Hello everyone.

I currently have a 1967 Firebird and 1969 FJ40 with a SBC, so my newest addition is quite different.

I got this from a friend, it has not been started in 2 to 3 years. The gas was drained from the tank but that is it.

My fiend cranked it a few time and it didn't run, I was gonna do the typical charge the battery, oil change, check other fluids, etc... He thinks it is a bad fuel pump since he can not hear it running. I am also gonna put more fuel in the tank and some injector cleaner. He drove the car and said it drove great and then just let it sit. Any other suggestions to look at. I was told it is a newer motor and trans.

Outside looks like a bad version of fast and furious, so I will be changing back to stock.

Thanks, and I am sure I will be asking more un-educated questions in the future, please bear with me.

Thanks






DM3

 

She looks pretty rough, but hopefully you can bring her back to glory!

As far as questions are concerned, I think you're all good. I would say that if you posted new threads or questions 10+ years ago or so, you'd get flamed by everyone for not searching first. Things have cooled down and gotten a lot tamer around here. Maybe for the best? Sadly, it's less entertainment.

Don't be scared to post updates!

 

Yes, very rough. Thanks for the reply.

 

Once you get her up and running, I've got some OEM parts available in my FS listing you may be interested in when the time comes around. https://my350z.com/forum/market/629147

Good luck with the restoration!

 

Hi Dm3,

A new fuel pump sounds like a good place to start, go for the Hitachi unit (P/N: FUP0009), this is pretty much same as OEM, don't mess around with the Chinesium grade stuff. I would also check fuses and ground connections (3 major ground points in engine bay). If the fuel pump locked up from being dried out or some minor corrosion, then there is a chance that the fuse popped when you 1st tried firing it up with fresh fuel and battery. I'm not thrilled seeing the modified main battery terminals. Looks like there was a serious sound system installed at some point, maybe still there? I would simply disconnect that until you have a running baseline to work with.

Once you get it moving under it's own power, the rest should be mostly downhill. It looks rough, but I've seen worse. My main concern would be rust. Being a NJ vehicle, it's normal to get some rust, the engine bay doesn't look that bad, but I would be concerned about what's happening underneath. Do a detailed inspection around your chassis bracing and subframe connection points. Also take a good look at your rockers, those love to rust out if debris/dirt is allowed to build up behind them. Peel back the splash shield behind the front wheels and you will see what I'm talking about. Looks like it was in a front end collision at some point. The radiator core support appears to have been replaced, the locks for the upper radiator mounts are missing and then there's the aftermarket front bumper. Long story short, you're probably missing a bunch of small items that sit behind the front bumper or attach to it.

What's the story with the car? Did you get it for free?

Cheers!
-Icer

 

Thanks, will do.

 

Yes, there is a sub box behind the drivers seat and an amp mounted on top of the access panel to the fuel pump, of course. I am taking out the pass seat this weekend for more access. Good idea to disconnect the radio stuff.

Thanks for the info, all good stuff.

Funny you should ask that question. I bartered with a friend of mine. He received the car as part of a payment of services he was providing to a customer. Towards the end of the job, he was fired because the customer didn't want to pay the guy. Before the falling out, my buddy drove the car to his place, about 100 miles, he said it was fast and handled great, just looked like ****. He was told there was a newer motor and trans in the car since it was going to be turned into a drift car but didn't get that far along. The problem starts there, he didn't register it right away and then the falling out and 2 years of litigation. He just parking the car in his yard and it sat, the fuel tank was drained but that was it. I had asked him about it two years ago and forgot about it and thought he got rid of the car. We were talking two weeks ago and he said just come and get it, and here it is, no title, not running. I started the LONG process of acquiring a title with the State actually today. It will be painful but in a few months I should have a title and registration for the car. Other than a cover and fuel pump, I am not buying anything until I have a title in my hand and hopefully running by then.

So a few more questions, I have not had a lot of time to look at this car yet.

There is a switch on the side of the center console, I assume this is not OEM. Photo below.

There is a switch hanging down from the dash on the pass side as well, no idea what that does either.

The compartment with the cup holders has two wires in there, no idea about them either.

Any guesses would be welcome.

And I have a side shot of the amp and all the wiring.

 

As for the wiring in the cup holder, that looks like an old iPhone charging/data cable. Possibly used for a touchscreen radio with the early generation of Apple Carplay, or simply for charging. The 2.5mm jack is for AUX audio source/input. You don't see those used often anymore since Bluetooth Streaming has become standard. Also, Wireless Carplay eliminates the need to physically connect your phone and Magsafe/Wireless charging is a thing now. In short, that sound system is pretty old. I'm guessing 2008 - 2012 time period.

The switch on the side of the center console could be for aftermarket heated seats, but it could be for anything really, you would need to trace out the wiring to truly figure it out. Edit: I just realized there are aftermarket fog lights behind the front grill. Perhaps this switch controls those. TBH, if those lights are not wired with a proper relay, I would remove that setup as it could be a fire risk.
The switch under the dash on the passenger side could be an anti-theft kill switch, but to know for sure you would need to trace. There's other aftermarket wiring bundled around it, so it could be related to the stereo or something else.

The Amp arrangement is interesting. Looks like there's two Amps stacked together, I'm guessing one to drive the Sub and the other for the door and rear deck speakers. What brand Amps are those? They may actually be worth keeping.

Cheers!
-Icer

 

Here are the amps attached to the fuel pump cover. I took out the pass seat for extra working room. I guess there is a lot to take out to get to the screws of the amps.

Also, fast and furious hood swapped for an OEM hood.

 

I have removed all the trim from the seats back, ripped out the old stereo equipment since it was bolted in and could not access the fuel pump door. So, fuel pump is replaced and it is running after sitting for 2 to 3 years.

I have already swapped out the aftermarket hood for a OEM hood. I have removed the aftermarket front bumper and side skirts and have a hand shake agreement for a swap for OEM as well.

I have removed the flashing LED aftermarket lights controller but there are two OEM plugs not connected in the rear hatch area. Can you tell me what there are? I have attached pictures.

I have also attached pictures of the front of the car. Can you tell me if anything is missing, supports, etc... Disregard the LED lights, they will be removed as well.

What is the controller box pictured, there is one on each side?

This is a whole new adventure for me, I attached a picture of my 9 year project.

Thanks again.

DM3

 

Hey DM3,

Good progress so far. The trunk harness connections are from the factory Bose audio system. You can safely leave those alone, most people remove the Bose system as they are not economical to maintain once components start failing.
The modules under the front headlights behind the bumper are HID Ballasts. These look like cheap aftermarket ones. In short, they are required for upgrading from Halogen Bulbs to Xenon. You can get mixed results when doing this if the headlamp housing isn't designed for HIDs. In short, you should use Xenon bulbs in headlamps equipped with projector lenses and not use them in headlamps with reflector bowls. Personally, I would upgrade to the 06+ OEM headlights which already run D2S HID bulbs, no need for an aftermarket kit and the headlights look much better (expensive). BUT, you would need to modify the factory wiring harness to support the newer redesigned headlights. The easiest option is to revert to stock, if the existing headlights are damaged in any way, then I would replace the set. DEPO makes decent aftermarket replicas, but the OEM units are the best quality. You can usually find used pre-2006 OEM headlights for cheap.

There are some forum posts covering what is required to do the wiring mod to get 06+ headlights working on 03-05s, with some research I'm sure you will figure it out.

As for the front bumper. Based on the photos it looks like all the electrical wiring/components are present, however there are some body panels and at least one bracket missing.

The passenger side wheel splash shield is damaged and a chunk appears to be missing/cut.
The under tray that ties into the front bumper lower lip is missing a huge piece (I recommend an upgraded Aluminum tray over the OEM plastic one).
There should be a foam impact absorber that slots into the aluminum box crash bar, not sure if you removed this prior to photos or it was simply missing. (#4 in bumper diagram below)
There should be a small bracket attached to the upper radiator core support on the driver's side. (#8 in core support diagram below)
There should be an intake duct that slots into the radiator core support in front of the engine air filter. (#11 in core support diagram below)
There should be some plastic air dam pieces that clip to core support and hook around the crash bar. (#7 & 12 in core support diagram below)
I already mentioned the missing radiator locks in previous post. (#16 in core support diagram below)

Study the diagrams, perhaps I'm missing a few details. Looks like there's be some missing bolts for #18 in the core support diagram, could be more missing that I'm not seeing.

Good Luck!
-Icer


350Z Bumper exploded view (Note: From 2006 FSM)




350Z Core Support exploded view (Note: From 2006 FSM)

 

Amazing how much better it looks already without that hood and those stupid headlight frame things.

Nice work on getting it up and running!

 

Thanks for the info.

Any suggestions on where to order some of these items, or is the junk yard or part our better? And the aluminum cover vendor?

DM3

 

Thanks, hope to get it back on the ground after an oil change.

Hoping the front bumper and side skirts barter happens.

DM3

 

Hey DM3,

For the Aluminum undertray, I like the zspeedperformance option (LINK). But a lot of other vendors offer this type of hardware now. Z1 motorsports (LINK), conceptzperformance (LINK), which conveniently has the RevS unit on sale right now. Never heard of this brand/make before, but it looks like a clone of the zspeed unit. For the offered sale price, this one looks like a winner. The integrated maintenance hatch for easy oil changes is a really nice feature, not all undertrays have this.

As for the missing hardware, your best bet is to try purchasing from an online Nissan dealer. I typically use NissanPartsDeal.com, they seem to have the best prices for OEM parts stateside.
A close second to buying new, would be to go for used parts on Ebay or from a local wrecker/dismantler. This requires more effort searching, but can be worth it, especially if the part has been discontinued by Nissan. Odd items like missing bolts are best found at a local wrecker, I don't think you will find a cheaper option of replacing the exact matching bolt or nut. Usually they won't even charge for said items when purchasing the main component (Example; buying a used alternator and including the mounting bolts, they typically only charge for the alternator and let you have the bolts for free).

I tend to go for whichever option yields the best price/condition. Also, not all used parts listings on Ebay are worth it! Plenty of times I have seen used price listings selling for 75-80% of new parts cost, when the price gap is that small, I'll typically spend the extra for new! So definitely worth comparing before pulling the trigger.

Good Luck!
-Icer

 

Cool, thanks

 

Good news and bad....

Good news: the front bumper and side skirts are gone and now have stock ones. Front bumper needs a little work but is 100 times better.

Bad news: Since the car had not run in 3 to 4 years, after I replaced the fuel pump, it started. So I let it idle to get all the fluids flowing and seals wet again. Oil looks good but will replace this weekend anyway. It started three separate times. The third time it was running nicely, sounded good and then it just turned off. All the dash lights were still on. I figured it ran out of gas, so I put in another 5 gallons of 94. Then the battery was low so I charged that, went out and all the dash lights come on, fuel pump kicks on for a second, but it will not turn over. I will check the fuses over the weekend, run a scan as well. Any other options to check that you can think of? Starter?

Thanks

 

Hi Dm3,

Check the body grounds around the engine bay for signs of corrosion. Most are located on the passenger side.

1) Battery main ground terminal is connected at the frame rail under the PS reservoir and coolant overflow reservoir (passenger side).
2) Another major ground is in the same area, front half of strut/wheel house (passenger side).
3) Check engine main ground, again passenger side, near the hard coolant pipe on top of the bank 1 cylinder head, near cam cover.
4) Last major engine bay ground is on the driver's side, just behind the headlight.

I would also check your clutch pedal switch. If the switch is not being depressed with the clutch pedal in, then the engine won't turn over (common safety mechanism). There are rubber bump stops that tend to disintegrate at this age, leaving an open hole in the pedal arm, so the switch remains open. Basically the car won't let you crank it over without this switch being closed, you won't get any codes for this issue. Check around the carpet for broken bits of rubber/plastic, they might still be there if this is the cause. Otherwise look for the switch on the clutch pedal and match it up with the bump stop when depressed. If the Z has cruise control, there will be two switches, the cruise switch is depressed with the clutch pedal released. The ignition switch is depressed when the clutch pedal is pushed down.

Here are some photos of the engine bay ground locations. I've never seen the fabled "hood switch" on 350Zs before, so ignore that in the diagram (may not be a US market thing, not sure).
EDIT: After reviewing your photos, your Z has a hood switch. Maybe they removed these in 06+ models?
Cheers!
-Icer


Shows Frame rail and engine grounds.

Shows passenger side wheel house ground (ignore hood switch).

Shows driver's side ground.

 

Thanks man!

Where do you get the diagrams?

 

I have a digital copy of the 350Z FSM (I have an 06). I was able to download it from Nicoclub forums. (LINK).
Cheers!
-Icer