Hey guys,

New to the forum and searching to find my first Z project car. Trying to keep budget to around ~10k if possible, with a bit of wiggle room. 

Ran across: https://www.vintagecarcollector.com/vehicles/996/1975-datsun-280z but im not sure if its a good deal or not. Would love some insight as to what you guys look for in a Z before purchase.

Many thanks!

Buyer beware!  Some very unsatisfied buyers.  One star reviews from real people, 5 stars from one person; fake I'm sure.

https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/glendale/profile/auto-brokers/vintage-car-collector-1216-762227/customer-reviews

Take your time, the right one will find you.  Kind of weird how that works but it does.

Edited September 4, 20195 yr by siteunseen

Ah! Good catch, I'm so excited to get my first vintage Z that I'm forgetting the car buying basics. 

You want one with the least rust.  Are you going to work on it yourself, ready to drive, carburetor or EFI?

Some good info here...

https://www.google.com/search?q=buying+my+first+Z+classiczcars.com&rlz=1C1BOFA_enUS494US494&oq=buying+my+first+Z+classiczcars.com&aqs=chrome..69i57.13549j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

http://www.zhome.com/

Left side about the third section down.  "Buying A Z car tips"

 Cliff beat me to it. What's missing in the description of the car is the most important item. Body condition, specifically RUST. Any visible rust is only 10% of what you'll find when it's opened up. The hood on this one appears to have rust bubbles on the nose of the hood. That's a particularly difficult spot to repair.

Appreciate that, yes I am hoping to work on it myself. I don't have experience working on car bodies, but I have done engine work before. 

I'm hoping whatever car I find is drivable, I only commute once a week for about 100 miles. I think to get the genuine 240 experience I'm going to try and stay with carburators.

1 hour ago, Robert9790 said:

Hey guys,

New to the forum and searching to find my first Z project car. Trying to keep budget to around ~10k if possible, with a bit of wiggle room. 

Would love some insight as to what you guys look for in a Z before purchase.

Many thanks!

The description on the ad says, "•ORIGINAL A/C CAR, ALL THE PARTS ARE INCLUDED "  Translation:  Original A/C no longer works so it was removed.  Plan on spending $1,000+ for a new A/C system and another $1,000+ to have it installed and charged.  Budget, or make offer, accordingly.

That said, keep looking.

Dennis

Try "searchtempest" for craigslist cars all around you. $10K should get you something decent but since the prices have rocketed this past year or so you may consider an efi car, '75 and up, change over to carbs for fairly cheap compared to rebuilding the old fuel injection. You'd get a little bigger motor, 2.8 instead of 2.4, for less dough ray me. 

Find some and post them up here. We'll gladly tell you what to do! 

Welcome to the club!

Just FYI keep in mind if you decide to go with the 280z you'll have to smog the 76 thru 78. Smog cut off here in CA is 1975. So you can't remove smog equipment. And you need to know what to look for, If any smog equipment has been removed, if its working or not, etc.

You've come to the right place though. Very knowledgeable and friendly people in this club.

Good luck with your search.

I was just looking at his location for just that reaso

Hey guys, 
Appreciate all the great info. I'm definitely going to be looking for an pre-76 240z. I've found a few cars, but I havent pulled the trigger because of either rust issues or them being a bit out of my spending limit. Im trying to stay around ~10k and i do want a manual. As soon as i'm on my desktop I'll show you the lot of cars i've been keeping an eye on. The input is definitely appreciated. I am alright with doing work on the car, but also dont want a rusty death trap haha.