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280z good buy?


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ive been looking on craigslist for a while for a z and came across this one.. They guy wants 1500 the only problem is the engine wont idle and it has slight rust on the end of the rocker panels and one hole in the floor behind the passenger side. it only has 50k miles and the interior is in mint condition. is it worth it?

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^Truth.

 

Rear quarters, fenders, door, hatch, roof, headlight bucket, and that's just what is poking through the paint. For the price you can't argue very much though. It depends on your definition of a good buy. If you think that is only slight rust, then your judgement is far kinder then mine.

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The paint isn't in great condition but $1500 isn't really a bad deal. What kind of issue is it having with the idle? Does it try to choke itself out if you let it idle?

he says it needs a new fuel pump relay and the carbs cleaned. 

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Interior pieces are hard to find in good shape.  A nice interior adds some value.

 

You should break things down based on what you want to do with it.  Is it a project to work on, a driver that looks nice inside and out, a performance car, a base for an engine swap, whatever.  It's basically a 280Z that's been messed with.  The bumpers have been swapped and the EFI has been removed and replaced with carbs.  You'll spend a lot of time and some money getting the carbs tuned.  they're probably tuned for the 2.4L engine they came from.

 

Pennsylvania uses a lot of salt.  There's probably a lot of hidden rust.  The 50K miles is probably 150K.

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I used to live in Horseheads, NY and I know that area of NY and PA. I find it hard to believe that any vehicle could survive over 35 years in that environment with only "slight" rust.

Take Seattlejesters comments to heart and check it over more carefully.

Look at the battery tray area,

Check the bottoms of the door sills

Check both rear quarter panels and around the gas cap area

Lift the hatch and look at the trailing edge of the hatch and the sill area where it meets the body

lift the carpet on both sides and check the floorboards under the carpet

Look at the frame rails under the car - If they have any holes in them at all just pass unless you think you can part the car out and come out ahead

This is a 280Z body but,as NewZed said, someone has removed the 280 bumpers and installed 240Z bumpers and for some reason removed the fuel injected engine and installed a carburated one. That makes me doubt the 50k miles claim as a moderately maintained L28 is good for over 200K miles.

To quote Ricky Ricardo, "Lucy, you have some splainin' to do."

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I'm in pa and the guy who's selling it is in North Carolina and the only way I'm really going down there is if I'm going to be purchasing it. I'm looking to buy it and fix it up and use it as a daily and maybe down the road drop a rb25det in it

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So shipping costs or gas for the drive.  How is your locale for emissions?  280Z's are usually in the emissions testing range, for idle at least.  Clear title?  Dealing with title issues from distance can be difficult.

 

Looks like a lot of work for not much.

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This is a 280Z body but,as NewZed said, someone has removed the 280 bumpers and installed 240Z bumpers and for some reason removed the fuel injected engine and installed a carburated one. That makes me doubt the 50k miles claim as a moderately maintained L28 is good for over 200K miles.

He may have simply swapped out the FI for carbs. The engine could still be original.

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he says it needs a new fuel pump relay and the carbs cleaned. 

That is car speak for does not run in my book.

 

Honestly it has a few parts on it which are ok, the wheels look ok, though I suspect they are the 6 inch versions, the front lip is nice, and the supposedly mint interior are pluses, but unless  you happen to have quite a bit of experience/knowledge with rust repair the body looks pretty untrustworthy.

 

If you plan on having it shipped up or hauling it back up, then you might as well consider a car with less rot from other states.

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the guy bought the car about 5 months ago without a title and is now selling it so i would need to replace the title

People sell cars without titles because they were unable to get the title.   This has big mistake written all over it.  You're wasting your time.  I wouldn't take it if it was free.

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Get lots of photos. Even though it's been is "storage" for 25 years it could have had a rough life before that. I've had my eye on a 240Z for 5 years now that's been in "storage" for the past 15 hers. Unfortunately its a covered outdoor storage and the car gets hammered with the full afternoon sun. Tires are rotting, interior is cracking. :-(

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