Purchasing 1975 280z please help (pics)

[LeonV]

Unknown. You still need to crawl under the car and check the usual spots for rust. It's not promising, though. It's been sitting for 10 years in a non-running state.

How much are you willing to spend to make it run? IMHO if you want to make one of these cars run cheap then you need a lot of knowledge and I mean specific Z-car knowledge not shade-tree mechanic knowledge. If you don't have the knowledge then you need a lot of money.

Agreed.

You will not find an "exceptional" Z for $2k. It may look great, but will likely have some (i.e. a lot) of serious flaws. If not, you got lucky.

[RoCa]

Agreed.

You will not find an "exceptional" Z for $2k. It may look great, but will likely have some (i.e. a lot) of serious flaws. If not, you got lucky.

Definitely lucky those guys are. I've seen Z's go for under 2k around here in the tri-valley area. Either "sacrifice" sale or just didn't know how much they were worth. Last one that only lasted 19min on Craigslist was a garage find for 2k. Here I am refreshing my searches every 5min.

[ZohanIsBack]

Pictures are horrible, but that one might actually be pretty good. Would have to trailer, though. If I needed another project...............

1972 DATSUN 240Z

[LeonV]

Pictures are horrible, but that one might actually be pretty good. Would have to trailer, though. If I needed another project...............

1972 DATSUN 240Z

Wow, those are some fantastic photos, bet they don't hide a thing...

[ZohanIsBack]

, some people just don't have good cameras... The last car I bought had photos like that. Guy just had an archaic phone. Anyway, you can always try to get better ones, but for a mostly original 240z that you can probably snag for $700 and probably been sitting in CA, it's definitely NOT something I would rule out that fast. The guys with the best pictures and all the details are the ones who want top dollar. This guy wants a car that's been a PITA for the last 20 years gone. I'd rather work with him.

[LeonV]

, some people just don't have good cameras... The last car I bought had photos like that. Guy just had an archaic phone. Anyway, you can always try to get better ones, but for a mostly original 240z that you can probably snag for $700 and probably been sitting in CA, it's definitely NOT something I would rule out that fast. The guys with the best pictures and all the details are the ones who want top dollar. This guy wants a car that's been a PITA for the last 20 years gone. I'd rather work with him.

I agree, I just seem to get surprised by people's laziness every time.

[ZohanIsBack]

Ugg, I hear ya... People expecting to sell $h!t on CL and either pass it off as gold turds or have the worst ads....ever. I met a guy who wanted $1800 for a 1998 Nissan Pathfinder with a shot interior, tires balder than my grandfather's head, a really bad pulley whine/transmission whine, and the worst pull to the right I've ever felt. He said 4x4 worked great. I asked if he would go any lower. He said price was firm. I said goodbye. You can get a suzuki samurai or a pre-smog 4x4 with less problems for that.

[RoCa]

*Update*

Finally got one!

Picked her up about 3hrs away, traded my Honda Rebel bobber + 1k for this 1975 280z with 30k on newer motor swap. Running condition with clogged cat, dings and dents, faded paint but no rust whatsoever. Interior is complete with a new dash and original leather seats with only one tear (size of a quarter). Barely any oil leaks.

Broke down after 2 1/2 hrs of smooth driving (almost made it home) due to heater hose resting on the block which caused it to pop or maybe just old hose. Thanks to the diner that let us park all night to come pick it up the next day. Good thing NAPA auto parts is just a couple of blocks away. Replaced the hose and filled her up with coolant and started running like a champ again.

Broke down again 15 min away from home, filled the road with white smoke. Seems that the a hose from the radiator came off from the coolant reservoir and other things. Fixed and ran perfect again.

Made it home and friend drove it to his place for tuning and part replacements about the 1 1/2 hours away and drove smoothly.

[Jeff G 78]

It looks like you got a great platform to start from. If the underbody is really 100% rust free, nothing else matters.

[RoCa]

It looks like you got a great platform to start from. If the underbody is really 100% rust free, nothing else matters.

you know what Jeff, I haven't really checked that out. I'm afraid to even look since everything seems to be rust free. I will take a look as soon as possible. I did check under the carpet though to see the condition of the floor pans and they are fine.

[Jeff G 78]

RoCa, look closely behind each front wheel where the Tension/Compression rod attaches to the body. There is a doubler plate on the outside of the rail and it is the first place most Z cars rust. If that looks like new, the rest of the car will likely be clean too. More often than not, the undercoating will be cracked and some form of rust will have crept in. In the case of most Eastern cars, there is a large hole through the sheetmetal.

[tamo3]

Congratulation RoCa for getting nice white Z!