catfat Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 Hi im new to the forums and this is my first post. For about 2 months now i have been looking to buy a 240 or 260z. I want these years because i live in Ca and want to get around the smog laws here. The z's that i have gone to look at seem like they will be too much work to keep running as an everyday driver and im on a budget since im a college student and am currently unemployed. Now here is what i need some thoughts and advice on. I was thinking of buying a 81-83 non turbo 280zx thats in good running condition since they are less expensive than 240's that ive looked at and seem to be more complete for my price range. I was thinking that after driving the zx for a year or two and once I start my job after i get a degree of swapping out the whole drive train of the zx into a 240z shell or just maybe a non running 240z that is complete. Ive been wondering if this would be better for what i want to do. I eventually want to have a 240 or 60 with a L28, five speed and r200 differential and maybe keeping the efi or putting the arizona z car 4 barrel manifold on. Would buying a zx using it for a year then swapping everyting into a 240 be more expensive than trying to find a good reliable 240z? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Bone028 Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 Full-time student, plus reliable does not equal 30 year old car! I'm sure others have done it before, but from what I've experienced, these cars are addictive and money pits on wheels. You will always be "improving" something or "fixing" something else. Since you're just looking for advice, I would suggest buying a RELIABLE newer car and just biding your time. Lot of new cars have "graduate" deals where someone with a year or so left of school automatically qualify for a fair rate. Save your money, focus on school, get a car that will get your from A to B for the next 3-4 years with minimal upkeep, and keep your eye out for that "perfect" Z. Be willing to raise your budget for a Z in good condition. These cars have been around for +35 years. They have been bought and sold for +35 years. They will probably still be for sale after you finish school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rturbo 930 Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 Yeah, I don't mean to discourage you, but I would just get a 90s Camry or Civic or Accord or something. I would not consider a Z car to be reliable. It might not leave you stranded, but that doesn't mean it won't give you problems. Although I'm sure it's doable, I personally wouldn't recommend daily driving ANY classic car. Get a newer reliable car, keep the 240z as a toy, and go nuts with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcakes55 Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 What they said. Don't even consider a Z until you at least have a steady job, even if it's just 10-20 hrs/wk while you're in school, it adds up if you know how to manage your money. I'm in the same boat as you, I'm taking about 20ish credits a semester but I'm also working two jobs (just under 40hrs/wk), which is the only reason I can fund my project. However, I saved for about a year before I bought anything. I learned from a previous camaro i had...I spent all my money on the car itself and had nothing left over. Lets just say there's nothing cool about a blown bigblock camaro that sits in your driveway. goodluck with whatever you decide though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossman Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 My '76 280z was fun, reliable transportation for me during college...wait, that was 20 years ago...never mind! Agree with previous comments. Get yourself a fairly low mileage Honda/Toyota/Nissan to carry you thru college. Once you graduate and get a steady job then play around with project cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B00STDZ Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 Not employed? Stay away from z's! ITS A TRAP! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeMoneyJ Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 I'm in CA too. As far as smog is concerned, 1975 and earlier are exempt. My 280z has been pretty reliable, and was fairly cheap. I drive 1 hr each way to the drag strip every week, then race all day and drive home. So far no major issues. Keep your eyes open for a 1975 280z IMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rat_ranger Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 I say find a daily driver that will not be a project. A project is a money pit, and the will suck more thanyou expect. A newer car is better to start with, especially when you have plans to mod a Z. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sileightygx Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 i would say the same as the others too. the red flag words i saw was "unemployed" and "2x0 Z" haha. don't get me wrong, they are "reliable cars" if in like new condition. with a small budget to start with, most likely the car will not be and you will need to repair/fix/troubleshoot/spend spend spend to get it to that condition. i would suggest getting another cheap daily driver car and buy the Z as a project. Do things that don't require money, like grinding/sanding the body, etc and work on it slowly till until you can pour money into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolling Parts Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 ...I eventually want to have a 240 or 60 with a L28, five speed and r200 differential and maybe keeping the efi or putting the arizona z car 4 barrel manifold on. Would buying a zx using it for a year then swapping everyting into a 240 be more expensive than trying to find a good reliable 240z? These are now fragile cars and a nearly 40 year old car will take more money/time than you think. I'd pass on the idea on getting one as a primary DD if you need to get a job & show up every day. They make a great 3rd cars to tinker on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zack_280 Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 No matter what you are going to have maintenance/reliabilty issues with a 25-40 year old car. I was in the same position as you a few years ago and bought an 83ZXT. Long story short, I wish I didn't. If you are going to have to depend on this car and don't have the money to fix the occasional $200-$500 problem, then an old Z car is not for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catfat Posted March 16, 2010 Author Share Posted March 16, 2010 (edited) Thanks for all the advice guys I have decided that it will be best to wait on an old z until i start my career. Ive ran it across in my head that maybe i should get a 90+ non turbo 300zx ive seen a few in my budget with around 150 thousand miles do u guys think i should stay away from these also since they are 20 years old or would they still be pretty reliable? Edited March 16, 2010 by catfat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negligence Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 (edited) Not employed? Stay away from z's! ITS A TRAP! That what my friends say about women! (mostly referring to anything our gf's say) Edited March 16, 2010 by Negligence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negligence Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 Thanks for all the advice guys I have decided that it will be best to wait on an old z until i start my career. Ive ran it across in my head that maybe i should get a 90+ 300zx ive seen a few in my budget with around 150 thousand miles do u guys think i should stay away from these also since they are 20 years old or would they still be pretty reliable? 300zx's are not reliable, no car with that many miles tends to be, unless its a 4 cylinder honda/toyota A "sports car" with that many miles with an already complex motor...your looking for issues, and its only going to become more expensive with a "newer" car. Im in college as well man but already work full time. I say your best bet is, get a mid 90's saturn like I have, you can get them for like 500-1000 dollars, there cheap, reliable (if you respect them) and get 30mpg. Get a side job and start saving your money, find the car you want, dont settle. Wait till you know what you want to do as well. Guys can change there mind 10 times over during a build, and it can cost you a lot of $$$ Figure out what you want to do with the car. Price it out, add 5 grand, and do it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTF/PTM Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 Full-time student, plus reliable does not equal 30 year old car! Clear, concise, to the point. Someone give that man a Bud Light. Nevermind, he probably doesn't like fizzy yellow water. Finding any car that's smog exempt simply to get around smog laws will result in far more expense than you'd spend maintaining a much newer car. A z car can be made mechanically sound and reliable pretty easily, but do some research on the common z-car gremlins and problems and part failures and air leak problems and everything else and you may find that having one that's mechanically sound and reliable won't outweigh the number of things you have to put up with while driving it to make it worth while. My recommendation for a car that's dead reliable, easy & cheap to work on and that's fun to drive is to find an 88-91 Honda Civic or CRX. They aren't fast, but they handle like gokarts and they're easy to sportify and can be made fast with minimal budgets using standard toolbox tools. Perfect student cars, and great for weekend autocrossing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two80z4me Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 after sorting out a problem with wiring, my Z car has been fan-freakin-tastic for daily driving, while unemployed most of the time, Highschool sucks. Can't wait for college though. My advice, go test drive some Z cars that you like and see how they feel, some people have a good sense for cars and others don't it all depends on how the car feels, I test drove a 240z and it was unreliable feeling, change in idle, fluctuation in the electrics, some seals and doors werent really fitting right, little things can tell you alot about a car. Oh yeah, one more four letter word to worry about, RUST, check for rust, then check again. As for people saying a certain car is generally unreliable, thats a common thing to hear ,but couldn't be more wrong. I had two Saab 900's that were known for being super reliable and safe, but I had THE MOST PITA moments of my life with those two, my Passat was very reliable, and so far the Z is very Reliable as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoov100 Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 Reliable and easy to work on cars that also get great gas mileage and are cheap, are N/A z31 5 speeds. I got about 25mpg around town beating the piss out of it and it never missed a beat.......until the oil pump separated itself from the block. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsun723 Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 So far my Z hasn't given me too much trouble. I'm a college student and work part time so I don't have a ton of cash either The only thing I've "had" to do was replace the oil pan and diff gaskets, tune it up/mess with the afm, and a new radiator. I've only done one oil change and put about 4k on it so we'll see what happens down the road. Oh, and I get horrible gas mileage but I think that changing the fuel filters and cleaning the injectors will help a lot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two80z4me Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 So far my Z hasn't given me too much trouble. I'm a college student and work part time so I don't have a ton of cash either The only thing I've "had" to do was replace the oil pan and diff gaskets, tune it up/mess with the afm, and a new radiator. I've only done one oil change and put about 4k on it so we'll see what happens down the road. Oh, and I get horrible gas mileage but I think that changing the fuel filters and cleaning the injectors will help a lot really? on my 12gal tank I usually get about 24mpg on the highway, and in town about 18-20mpg depending on the fuel I put in and how im driving that week Then again its about the same as my v8 tundra so... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PanzerAce Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 I'm going to disagree with basically everything everyone said. If you want a Z in college: Go for it. That's what I did, and other than having to replace worn out tires and oil changes, it never was out of service for any length of time. That being said, if you want to drive a Z, make sure you get one that you *know* runs, and runs well, and *don't* try to modify it until you have another DD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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