Whats up

[Imagin]

Welp i finally took the plunge and bought my first Z. Its a 1979 280ZX (yea ive heard all the bastard child stories ive read on here......)

Im the 3rd owner. The original owners towed it behind their RV when they went on trips (108k on the chassis) but the motor only has 54k of actual driving miles on it.

Heres a few pics of her. (This is after I had her detailed as she sat for allmost a year)

Im unsure exactly what route to take with the car. Im guessing my dillema comes from do I want to just leave it in the condition its in to show how well its done unrestored for allmost 30 years.... should I replace the speakers and get some aftermarket wheels and tires and maybe throw in a set of decent shocks to ride on.... Or do I rip out a low mileage heart and throw in a monster 6 cyl to take its place and go quite far with the car.

If yall have any suggestions im listening cuz right now im just spinnin wheels .

[hls30.com]

Welcome! Nice find! I vote for restore!

These cars regularly get deep into 200K before having serious issues-meaning most owners get tired of them before they wear out!

The difference between the chassis and engine mileage sounds fishy, towing a z any real distance requires disconnecting the drive shaft-and that would mean mileage would not accumulate on the odometer...

Will

[Imagin]

The original owners were an elderly couple that kept full records. I have a book from the original owners detailing the M/D/Y, where they went, the total for that trip and a running total for the car itself. The book also details what service was done where with how many miles were on the car during the service. Thats why i dont find the mileage/actual driving miles on the chassis/engine to be a problem. Both are well documented.

[bigoak]

Welcome aboard. If the body is solid (it looks it), keep her clean and simple.

[zbane]

Welcome aboard, it's nice to see another 79! I might suggest making just a couple little upgrades, nothing major, and see how it feels.

These upgrades really just make sense, and might even be considered proper maintenance:

1. Tokico struts, or similar semi/performance struts

2. Lighter aftermarket rims (though not necessary) and a set of performance tires (several of us are running on Yoko Avid

Something you should do is check your brake lines-they may be originals...

[Carl Beck]

Well your bastard child sat all time sales records... so someone must have liked it alot!! Looks like it is in very nice condition overall - I'd keep it stock and enjoy driving it without getting too much money into it. Just spend the time cleaning/detailing/shinning and enjoying it. Dollar for dollar nice clean low milege 280ZX's are a bargan today..

FWIW,

Carl B.