1983 280zx questions

hello, a friend is offering a 280zx fairly cheap. it's lost a rear shock. the mounting bolt fell out and the shock slipped off the lower mount. the cv joint also seems to have seperated. does anyone here know what size the bolt is? can these joints be reassembled or am i loking at an expensive replacement? also the car is a rust bucket but the chassis looks solid. are there any special places i should look for rust that would make the car not worth messing with. he only wants $250 with 120k miles but the car set in the weeds for a long time before he bought it. thanks

Reply to
DBCooper41
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Forget it. These cars are a nightmare to fix if rusty. The rust you see if only a fraction of the rust you will have to fix. Move on. Not very good cars when new. Just a Maxima-type chassis w/defective rear suspension.

Reply to
Sue D Nim

It really depends on your other alternatives as to whether its worth it. Almost all of them are "rust buckets" even in areas where rust is not normally a problem. I have an 81 with 260K miles on it. I enjoy driving it, its reliable etc. but its looking ugly from the rust. It makes no sense to repaint because it just comes back out. I'm a bit embarrassed to still be driving it but its still a lot more fun than driving my new suburban to work every day.

It can be cheap to fix if you are willing to junk yard dive. The slightest accident totals them so there's lots of them in junkyards. The engine and drivertrain are solid as a brick.

The worste rust problem I have is where the spare tire sits in its well on the side. I was looking under the car the other day in the back and I was shocked to actually see the spare tire sticking out from the the bottom. Eventually, it would have just rusted thru and fallen out.

If you like to tinker go for it. There's a good Z car newsletter with lots of nice people willing to offer advice. Unfortunately, it will never look very good.

I'm kinda in the market for a later model max thinking it provides some of the same kick in the pants, but has newer features like new freon ac and air bags. I'm having a hard time parting with the old gal however. Have fun don

Reply to
nospam

I had a 280ZX "Anniversary Edition" that was probably my all-time favourite car. Bought it for $12,500 and sold it for $1500 (rusted out).

But...just bought my Lady a 1992(?) 240SX, and there's sure the same "look and feel" - even the stiff steering. A touch underpowered, but the engine is SWEET: cross-ported, fuel injected, 3 (4?) valves/cyl, 155hp... And it goes 120 kph WAY too easy!

If you're looking for a newer, non-rusty replacement for the 280ZX, consider a 240SX!

Lloyd Sumpter

Reply to
Lloyd Sumpter

Thanks for the suggestion Lloyd. I had not considered the 240sx as I thought it was another front wheel drive not much different than my wifes Camry. The camry is a great car but its boring to drive.

How is ride harshness? I thought about a 90+ 300ZX but I found it to be too much of a sports car. Just too low and too harsh of a ride. I've got some back problems and its ride harshness was more than I wanted to tolerate. That's the reason I don't drive my 240z on a daily basis anyway. Unfortunately those delicious new 350's have the same characteristics.

Maybe I can find a mint 240sx somewhere.

tks

D> >

Reply to
nospam

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