mrgoochio

Hi everybody, my name's Daniel and I'm a member over at ClubRSX (under the name: danieRRrr) but I'm considering buying a new car. My 2005 RSX Type-S was totalled in an accident on the freeway. I hydroplaned in the rain at about 60-65mph. The car slid in a 360 from the exit lane into the center divider, 3 or 4 lanes left of where I started out. I'm 18 years old and have been working an international internship since I've graduated highschool in June and I believe I've saved up enough to buy a new (used) car. I'd like to purchase my own car because I don't think my parents should have to buy me a second one, especially after putting up with me crashing my first. (Although insurance covered everything minus a $1,000 deductible) Anyhow, thats a little of my past experiences that I'd like to share with you all.

That brings me to my current situation, which car should I buy once my internship is over? Obviously I've been looking into picking up a Z! I've been lurking around on Zdriver.com and some other Z car forums reading up on all the Z models since 1970 to 1983 mainly and it seems pretty obvious to me that the '83 280ZX is the easiest building platform for me. I don't have much knowledge of working on cars but I have ambitions to fix them up. The only installations I've done were to my RSX-S which were the OEM foglights, Short Shifter assembly, and complete stereo system (components, midranges, amps, subs, wiring, headunit etc.) That leaves me with absolutely 0 experience working under the hood, especially with older cars like the Z's. The 280ZXT seems like a great car to work with (although I like the S30 body a lot, better even). I wish I had the tools and the know-how to swap a L28et into a 240z with a fuel injected system plus a T3/T4 hybrid turbo I've been reading a lot and its gotten me very excited... but one problem! I don't have a Z!!

Actually, I've already contacted someone within a couple hours drive of my area about a 1983 Black "All Original" (seems to have some suspension work from what I saw in the pictures.. ) 280ZXT Coupe (Non T-Top) with 69k original miles on the motor. Price wasn't listed, but I expect to have saved anywhere from 10-15k by this June. Luckily for me, my parents will still cover my insurance and additionally, I have another car to drive (the family Van ) if the 280ZX goes under the wrench for a while . Unfortunately, the lister of the classified thread didn't respond to either of the e-mails I've sent him in the span of almost 2 weeks. Good condition 280ZXT's, especially '83s, seem hard to come by.. especially located nearby. Anyway, I thought I'd give a little (or a long) introduction on my situation. Sorry for the long post, and thanks for reading! That is, if anyone cares to read such a long and pointless thread.

Daniel

Edit: If anyone was interested, this was the car I was trying to pickup. "5 speed...Black one is totally original with only 69K miles.." He was selling his whole collection of 280ZX's, 6 total. The black one was supposedly his pride and joy.. but unfortunately for me, no response =/ And since I work an international internship and won't visit until February, I didn't want to make the international call to check on the car. (Although I would have purchased in February and garaged it until June when I get back hehe )

NismoPick

Welcome to ZDriver!!!

Sorry to hear about your loss, but at least you are looking for a REAL sports car now.

Have you checked out www.craigslist.com ? It's a very popular classifieds site & lots of car deals!

thxone

Welcome to ZDriver, a ZX is a good choice, here is a link, I simply typed in 280zx and went with highest first on the order. you can do the same with 240z, 260z and 280z. The ZX as people will tell you on this site are very VERY easy to work on. I too like the S30's but an 82ZX is what I found. The 82 Turbo I think is the one to get as I think it still has solid lifters (P90 head)and I think is able to rev higher...the 83 turbo has hydrolic lifters(P90a), correct me if I am wrong wise ones. If you want help that is why we are all here.

http://search.ebay.com/280zx_W0QQfro...tsearchZSearch

mrgoochio

But the '83 comes with the Borg Warner T5 5spd tranny, which is 1 thing less that I'll want to swap in (unless theres something bad about the 5spd that I don't know about? )

Yeah I checked out craigslist, is there any way to widen the search parameters so I'm not searching only within my county? Its getting tiring searching every section within California lol.

Daniel

NismoPick

All 5speed 280zx turbos come w/ the BW T5 Tranny. These are the different Cali areas on Craigslist: http://geo.craigslist.org/iso/us/ca

Also... those pics in your first post... I've seen them on Cardomain... they are pretty old. Did you find him on Cardomain?

mrgoochio

I didn't know the 5spd was offered on 79-82 280ZX's, I thought I read somewhere that the BW T5 was introduced with the '83s. Perhaps I'm imagining things . Yeah thats the same thing I came up with on Craigslist, its just tough searching through every directory I need because the internet is so slow here. (especially when browsing international, I'm in Shanghai..) The pictures came from a link he posted on his classified ad. The ad is listed on Zcar.com's classifieds and the link is to a post about a year old also on zcar.com by the lister. I wasn't aware he had a cardomain with the same pictures posted. I requested recent pictures, details on the car, etc. but he never responded as I said before

Daniel

mrgoochio

I didn't know the 5spd was offered on 79-82 280ZX's, I thought I read somewhere that the BW T5 was introduced with the '83s. Perhaps I'm imagining things . Yeah thats the same thing I came up with on Craigslist, its just tough searching through every directory I need because the internet is so slow here. (especially when browsing international, I'm in Shanghai..) The pictures came from a link he posted on his classified ad. The ad is listed on Zcar.com's classifieds and the link is to his thread about a year old also on zcar.com. I wasn't aware he had a cardomain with the same pictures posted. I requested recent pictures, details on the car, etc. but he never responded as I said before

Daniel

NismoPick

Yeah... I would imagine he sold them a long time ago (hence the reason he's not responding).


and slow down there homie... there are several diff transmissions on the 280zx's (and yes... there were 4 & 5speed transmissions since the start of the 1970 240z):

-The non-turbo 5speed (there were ratio differences in the 79, 80, 81-83).

-The 3speed auto (option on both turbo & non-turbo).

-The Borg Warner T5 (82-83 280zx turbos... all 81 turbos were auto from the factory).

mrgoochio

Oh, the thread with the pictures is from a year ago, his classified Ad was posted on December 26th, just about 2 weeks ago (I e-mailed him the day following the listing). Hehe I know about most of the trannies offered in the ZX's, but not all the specifics. Thanks for clearing that up as I thought the BW T5's were only offered in '83. Are there any significant differences between the '82 and '83 models? I've tried reading up on some of the specifics but information is pretty scattered around the sites.

This ebay listing has a beautiful car.. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Datsu...64501805QQrdZ1 It wasn't posted up just a few days ago when I checked ebay. Too bad the car is literally across the country (I'm from California)

Daniel

NismoPick

There's lots of info on our site about the 280zx... seriously tons of stuff. All the basic questions have been asked a trillion times, but use google too (like "280zx history" or "datsun z history" or "280zx specs" etc)

And that 280zx on ebay is way overpriced. He's had that listed for months & no one ever buys it... hum... I wonder why

snwbrderphat540

so my name is eric i am calle dsnowy and i have a ***** 15 inches long 12 inchs around.... i make firls screa,m. oh man im kinding stupid drunk posting. hahahahah. youll learn to love me. but honda to Z?!?!?!!? good shoice but such a drastic change.... for a good learngin experience that will drive you carzy use the insurance omney get a rust freee 240z and a shitty *** runnign 280zx turbro and swap motors... sell parts ont he zx afterwards, you cant do it... i mean can.... you can do it. we can guid you you crazy ****.. you got insurance money and you want an old car. go to town.

NismoPick

Wow! That was a pretty crappy post. Read it in the morning for a good laugh.

snwbrderphat540

how dare you... im sorry for incading your first post though... but now at least he gets a good laugh.... ill READ NOTHING~~~~~~~~~~~~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !! lol

mrgoochio

I read the post, decided not to reply lol. I'm bored so I'll enlighten you with my response. Actually I thought about picking up a nice body 240z with no rust and try to swap a L28et from a 280zx, but like I said.. I don't have the know-how or the tools to do it. I don't have any time under the hood and its unlikely and unrealistic to take on such a big project at this point. Once my internship is over, I'll be starting college.. although I'll probibly still have a lot more time to work on the car then most enthusiests do, I just don't see a big motor swap/restoration project happening as my first one. I'd hate to get in over my head and end up with a pile of parts as my first car purchase. I don't have any close friends that are even remotely knowledgable of what it takes to do the job. I've seen far too many people on the forums think they have the dedication to restore a car and end up not doing anything with it. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to take on a full project but I just don't have the confidence to do it. Without someone to give me a hand (physically be there and help), I'll probibly be better off buying a good/great conditioned car (82-83ZXT) and building off the working platform versus starting from a restoration standpoint. Perhaps you should read this post in the morning, it might not make much sense to you now haha

Daniel

snwbrderphat540

well im in the middle of swappon g now thinking of goin super charger or turbo... not to sure yet..... umm... as soon as im ME again ill actually be somewhat valuable.... soo you in the morning or osmehting

mrgoochio

What a coincidence.. I was whining about the 'lost' 280ZXT I was inquirying about and the seller just posted this up minutes ago.. from what I can tell. I guess I'm just that bored at work to continuously check the classifieds.

And yes, I'm also bored enough to update you all on my car-hunting experience

Daniel

thxone

I think ol Eric has had a few to many tonight, stay away from that plane buddy. I think we all know the rule of three...what do I mean? I mean that if a chick says she slept with 5 guys then multiply that by three and if a guy says he has 15 inches divide that by three and well there you go

You could get a 240 and do a swap, dude, we will help with questions and it would be a hands on learning experience for you with a good pay off in the end. The 240Z does look better.

mrgoochio

Well if this 280ZXT falls through then I'll be more open to other things, possibly including a 240z L28et swap.. unlikely, but possible since I do have the Van to drive. By the way, do you know where I can find the specifics on differences between the 240z, 260z, and 280z's besides the fact they have 2.4L, 2.6L, 2.8L, and different bumpers? Oh yeah, and that the 280z's are fuel injected and the 240z/260z are on carburators if I'm not mistaken.. I searched around but couldn't find posts in detail.

Daniel

skittle

Well A Little History Cause I Too Am Bored....

Only In North America Are They Call Datsuns, Every Where Else They Are Nissan.

The First Gen Z Came Out In 10/69 (very Hard To Find But Weigh The Least)

The 240z Range From 10/69 - 73. They Had The 3 Speed Auto And The 4 Speed Manual.

74 Was The Only Year For The 260z

70-74 Had Different Tranny Setups As Well As Carb Set Ups, The Most Sought After Is The Tripple Webers

75-78 Were The 280z's

75 Was The First Year For Fuel Injection

78 Had A Special Z Called The Black Pearl ( I Believe The First Factory Black Z)

All 70-78 Z's Are The S30 Models. 74 I Believe Was The First Year For 2+2. All Body Parts Are Interchangable As Well As Tranny's And Engines. ( Coupes With Coupes, 2+2 With 2+2 Body Parts From The Door Back)

78/11 Was The First Year For The 280zx. The Most Sought After
280zx Is The 1979 Zxr Denoted By The Silver And Blue Paint And The Whale Tail Spoiler.

The 79-81 Has The Same Bumpers And The 82/83 Have Different Style Bumpers.

81 Was The First Year Offered With The Turbo And T-top Options.

1980 Offered The 10th Anniversary Eddition Z With 3000 Made. 2500 Were 2-tone Black And Gold And The Other 500 Wer 2-tone Black And Red.

I Know I Missed Some Things But Thats A Brief History For Ya. I Know Nismo Or Shady Or Bleach And Others Can Fill In The Blanks And Mistakes.

mrgoochio

Thanks for the info, I read most of that over some of the places I checked.. Actually if you guys haven't checked out the info on wikipedia, go to wikipedia.org and search for 240z and 280zx. (240z search link will provide info for the 240z, 260z, and 280z) It has most of that stuff and maybe some other stuff unlisted. Anyhow, works just about over and I'll be back in an hour. Gotta love the time difference between China and the States huh?

Daniel

skittle

While You Are Over There You Should Get Some Hard To Find Parts For The Zx Or The Z And Bring Them Back With Ya... And While Your At It Bring Me A Gnose For The Zx... Lol Jk

mrgoochio

I think some people mistake the availability of JDM parts in the Asia region. Believe it or not, its probibly easier to get the rare JDM parts in the US then here in Shanghai. Hong Kong might be a different story, but from what I've seen in Shanghai in the last 7 months of living here, most people don't own cars. Public transportation (Bus', Subways, Trains, Taxi's), bicycles, mopeds, walking is the primary source for most people. Plus, people that do own cars typically own Volkswagons, since Volkswagen has had production plants here ages ago from what I understand. Most of all taxi's are also VW's.. the Santana 2000's and the Santana 3000's. Beijing has upgraded a bit and most taxi's over there appear to be Hyundai's. I've only seen the G-nose in pictures.. not sure why theyre so rare. I guess JDM didn't feel like sharing with us USDM folks Shipping a bumper shouldn't be all that expensive compared to the price they sell at, especially if they ship in bulk as a business. Its not like bumpers, parts, and products aren't shipped out of Japan or other similar regions 24/7 of all shapes, sizes, weights, rare or common. Maybe I don't know enough of the specifics though..

Daniel

Edit: By the way, does the hood of the car I posted in the pictures seem to be an off-black color compared to the rest of the body, or is that just me? I think its just the reflection though. Also, should the quarter window's come with the louvers if the hatch has a louver? Lastly and most importantly, whats with the rear wheel-gap? The car looks like it was raised.. What do you guys think? I'm still waiting on an email from the seller, but those were just some things I spotted. The car is supposed to be all original, but he might have mentioned the rear suspension somewhere.. perhaps on one of his posts from a year ago but certainly not on his advertisement.

BigBirdsZ

the louvers are a aftermarket thing...... and the 280zx sits pretty high in the back with new springs although most zxs start to sag in the back after a few years n e ways its just the reflection that makes it seem that way if u look a the top of the fender its the same color cuz of the reflection

skittle

Yeah What He Said... Oh And I Forgot To Add That In The Early Model 240z's They Had A Scarab Conversion, A Chevy 327 Engine...

snwbrderphat540

well... you could also go to these sites (im sober and wow....) to look for a S30 chassis with a turbo swap already done. VERY easy to do.
try
ebaymotors.com
hybridz.org
zcar.com
classiczcars.com

i cruise the classifieds of those sites EVERY day new **** all the time. amazing. start searching through them