280Z survivor

I have been looking for some time for a good car that is both collectable and low maintainance. I have owned a couple of alfas and mga's in the past, but most were not worthy of restoration from a pure $$$ point of view. I have come upon a very low milage ( under 50k) 1977 Datsun 280z . Original owner since new, always garaged - no rust. Original everything. The only obvious defect on first inspection is a crack in the dash and faded carpet.

Is anyone familiar with these cars? I like the HP (170hp, fuel injected) and the independent suspension. Can I easily replace the dash? I know I can buy a dash pad, but do not nknow whether this is too cheesy. Any problem areas with these cars? Do you think it will ever be considered "collectable"?

I think it's probably too late an example to be a highly collectable Z car, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be worth keeping.

A replacement dash might be hard to come by, though. Most of the internet chatter suggests reworking the existing dash panel.
Check out this thread for more details.

I would think most low mileage Zs are worth preserving, but something like a 280Z is not an 'investment', but I'd say it's still a nice piece and if it's in good condition and you can verify the mileage, there'll be enough people interested in it to make it a worthwhile exercise.

That said, as someone said either one here or on the GRM board, cars get sad if they don't get used. Budget for an overhaul of the brakes and whatever else didn't like standing around.

The 240Z's get the most attention as the 260/280's became heavier and more stately, but they are still very nice cars.

I replaced the dash in one a few years back, and it's not "that" difficult. Actually it went pretty well, but the speedo was a pita to reconnect. Now finding a dash may prove difficult. They are NLA items, and finding a good used one from a 280 will be difficult and expensive, maybe in the $1,000 plus range.

The cheapest way to find one may be a parts car, if you can find one still intact.

They are excellent cars that are fun to drive and very reliable. They are not as collectible as the 240's, but as the early cars continue to climb, they should drag the 280's up with them.

In reply to racerdave600:

Any idea what this car is worth? I looked it over and, except for dash crack, everything is pretty pristine. No sign of rust. 24,000 miles. has the 5 speed and a/c ( needs recharge) options. silver w/ black.

I'm no expert on prices, hopefully Andy will read this and reply. But, going by what I've seen others sell for, I'd say maybe $7 to $10k in the right market.

sjtm wrote: In reply to racerdave600: Any idea what this car is worth? I looked it over and, except for dash crack, everything is pretty pristine. No sign of rust. 24,000 miles. has the 5 speed and a/c ( needs recharge) options. silver w/ black.

I think we need a little more info - is it currently running, registered, road legal? If not, how much work do you estimate its need to get there?

A/C that needs recharge might spell more cost, too, depending on how much of an overhaul the A/C needs.

I would suggest the dollar value will depend on where you are, and how big an interest there is for that type of car in your area. Cars of the west coast (California, Oregon, etc) command more $$ than those on the east coast – mainly because of the rust issue.

I would suggest you do some research on www.classiczcars.com and find out if there is a local Z club in your area.

And… only the early (69-71) Series 1 240Z’s are considered “classics” by the collector community. The rest of us just enjoy them for what they are…fun to drive…

Regards

Is it a coupe or 2+2. Is it original paint and interior. How faded is it. Nissan metallic paint from this era is very prone to fading.

The dash is not available. They can be redone by companies like just dashes in Texas and new old stock ones are available form anywhere between 600-2000 dollars.

If the dash is replaced or repaired and the car is otherwise nice and has all service records, manuals, toolkit, and the paint and interior are nice and original and teh a/c functions correctly it is worth from $6,500-$9,000 to the right guy.

I personally think the best early z from a usability perspective is the 280Z 5 speed a/c car. As a collectible though, it will always be the Z432 Japanese market model(an over $150,000 car) followed by the original 240Z with the early cars worth the most. That being said the very best 240Zs are only themselves worth 15-25k and have not moved up in a number of years. They also are not usually sold for that amount. Those are the perfect #2 condition time capsule cars.

Amazingly you can still find a very nice #3 condition 240Z for as little as $6,500. While this is a great deal it is also the problem with the Japanese car collecting hobby. The cars are simply to cheap and too available. Also in the z hobby, originality has never had much value and most cars have tons of mods. The Z enthusiast is just not a collector but more of a end user/mad scientist type who likes to mess with his car. I like that about the Z guys but that is a reason the cars are still inexpensive.

Buy the car because you like it and not to make money. In the condition you have described and with no other info I would be hard pressed to pay anything over $5,000 for it as it sits.

Let us know what happens.

In reply to Andy Reid:

Thanks for all the input. It is a coupe - not the 2+2. This car is in near showroom condition other than the cracked dash. Never driven in rain or snow. Paint is like new without a single chip. Every piece of paperwork since new. That being said, seller wants $10K which sounds too high based on feedback here, but he will not sell for less. As a user friendly car with style and good engineering, this still is very attractive. I can not think of many cars of any make from this era with EFI, independent suspension, rack and pinion steering and a 5 speed ( although I understand this year did not have a close ratio), at least not for $10k in immaculate condition. Not sure I will pull the trigger, but this could be a decision I will regret 10 years from now when people realize what these cars are all about and the price goes up.

To stjm – sounds like you feel he is asking a fair price, and from a distance (unseen, etc…) I think it sounds fair too. I looked for 3 years to find a 2+2 when my 240Z became too small for the family, and ended up buying one that I had looked at early on, but dismissed because of the higher asking price. I still paid close to the full asking price, but got a car that had original paint, low mileage, known history etc, and only 3 hours away. And I got to keep the 240Z too…

Best I can suggest is go with what you feel is best… these cars like to be driven, and yes, none of my Zs ( 3) are stock…

Any car is worth what someone is willing to pay for them, so it may be worth that to you. I'd also like to say it has been many many years since I've seen any 280 in the kind of condition you described. Most have been neglected for years and are pretty ratty and rusty. I've also seen a mint 260Z sell for $9k locally, so you never know.

As a driver, 280's are really superior to the 240. The fuel injection and later models with the 5 speed really make a difference. It did lose some of it's light weight sports car feel, but for an everyday usable car, it's really a bit better.

I'm also in the $10k is too much camp - it sounds like a superb base for a survivor car that needs a very mild resto, but if you're still looking at throwing a few grand at it. Let's be charitable and say you can get the dash, the a/c and the inevitable damage from standing around fixed for $2k. You've then got a $12k 280Z that you can't drive that much because you'd destroy what makes it valuable - namely, the low mileage.

I've bought two low mileage cars in the past and in both cases, just the damage from the non-use has cost me a lot more money than I thought it would simply because components that hadn't been exercised gave up the ghost when more regular use ensued. The brakes on my 911 (which has only done about 62k) are binding pretty much every time it stood for a couple of months and I've had quite a lot of the suspension rubber components replaced because they were falling apart. Those were just the tip of the iceberg, too.