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Purchasing a Datsun 280z (or classic cars in general)
Bryse Eayo
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hey H/A: When I have the funds I'm looking at picking up one of the z cars from the 70s and I'm just looking to see what kind of hidden costs that might be associated with it. Does anyone know what a decent price is? I'm seeing 3k to 30k. Are there any quirks that I should be on the look out as well for?
Also has anyone had any experience insuring a car like that in Ontario?
For example is something like this: http://ottawa.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-classic-cars-1975-Datsun-Z-Series-280-Z-W0QQAdIdZ202310651 a good deal?
Also has anyone had any experience insuring a car like that in Ontario?
For example is something like this: http://ottawa.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-classic-cars-1975-Datsun-Z-Series-280-Z-W0QQAdIdZ202310651 a good deal?
Bryse Eayo on
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my two were such beaters I can tell you problems, but most of the issues were due to years of neglect. But hey I didn't pay more than $500 for the cars. Rust is a common one I see in these. Check it thoroughly for rust. and power windows, if it is there, then run them up and down a bunch of times as over time the internal components wear out and the windows get stuck inside the doors.
wish I could help more for info that wasn't a beater, but the only quirk I remember about the old 280's is they have a manual choke (adjustable lever) which is fun for those cold mornings where the car won't start so easily.
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Are you planning on working on it yourself or will you have to take it to a mechanic whenever it needs maintenance?
One of the things to look for on a car from that era is rust. This is especially true on these cars. Some of the places they like to rust are the wheel wells, suspension towers, rocker panels and door skins.
In my opinion the stock carburetors on these cars are a real pain to tune. That's easily fixed with aftermarket carbs, but that's not necessarily cheap.
One more cost that will creep in is the desire to make it faster.
I'm not really sure what the market for this type of car is up there, but 30k down here will buy you an immaculate specimen. You can find a pretty clean example for 6-10k in the US. The example you linked looks pretty clean from the pictures, but I'd still want to examine all of the common rust areas and check the paint thickness.
Another similar car that you may want to consider is the first generation Rx-7. They tend to be a little bit cheaper than the Z cars in fact there's a few very nice examples on the very site you linked.
1979 Rx-7
1984 Rx-7
They're typically done on 240Zs, and they are FUCK ALL FAST.
Is it wrong to basically want to buy one of these and drive it into the ground. I don't need it to go faster and faster, just run well and reliably for a few years before I buy another.
Say I haggle the guy and get it for 5k instead, should I not be surprised when the price doubles when the mechanic looks at it? I understand it's pretty much impossible to tell without the car in front of you.
I'm looking at these cause they are all sorts of bad ass but they're cheaper then the used Cobalt SSs and new Genesis coupes I've been looking at as well. But with it's age is it really going to be worth it?
The other problem with those cars in ontario especially is they rust like crazy. After the first winter i bet it will be rusty if it wasnt when you bought it.
Fun cars but id definitely look into getting something more modern and reliable as your daily driver (to work, school, around town) and picking one up as a "weekend car" or a pleasure cruiser.
Of course, if you wanna drop mad money and swap in a skyline or corvette engine, upgrade all the suspension, braking and steering bits and get it Krown coated twice a year, it will be pretty reliable. But youre looking at like 10-20k on top of whatever you pay for the car (cus if you cant fix it yourself, theres no way youre doing a skyline swap on the weekend...), plus maintenance, which puts you up into the price of much "better" cars.
Classic cars are fun but theyre always money pits, and they are definately not great for daily drivers unless youre jay leno and employ a full time mechanic and have your own fabrication shop to make parts...
*edit* oh yeah, if youre gonna customize it (engine swap, modernized suspension or steering components, etc), find a shop in your area that specializes in this kind of stuff. Joe the mechanic down on the corner might take the work, but hes probably never done anything like that in his career. There are shops that only do that kind of work, and theyre much better at it than the average mechanic that will work on it between oil changes.
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Again, not if you can't repair, restore and replace things yourself.
the fact is you will always be spending money on an old car, not $100 here $200 there, proper money. add a zero
I wanted to get an old car, so, so very badly, but the fact is it just wasn't possible.
I bought a classic motorcycle thinking it would be easy to service and maintain.
Well, it is easy to service, however finding parts is a complete pain in the ass to the point that I've basically given up, and will be selling it as-is to someone with more time, and picking up a much newer motorcycle.
Of course, I paid less than $2,000 for the bike and rode it for a year and a half straight before I ran into parts-sourcing problems, so financially it didn't end up hurting. What you're talking about is a much larger investment.
For a lot of classic cars, finding parts involves hitting the flea markets and digging through poorly sorted bins of junk. Not a good option for a car you need to run every day.
That said, things will break. Things will need to be replaced even if they're not broken. These cars take a lot more maintenance than a modern car. Generally you don't want to wait 5k or more to get your oil changed, valve trains will need to be adjusted a lot more often than on a modern car and carburetors need to be adjusted pretty much any time the season changes.
I too have an '85 Rx-7 GSL-SE. Finding a good online community will help wonders and for a lot of things you can get by with just some basic hand tools.
Yeah but when you need a new alternator today, so you can go to work and make money, you wont be able to call up partsource or napa (our two real choices in canada) and get it the same day (probably can get it within a week from the warehouse for most common stuff). Trawling forums and ebay and online sites for parts for your daily driver is not a fun option. Its much better to be able to run to partsource and have the part be in stock, or if youre going to a mechanic, for them to be able to get it same day so a dead alternator (or something similar) doesnt keep you off the road for a week, instead of 4 hours.
An 85 RX-7 is also way more popular than like, lets say a 72 Datsun 240Z. There are simply more of them on the road and more incentive for big parts suppliers to have parts in stock or at the very least quickly available.
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Eh what? Why the fuck would you do that when an RB25DET and five speed manual practically bolts straight in?
Z cars are fantastic, budget yourself about $10,000 - $15,000, depending on how handy you are with a toolbox, and how good you are at seeking out good second-hand bits (protip - Nissan car clubs!).
Get a car (in my opinion, 240 or 260 is the best looking) that's already been restored once with a clean straight body, a neat clean interior, and a fucked driveline. Then do the swap.
Basically the whole drivetrain and brakes out of a Skyline. Diff, gearbox and engine. A set of second-hand rebuilt coilovers, aftermarket rotors and pads in the brakes, some nice alloys with decent tyres, and you will never ever ever get rid of the car.
Seriously, you'll insist on being buried in it.
I absolutely agree that the Z's are awesome, but for your first car when you don't have the mechanical know-how to be fixing it yourself is a bit dodgy.
Gonna go with my standard first project car advice here - buy yourself a new-ish daily driver that you don't have to worry about, and then pick up a VW Beetle, or a Mustang, or a Camaro, or any flavor Jeep, as long as they're carbureted, and then learn your way around the car because parts and help guides are cheap and plentiful.
Dear god I hate carburettors. I hate them so much...
The Z cars are relatively uncommon in the UK because the bodies just dissolve in the UK climate. I'm guessing Canada would likely be similar?
I like carburettors so much more than fuel injection. I like troubleshooting my problems with a screw driver, not a multimeter and a laptop. Fuel injection is so much nicer on a newer daily driver car though, no issues.
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They have a HUGE problem with trapping water near the back wheels that will rust out the entire back half of your car.
I had a 79 280ZX, the first year Nissan took over completely, and it ran fine, but was completely rusted out. You couldn't even tell though until you pulled out the carpet.
Also, just so it doesn't look like I have a grudge because of one bad experience, in Auburn, AL there's a junk yard/garage where the owner exclusively stocks Datsun and Nissan Z parts and vehicles. He exclusively tuned and repaired them, and I was out there almost every weekend putting time and money into that car.
They're amazing cars with a lot of customization options for someone with a decent wallet, but as a first car, you're much better off with something like a Fox body Mustang, or even an old Fiat or MG or Alfa Romeo if you want the import feel.
The Z series suffer from a LOT of rust problems, just take it into consideration.
edit: a good alternative is the Diamond Star Motors line of cars. From like 89 to 93 they made the gen 1 series of the Mitsubishi Eclipse, Eagle Talon, and Plymouth Laser. It's the same car in every case, with turbo and awd options, and the absolutely amazing 4G63 engine which just begs to have about three hundred horsepower shoved into it. That was the most bulletproof engine I have ever seen in a production car, next to the 5.0 Liter Ford V8 and the Miata 4 cylinder