Advice on this 1980 on CL

[Johnny Danger]

New here, so this may be a total faux pas if the owner happens to be a member here. Apologies in advance.

So there is this '80 on CL. For the most part, it looks like it's been taken care of mechanically, but I'm thinking the bodywork might be hurting the value. Looks to be a kit that would be fairly involved to remove and go back to stock. I might not care. It might just stay that way. I'm not looking for a show car. Aftermarket seats would be easy to replace, but not necessary.

The only other thing I could think of is that year had either manual R&B or power recirculating ball steering. Again, this might not be a massive point.

Just looking for a fun driver to use and reduce miles on my expensive-ish new-ish family car.

https://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/d/datsun-280zx/6687929817.html

Also, it looks like the owner replaced a few parts, but the fuel pump, ignition, starter, alternator, etc. kind of makes me wonder if they were chasing a problem and whether or not they totally got it sorted.

[siteunseen]

If it's not to far I'd go drive it pretty hard for awhile looking for fuel problems, that's a good lower price. He shows no engine bay shots thought. Could be a color change with that kit? Should have power steering and windows. Not positive on that though read the Wikipedia page it may show?

Cheap Z if it runs out good.

[Johnny Danger]

Yeah, the wiki page says power recirculating ball or manual R&P. 1981 Turbos got Power R&P and then it went standard for all 82-83 models.

Honestly, it might not matter. If it were power recirculating ball, I'd probably just rock it for a while and then toy with a manual R&P conversion.

[Zed Head]

That body has been fairly heavily modified.  If he cut the fender wells for big tires the flares might be essentially permanent.  The tail light panel looks like it's from a different brand of car, the round lights aren't ZX at all.  Looks Toyotay.

The parts list just looks like general tune-up stuff.  Weird that the gas cap is missing in one of the pictures though.  Makes you think it's not a daily driver.

You'll spend a lot of time saying "I bought it this way"...

[Johnny Danger]

Yeah, the tail lights stick out for sure. I'm more worried that they are some expensive LED kit. I'm really a halogen kind of guy. I will have to look and see how easy it would be to convert back to stock. It also has HID's up front. I could take or leave those. They'd be converted right back to stock as soon as one of them had an issue.

I guess I have to weigh the deal vs. paying what seems to be 6k+ for a clean stock version.

Also, the upgraded A/C is kind of a huge point in it's favor. This is Texas.

[gwri8]

Personally,  the ZX stance has always bothered me the most, particularly in the 79 and 80 models for some unknown reason.  Maybe with some wider wheels and tires it might be more appealing in my world.  Anyway,  the point is that this car is kinda partway there as to that modification and some others if that was on your wish/to do list.  You know, if you were to "make it your own" kind of thing like that owner has done.  AC conversion is a big plus. Door panels and stereo look like an upgrade.  It's hard to tell the paint quality from the pictures. There is no easy/inexpensive going back to original tail lights and the fuzzy dash would be a no bueno IMO,  but that is cosmetic. I would do a hard look for rust even though the owner says different.  All the usual places plus the spare tire area.  No engine pics makes me curious.  There are worse ZX's out there and the price is good,  but if you preferred a un-modded daily car they are in that price range also and turn up CL and even FB marketplace fairly often. You would just need to search a little longer.   My two cents......

[JSM]

For $1000 to $1500 maybe. Those fender flares really need to be redone. That giant crack close to the body is it separating. 

Rust is critical on the lower rear suspension mounting points, around the windshield and the cowl. 

The Zx prices have risen, but it’s hard to find clean ones. If it were a stock turbo car it would have some value. If you can get it for the price I listed above, get it. Otherwise wait. I look at them from time to time and pass due to the rust  around windshield and cowl. Do they sell fast in TX?

This thing  has been there for months and months with no takers. Need paint, but looks pretty clean  

https://orlando.craigslist.org/cto/d/1983-datsun-280zx/6668673801.html

Its a shame this one had rust. To me even $2800 is to much for the condition. 

https://gainesville.craigslist.org/cto/d/1982-datsun-280zx-turbo/6687618101.html

Edited September 11, 2018 by JSM

[Johnny Danger]

Ok, I don't think 1500 is a fair price at all given the (presumed) mechanical soundness. From what I can tell people are basically selling parts cars for that much money.

Every really clean stocker I have seen is basically 6k minimum. Do you think I should just ring them up and see if they'll take 4k? I could always give it a shot, but I don't think it would go over well.

At this point, the tail lights are the only thing holding me back. I didn't realize how expensive stock tail lights were. I could probably roll with round lights for now, but might look into going to halogen lights.

[JSM]

Your money. Don’t offer a thing until you see it. That’s my opinion  

Really check how those flares are mounted. 

[Johnny Danger]

For sure, I'm kind of hoping they're bolt on style flares that someone thought it would be a great idea to bondo over. That would be easier to rectify, but I'm actually digging the lines of the fender flares. I also kind of like the non T-top as several less potential leak points.

 

You've inspired me, though. I found a clean silver '83 for 5300. I'm going to text a $4k offer and see how many middle finger emojis I get back.

[Captain Obvious]

Do you know your last name is almost an adverb?

[Johnny Danger]

Hey, you don't get a name like this by making good decisions.