Hey ya'll. how's it goin? well anyways, my dad and I just recently bought a 1981 280ZX to restore and work on(our first project car). We have a friend that is a mechanic and is going to help us on it but I was wondering if you all had any helpful idea's or things you could throw my way or any links that would help us in the restoration project. Thanks

 

Welcome to the forum, and to Zcar-mania! Tell us more about the restoration that you have in mind... like is the body very rusted? How's the engine? Post some pics when ya can. We're here to help.

 

order a MSA catalog AND GET CRAZY AND POST PICS OF YOUR CAR

 

I'll get some pics up in the next couple of days, but for some info on the car, the body is in moderately fair condition. It doesn't have a lot of rust damage...a few dents and bends and whatnot and it needs to be repainted drastically. The rubber bumpers to be replaced. The motor is in pretty good shape, wires are a little haphazerdly strung about and it's messy looking and not very clean but it runs pretty strong although it doesn't want to start up quickly. It feels like spark plugs are really old or the fuel injector is clogged because when you first get it started when you give it gas it wants to bog down and die. Once you get it running it runs very smoothly though. The transmission is alright. I diffenately need to get it fixed or replaced though. It won't go into 5th gear but all other gears work properly. The e-brake isn't tightened...it doesn't even engage. The speedometer and other gauges are not working completely properly and the rest is pretty much interior work. The interior is screwed up pretty bad. the plastic is so frail that it cracks at the slightest pressure and the upholstery needs to be replaced and the plastic molding in the back and around the steering column are missing. The radio doesn't want to come on but luckily the air-conditioning does work. from driving it around, it seems like it is pretty much just a bunch or touch-ups and tweaks..oh and that reminds me, another thing I want to change is the ignition. The previous owner installed this ignition that you turn the key and press a button to start the car...I don't really like it that much, it just adds another step to getting it turned on. That's pretty much an overview of the car. Again if you have any idea's or anything to send my way, there much appreciated.

 

Sounds like you definitely have a project on your hands. Well atleast you wont have to worry about gettng bored, you got plenty to fix. Sounds a lot like my car when I bought it. The only difference is mine wouldn't go into 5th cause it wasn't there (4spd). Get the MSA catalog as mentioned and check out Victoria British for a free catalog for your ZX. Between those two companies and this site, you should be able find pretty much everything you need for you car. Sounds like your air regulator is bad since your car is only having problems when its cold. Thats not a cheap part to replace though unless you get one from a junkyard. Good luck with your project and we'll be sure to try and help if you run into any snags. Keep us updated.

 

Come to think of it, you said your speedo isn't working right either? maybe you dont have a 5spd. Maybe someone swapped in the 4spd (which would also cause your speedo to read incorrectly). That would also explain why you can't get it into 5th? I dont know, just a possibility. Wiring seems to be the number one problem with these cars too, so check that first when you come across a problem.

 

I had the ignition problem with Blue .....It really is a starter problem ....The switch that sits on top of the starter motor goes out ......If you look at the starter you will most likely see to wirers that run out of the fire wall then hook to the starter ....These wires run to the push button ....I liked it ...It was a extra step but owell it was something diff and if you get a dum thef then maybe it will stop you from getting your car jacked Hideing the button would help even more

 

Get yourself a Factory Service Manual on CD HERE . Good thing about these is that you can print and re-print pages as you need them.

Good luck!!

 

Hey thanks everyone. I'll diffenately look into everything that you've mentioned. Pics of the car should be up tomorrow or the next.

 

Oh I have one more question. After driving the Z around alittle bit more the thought about the transmission being swapped out from a 5-speed to a 4-speed does seem logical. Would there have been a purpose to this? what would the difference in performance be between having a 4-speed instead of a 5? thanks

 

The gear ratios are pretty close. But the 4spd should see better acceleration than all but the T5 and 79 5spd. As far as purpose to it. Mine has a 4spd because that was all I could find at the time. When I bought my Z the transmission was gone (got it from a junk yard) and the only other tranny they had was 4spd they had lieing around. So put it in. It destroys your gas mileage but acceleration is improved. So performance gain, Yes. Try seeing what RPM you're in at a certain speed in a certain gear and from there we can tell you what your gear ratio is and that will tell you what gearbox you have. We'll also need to know if it's a 2+2 or not and what size the tires are. That way you'll know for sure.