I agree with the sentiments and opinions posted above, though if you do get yourself a Z car (regardless of year) you will need to swap your vehicles. Take the Blazer back up north, and keep the Z for SLO. Trust me, you will love the drive up Highway One (you will never take 101 or I-5 ever again, as long as you have the Z...

i think you are right, and have been thinking about that for a while, becuase i registered the blazer down here in Sept. and that cost alot,

concerning HWY 1, that would be a fun drive, i did it in the blazer in june with a buddy in his jeep on our way to Baja for a month of camping/exploring. it was not much fun on 6" lift, 37's and no swaybars (to get articulation off road you know). that does sound tempting and will require a good deal of thought.

i am going to take my time looking and learn lots by the time summer rolls around and i get serious about finding another car, but it will be difficult if a particularly handsome and cheap Z comes up here or in WA not to jump on it

That Craigslist posting doesn't have a single "."

It says "2.8" but other than that, nothing!

i would rather drive a piece of work but unique and fun car than a civic

, could just do what I did and buy a Prelude

Naw, I love my Z (and secretly I probably spend more money on toys for her than any other car would warrant) ... but you still can't beat the $600 Honda I bought, has all of the qualities you describe... very unique (not many 3rd gen Preludes around, especially with 4-wheel steering... 'wish I had that), fixer-upper, but pretty steadfast even in bad weather ... front wheel drive is a bit of a bugger though, but nice in the snow ... oh and having lots of microchips is a definite let-down, not as easy to diagnose broken stuff as it would be with a Z, but still...

Good luck on your search... You know, if finding a Z doesn't work out (and I sure hope it does) ... could keep an eye out for an old first-gen Prelude? Hell, maybe even a Datsun B210 hatch? ... or maybe an old Rx7? ... I've seen a lot of decent RX7's in particular go for very little amounts of money...

although i like the styling of the older z's, i think i may have found an 85 300zx w/ t-tops that is within my budget. after discussing my quandry with my girlfriends dad, he mentioned a guy from work was selling a zx and would get me some pictures and a phone number early next week

i realize this forum is dedicated to the early z's but what do you guys think/know about these cars?

rick

although i like the styling of the older z's, i think i may have found an 85 300zx w/ t-tops that is within my budget. after discussing my quandry with my girlfriends dad, he mentioned a guy from work was selling a zx and would get me some pictures and a phone number early next week

i realize this forum is dedicated to the early z's but what do you guys think/know about these cars?

rick

Well the mid/late 80's ZXs are quite a bit different than our Z's ... for one thing they share no common drive-train components. For the 3rd-gen Z Nissan fashioned a V6, though it was quite fast in its day ... I believe in '84 the 300zx was called the fastest import car of the year, hitting a top speed near 150 mph or something like that? Someone will have to correct me on this.

If you can (and I realize you have few choices in the matter), avoid the digital gauges and automatic transmission ... those are just failings waiting to happen... in fact, the more you can avoid automatic/electrical things, the better.

This site has some pretty decent info, worth looking at:

http://www.beaterreview.com/?p=21

Also found this one after poking around...

http://www.beaterreview.com/?p=35

There is also www.z31.com. You might want to poke around their forums for what to look out for.

Have you considered looking around for an old Toyota Corolla?