jareddbh

This is amazing! I was just in Phoenix this past weekend with my 280Z. Would like to see you at one of the shows.

Sorry for my naivete, but what is the spindle pin holding together? Do I need to remove it to replace the struts? I looked through your post about the cartridges, that doesn't look like a lot of fun, but doable. I plan on doing the rear supsension at some point, but for the immediate future, it's going to be just the struts. The front suspension should be fairly easy as you've mentioned.

Thanks for the info! I'll look into the spindle pins. As for the rear struts, you just unbolt them from the top inside the cabin and pull them out? Is there anything I'm missing? Do you even have to jack the car up for this? Well, I posted the Impala for $7.5K and have gotten a lot of bites. Another guy wants to trade me a modded (cam, exhaust, suspension, brakes, cosmetics, etc) '01 Mustang GT. There's no question that the Mustang is a better vehicle than the 280 or the Impala, but it doesn't have the same character and will depreciate over my ownership. I currently have 4 vehicles and trying to downsize in every sense of the word. The Impala takes up nearly the whole garage. I have a truck (89' Isuzu Spacecab), two commuters (05' Hyundais), and the impala. Hoping to trade the impala for something, and then sell one of the commuters. I'm very happy to do maintenance and am pretty good with troubleshooting issues as they come up. Basically, I have pleanty of backup. One thing to note: The tach worked fine during normal driving and idling, but when I punched it, it actually got stuck around 3k RPM. Guessing its just a sticky gauge, but curious if this is a bigger issue than I think.

Oh, the steering wheel was also some weird soft rubber material. It was kind of nice, but not the wooden wheels I'm used to seeing.

Well I made the 100 mile drive to go see it last night. Not as clean in person as it looks in the pictures, but still good overall. The body has a couple of scratches and dents, the paint is ok, but some areas are fading. The suspension looks to be original or very old. It definitely works, but a lot of the rubber bits of the suspension are old and cracking. The rear struts were definitely blown out, but he has the replacements and they look easy enough to replace. I didn't find any rust on the underside of the car. The rear end looked to have a little leak. It's missing the hood ornament, and I didn't see any mounting holes. Looks like it was glued? Not sure if I need to drill new holes for a new ornament? The interior was in good shape, small tear in the driver's seat and the rest was good. The dash is apparently a hard cover that was glued onto the original, hence why it looks so good in an AZ car. He still had the spare, owner's manual, etc. He knew the original owner since he got the car in 75-76. It drove well, idle seemed good but could possibly be improved with a tune up. Didn't have any overheating issues even with the AC blowin' cold. Overall it drove well. It wasn't very fast, but the transmission seemed smooth. I did the tests mentioned above, and it seemed ok. He did have new (used) rubber parts for the front and rear bumper. He also had a box full of spare parts and an entire engine with around 40k miles on it from a 78 that went by way of the packrats. Funny enough, that engine was mated with a manual trans, but he got rid of the trans a while ago. Might be nice if I ever want to do a swap! Opinions?

Does anyone happen to know if there are known issues with the automatics as far as reliability is concerned? I really wish it was at least a 4 speed, a 3 speed makes highway cruising sometimes harder than it has to be. Although bigger tires could help with highway RPMs. Anything I should specifically be on the look for? I'll check for the usual things when getting a used car, but don't know the specifics with this model. Otherwise, I'm very excited! Been looking at Zs for some time now.

I'm glad noone through any major problems at me with these cars. By the way, awesome responses and very quick! This is a great community, I can tell. I'm going to meet him tonight or tomorrow night. He'll have it on a lift, so I'll get a good look. If all looks good, he's going to trailer it to me, and then load mine up and take it. It's about 100 miles, so that's pretty nice!

Honestly I just wanted to make sure I wasn't going to get something worth substantially less dollars than my current car in case I need to sell it in the future. I have no plans of doing this, but I can't predict what may happen. My plans for the car is to use it as a commuter. I believe as classics go, they are potentially one of the best candidates for daily driving. Fuel injection, AC, decent MPG and suspension. Should be easy to work on as well. I am setting up a meet tonight, so I'll keep everyone posted!

Hi! Thanks for your reply, I really appreciate it. I'm not actually buying it for cash, but trading for it. I have a 68 Chevy Impala 4 Door Hardtop in pretty good condition (I value it around $7500). I actually just got a reply while typing this email. He says the rear struts need to be replaced, but he has them. Hasn't been able to do the work due to hand problems. Engine has not been rebuilt, does not smoke. Everything works except for the clock. He mentioned "one small bubble on the drivers door just above the body line the size of a pencil eraser" . He said he's not sure if a rust bubble, or paint bubble. It's been living in Globe AZ it's entire life, and apparently he got it from the original owner 4 years ago. He mentioned he has a hoist and I could look at it all over.

Hi All, I posted a couple weeks ago about interest in a 240z. The talks didn't last long when the owner didn't want me to crank over the engine and have any kind of detailed look under the hood. I'm now looking at a 280Z that has been offered as part of a trade (working out the details). Here's what I have so far: - 76 280Z - Second owner, AZ car - Car is original except for paint, but correct color (teal); iron cross rims - 132k original miles - "Runs like a top" - Factory R12 AC works - Has a spare 78 280z engine and other spare parts I saw from the pictures that it is an automatic. I'm fairly certain this substantially hurts the value. I'm working for more information about the condition of the gauges, rust, etc. I'm looking for any information I can get about this car's value. I'll post more information when I can. Expect little to no rust and working gauges. Interior looks mostly good (some fading). Thanks for looking!

Thanks for the replies everyone! I really appreciate the help. Unfortunately, I do not think I am going to make this deal happen. We were going to trade straight up for my running 68 Impala 4 door hardtop in 7/10 condition (new paint, some new interior). The problem is, he basically doesn't want to let me turn the ignition to see if it will even turnover. No way I'm going to get a car that I can't even check basic system functionality. It's been sitting 4 or 5 years, so I expected some work, but I need to know what I'm getting into. I'm still on the hunt for a Z. I really do think they are a good candidate for daily driving. While I'm looking, does anyone have advice for what to avoid (year, model, etc). I'm not opposed to a 260 or 280 unless there is a reason I should be.

Hello all, I'm a newbie to these forums, and still don't own a Z. I've been trying to track one down for a long time now and think I may have found it. A guy at work has a 70 or 71 240Z (will update tomorrow when I talk to him again) in great cosmetic condition, but does not run. The engine and manual trans are there, but it's been sitting for a few years. Apparently the fuel pump needs to be replaced and a new battery. I'm pretty good about getting an engine to run, but there may be some surprises. The interior has been mostly redone, but it is missing the wood shift knob (thief). Good upholstery, paint is pretty good orange though not original. I haven't seen it in person yet, but don't expect rust. This is an Arizona car. It needs new brakes, but should be good after that. I know it's difficult without pictures or more info, but ballpark if you can! I really want to get a 240, but do not want to get ripped off. Thanks, Jared