interested in buying a 280z in France, does those pics look alright or sketchy

[siteunseen]

Here's a good write-up on EFI to carbs to read over. He covers everything you'll need and it's very reader friendly.

 

[nico]

nice thank you siteunseen

[siteunseen]

I found a picture of the stock under body frame rails on one of the cars I had.

The car you're looking at.

 

 

 

[nico]

ok so they are definitively boxed... bad news you think?

[siteunseen]

3 minutes ago, nico said:

ok so they are definitively boxed... bad news you think?

Not necessarily by the looks of the rest of the the underside. It makes me think someone took care of it or did the right thing instead of ignoring a problem. Most of them get damaged when people run over stuff, or jack them up in the wrong spots. It could be that some garage damaged them and had to repair their mistake. I think pictures of the floor pans under the floor mats would be helpful in determining the rust. If they look okay I would think the rails were boxed in to repair some type of damage? The roof holds these cars together, not so much those rails. If it has a sunroof somebody tried to sturdy up the car maybe. I'm just guessing.

Look at the back of the roof above the small rear windows for any cracking.

Here's a pic I have of my 240 with original paint job. I bought it of course! 

 

[nico]

Alright.  I'm going to see the car on may 8th, i'll have the checklist of all those points to check for rust. It does not have a sunroof. I noticed the rear bumper is not straight though...

few more pics. may be hard to spot cracking as it has been resprayed 😕

the seller sells it because he says he wants something more sporty with a turbo like a 300zx...

oddly it's been through customs in sept 2019, french mot from feb 2021 and he made the french papers in march 31 2021 and selling it roughly one month after...

 

Edited April 25, 2021 by nico

[siteunseen]

Well I hate to say but that cars been hit. Silver is one of if not the hardest to touch up paint and the front gap on the passenger's door is pretty wide. See the difference in the paint of the door and the rear quarter in this picture. It's stance looks off too. Kind of bowed in the middle. Could have a newer front end? or rear? @Patcon could be better help than me. I just drive them. 

 

[rturbo 930]

3 hours ago, siteunseen said:

I found a picture of the stock under body frame rails on one of the cars I had.

The car you're looking at.

 

 

 

You're comparing a 240 to a 280 which has bigger rails. I'd need a better photo to say for sure, since there does look to be weld toward the front of the 280, but forward of that part, the rails are clearly stock, you can see the flange of the factory rail and it looks to be untouched. Unless there is a seam where the light is hitting the rail, then I'm left to conclude the rails are stock. Again, better photos are needed. 

As for the paint, I think it's just how the sun is hitting it. it matches above the pinstriping, and if you look down at the bottom of the dogleg, just above the body line, again, the colors on the quarter and the door are matching. 

Nico needs to go see it in person with his own eyes, and ideally, with an experienced friend, and see what is actually there or not. 

Edited April 25, 2021 by rturbo 930

[nico]

@siteunseen yeah that gap was worrying me too and if you say it looks wrong overall i'm starting to have second thoughts

[rturbo 930]

See my reply above since I've edited it since you posted. Also, I've had a couple Zs, and they don't necessarily have perfect body gaps. The area between the front door and the fender right at the top seems like it has a tendency to be larger relative to the rest of the body line there. 

Maybe the front fender was messed with, who knows. Go see the car in person with someone who knows what they're looking at. 

Edit: However, that rear bumper should not be that crooked. I'd look hard at that area. 

Edited April 25, 2021 by rturbo 930

[siteunseen]

@rturbo 930

You're saying this is factory? I have a 280 downstairs but don't want to crawl under it to take a picture.

 

 

[Patcon]

Its very hard to tell by looking at these pictures if it has had collision damage or not. Take a friend with you. Have them drive the car slowly and see if it drives straight. Rear wheels behind the front wheels or at an angle. If I were you,  I would look at every car you have a chance too that meets the budget. Much fewer options for you then for us in the states