I may or may not have a line in a free running '83 280ZX... I've always loved the looks of them, I know they are rust prone and the later ones where heavier... Tell me about them.
I may or may not have a line in a free running '83 280ZX... I've always loved the looks of them, I know they are rust prone and the later ones where heavier... Tell me about them.
Yes, you want one!
I sold mine a few months ago ('79 280ZX). It was a fun cruiser, but it left a lot to be desired in the performance department, even compared to contemporaries. Rear suspension is a pretty poor design. Many of them had pitman arm steering - booo. Lots of issues with bushings on older cars. Engines were pretty choked by emissions. Brakes were adequate at best given the weight (esp. on earlier cars).
That said, they can look pretty cool and sound great.
Rust is definitely a huge problem. My car spent it's entire life on pavement in GA and still had rusted out frame rails/rockers in places when I got it.
I do miss it sometimes. So does the girlfriend. Was definitely a good car with the ladies 
I daily drive a 79 that has no power nothing and it sounds great and has some good power (thats after i added and aftermarket exhaust and removed some emissions crap). Mine also sits on 215s so it handles pretty well.
My sister had an 82 turbo for a couple of months till it got stolen, wasn't fast but damn it was a looker, even in beige.. Yes, beige. Just Googled it, it was one year only, Cameo Beige paint code 928.
Not sure about you but I want one.
Yes, you want one
Yes, you want to do the LSx swap for additional power
Yes, you want to give me the L28 that you're not using anymore
Yes, I'll try to put it into something odd, like an NL-76 replica
I'll admit, those straight sixes sound awesome!!!
I know they are heavy, rusty boulevard cruisers. I don't care, I still love them. They made an impression on me during my teen years, and I can't shake it.
I want one for the brakes and struts to swap into my 510.
Well, for starters, that's NOT a 280Z. Sorry, I'm an early body snob.
However, if you can find a non-ZX 280, remove the big uglies and put some pretty 240Z bumpers on it, put an exhaust on it, lower it and add urethane bushings, it's awesome. Can you tell I miss mine?
ZX for free though, hard to beat, and they are a good looking car. Get aftermarket springs for it, get's rid of the "motor boat" on acceleration. I imagine the same recipe for the ZX would serve as well as it did on the early injected cars. I know that on the L-jet, if you pull the cover off the "flapper box" and move the potentiometer setting a little bit the right direction (don't remember if it was clockwise or counter clockwise), wakes up the car a bit, should work on the later injected cars as well. I did that when I put a big throat on my 280 - ran pretty good.
Yes you want it! They're easy to work on and fun to drive. The purists will complain that its not a 240/260/280z style body and that its a heavy pig, but they're not much heavier than the last 280z's and have a bump in horsepower (especially with a turbo) and better aerodynamics. With some tweaks - struts / springs / bushings - it will handle well.
So, you already have it I take?
In the works. I remember my older briefly had a '79... Sounded incredible.
You definitely want it. They rust if they think about getting wet, so look for that. Other than that, change the oil and drive the mess out of it. It's hard to hurt an L series engine--one of the toughest motors (if not the toughest motor) that Datsun/Nissan ever made. Build thread!
280Z is great.
Just take off all the bloatware and put 240Z bumpers and things on and you have a much faster more solid 240z
280ZX on the other hand is not a very interesting car. The turbo version is OK i suppose but if you want a cheap turbo Z car get a z31 or z32.
sethmeister4 wrote: It's hard to hurt an L series engine--one of the toughest motors (if not the toughest motor) that Datsun/Nissan ever made. Build thread!
Hoping this is true....I'll take gutless but bulletproof any time.
In reply to JoeyM:
They aren't gutless either. Obviously they aren't up to modern power levels, but when the 280zx turbo came out it was the fastest import car you could get in the USA. A plain-jane 280z was rated at 180 hp I think, and the straight six is plenty torquey. Headers, exhaust, and some other basics are more than enough to have a fun car. And boy do they sound good! I can't wait to hear mine at full throttle once I get it running again! 
I'll just leave this link here...
http://datsunspirit.com/
I wouldn't cross the street for a free ZX. A free Z...yes.
To me, the ZX is one more example of what is wrong with the car industry. Start out with something nice and then pork it up. I'm sure the bean counters will tell me I'm wrong.
spitfirebill wrote: I wouldn't cross the street for a free ZX. A free Z...yes. To me, the ZX is one more example of what is wrong with the car industry. Start out with something nice and then pork it up. I'm sure the bean counters will tell me I'm wrong.
The only reason to buy a ZX is to swap the trans and engine into a Z.
sethmeister4 wrote: In reply to JoeyM: They aren't gutless either. Obviously they aren't up to modern power levels, but when the 280zx turbo came out it was the fastest import car you could get in the USA. A plain-jane 280z was rated at 180 hp I think,
I'd love 180. My l24e was rated at 120 hp. Of course, I've pulled the california emmissions fuel injection and the entire exhaust off of it. It will have a 240z intake and a straight pipe.
In reply to spitfirebill:
I have to disagree. My ZX drives better than any first gen i drove when looking.
Very delicate cars. I had to get rid of my '79 at only 314,000 miles after my wife T-boned a truck with it. Still miss it. That engine bay will accept just about any engine you might find. Had a 240 with a 350 SBC in it. Fun times, even with a stock V-8 motor. Easy access, change plugs with no blood. Son had a 300ZX Turbo. Plug change was a nightmare.
You should search out the Top Gear video segment on these cars where they had a 240, 260 and 280 in the studio along with their owners and discussed them.
I agree with them that the 240 was a very good car (and better looking than 99% of Japanese styling since) and that the later versions were slow and bloated. You'd have to ask someone into them how much of that bloat can be alleviated by modifying them. The 280Z frankly reminds me of a pensioner's tarted up old Caddy in comparison to the sleek smooth look of the 240.
L28's do sound gooood. That is all.
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