Greetings from the sunny southern tip of Africa!
11-06-2013, 05:46 AM
#1
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Posts: 15
Greetings from the sunny southern tip of Africa!
Hi all,
I have been lurking here for a while soaking up the wealth of knowledge here. Very impressive, guys!
I recently acquired a "1981" 280zx N/A 2+2 A/T with the intent of restoring it.
The car is in good condition with very little rust (it is "hot and high" in Johannesburg where I live and the car has been registered all its life). The tan interior is very tatty though and will end up being junked.
Herewith some pics :
It still has the original iron cross wheels and most bits are present and correct (I removed the bumper while doing my first inspection)
That said, one of the POs was a bit of an idiot and cut the springs to slam it - the car is undrivable as a result and scrapes over the lowest of obstacles. It also has an obnoxiously loud straight-through exhaust.
It does look good though - but I intend restoring this car as a daily driver and it must be practical.
There are some minor faults with the car - one injector does not work and the diff appears to have lost all its oil via weeping down the gasket. It runs extremely rich and lots of unburnt fuel (no doubt aided by the dodgy injector). None of the temp gauges work. The distributor and coil are arcing.
I have performed most of the FSM diagnostics and there are no obvious problems, but there are a few mysteries.
Firstly, the injectors are turquoise with "RAM" and a "B" and a "6" stamped on the plastic. I have no idea whether these are the original spec injectors. All of them ohm out at 3.4 - 3.8 ohms, which according to the FSM is too much, of course.
I say it's a "1981" model (in inverted commas) but really it appears to be 1979 GL spec.
I don't know if the head is original. It's an N42 head, but it has fresh paint on it (the block is mangy and original-looking). So there is no CHTS, which caused my some consternation until I sussed out what was what.
The block - I have no idea. It does not have a casting number in the expected place, only the letters "15K80", which seems to indicate it was cast in 1980. The 15K is a mystery though, perhaps someone here can shed some light.
It was probably cast locally, as this engine was also used in the Skyline GT and GTX which were locally produced.
It has the stereo control, analogue clock and single-action up/down for the power windows; these are features which I understand to be the same as 1979GL spec.
Those were the heydays of Apartheid and international isolation, and these cars were only importable from Japan in CKD form to be assembled at the local Nissan plant. So it would appear that the local cars were assembled, starting in 1981, using "old" spec components - it stands to economic reason that Nissan would dump excess stock on the local market.
I have done some refurbishing of hoses and things, and it has helped the car idle a lot smoother. That stuffy injector is however throwing a spanner into the works and I am holding off trying to tune it up until I can get it fixed.
These cars are EXTREMELY rare here, and parts are extremely difficult to find. I last saw one maybe twenty years ago, and when I saw this one up for sale, I jumped at it. It went for a song and I am well pleased.
Cheers!
Riaan
Johannesburg
South Africa
I have been lurking here for a while soaking up the wealth of knowledge here. Very impressive, guys!
I recently acquired a "1981" 280zx N/A 2+2 A/T with the intent of restoring it.
The car is in good condition with very little rust (it is "hot and high" in Johannesburg where I live and the car has been registered all its life). The tan interior is very tatty though and will end up being junked.
Herewith some pics :
It still has the original iron cross wheels and most bits are present and correct (I removed the bumper while doing my first inspection)
That said, one of the POs was a bit of an idiot and cut the springs to slam it - the car is undrivable as a result and scrapes over the lowest of obstacles. It also has an obnoxiously loud straight-through exhaust.
It does look good though - but I intend restoring this car as a daily driver and it must be practical.
There are some minor faults with the car - one injector does not work and the diff appears to have lost all its oil via weeping down the gasket. It runs extremely rich and lots of unburnt fuel (no doubt aided by the dodgy injector). None of the temp gauges work. The distributor and coil are arcing.
I have performed most of the FSM diagnostics and there are no obvious problems, but there are a few mysteries.
Firstly, the injectors are turquoise with "RAM" and a "B" and a "6" stamped on the plastic. I have no idea whether these are the original spec injectors. All of them ohm out at 3.4 - 3.8 ohms, which according to the FSM is too much, of course.
I say it's a "1981" model (in inverted commas) but really it appears to be 1979 GL spec.
I don't know if the head is original. It's an N42 head, but it has fresh paint on it (the block is mangy and original-looking). So there is no CHTS, which caused my some consternation until I sussed out what was what.
The block - I have no idea. It does not have a casting number in the expected place, only the letters "15K80", which seems to indicate it was cast in 1980. The 15K is a mystery though, perhaps someone here can shed some light.
It was probably cast locally, as this engine was also used in the Skyline GT and GTX which were locally produced.
It has the stereo control, analogue clock and single-action up/down for the power windows; these are features which I understand to be the same as 1979GL spec.
Those were the heydays of Apartheid and international isolation, and these cars were only importable from Japan in CKD form to be assembled at the local Nissan plant. So it would appear that the local cars were assembled, starting in 1981, using "old" spec components - it stands to economic reason that Nissan would dump excess stock on the local market.
I have done some refurbishing of hoses and things, and it has helped the car idle a lot smoother. That stuffy injector is however throwing a spanner into the works and I am holding off trying to tune it up until I can get it fixed.
These cars are EXTREMELY rare here, and parts are extremely difficult to find. I last saw one maybe twenty years ago, and when I saw this one up for sale, I jumped at it. It went for a song and I am well pleased.
Cheers!
Riaan
Johannesburg
South Africa
11-06-2013, 07:07 AM
#2
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Posts: 15
Ah, thanks for moderating. I s'pose I have to encore it for #2, right? 
Some more pics!
Spring stops to fix the spring cut ****-up!
Some hidden rust which I hope isn't iceberg rust - I haven't poked deeper but I trust that all is OK.
After a bit of a clean:
Rubbers and stuff are starting to perish. Finding replacements are proving impossible (either no stock or no int'l shipping. Sigh.)
General condition of the brightwork:
Some more pics!
Spring stops to fix the spring cut ****-up!
Some hidden rust which I hope isn't iceberg rust - I haven't poked deeper but I trust that all is OK.
After a bit of a clean:
Rubbers and stuff are starting to perish. Finding replacements are proving impossible (either no stock or no int'l shipping. Sigh.)
General condition of the brightwork:
11-07-2013, 11:27 PM
#4
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Posts: 15
I get blank stares when speaking to the parts guys at dealerships.
They shrug and say "we don't keep the fiche anymore". Even when I provide them with parts numbers and printouts from the internet.
********.
The factory is still there I'm sure
They shrug and say "we don't keep the fiche anymore". Even when I provide them with parts numbers and printouts from the internet.
********.
The factory is still there I'm sure
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