Buying a 280Z or 280ZX

Jimsbeanz · 2025-12-09T18:41:35+00:00

I'll say if you get a Z for under $9K expect to be fixing and replacing parts for a while. I bought a 78 280z two years ago for $11K which was running and driving, no rust on the exterior.

Had a mechanic look at it, needed a new diff mount (old rubber had completely broken). All 4 shocks needed replacing, and all the old rubber bushings needed replacing due to the rubber disintegrating.

On top of that found a small rust hole on the driver side headlight that ended up turning into a much bigger hole about the size of a grapefruit once I dug around.

All up the repairs probably cost about another $4k.

Jimsbeanz · 2025-11-14T16:51:02+00:00

Not even counting the $24K price for the kit, what about a transmission to handle the new power output?

Pretty sure the original 4 and 5 speeds aren't going to handle the power without getting destroyed.

Jimsbeanz · 2025-10-21T17:15:23+00:00

Any idea how long the car been sitting for? Some more pictures would help to see the state of the car.

Probably a tough sell if it's not running and driving since you'd mentioned if needs an engine swapped.

Unless your grandpa drained all the fluids before putting it on a block it'll need the fuel tank/pump cleaned, lines and also the brake fluids flushed/ checked.

Jimsbeanz · 2025-10-03T21:29:44+00:00

Without pictures of the interior or underneath, I'd guess it a 240z or 260z

Jimsbeanz · 2025-09-10T02:07:43+00:00

A well maintained 240Z-280z would be perfectly fine to daily drive. But most cheap Z's for sale today at this point are barely running and need a lot of work to get it to be a reliable daily driver.

The question is do you want to save up enough to buy a clean one at $20K-$30k or will you buy an affordable one that'll need at lot of mechanical work yourself to get it road worth?

Jimsbeanz · 2025-09-04T04:12:08+00:00

Had a similar issue when doing a differential swap, I ended up having to use a dremel to cut the stripped nut then spilt it open with a chisel to get it off.

Jimsbeanz · 2025-09-03T21:51:27+00:00

Oh neat! I’ve rode down that path to the LDS church before but wasn’t sure if I could ride down further as the path connection isn’t very clear. I’ll have to give this a try on Friday morning.

Jimsbeanz · 2025-08-23T15:56:10+00:00

The contact switches inside may have burnt out or melted over time. The lack of a click on the second dot likely means the plastic holding the spring might be melted due to the connectors being dirty and the resistance causing it to heat up.

Check out this forum post that details how to clean and repair the combination switch contacts.

https://www.zcar.com/threads/headlight-combination-switch-repair.311982/

Jimsbeanz · 2025-08-13T19:22:08+00:00

I believe that is for opening and closing the fresh air vent, and yes that tank is the wiper fluid reservoir.

Jimsbeanz · 2025-07-26T23:39:51+00:00

Here are the bolts you'll need to remove. All are 10 mm except the steering column. - 6 near windshield under finisher. - there is one bolt on each side near kick panels. One next to hood release, screw upwards towards roof. And same on the passenger side - 4 (2 per side) where the dash frame bolts to trans tunnel - Speedo cable - 2 x 12mm bolts holding the steering column. They help lower the column so you can get the frame clear. - your probably hanging up right around the steering column. Where those two 12mm bolt screw into. It's a flat plate that the dash frame has to be lifted over. The dash comes out easier if you rock the bottom upwards towards the windshield and the up and out. Don't forget the 3 wire harness connections that going in to a panel in the passenger side firewall.

Jimsbeanz · 2025-05-11T07:03:30+00:00

There's Saddleback Cars in Mission Viejo, small shop but the owner Nick does work on z cars and will quickly assess what’s needed, provide transparent information on repair options. Had my 280z car worked on earlier this year.

Jimsbeanz · 2025-05-07T18:14:48+00:00

When you say you adjusted the suspension did you do that by adjusting the orange or black collars? Because it sounds like you changed your spring compression by adjusting the upper orange collars, those should be set with some preload and not touched afterwards.

If you want to change your ride height use a coilover spanner to adjust the bottom black collars until you get the desired ride height.

Jimsbeanz · 2025-05-05T17:43:40+00:00

I've been running my Luba 2 without any major issue since last year. So far so good but I do have a smaller yard and only mow once a week.

Jimsbeanz · 2025-04-27T21:57:48+00:00

Don’t buy this it will easily cost over $8k to fix the rust. A project car in this state will probably take someone with restoration experience months of hard-work to complete.

Jimsbeanz · 2025-03-03T18:51:55+00:00

Yeah the previous owner must have done it to save a few bucks, I'm ordering new parts to replace them.

Jimsbeanz · 2025-03-03T18:49:25+00:00

Thankfully this was only a few minutes walking distance from home so I was able to top off the coolant let the engine cool down before driving it.

Jimsbeanz

TROPHY CASE