Tarquin9 Posted January 11, 2010 Posted January 11, 2010 Finally, after 47 years on the planet I dipped my toe into the pool of enlightenment that is ownership of a Z Car. For better or for worse... It's a 1981 280ZX and is in fair order overall. First order of business was replacing the shocks all round as they were shot and now it rides a whole lot better, especially after a wheel alignment. I don't know what I want to do with the car really, I have always admired them from afar and always dreamed of owning one but am not overly mechanically gifted so bare essential repairs only are all I can manage. Tyres are 215/65/14 so it rides very nicely and I have managed to find two spare wheels in the original 6 spoke Z car pattern with matching caps in good condition so I won;t have to rely on that collapsible spare, do they even work those things? Anyway, the lady I bought the car from has a lot of spares from a wreck she used to do up the car I bought from her and she wants me to take them off her hands for a couple hundred bucks and I think I may as well. A complete spare dash, rear tail lightsm headlight surrounds, various gauges and knobs and dohickeys, a complete head for the motor, side mirrors - just all kinds of stuff really and handy to have on board. I'm in Portland in Victoria and don't know of any other Z Cars here really or if there are any Members of this site who live around here but I sure would appreciate any advice and maybe someone to come take a peek at my new car and these spares and let me know, or indeed ease my mind, that I have done ok out of the deal - sure would help me sleep at night, ha ha. Car has a few spots of rust on the body I will have to repair sooner rather than later and as said earlier I'm probably a mechanical nuff nuff and will either need some advice or have to get it done professionally. Interior is really clean and the body is straight overall and after replacing the thermostat it doesn't overheat any longer! It has driving lights fitted beneath the front bumper and these are very bright but too low to be overly effective and I was wondering do Z Cars have issues with poor headlights as a rule as I see no purpose in having driving lights fitted if the headlights are ok? The car also has a bullbar type thing fitted to it which would proclude the driving lights being fitted on top of the bumper for example so they can only go where they are now I suppose. Sorry for rabbitting on so much but I am excited to own a Z Car finally but truly need a good friend or two ti give me advice on many topics regarding this car and I would appreciate it very much. Great Forum and thanks again for your time, cheers. Tarquin. Quote
Sirpent Posted January 11, 2010 Posted January 11, 2010 Congratulations and welcome to the Dark Side. Quote
Hammer Posted January 11, 2010 Posted January 11, 2010 Congratulations. I'm still searching for my first Z. Quote
zzzzed Posted January 11, 2010 Posted January 11, 2010 welcom I am still searching for my 7th zed Quote
Sirpent Posted January 11, 2010 Posted January 11, 2010 welcom I am still searching for my 7th zed Mick ! FFS, finish one first ! LMAO I know were there are 11 of them..............PM Me Quote
zzzzed Posted January 11, 2010 Posted January 11, 2010 Mick ! FFS, finish one first ! LMAO I know were there are 11 of them..............PM Me its all good john the turbo 240 is getting all the attention at presents. but it dosnt stop me looking lol Quote
Sirpent Posted January 11, 2010 Posted January 11, 2010 Stay the path Mick, If you get tempted remember just look away, slowly turn around and run, run as fast as you can. Quote
Hammer Posted January 11, 2010 Posted January 11, 2010 Mick ! FFS, finish one first ! LMAO I know were there are 11 of them..............PM Me For sale??? Quote
Tarquin9 Posted January 12, 2010 Author Posted January 12, 2010 Well thanks for the welcomes everyone, nice to be here amongst other Z Car Nutters... My first real issue, after having to replace the dodgy shockers, might well be electrics. Some of the dash warning lights are not working like the high beam notification fails to light up when high beams are on and that green OK in the middle of the speedo/tacho that shows on startup shows a red square whenever I turn the headlights on for some reason. Reading thru my owners manual it supposedly means the electrics need looking at or adjusting so I better get that done as it's a darn distractingly bright red light when driving at night. Other little issues so far have been the retracting radio antenna not retracting or extending so had to be replaced and the previous owner quaintly didn't put on the rubber support for the rear window wiper and just left a bare metal washer to rub on the paintwork of the car, grrrrrrr arrgggghhhh!!! Left a nice circle of rusty metal underneath it and also a water stain where the rain had flowed over the rusty mess and stained the paint a nice rusty strip about 4 inches long. It's like some people and pets, they just shouldn't be allowed to own one. Anyhoo things progress and in a week go for my first real tour in it up north to Swan Hill of around 1,000Km's round trip, after some much smaller trips around my town first of course, up to 100Km's round trips to see how things settle down and if there are any travelling issues. Interested to see if the overheating problems have been rectified by the replaced thermostat and a backflush of the radiator. Picking up the half shed of spare 280ZX parts tomorrow so that'll be a chore but eager to grovel thru it all and catalogue everything and see just what goodies there are. I have a feeling I might be advertising some spare 280ZX parts soon to make room for other stuff in my garage, lol. Oh and I put the other gas strut back on the hatchback the previous owner had removed as they said the lid opened too quickly... well it opens a treat now, no lifting at all and automatically opens and automatically slows down near full open as well. Still waiting for a guru or afficianado who lives somewhere near Portland in Victoria to have a yarn with so don't be shy and I would surely appreciate the input. Cheers all. Quote
Lynton Posted January 13, 2010 Posted January 13, 2010 The web site is Oz wide so I would put my feelers out if I were you when you want to do some mechanical/body mods/repairs/upgrades etc; there is plenty of know how on this forum so when you have a problem present it under the menu of concern for help and advice and there will be a variety of answers for you and your own mechanical mind to determine whether it is a "you job to tackle" or an "outside job" for a professional to do. 280ZX's are pretty bullet proof there worst enemy is rust so fix any rust asap they often rust out in the spare tyre well and under the floor underneath the car do a hoist inspection, also around the windscreen, front of the bonnet, the side quarter windows, petrol cap, and the seam at the botton of the tail lights, invariably the underneath front body apron panel is usually damaged. Most of these cars are parted out for parts or the bone crusher so they are diminishing rather rapidly, the spares you have obtained maybe a gold mine at the end of the day. A 280ZX is gathering character rapidly as they become an older classic good luck with the project Lynton Quote
Tarquin9 Posted January 14, 2010 Author Posted January 14, 2010 Thanks Lynton for your good advice and sound reasoning, I will get it on a hoist asap. Finished my 50Km and 100Km round trips to test the car and it handled them flawlessly, new shocks and wheel alignment have fixed any ride and handling issues I had and the 215/65/14's were quiet and unassuming but still responsive when required. Gearbox was quiet and user friendly with a light clutch and no diff howl or wierd noises noticed. 4 wheel disk brakes were excellent with no fade or noise even after some strenuous workouts. New Radio/CD Player worked fine with the original speakers, a/c was excellent and the power steering was direct without being demanding or twitchy. Overheating problem has been totally resolved and with the addition of custom seat covers it's a pleasurable tourer and I couldn't be happier with it. Next week I do the 1,200Km round trip so that will be the ultimate test and should blow any remaining cobwebs out of the baffles. Now if only I can only stop the crows from crapping on it.... grrrrrrrrrrrrr arrrrrrrrggghhhhhh... Quote
hunterzed Posted January 14, 2010 Posted January 14, 2010 Another thing that I've found common in the 3 that I own (done before I got them) was the front wheel bearings needed adjusting. The cars were 'tram railing' a bit and were twitchy on the road. This was fixed with the correct wheel bearing adjustment. This may have only been a coincedence on all 3 that I own but definately worth checking........ on any car. Quote
Graedat Posted January 16, 2010 Posted January 16, 2010 Tarquin welcome to the forum! Do you have any pics of the new beast??? Quote
Tarquin9 Posted January 17, 2010 Author Posted January 17, 2010 Yeah I'll get some pics up as soon as I can, where I'm going next week they have a digital camera so I'll get them to take some pics and I'll upload them to here. While the shocks were being adjusted it was put on a hoist and I went under for a first hand inspection. I think I have been pretty lucky really as there was no rust underneath the car to speak of, no rust under the spare tyre or under the taillights or back window seal or fuel cap. No major fluid leaks or obvious history thereof either, all wheel bearings were sound, no exhaust leaks and all fairly satisfactory. Come on warmer weather, gotta get those targa tops off for the trip... Quote
Sirpent Posted January 18, 2010 Posted January 18, 2010 Welcome and congratulations Cheers John Quote
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