The Craigslist post had so little information I almost didn't call the guy.

1977 DATSUN 280Z...RUNS GOOD, HEW HEAD...$2500/OBO

I watched the ad for a couple of weeks. Then it went away and popped up again. Finally I decided "what the heck?" and called. The guy was nice, straightforward, and informative. It was a 2-seater, manual transmission. I went to check it out, and was impressed. It had a few problem spots, but was generally solid.

The guy said he'd get it smogged the next day. It is the law in California that you have to have a used car smogged to sell it, but it's also pretty common that folks put 'AS IS' in their ad and sell it anyway.

It took more than a day to get it smogged, but eventually it all worked out and now it's MINE ALL MINE!

The law is somewhat vague. You can read it that way, i.e. that it's the buyer's responsibility but due to the fact that all car sales in California are considered to be 'as-is' unless otherwise stated, the buyer will always end up having to get it smogged in order to complete the change of ownership. The seller generally speaking can wash his hands of all of that as soon as the paperwork is completed. All of that being said, congratulations on your purchase. You'll enjoy her as I enjoyed my recently sold 78 for almost 12 years. One nice thing about them is once everything is dialed in they'll always pass smog. Mine never failed a smog test in all the years I owned it.

Texas is not a strict as California (of course) and once a car is 25 or older it does not need to pass the smog test. Which is fine because most people with 25 year old cars are nuts like us and we keep them tuned up to the point that they would pass as brand new.

The California law is that cars six or less model years old for original owners, four or less model years old on a transfer, or 1975 year model or older do not need to be smog tested.

That is a pretty red Z!

Congratulations and welcome to the Z owning community!

Will

25 years ago when I bought my first nice Z, I went to Atlanta to visit my sister and to search for a Z car. I had one week to find a car, buy it and drive it back to Ohio. After reading dozens of ads and looking at car after car that was not as advertised, the day before I had to head back, I found an ad that simply said "'76 280Z, good cond $2500". It had no picture and was burried in the wrong section of the weekend paper. I had low hopes for the car, but I called just in case it was worth looking at. The guy said it was an automatic which turned me off right away, but I took a chance and went to look at it. It turned out to be a very clean car that ran great, but it was an auto and had ugly, sun faded white interior. I bought it anyway and drove it 750 miles home the next morning.

Once home, I swapped the trans for a 4 speed and bought a black interior for it. It turned out to be a great car that I kept for quite a few years.

I have learned not to believe anything a seller says. Not only does that apply to over hyped claims, but under hyped ones as well.

Great find scalveg!

Edited June 28, 200915 yr by Jeff G 78

Congrats on a nice looking find and welcome to the site.

Nice car! And its the right color! Looks like you got a great deal.

Congrats and good luck

Another local owner! Congrats on your find, it looks really clean!

Nice. I have found it pretty rare for the sight shield in the front to still be in place. By now most of these cars have tapped something in the front and people have not bothered to find a sight shield to replace the bent up one...

California law may be vague as written but as applied, the seller must smog the car. But if you don't insist, DMV is not going to bat for you...

It's a good "20 foot car"

But all the pieces are there (although some of them are in the back, not installed)

I just got back from getting some keys made; I am not sure if it has different locks, or if the keys have just undergone divergent evolution over the years. One key opens the driver's side door and the rear hatch and barely the ignition. This one is also about to break in half. The other one opens the passenger side door and also the ignition.

I'll be taking off the center console first thing to work on the shifter and e-brake boots, and put in a working radio. I can live without AC, but I have to have a radio!

Nice. I have found it pretty rare for the sight shield in the front to still be in place. By now most of these cars have tapped something in the front and people have not bothered to find a sight shield to replace the bent up one...

Rob--what's a sight shield?