I have a 85 300zx and was wondering if it would be worth it for me to try to get it started before I sell it or if I should just sell it for parts. The first thing it needs is a battery and then who knows from there. I know that the digital dashboard doesn’t work, there are rips in the seats, but other than that its in fair condition and only has 110k on it.
What do you think?
You didn’t say how long it has been sitting without running. A car that runs is going to be more saleable. I’d get a fully charged battery, pop the hood and disconnect the dead battery and hook up the charged one. It would be best to make direct contacts with the battery cables, but if that isn’t practical you can try really good quality jumper cables.
If the car cranks but doesn’t start shoot some starter fluid in the air intake and see if you get any action. If it fires a couple of times you’ll know you have spark. If the gas in the tank is old and wasn’t treated with stabilizer you may have to drain the tank and get fresh gas in the system and then try again.
If all this is too much, you have a parts car for sale. If you get it running then I’d buy a new battery at Walmart that is the correct size and install it. Then you’ll have a car that can start for a potential buyer.
Yeah the car has been sitting 6 months at least. I used to start it and drive it around the private driveway ever once and a while but when the battery died I stopped doing that.
Thanks for the advice though.
If you have a long enough extension cord I’d run it over to the car and put the battery on a charger. See if the battery will take a charge. Worth a try at least before you spring for a new battery. You don’t want to overtax the alternator running the car to charge the weak or dead battery, so use a charger and see what happens.
If it was running within a year, it might fire up without too much trouble.