Shopping for a 280Z, frame question

[scalveg]

After many years without a Z, I'm in the market for one.

I was looking at a 280Z earlier this evening that seemed to be in good shape, a few rust spots here and there, but nothing too scary.

However, I noticed when I was down under the car that the frame rails seem to have dents in them. I don't remember whether my old 240Z had this problem, but it seems unusual so I thought I would bring it up here.

The body panels on this car (other than a couple rusty spots) seem really good. The gaps seem good, and I didn't see anything under the hood or under the rear to make me think there was any kind of Bondo nightmare going on. I did remember to take my magnet, and as far as that test goes it also seemed to indicate nothing awful going on.

The car drove great (other than the diff mount seems shot, surprise!).

Let's see if I can describe the frame rail issue. It looked almost like the car had been driven over a road made from 6-inch logs, and some of the logs had bounced up and hit the frame. The dents seemed about 1/8 or 3/16 high. They were all along both rails. There were no sharp corners to the dents, and no rust was visible on them.

The frame rails should be straight and smooth, right? This isn't the way they are supposed to look, is it?

Does anyone have any idea what might have happened to this car to cause this strange stuff?

Would I be crazy to buy it?

Thanks for any advice!

[=Enigma=]

Mine have several dents in them as well and I think it's a combination of one or two hits from below from road debris, and the others are from grease monkeys putting the thing up on lifts/jacks. Not the right thing to do but anyone unfamiliar with the cars could easily make that mistake.

[Carl Beck]

Dented frame rails are typical. You'll find perhaps one out of forty that aren't dented. Over the years people do run over parking lot stops, other people put lift pads under the wrong part of the frame rails and other things get ran over on the highway...

It's nice to find a first generation Z with prefect frame rails... but actually it is unusual.

Are you crazy to buy it?... depends on the overall condition of the car and how much it costs...

FWIW,

Carl B.

[scalveg]

Ah of course, putting it on the lift or jacking it in the wrong place. That seems totally plausible.

I've been shopping for this car for literally years, and the price vs condition seems very fair to me compared to most of the ones I've seen for sale.

Hi Carl! I remember you from either IZCC or ZONC from when I had my first Z these many years ago. Looking forward to chatting with you more once I make the deal!

Then I get to prioritize all the things that need to be done...

Thanks as always for the advice.

[conedodger]

Nice one for sale on the ZONC site. I think it might be in Roseville just outside of Sac... Check it out. Big miles but looks like new.