My 17 year old son just purchased a 83 280ZX for his first ride. Auto,air,t-tops and 200k. Car is mostly orig with just a repaint and some mediocre interior work. Runs very good and is a pretty much completely rust and frame damage free. AC has an issue,bushings are worn and that orig radio and speakers has to go. Suspension,exhaust,intake,audio and wheels and tires are his priority. Don't want a rocket ship or canyon carver,just a fun reliable good looking ZX. I'm a traditional musclecar guy but always liked the Z cars more than any other import. Any info/website/supplier/general help much appreciated.

Nice car! That's way cooler than anything I drove in high school.

That's a good looking car! He'll enjoy that for many miles.

Much cooler then a beat-up Civic. Obviously we think your son is a very cool 17 year old.

He is a very lucky kid. Paid with his own cash too. He found it online on a Tuesday and we drove 90 miles on Saturday and bought it. He only passed his road test today!! First up is a set of bushings all around,and getting rid of that cassette deck and radio. Thanks for the positive feedback y'all.

Any recc's on parts websites or any resources better than others??

My best luck/prices has been rockauto.com and amazon.com. If you have an Advance Auto close by buy their stuff online and use coupon codes from retailmenot.com, sometimes you can get $10 off for every $25 spent, then pick it up at the store, no shipping charges. Also your local Nissan dealer. Bring the parts guy a cheeseburger & fries and you'll have a friend for the life of the Z. They used that motor up to the '84 Maxima I believe, so parts a plenty!

Congrats and welcome to the club.

My advice is to take a good look at all the wear items. Bushings, belts, brakes, mounts, etc. Get the car safe first. I would not worry about the engine too much. Likely an engine with 200k that is running well, will keep running well for a while anyway. It has reached a point of stability and 'seasoning'

Also, a complete fluid flush would be a good idea... coolant, oil, BRAKE FLUID, trans and diff would be a great start to your rejuvination. It will also get you familiar with the car at the same time.

one last thing.

T-tops are very cool. Time for your son to grow a stand alone mustache!