Common 280Z issues, What to look for?
I'm looking to buy a 79 280Z tomorrow and was hoping for some assistance in what to look for that may ruin these cars. If anyone can give me some tips I would greatly appreciate it
Thanks
Not exactly sure yet, Im still trying to contact the seller, he listed as a 79 280z, so I would guess he means zx. Are there differences in the key rust areas on the z vs zx? I found another post describing thse key areas from what I believe was a 240
"your attention should first be to stopping the rust that usually destroys these cars. That rust is inside the front frame rails, inside the doglegs, under the rear threshold plate where the deck lid closes down, in the seams where multiple sheet-metal panels overlap in the nose of the hood and lower lip of the rear deck lid. Also inside the lower part of the front fenders and
inside the doors."
Are these the kew things I should look for on a 78 or 79 as well or do you know of any others?
First thing you need to know is that the seller doesn't know the difference between a Z and a ZX. What that tells you is that there is a better than good chance that the seller doesn't know much else about the car and you should take anything he says with a grain of salt. Do your reseach and have more knowledge about the car than he does. It will help you decide if the car is good or bad and negotiate a good price.All the info you could ever need is in the archives here. Expand the search to "all dates".Get a drink and set back for an informational night of learning about z cars. Get creative with the search questions and you'll be amazed at what you can find.
Good Luck! I hope the cars turns out good and you get a fair price and join the z car world. You've already done very well by finding this forum.
There isn't hardly anything that can be wrong with the car that you can't find how to fix on this forum.
I saw an ad for a 2 door Nissan hatchback in a local trade paper in Savannah. No year or model listed. So I call, the guy describes what sounds like a Z. I go take a look at it, only to pull up at the house and there beside it sits a Z under a tarp. We pull the tarp, it's a 240, yellow, in rather good shape.
I said that's an interesting car, looks sporty. He says yeah, my grandma had it and just left it her after she passed. I ask what he wants for it...he tells me he needs to buy new tires for his truck and would like to cover that.
I call my friend who has a local shop and set up the deal for the guy to get new tires - what ever he wants, his pick.
We go to the shop, he picks out a set of tires and hands me the title.
In the end my friend charged me cost on the tires which was $290. What I really got was a 71 240, complete, with some rust starting up the rockers as it was sitting over grass. I called a guy who collects Z's and he comes to get it with a flatbed. He gave me $2500 for it.
So within 2 hours I made $2210.00 all because someone didn't want to even figure out what they had.
Not a bad day.
Well aren't you the lucky one??? I had a friend who did the same thing, except the car under the tarp was a '55 Chevy BelAir convertible with only 18,000 original miles, in excellent shpe. He paid $500 for it, and sold it a week later for $18,000. Me, not that lucky. Good job!
First you have to tell us if it's a '78 280Z or a '79 280ZX. Next, what state is the car in? Rust is the #1 issue with these cars.
Jeff Northville, Michigan '78 280 10:1 CR, Arizona Z Car header, urethane bushings, Tokico springs, Illumina struts, Panasports, Maxima alternator
Pics of my '78 280Z http://www.zcar.com/forums/859447/jeffs-78-280z]
Pics of my 260Z LeMons racer http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Broke-Racing-Effluence-24-Hours-of-LeMons/105972559430584