Metroid, Samus Aran, was quite fitting: I think I am the 4th owner. As far as I can tell, I think she was very well loved by the previous owners, as the car came with a lot of records, a service manual, the original owners and maintenance documents, as well as even the original window sticker!

Greetings from Baltimore County, Maryland! I have been a long-time lurker and reader on this site, and I think I may have talked to a few members in person at car shows or chatted online. After searching for years, a few missed opportunities, lost bids on BAT, passing on a few project cars beyond my comfort zone, I finally found my Z in April 2023. As all cars that are 47 years old, she's far from perfect and will need some TLC that my son and I will eagerly perform and enjoy. I will start a project thread to document the work as it progresses. Looking forward to being an active member of this community! Paul