A 280Z inspected by me, 'might seal the deal on this one.

[EScanlon]

When the Z is finished-you WILL neglect the Benz-it is after all, just another steel box with wheels! The Z knows this and the Benz knows this-there is no tension, only a growing sense of German engineered dread...

Will

PRICELESS!!!

[bemmerguy714]

PRICELESS!!!

Well i like them both finished or not. The benz with its luxury/performace and the z for its looks (i cant say performace because i never been able to drive it yet. But we'll see).

[DatsunZsRule]

So you found a Z huh? congratulations. Not many yung teens are as lucky as you to have a car like a classic Z. Reason being is because they are not cheap hobbies for one thing What hobby is

Anyways sounds like a good one. Did you happen to look at the floor pans and rails really good while you were under it??? Rust is the worst like everyone else has stated. The rough, idle could be solved by just giving it a GOOD thorough tune up. Plugs, wires, cap, rotor, fuel filter ect. You should consider flushing the cooling system good because who knows when that was last done? Along with changing the diff. fluid and servicing the transmission. I recommend Redline MT-90 for the trans. It's awesome stuff. As for oil I use 10W30 in mine. Mine is a garaged beauty so my baby gets tucked away during winter and the 10W30 works good when I go to throw the battery in her once in a while during winter to start it in my garage. Also works well in our warm summers also. When you do tune her up, I recommend NGK plugs. The Z's do the best on those. Nissan used them as there factory plugs. The ones you will need are the B6ES.

By the way, be careful learning how to drive a manual with your Z :nervous: Sure would suck to do something to the clutch or tranny on your "new" Z I'd practice on another car if you have the option. If not, then just take your time and be careful.

Once again, congrats and like Alex 240Z said "Good luck kid and "Enjoy the Ride" !!!!!!!"

[beandip]

bemmerguy714 I hope you were not in the garage when you typed that remark about the ''luxury/performance'' statement ! If you were you might just as well hang on the sign and put her on craig's list . She won't ever forgive you . What is the asking price ?? KdMatt reread DatsunzRule's post again. You see he is one of the unbelivers that left his Debit card on the console. He has the virus and is infected . To late there is no cure for the Z infection. Did you see the list of stuff his Z told him to buy for her ? :laugh: Like Scanlon said be cool and treat her right and enjoy the ride . Welcome . Gary

[EScanlon]

When I posted my "Priceless!" comment.....I was actually referring to Will's comment........... :cheeky:

E

[bemmerguy714]

When I posted my "Priceless!" comment.....I was actually referring to Will's comment........... :cheeky:

E

I know. i'm just messin with u. :laugh: Although I doubt like a "true new z owner" i will take all of your guys advice. I would hate to learn the hard way.

MaTt

[KDMatt]

Ahh... soo much to respond to...

... KdMatt reread DatsunzRule's post again. You see he is one of the unbelivers that left his Debit card on the console. He has the virus and is infected . To late there is no cure for the Z infection. Did you see the list of stuff his Z told him to buy for her ? :laugh: Like Scanlon said be cool and treat her right and enjoy the ride . Welcome . Gary

Thanks Gary,

Yeah, I know, I was all worried for a sec... but hey, maybe it's a Minnesota thing? Snow makes us paranoid about our cars (regardless of make, model, or year). My Z is never going to see snow if I have anything to say about it though...

Speaking of which, DatsunZsRule: Whereabouts are you again in MN? I think I remember you said it before, but now I can't remember. It'd be cool to try to get a cruise organized between the MN people here and on the ZOOM forum.

Not a cheap hobby eh? I know plenty of other young(er) guys (and gals) with less money that have cars that are (supposedly) older and less reliable. I think I'm probably gonna end up getting off pretty cheap.

I guess it's only "uncheap" if ya can't live with a lot of minor flaws in your Z, eh? Yours is pristine, mine's not... and that's the way I plan to keep it for a while.

Wow... it feels so good to say the word "my" in context with "Z" ... After saying it so many times... the reality of it is finally hitting me... I'm so excited!

... going off-topic...

When I go back and think about it... it's a pretty interesting story to think of how I got into Z's in the first place.

Every year I go up north to a lake resort with my extended family, and for a few years running, it was my yearly tradition to build a model. Well, the local hardware store has a pretty imfamous reputation of having a rather 'dry' selection of cars to build... so, one year when I went in there I was getting very depressed because it seemed like there weren't any interesting looking cars to build, but, suddenly an orange looking one jumped out at me, the box read "Datsun 240Z."

I looked at it, intrigued, "Datsun 240Z? What the heck is that?" Well, seeing as it was the most interesting looking model they had, I bought and starting making it... Ironically, I thought Silver was a very becoming color on it, and decided to paint it just that, not knowing that just a few years from then I'd have a Z in that color.

The model came with a little booklet that very briefly explained the history of the car... and then of course I realized that Datsun was actually Nissan... and suddenly everything had a little more perspective.

Anyway... long story short... the weather got crappy and I never finished the model (it's still sitting unfinished somewhere in our house... I need to find it for sure now!)... but after I came home, I told my dad that I really liked the 240Z, and that some day I'd like to have one. He considered that for a moment before suggesting, "Or, how about a 280Z?" Now, this was before either of us knew anything about these cars, and he only spouted '280' because he basically figured that since 280 was a higher number, a 280Z was therefore "better" than a 240Z.

Well after that... my serious interest in Z's sort of tapered off, but a 280Z remained on my huge list of "Cars to Own Before I die" ... it wasn't until March/April that my interest in Z's was re-aroused... I was then stunned to see a red one for sale near my school... and the rest is pretty much history, I immersed myself in everything I could learn about Z's and then decided I was ready to have one... So there ya have it folks, that's KDMatt in a nutshell.

[beandip]

Hay Sports Fans ! This Guy Is A Gonner . He Has A Worse Case Of Z Fever Than I First Thought . Might As Well Sitck In The Fork Because He Is D O N E !!

[KDMatt]

Hay Sports Fans ! This Guy Is A Gonner . He Has A Worse Case Of Z Fever Than I First Thought . Might As Well Sitck In The Fork Because He Is D O N E !!

Wha?

Mwa?

Z-fevah?

Nevah!

[Alex 240Z]

When that Z Fever strikes you are Hooked forever !!!!!!! He is definitely a goner !!!!!!

[DatsunZsRule]

Any Z owner that loves there Z as if it was there child (I'm proudly guilty) is going to spend $$$$ on it. Thats just the cold hard fact PERIOD You may say you won't now but believe me, YOU WILL. Sometimes you don't have a choice. You will throw money at it just to get the necessary stuff taken care of. Like your rough running condition your experiencing for example. You will learn very quickly how fast the dollars add up just to do the simple stuff that need to be done. 6 plugs, wires, cap, rotor, fuel filter,PCV Valve, air filter, oil, oil filter, gear oil to change trans. and differential, anti-freeze to flush & refill the cooling system, New 180 degree T stat and gasket if needed. I bet she will be in need of new lower/upper radiator hoses and lets not forget about those rubber fuel hoses that crack overtime. Want me to keep going??? :laugh: I guess the point I'm trying to make is wheather or not you want to dump alot of money in it, sometimes she won't give you a choice because the basic routine stuff like I mentioned above will need attention and if you do neglect the simple routine stuff, it will end up costing you not only more $$$ but also more nightmares.

Plus, you said your not going to drive it in the winter Correct??? Good. Otherwise old man winter will do a number on her body That means you then need to go out and buy a winter car and carry liability on that. Unless your parents have a spare car that there nice enough to let you use. See how fast your money can go.

Even on a mint Z, there is no shortage of things to do. YOUR NEVER DONE Sorry if I'm raining on the parade here Just telling it like it is.

Where in Minnesota am I? In the St.Paul area (Cottage Grove, MN.)

For now man, just enjoy your Z. Do whats only needed to get her running good so you can feel the Z's full potential Don't feel like you have to do everything all at once, but also don't think it will be a cheap hobby. If you think that, your kidding yourself. :laugh:

Take care.

[KDMatt]

I actually am not getting a winter car. I'm going to be living on campus while in college, and for all intensive purposes I won't need a car (besides parking is too damn expensive).

The point I was making to my dad during the 'deliberation' process was this: That fact that I should only drive it in the summer doesn't matter because no matter what kind of car I have, it makes no sense to take it to school with me, so therefore I might as well have one that is intended for summer use only.

All I've gotta do is make sure I'm storing it someplace before November hits, since that's when winter officially starts here as you and I well know... then, depending on when the snow melts for good (mid-May?) I'll juice her back up and take her on the road once more.

Anyway, I'll just play it by ear, and replace stuff as the need comes. I'm a paranoid driver; the minute something even sounds 'off' I check it out or have it checked out. I've got tons of buddies who are more engine savvy than me that I'm sure are more than willing to come and do a checkup on such a cool, classic car.

My only 'breakdown' concerns are from a safety standpoint, i.e. master cylinder, clutch master cylinder, parts like that. So yeah, I'm not too worried about this car being a major headache. I'd probably be facing a bigger mountain of problems if my grandfather had had his way and I'd gotten a Buick, Lincoln, or Cadillac.