280z1975

My other passion (ahead of Z cars, but then again it's my job) is cycling. About once a year I unload things I don't need and stuff I accumulate over the year. This past month I listed a cycling racing Helmet which previously was unsold at 19.99 (only back in November) that went for 54 and change. It's all about timing and who is there to buy things at that moment. It's subjective to a degree, but every once and a while something just surprises the crap out of you when you list it.

Arne, Have you thought about marketing the car to the European market. It's a pain in the arse to deal with people overseas who sometimes don't speak English and to deal with the shipping, but the cost to the person to ship the Z from the West Coast is anywhere from 1,000 Roll on - Roll off and 3,000USD for a container. With the Euro worth so much more than the USD it makes it worth people to buy these cars. I have seen 240Z's here go for as much as 8,000 euros in just regular daily driver status. So if Dave can paint it and make it look decent you could demand as much as 6,000 USD to the overseas market ... Check out the prices here http://www.hofman.nl/ ... from 3,900 euros to just under 10,000 euros (13,000USD) for a 280z ... 1 euro is worth 1.3ish USD

For those who don't want to go the orginal route, you can tape them off and paint them your accent color. Which is my plans ... costs me a can of paint and not 500 bucks ... of course if you want orginal, some will pay for it to be perfect.

That is actually a really nice car in a lot of ways ... the outside lines look super clean with everything shaved. I'd do it to my Z if the laws allowed some of them and time allowed it for the rest. Without door handles, side likes, locks, and such you can save yourself at least 600 bucks on your restoration! Still, had I seen the shaved gas tank before I painted my car I would have done it. It helps clean up the car quite well!

At least this seller is up front and not delusional about the state of the car! He even goes as far as taking photos of the actual areas where rust is prevalent. So I have to give him kudos for that. It could be an ok parts car, but it's a lot to deal with.

Sounds like your body shop isn't up to par. Most body shops I know warranty these sort of things and usually contract out the work so it's done by a person who is more skilled in this area than your standard body repair worker. Glad you figured it all out ... my windshield leaked after it's install, but unfortunately for me I moved away shortly after my install and the company said "to bad" to me. I fixed the problem with a little clear silicone in the corners and the base of the car, not the best fix in the world, but the cheapest and it's not that noticeable unless you point it out.

I used this one: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TT1E-TUNE-TRAPPER-HIDDEN-AM-FM-ANTENNA_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ38655QQihZ019QQitemZ7996685762 It's a generic one I bought off of eBay. There are other options such as ones which attach to your glass behind the rear view mirror. I hid mine under the dash and it works "well enough". In other words, I don't get a great signal in certain terrain or far from the city, but I use my CD players MP3 feature most of the time anyways. There are other places to hide it, the dash ended up being the most convenient and easiest.

I've used Por-15 on the inside (www.por15.com) and B-Quiet soundproofing (www.b-quiet.com). You can see some photos of what it looks like with each here: http://gregggermer.com/photos/280z/album/During/slides/during_repairs_12%20025.html

Same here! Mine is going with me to Europe in a couple of months. To bad I will be without my 280z for since I have to be there in a week and a half.

Why would I (do I) want a 280z? Cause i got mine for FREE! I don't think the 280z is all bad. The EFI is reliable, but when it fails it's a pain in the arse. The bumpers are nasty big, but are protective (as I have recently found out). And if you are worried about the 280Z being heavier, take off the bumpers, the spare tire and the car will be comparable to the 240z in weight. I've never owned a 240z, but if I had the chance to I would ... but for me, my 280z is no less grand ...

I deal with ebay a lot. I usually get about 1 out of 40 people that is a jack@$$ and is a pain to deal with. Recently I am selling a lot of my stuff before I move and I have it say "must pay within 24 hours" but some people don't care. they are like "Can I wait a week, I want the bill to go on my next months credit card bill" AFTER the auciton. Like others have said, always REQUIRED a SIGNATURE and use a tracking number. I had a guy send me a hard drive once, in a damn paper envelope! I was pretty damn stupefied as I had bought hard drives before on ebay. I e-mailed him and he apologized and he said send it back and he would send me a new one. I sent it back and waited ... waited ... e-mailed ... finally got a reply back, "Oh, it's on it's way, just wait" ... waited. Then finally e-mailed. He then said, "I sent it, it must have been lost in the mail" (I have had this happen (even with a tracking number). Finally after a few more days I ask for a refund from Paypal. They refuse because they have a tracking number that says i received the hard drive. Doesn't matter the damn thing went through the mail in envelope! To top it off the "Buyer Protection" is only good for 45 days. So you can't do anything after that point. I figure the guy must have done the same thing to about 20 other people at the same time. Funny part was he had 100% feedback with over 150 feedback and then right after I bought my hard drive got about 10 negative feedback before he was shut down. There are people scamming on both ends ...

You know, this IS (the donuts) about the best thing you can do. My dad use to deal with a lot of roughnecks in the oil industry. He said two dozen donuts was enough to get just about most small requests done. A little gratuity can go a LONG way (especially when it's something you want done right). They might think twice about leaving a small detail left undone when you've been so nice.

I feel your pain. I had my Z at the body shop to get painted. It was going to be painted off hours on the weekend by one of the shops painters for some extra cash (the shops estimator is my best friend and the owner is a family friend). I got my Z to the shop on Friday and the owner changed his mind, the Z wasn't in good enough shape to be painted even 'off hours' at his shop. Now my car isn't perfect, but it's also NOT a show car. There are one, maybe two spots, but I put in at least 100 hours of body prep into the car before I painted it! He was just being a perfectionist and I guess he expected my car to be a perfect 10 show car. Anyways ... he doesn't even do classic cars any more and will only do them for serious money and as side work for his employees when things get slow. He use to do them as part of the business but there wasn't enough profit. Now as far as your situation. I suspect with all the snow/sleet/ice storms you guys had in the past couple of weeks in Tennessee (at least I assume you have been having them) that this shop is overrun with insurance jobs. These jobs get to the front of the line and always need to get done on time or the shop won't get any more business from the insurance companies. The shop my best friend is at is overrun with jobs at the moment from all the ice storms and bad rain they had down in Texas over the last two weeks.

I had a similar problem, replaced the front windshield and the gaskets on both the front and rear windows, turned out the new gaskets wouldn't seal as well as one would hope. Since I provided the gaskets I couldn't go after the company that installed the windshield. I then bought a small bottle of clear bathroom sealant and ran it all the way around the windshield where the glass meets rubber. Made it look pretty good and since then there has been no leaks ... It leaked on the bottom corner of each side of the front windshield and one bottom corner of the rear windshield. Hope this helps ...

Here is a cool, but short video ... If someone has the rest of it on video please do post. http://www.dpccars.com/car-videos/01-15-07page-Nissan-350Z-vs-old-Nissan-Z.htm Ciao,

This is actually the side of the package, not the top ... the front (top) is a actual photo of a Z car, while the side is a photo of the model put together. Mine is the toward the bottom of the page, Model Number 85-2392.

Is this what you are looking for? It's a Revell 240z Model kit...

Base price if you do all the work yourself and use a good paint is 800 dollars. That is for all the paint, primer, tape, etc. plus the cost to replace the glass. My friend is an estimator at a body shop and thier cost (which is discounted) in materials alone was just under 600. you can use cheaper paint or a cheaper body shop. If you need to do this on the cheap use a service like Maaco, but don't expect a 100% professional job. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21667&highlight=Maaco This is a great thread on the subject. I would PM jackboxxx as he is an owner of Maaco and a can help you find a Maaco that is a good shop. You could also try to paint it yourself. If you do rent a booth. It's cheaper and the results can vary. Remember, if do it professionally you are paying someone 50 an hour just to sand your car and add body filler (thing you can learn on your own and do easily).

Nothing ... I called two of the closest junk yards and they didn't have any Z's. Between the family and a wedding I had to get to there wasn't much time for junk yarding (plus I had to fly home, so not much spare room for anything big).

I haven't laughed that hard in a while ... your worried about the rain and snow! I think it's time to put up a cheap cinderblock enlosure for your Z with the help of your neighbor who shot your pickup! There's your repayment. A good car cover can go a long way ... right now my Z is frozen shut! The rain and snow and melting and freezing rain have left my drivers door lock nonoperational! This should be a fun fix!

I know this ... this was more in reference to if he had built his own shed (a semi-decent structure that isn't quite a garage).

If you have to store your Z outside try looking into a good professional car cover and even using two different car covers in conjunction with each other (a soft one on the bottom and a waterproof on on top). I am also in the same situation and use my car cover when possible. If you can, try to look into buying an aluminum car shed or possibly building your own with sides. Not quite a garage, but something to keep the moisture and elements away. When you have a situation like this you can try using this product: http://209.35.116.13/ It seems like a good means, but I have never used it. I hope this helps. If you have to store it outside and it will be getting wet then ensure the proper areas are sealed with body sealant and keep an eye out for the problem area. Also consider renting a storage unit (or finding a friend with an old barn) to keep the car during winter times.

Yup, but sometimes ugly is good .... and as long as I am daily driving the car I am going to stay UGLY. Once I move to a place with a garage and it's no longer having to suffer from on street parking I will do be putting 240 style bumpers on the car.

I have a ? .... Why is it that most people out there would spend 25-35k on a regular normal car which WILL drop in value the second you take it off the lot and continue to slide into worthlessness given enough time. But when it comes to a car that is a classic and costs 17k a lot of people are worried about driving it. It's a car, right. It's different if you want to buy a car as an investment (not a wise move in my book, there is a point where each cars bubble will burst) or if you plan to put it in a museum. But Carl already did a great post a while back about when a car becomes a trailer queen (the top level) it ceases to become a car and becomes art. I say, buy it, drive it, enjoy it, love it, and what happens, happens. The car is only as valuable as the value you get out of it. If it sits in your garage all the time and you don't enjoy a car which sits in your garage, you won't have a great value. Oh well, enough of my rant ....

Here are two 280z rally model kits .... http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&satitle=280z+rally