hey everyone, im anthony. im 16 and will be getting my license in august and will hopefully have enough money to buy my first car. i would really like to get either a 240 or 280 but im not sure if that would be a good choice, which is why i am here to find out.

i have been lurking around this forum and rust seems to be the biggest issue with these cars. i know that the only way to get rid of the rust these 30+ year old cars have is to tear it down and replace the rust with sheet metal, but im wondering if it really is that bad to drive a rusty car. i mean, will it fall apart on me? dont get me wrong, i would love to tear the car down and get rid of all of the rust but i want this car to be my daily driver and i am not mechanically inclined to restore it.

feel free to share any information or tips that will help me out.

I'd stay with a 280Z opposed to a 280ZX, less complicated and confusing engine bay. The ZX has too many wires and extra pipping IMO trying to met the ever increasing smog laws which got stricter each year. A good Z shouldn't cost more than 4 grand for starters. Out here in Cali you can find one as low as 2 grand only cause we have way more of them. Search a thread called "Fuel Injection Port Blocked Solid", thats what happened to my car. Like I said booty crack wrong. Any engine builder would have known not to do that. That one problem basically killt the whole car. Had I known what I know now, from working on my Z myself and there by learning all my mechanical skills on it, I would have spotted the problem to begin with before I bought it for $2,000. But that was an EXTREMLY RARE worse case scenario. About only time that has happened in fact.

Edited April 1, 201014 yr by WingZr0

Parts are cheap on a Z. Biggest mechanical things you'll find is a newly rebuilt engine, if you need it, is 2 to $3,500 with some slight performance mods , new trans and diff about $200 each and a whole new performance clutch for 350 to $600. I only need a ten to twenty dollar input shaft seal to fix my Trans so ain't like it blew up. Not trying to scare you, we just want you to be aware . Z's are SUPER FUN to drive, you'll find the seats are the most comfortable you'll ever sit in and you'll pull more Chics at Starbucks than you will mochas .

Edited April 1, 201014 yr by WingZr0

Anthony, you and your friends need to go to this, or get Dad to take you, a once in a lifetime event.

http://classicmotorsports.net/events/mitty-2010/

All of my wrenching experience came from a 1 year High School automotive class. We (6) took a tired old 283 Chevy and put a complet overhaul on it. It sure helped to understand how all those rotating parts are kept from hitting each other.

At 14, in April of 1970, a new orange Datsun 240Z smoked its tires across the gas station lot I was working at. I was impressed! That was the first import car I'd ever seen do that. Seven years later I bought Bonzi.

Bonzi Lon

My first car was a 1986 Honda Civic DX that I bought from my parents for $800. It got me to and from school, and to work. It had 140K miles when I got it, and it was usually unreliable. Lots of little rituals I had to perform every morning to make sure it didnt stall at a light (those tiny 1.5L were carb'd back then and finicky).

So youre in highschool and you want your first car as a Z...I sold my 260Z to a kid in highschool about 2 years ago. His father wanted to do a father-son build so I was ok with selling it to him. It ran reliably and was mechanically sound...but it had serious rust issues but they assured me they could weld and had the ability and know-how to fix its body issues. I also confirmed that the kid had a job, and that he was committed to investing in my 260Z. I was not willing to sell it to just anyone, it had to go to a good home.

Take John Coffey's advice. Sit in on a couple of local Z club meetings. Find a member that is willing to help you with picking out a solid car, or you might even find a member that has one for sale for the right price. Although I think a lot of people on this forum are truly passionate about Z's, not every Z owner is on this forum. Not everyone that has a Z for sale is going to disclose everything when trying to sell or make sure that the buyer and the car is a good match.

Trying to restore a Z is NOT cheap. Trying to fix a Z is usually not cheap (unless you get really creative and are a good junkyard hunter). If you really want it as your first car, then go for it. Just be prepared that with your budget of 2-3K, in Georgia you will most likely find either:

A) A decent running Z with considerable rust or body damage

A relatively clean Z that doesnt run.

C) A cosmetically decent Z that runs rough, but has more issues than you realize (both mechanical and body)

If you want to learn how to work on cars, the S30 is one of the easiest cars to learn on. Everything is relatively straight forward, but sometimes trying to diagnose a sick Z is a collective community effort (hence this forum). If you dont really want to learn how to work on a car, and are unwilling to do work yourself, I dont think the Z is for you.

Good luck with your hunt, I hope you find a car that calls your name.

Edited April 2, 201014 yr by TBone028
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