hey ive got a new project to tackle after i finish my '70 VW... its a bone-stock '83 280zx turbo... now here comes the questions...its currently not running and its been sitting since 2008 what should i do to try to get her to run? And what sort of performance "bolt on's" can i use to increase performance and what magazines,stores,manuals do yall swear by? any help is greatly appreciated

 

3" Mandrel bent exhaust, Intercooler setup and Mega Squrit ECU for starters....

 

Welcome to ZDriver!

A motor needs 3 things to start:
-proper air
-proper fuel
-proper spark

So... does it have spark at the plugs? Are the injectors spraying?

I assume you've drained the old gas & added new gas? 2yr+ old gas will not burn properly.

 

Do a basic tune-up, get it running first

 

Performance upgrades THEN get it running

 

Get it running RELIABLY, then mess around with performance mods

Can't tune an ECU if the car don't run

 

Yea that was tounge in cheek....

 

You've come to the right place!

Might be something as simple as a dead battery at this point. This forum is a great resource (especially the search function). These guys helped me get my '81 zx 2+2 up and running, and are now helping me on the "running reliably" part.

as far as upgrades:
https://www.zdriver.com/forums/280zx-performance-technical-79/budget-upgrades-n00bs-32540/

also: POST PICS! We love pics.

 

you forgot proper compression (: suck squeeze bang blow