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a noob and his first z (potentially)


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hey guys. i finnaly found a z forum of ppl that know what they are talkin about...

and i had a few questions, if you could help me.

 

tommorow i am going to look at a 1976 280z

and i plan on purchasing it, if it is everything that the seller tells me it is

so...

i know its an inline six.. but not much else (any general info or stuff i should know?)

 

it is a four speed(why not 5?)

 

is there any thing i should check in particular before buying?

(common problems, typical rust areas, telltale signs of abuse,"fudging"?)

 

he tells me that the interior is trashed,slashed, and battered (not too concerned, plan on working with interior)

and the paint (or lack of) is mismatched or bondo (from what i can see)

or primer...accident?

but he says the engine and drive train is solid and reliable.

he tells me that it has been his dailydriver for six months but he recently bought a truck(his supposed reason for selling)

i am looking for a project car that is relaible

and i have heard great things about these cars and their engines.

(im guessing mine is an s30)

 

 

plus i love primering and paintin cars, and stripping interior.

 

the main reason i am buying this car is my DD is too expensive and performs VERY poorly in wet conditions...and its uninsured...

i figure this will be a safer alternative that i wont have to worry about wrecking as much (not that i plan to).

and i see alot(ALOT) of vids of ppl having fun in their Zs in snow,and however immature it may be, i live for good times like that.

i would post a pic but its not mine yet so i dont wanna cross any lines with the owner or his potential other buyers.

 

another thing i keep hearing about these cars is ridiculous tall stories of 280z stock performance (like lightning fastness,outrageous top speed,and stuff) i would just like this cleared up cause i keep hearin alot of conflicting stories.

any info you can think of that you can throw in would help a bunch.

really would like to join the Z family tomorrow

thanks friends

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I shall answer your questions in a nut shell

 

:search: welcome to hybridz by the way

 

hey guys. i finally found a z forum of people that know what they are talking about...

and i had a few questions, if you could help me.

 

tomorrow am going to look at a 1976 280z

and i plan on purchasing it, if it is everything that the seller tells me it is

so...

i know its an inline six.. but not much else (any general info or stuff i should know?) 2.8 liter

 

it is a four speed(why not 5?) was not available at that time see datsun 280zx

 

is there any thing i should check in particular before buying?

(common problems, typical rust areas, telltale signs of abuse,"fudging"?) check for things you normally look for in a car and look farther

 

he tells me that the interior is trashed,slashed, and battered (not too concerned, plan on working with interior)

and the paint (or lack of) is mismatched or bondo (from what i can see)

or primer...accident? Use your head look for bondo knock and if it sounds like metal it must be

but he says the engine and drive train is solid and reliable.

he tells me that it has been his daily driver for six months but he recently bought a truck(his supposed reason for selling)

i am looking for a project car that is reliable

and i have heard great things about these cars and their engines.

(im guessing mine is an s30) yes

 

 

plus i love primering and painting cars, and stripping interior.

 

the main reason i am buying this car is my DD is too expensive and performs VERY poorly in wet conditions...and its uninsured...

i figure this will be a safer alternative that i wont have to worry about wrecking as much (not that i plan to). haha you will be in for a big surprise they hate the rain

and i see a lot(A LOT) of videos of people having fun in their Zs in snow,and however immature it may be, Sounds like you don't need a z you need a civic

i live for good times like that. NOS!!!!

i would post a pic but its not mine yet so i don't wanna cross any lines with the owner or his potential other buyers.

 

another thing i keep hearing about these cars is ridiculous tall stories of 280z stock performance (like lightning fastness,outrageous top speed,and stuff) i would just like this cleared up cause i keep hearing a lot of conflicting stories. Take the most extreme story and the worst story and meet in the middle

any info you can think of that you can throw in would help a bunch.

really would like to join the Z family tomorrow

thanks friends

 

 

post pics of the car people do it all the time to get input

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Well grats ahead of time on the Z, and welcome to the best Z forum imho... probably one of the best forums to go to for even general automotive knowledge.

 

+1 to using the search engine, but browse through each individual section and check out all the stickies in them, those are chocked full of helpful info.

 

And the truth about performance on a stock 280Z... you have roughly 100 RWHP for a 2800-3000 LB. car. They can get up and go, just don't expect to be thrown back into your seat, lol.

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DO NOT be set on buying the car before youve seen it. If you do you will most likely buy it regardless of your better judgement.

 

Anyways welcome to the forum. As far as rust problems, check the areas around the wheels, under the battery and around the rear hatch seals. Also check floorboards and rocker panels, basically check everywhere. Dont be suprised what you find.

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DO NOT be set on buying the car before youve seen it. If you do you will most likely buy it regardless of your better judgement.

 

Anyways welcome to the forum. As far as rust problems, check the areas around the wheels, under the battery and around the rear hatch seals. Also check floorboards and rocker panels, basically check everywhere. Dont be suprised what you find.

 

This man is 100% correct. Speaking from experience, even going into it negatively would be alright. There are a good number of 280's still floating around and as such it is definitely OK to shop around.

 

And My Z doesn't hate rain! It hates all mannerisms of meteorological phenomena, let's not restrict it down to just rain.

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If/when i do it again i honestly could care less how the drivetrain is. I care about one thing and one thing only RUST and how straight the body is. If he has been driving this car for a while with bondo primer showing and its been his daily that means that it has seen rain. Your going to need to strip the whole car of all the bondo that saw water. Stock engines are cheap for these cars. Its the rust removal and repainting that is expensive.

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This man is 100% correct. Speaking from experience, even going into it negatively would be alright. There are a good number of 280's still floating around and as such it is definitely OK to shop around.

 

And My Z doesn't hate rain! It hates all mannerisms of meteorological phenomena, let's not restrict it down to just rain.

 

 

:lmao:

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i made the mistake of buying a z car off of craigslist, the floors, and trunk, and bottom of the doors was rusted out. wanted to put in a ls1. i paid 700 for a piece of ♥♥♥♥, now it has become my parts car for a clean, minimal rust 240z. I paid 1900 for a solid 240 with extra sparco seats, a crack free dash, extra tranny, rip free stock seats, and it runs( albeit like crap), and drives, just doesnt stop so well. I found it on ebay two weeks ago. bought it in tennesse. sorry if any of you guys were bidding. just to make it sting a little, if you had gone 100 more, you would have won.:flamedevi and matt if you read this, thanks for the car, nothing but good words for you man. basically i am just saying, dont spend more than 2 k on a car that is going to need 3 k just to be half way decent. get educated before you buy, look at this site, and classic z car. a wealth of knowledge. i have used these guys to help me decide exactly what i want out of my car, and what i need to put in it. dont put the cart before the horse

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got er'

500 cash after some hagglin

120k on engine, drove from east oregon to mid washington no prob

REALLY spunky engine runs great

needs a little work on signals(contacts need to be brushed he said)

has some surface rust and sanded paint

new tires new batteries new headlights

 

he was second owner, knew first owner

a simple case o negligence:frown:

what ya think?

 

100_1999.jpg

 

100_1996.jpg

 

100_1997.jpg

 

100_1998.jpg

 

100_1999.jpg

 

3n23p73l25O05Tb5P89bf3008279fc31f1c.jpg

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