Captainnapalm

What you want to do is take what was designed as a grand touring car, and make it behave like a sports car, and do it for cheap. But the thing is, it can't be done. As was said, the 240SX is a much better car. The 280zx is a great car. But its suspension is all wrong for drifting. Far too soft. consider also that every suspension bushing in a totally stock car will be at least 25 years old. The 280zx can be turned into a drift car. But it cannot be turned into a drift car for cheaply. A far better plan would be to select a chassis that is already good for drifting, such as the 240SX. As for a good highway car, a 280ZX is a fabulous highway cruiser, since that is what a GT car is supposed to do. Don't mean to shoot you down or anything, but rigging a 280ZX to drift is a fairly monumental task, involving a total rebuild of the suspension system, a limited slip diff that will mate up to 280zx stub axles, or a lot of fabrication to make your own.

Something I forgot about. Yes, a good tune up will help power as well. The youngest ZX engine will be 25 years old. A good tune up will restore a lot of the pep and vigor to the engine. Nissan built the L28 to be pretty much bulletproof. If the engine was cared for at least minimally by the previous owner, it should be in good shape. There's a lot on tuning up an L28 on this and other forums. But the basics are pretty simple. New plugs and wires, do a compression check, change the oil, get the radiator flushed, make sure the thermostat is in good shape, and have the cat checked out. The car was made when leaded fuel was still available, so it could have had leaded run in it. People can do some pretty harmful things to cars out of ignorance. The biggest thing to know about the 280ZX is that you have bought a 'classic car' and all the problems that come with it. An engine, even a good engine, can get pretty tired after 25-30 years, because most people neglect maintenence outside of changing the oil and putting gas in it. And oftentimes, unless the ZX was a daily driver, it's been sitting for several years. That can damage things like the head gasket, which is in contact with stagnant coolant, and things like the fuel system, which has had old gas gum up in it.

130 to 135 is the horsepower ratings of the L28 in the 280ZX, as measured from the wheels, as opposed to the 170 HP measured from the flywheel of the 280Z. As for power on the cheap, there's really not such a thing on any car. Speed costs money. However, the cost can be brought down depending on how much fabrication you're willing to do. Before you start making any real mods however, a good investment would be a factory service manual. A haynes manual is good, but it covers a model range. You'll want one specifically for your car. They're available for download from XenonS130, but I personally find a paper manual handy since I don't have a laptop or a computer in my garage. As already said, a job to fund the car would be preferrable. If you're not into fabbing your own stuff, which takes a lot of time and practice, go-fast mods for the S130 aren't cheap. But depending on how much interior you're willing to part with and what body style it is, you can get some very cheap go fast by removing interior parts, such as a back seat. The last thing to remember is the S130 isn't a sports car, though Nissan says it is, and many refer to it as such. Nor is it a 'hot hatch' like a civic-SI. It's a malaise-era GT car. So it's meant to carry you long distances at speed, in relative comfort. If you're looking for a drag racer or something you can blast around in on the cheap, the S130 isn't the car for you. Certainly, the S130 can be made to perform admirably, but it isn't cheap to do so.