1980 Datsun 280ZX Questions

vtecchippy · 10-02-2017, 10:48 AM

First of all, mods, if I've posted this in the wrong spot, please move it to the correct one. It's not a 370Z but still Z-lated, and I need some advice on this one. I know there are many folks here that have a lot of knowledge with the older generations of our beloved Z cars.

To condense the story, a fellow at my office whose father kept a random assortment of cars is looking to liquidate them since his passing years ago. He knew I'm a Z enthusiast and came to ask if I'd be interested in a 280Z of his father's. I said I've always toyed with the idea, but never owned one because it's so darn hard to find a clean example around TN, and prefer the newer 350/370Zs. He told me it only had around 40k miles and was garage kept pretty much its entire life, and has been in their basement since his father's passing four or five years ago. They take it down the road ever so often to keep it mechanically sound, and he says it runs like a top. I told him to shoot me some pics, which I just received in an email this morning.

The condition is excellent minus a couple tiny areas that I can see. I was not super interested when he told me it was automatic (the old school ones should've only been made in manual, in my narrow-minded opinion) but this thing looks like something worth serious consideration pending the price he throws at me. It's 100% original everything, not a single mod and original paint.

I'll be going over there to see it when he's back in town from business, but at face value, any OGs on here have a ballpark on what this thing's worth? I see them spread across a pretty wide range and I know it depends on some details (rust, true paint condition, etc) but any advice on this given minor blems and mechanically maintained? He believes it does not have rust and I trust that but still wanna have it up on some racks.

Thanks in advance folks!

B&W_Evader · 10-04-2017, 06:17 PM

Couple things off the top of my head...

Look underneath the car. Lower fender corners is usually where rust starts
Check the engine compression. All cylinders should be within 10 psi of each other. (bad valve adjustment can affect numbers)
Check the u-joints. Go under the car and shake the driveline and half shafts to make sure the u-joint pockets are tight
Check the hood door and hatch gaps. They should all be about the same gap and be parallel. Anything that's off usually means major body work

Maintenance:
Fluids, Engine / Tranny
Check trany/diff/engine mounts. They go out when they get old. If there's a knock it's probably a mount or the ujoints
Valve adjustment is critical on those engines
Keep the points fresh and a spare set in the car.
Check how old the tires are. If their 10+years old, replace them even if they have a bunch of tread

280z/300zx · 10-05-2017, 02:56 PM

As mentioned above, check for rust. Fenders, side sills, spare tire well, under battery tray, firewall, floor pans, rails.

With price on these old Z's a lot of times it comes down to what it's worth to the right person. Some may argue a mint condition 280zx is worth 10k but may find that most people aren't willing to pay more than 5k. Also non turbo's and automatics are notoriously worth less. So.....

Assuming it's a mint condition, all original, good running car for a non-turbo automatic that you don't need to do anything to, I'd say it would be worth about 5-6k. With that as a base point start reducing value for any issues the car may have. I'd say on the low end you'd be looking about 3k if there was minor rust or mechanical/interior issues.

Also I'd caution you as to what your plans for the car would be. A car like this you would have to think long and hard about modifying but then again from what it sounds like you may not be happy with a automatic Z. I'll tell you, it will be slow and a bit on the boring side. However for an old Z enthusiast it wouldn't matter. From personal experience my 300zx is a non turbo auto but it was my first Z and it does have a few mods on it for power. I love the car and enjoy driving but it's a cruiser. My 280z on the other hand is more heavily modified and manual tranny. That's the car I like to rip up the roads with and have fun. All I'm saying is make sure if you get the car you understand what you're getting into.

MicVelo · 10-05-2017, 05:37 PM

All totally good advice above. ^^^

Let me add a couple of minor things.

As an investment car, not so great. The S130 lags behind ALL other generations of Z cars in appreciation rate. The highest ones are obviously the Series I and II S30, followed by Z32 turbos, and right behind that, the Z33 Nismo (jury's still out on the Z34N since its still made.) In and around those are the limited edition Z31 models - Anniversary, Shiro. Everything else hovers around "fair appreciation".

However, as a "project"/just-fun-to-have car, the ZX isn't bad. It's the emotional successor to the S30, after all. The only things weighing the S130 down is lack of power and in this case, the auto. trans. But consider this, the S30 (yes Gen 1, no typo) was "manual ready"; that is, the holes for mounting a clutch master and the pedal box have the component accommodation built into every S30 so swapping to a manual was a matter of securing the parts (master, slave, tranny, speedo cable and the hardest thing to find, the pedal box containing the manual's brake and clutch pedals) and R&R of the existing in favor of the manual gear.

But warning: Despite my having owned every gen Z BUT this one, I can't verify if what I said above carries to the ZX so check up on that if you plan to convert.

But in my totally unbiased estimation

, any Z in the garage is better than NO Z anywhere on your property.

vtecchippy · 10-09-2017, 09:27 AM

Thank you all for the advice. To clarify on my intentions if I do buy the car, it would be left in stock form. As you've pointed out, I'm well aware that the 240/280z is a much better platform for modding, swapping, etc. But if he sells this at a yardsale price, I'd pick it up if nothing else to to flip. The price and presence of rust, or lack thereof, will be the two main deciding factors. The car does run as he called me and told me his brother, who has maintained the car since their father's passing, has started and driven the car and will be getting the motor checked up. He also said if I'm serious about purchase, I can come grab it and take it wherever I like for examination. I have an excellent detailing and body shop that did paint correction on my 370Z that I'd have go over every inch of the car and give me a report on rust, paint condition, etc.

To sum it up, I don't sit and search for these cars, but if one pops up at a solid deal, I'm always open to getting it. Just don't want to lose money on it, even if I don't come out making any either. I've always wanted a Z with a bit more heritage to it, since the only ones I've owned are 350/370z models.

I'll keep everyone updated! He should be back in town today, and I'll schedule a time to go see it. If nothing else I told him I'd help him get it sold once a solid value and selling price has been determined.

10-04-2017, 06:17 PM	#2 (permalink)
B&W_Evader Track Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: CA Posts: 972 Drives: slower than before Rep Power: 387	Couple things off the top of my head... Look underneath the car. Lower fender corners is usually where rust starts Check the engine compression. All cylinders should be within 10 psi of each other. (bad valve adjustment can affect numbers) Check the u-joints. Go under the car and shake the driveline and half shafts to make sure the u-joint pockets are tight Check the hood door and hatch gaps. They should all be about the same gap and be parallel. Anything that's off usually means major body work Maintenance: Fluids, Engine / Tranny Check trany/diff/engine mounts. They go out when they get old. If there's a knock it's probably a mount or the ujoints Valve adjustment is critical on those engines Keep the points fresh and a spare set in the car. Check how old the tires are. If their 10+years old, replace them even if they have a bunch of tread wideglideleon and vtecchippy like this. __________________ \|RIP\|6spd-sport\|OSG-LSD\|XP8\|RBF600\|Eibach Sways\|RE-71R\|FI-34Row\|Gen3-CAI\|Yaw P.S.\|

10-05-2017, 02:56 PM	#3 (permalink)
280z/300zx Track Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Nevada Posts: 689 Drives: 280z, 300zx, Vette Rep Power: 272	As mentioned above, check for rust. Fenders, side sills, spare tire well, under battery tray, firewall, floor pans, rails. With price on these old Z's a lot of times it comes down to what it's worth to the right person. Some may argue a mint condition 280zx is worth 10k but may find that most people aren't willing to pay more than 5k. Also non turbo's and automatics are notoriously worth less. So..... Assuming it's a mint condition, all original, good running car for a non-turbo automatic that you don't need to do anything to, I'd say it would be worth about 5-6k. With that as a base point start reducing value for any issues the car may have. I'd say on the low end you'd be looking about 3k if there was minor rust or mechanical/interior issues. Also I'd caution you as to what your plans for the car would be. A car like this you would have to think long and hard about modifying but then again from what it sounds like you may not be happy with a automatic Z. I'll tell you, it will be slow and a bit on the boring side. However for an old Z enthusiast it wouldn't matter. From personal experience my 300zx is a non turbo auto but it was my first Z and it does have a few mods on it for power. I love the car and enjoy driving but it's a cruiser. My 280z on the other hand is more heavily modified and manual tranny. That's the car I like to rip up the roads with and have fun. All I'm saying is make sure if you get the car you understand what you're getting into. vtecchippy likes this. __________________ 77 280z, 82 280zx, 84 300zx, 2021 C8 Z51 09 370z sport/touring -RIP// 10 370z NISMO - sold

10-05-2017, 05:37 PM	#4 (permalink)
MicVelo Base Member Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Northern California Posts: 16 Drives: Z33 - S30 - SRL311 Rep Power: 9	All totally good advice above. ^^^ Let me add a couple of minor things. As an investment car, not so great. The S130 lags behind ALL other generations of Z cars in appreciation rate. The highest ones are obviously the Series I and II S30, followed by Z32 turbos, and right behind that, the Z33 Nismo (jury's still out on the Z34N since its still made.) In and around those are the limited edition Z31 models - Anniversary, Shiro. Everything else hovers around "fair appreciation". However, as a "project"/just-fun-to-have car, the ZX isn't bad. It's the emotional successor to the S30, after all. The only things weighing the S130 down is lack of power and in this case, the auto. trans. But consider this, the S30 (yes Gen 1, no typo) was "manual ready"; that is, the holes for mounting a clutch master and the pedal box have the component accommodation built into every S30 so swapping to a manual was a matter of securing the parts (master, slave, tranny, speedo cable and the hardest thing to find, the pedal box containing the manual's brake and clutch pedals) and R&R of the existing in favor of the manual gear. But warning: Despite my having owned every gen Z BUT this one, I can't verify if what I said above carries to the ZX so check up on that if you plan to convert. But in my totally unbiased estimation , any Z in the garage is better than NO Z anywhere on your property. Zbrah and vtecchippy like this. __________________ Mic's: Z33, S30, SRL-311, SL55, Highlander-H / Gone: Z33 & Z34 Nismos, Z33-Rdstr, Z31 Shiro (R.I.P.), Z32, Q45, 5-S30s, D-Prod SRL311 and a bunch of other non-Nissans.

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10-09-2017, 09:27 AM	#5 (permalink)
vtecchippy Base Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: Knoxville, TN Posts: 106 Drives: 2011 370Z Rep Power: 9	Thank you all for the advice. To clarify on my intentions if I do buy the car, it would be left in stock form. As you've pointed out, I'm well aware that the 240/280z is a much better platform for modding, swapping, etc. But if he sells this at a yardsale price, I'd pick it up if nothing else to to flip. The price and presence of rust, or lack thereof, will be the two main deciding factors. The car does run as he called me and told me his brother, who has maintained the car since their father's passing, has started and driven the car and will be getting the motor checked up. He also said if I'm serious about purchase, I can come grab it and take it wherever I like for examination. I have an excellent detailing and body shop that did paint correction on my 370Z that I'd have go over every inch of the car and give me a report on rust, paint condition, etc. To sum it up, I don't sit and search for these cars, but if one pops up at a solid deal, I'm always open to getting it. Just don't want to lose money on it, even if I don't come out making any either. I've always wanted a Z with a bit more heritage to it, since the only ones I've owned are 350/370z models. I'll keep everyone updated! He should be back in town today, and I'll schedule a time to go see it. If nothing else I told him I'd help him get it sold once a solid value and selling price has been determined.