FATSUN_DALCON Posted October 8, 2012 Posted October 8, 2012 Good evening viewers. I own a Ford 77xc coupe but being very opened minded about my cars i stumbled upon a Datsun 280zx on ebay a few weeks ago. Apart from not having seen one on the road for years something inside said keep looking. the ad was pretty poor, (poor english) but there were enough pictures to get a good idea on its condition. I could see faded paint, some rust but i just couldn't leave the page. The owner would not let anyone see it(from ebay questions) but still i didn't leave the page.I took a risk and I ended up buying it and i could not be happier. I need some info on its rarity and some info on parts. Thanks. This is my first forum posting ever and here is a description of the car. 1979 280 zx (march). It's a hardtop. Ive been looking for others that are for sale and T tops are far more prevalent. in fact i have only seen one hard top from that year for sale. My 280zx is silver with the black interior. The car is TOTALLY original. The interior is 95% with the only blemish being the roof lining which is starting to come away and a slight stitch separation in one of the seats.The crash pad is as new.The computer is fabulous and way ahead of its time.The radio cassette just makes me laugh but i'm leaving it in there. Everything works and warning lights work.My first question is: can the roof lining be reglued(from experience probably not), and is there original lining material out there or something close? Mechanically it is excellant with the motor starting first time every time. From what i can see under the bonnet nothing has been changed.It goes really well and i took it to Canberra from Sydney and back and it didnt miss a beat. I have just noticed today a leak from the rear disc brake on the drivers side. This should just be a seal i think and a minor repair. The only problem the car really has is the rust. I'ts around the petrol cap, bottom of both gaurds the drivers side being much worse.Apart from that there is not anything cancerous but to get a good look i have to pull it apart and i do expect some more rust. Are there gaurds out there? I havent seen too many.And what tool do i need to remove all the chrome strips without damaging them. I picked up the car from a friend of the owner in western Sydney. He told me the car is extremely rare as it was the first of 280zx's that were imported. He claimed that it is probably one of only a handful of these early ones still alive in Australia.He also claimed that the car has only done 38000 original km. I saw the odo reading on the ad and it was 38000 which i assumed would be 138000 or even 238000 but let me tell you it feels like it is low mileage. The interior and mechanicals seem?? to indicate low k's. But the rust makes the car look older. Is it possible that these bodies can just rust really quickly if not looked after. I also spoke to the owner after i bought the car and he seemed very genuine and said he was the original owner with ownership passing to other family members(his wife). I'm new to the world of Datsuns apart from once having a one third share in $150 Datsun 1600 when i was a teenager. We had so much fun in that car. Could i please get any feedback,opinions or info on my Datsun and i want to hear from anyone who is knowledgeable on these beautiful carThanks for reading this long intro Quote
Sirpent Posted October 8, 2012 Posted October 8, 2012 Welcome on board Interesting, and hope you find many years of pleasure and pain with the new ride as we all do Other interesting point which prompted this response, I stepped out of a 78 XC 351 Cobra (Build #163) after I wrote it off on the Eastern freeway in 1983 into my 260Z. Still wish I had the old girl, alas she ended up at SIM's meteal, but the Zed saw me through 11 continuous years of driving before I stored her away. So the reason for my profile name, in homage of my first love. Cheers and welcome John Quote
luvemfast Posted October 8, 2012 Posted October 8, 2012 Welcome to the wondrful world of Datsuns and rust. Can you post some pics? I prefer hardtops too. Thery're more rigid! You'll also find they have less rust, due to the targa tops leaking. Quote
imackz Posted October 9, 2012 Posted October 9, 2012 Good evening viewers. I own a Ford 77xc coupe but being very opened minded about my cars i stumbled upon a Datsun 280zx on ebay a few weeks ago. Apart from not having seen one on the road for years something inside said keep looking. the ad was pretty poor, (poor english) but there were enough pictures to get a good idea on its condition. I could see faded paint, some rust but i just couldn't leave the page. The owner would not let anyone see it(from ebay questions) but still i didn't leave the page.I took a risk and I ended up buying it and i could not be happier. I need some info on its rarity and some info on parts. Thanks. This is my first forum posting ever and here is a description of the car. 1979 280 zx (march). It's a hardtop. Ive been looking for others that are for sale and T tops are far more prevalent. in fact i have only seen one hard top from that year for sale. My 280zx is silver with the black interior. The car is TOTALLY original. The interior is 95% with the only blemish being the roof lining which is starting to come away and a slight stitch separation in one of the seats.The crash pad is as new.The computer is fabulous and way ahead of its time.The radio cassette just makes me laugh but i'm leaving it in there. Everything works and warning lights work.My first question is: can the roof lining be reglued(from experience probably not), and is there original lining material out there or something close? Mechanically it is excellant with the motor starting first time every time. From what i can see under the bonnet nothing has been changed.It goes really well and i took it to Canberra from Sydney and back and it didnt miss a beat. I have just noticed today a leak from the rear disc brake on the drivers side. This should just be a seal i think and a minor repair. The only problem the car really has is the rust. I'ts around the petrol cap, bottom of both gaurds the drivers side being much worse.Apart from that there is not anything cancerous but to get a good look i have to pull it apart and i do expect some more rust. Are there gaurds out there? I havent seen too many.And what tool do i need to remove all the chrome strips without damaging them. I picked up the car from a friend of the owner in western Sydney. He told me the car is extremely rare as it was the first of 280zx's that were imported. He claimed that it is probably one of only a handful of these early ones still alive in Australia.He also claimed that the car has only done 38000 original km. I saw the odo reading on the ad and it was 38000 which i assumed would be 138000 or even 238000 but let me tell you it feels like it is low mileage. The interior and mechanicals seem?? to indicate low k's. But the rust makes the car look older. Is it possible that these bodies can just rust really quickly if not looked after. I also spoke to the owner after i bought the car and he seemed very genuine and said he was the original owner with ownership passing to other family members(his wife). I'm new to the world of Datsuns apart from once having a one third share in $150 Datsun 1600 when i was a teenager. We had so much fun in that car. Could i please get any feedback,opinions or info on my Datsun and i want to hear from anyone who is knowledgeable on these beautiful carThanks for reading this long intro Welcome fellow 280zx owner, as per Simon I prefer hardtops to targa (due to same reasons) but hope you get it nice and pretty for some pictures Quote
Paulo Posted October 10, 2012 Posted October 10, 2012 Welcome aboard... you will certainly find the Zed's a rare piece of history in any form. PM for possible suppliers of guards/body parts in western Sydney! Quote
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