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Introducing the unloved z! Unloved by the purists but very much loved by the masses (still the most successful selling z to date). This is my new 1983 280zx 2+2. Opinions on the looks of the 280zx will be divided, particularly with the 2+2. In photos I agree the 2+2 looks slightly odd, but in person it is completely different, they just look good to me. Like a 80’s cyberpunk 240z.... I had been wanting to buy a new daily driver for a while. Now when I say daily drive I use the term loosely. I am fifo and away half the year, we have a family car which is the workhorse, I do max 6000km a year. My current daily is a Ford Fiesta ST. An extremely fun and capable car. It has a torquey 1.6L turbo engine and handles like cars 4 times its value. I highly recommend you drive one on a twisty road if the chance finds you. Despite loving the way it drives on the twistys, it’s never given me that special feeling. You know the one. That butterfly in the tummy feeling. It’s never felt special enough, I didn’t care where I parked it, didn’t care if it was dirty etc. Plus there’s the smirk when you tell someone you drive a fiesta... Let’s be honest it doesn’t look the best. Not terrible but very....meh....doesn’t make the gonads tingle. I narrowed my search with a few criteria. Must have: Rear wheel drive (I missed my NA Mx-5 and the rear wheel drive dynamics) Manual transmission 4 seats (have to carry my spawns occasionally) 25k budget Gives me that tingle in the gonads Believe it or not this is a difficult criterion to search for, hardest to fulfill was the “tingle feeling”. My special feeling was mainly aimed towards old Japanese sports cars. My search results and personal tastes brought me to these: 300zx Z32 NA 280zx S13 NA 86 GT Basically I was happy to buy whatever came first. Obviously the 86s were plentiful. But COVID had caused an unreasonable price rise in them and I wanted one with low Kms. But if I’m honest they have never really pushed my button, plus generally their drivers are of questionable taste... I test drove a 280zx, it was in great condition and going for cheap. The catch was that the owner had bought it sight unseen from nsw and could tell me no history of the car, plus it had been resprayed with no photos of the work, the job was good but who knows what nastys could be lurking beneath that fresh paint?! Also it needed to be registered in WA. I passed on the car... but I did learn that I liked how these drove. Very balanced handling much like the Mx-5 with its 50-50 weight distribution I test drove a reasonably well looked after S13. But they wanted too much for it. Excellent condition 300zx’s started to appreciate beyond my budget. Fetching 30-40k now Then this beauty happened to become available. It was in the hands of my z guy in perth, and after mentioning to him I was looking at 280zx’s he asked me if I was interested. I was.... Once I saw the car I was sold. My wife....not so much. There were many questions, eye rolls and sighs. But at the end of the day she begrudgingly gave her approval. The old couple who owned her bought it in 1984 for $22180? (Car came with the original purchase invoice!) I punched that number into the inflation calculator and it ended up being 70k in today’s money! They loved the car and drove it as their Sunday car, otherwise it was garaged. All maintenance receipts came with the car. They owned it from 1984 up until a few years ago when they sold it to my z guy. It’s completely bone stock and an extremely complete car. Very different to my 240z... There are a few dings and scratches in the paint but overall in very good condition, a couple panels have been resprayed as the color match is a bit off, a few surface rust spots have started coming up, but nothing too crazy. The interior is the highlight for me, it’s in amazing condition and I absolutely love the red. Red and white combo is si magnifique! The one drawback is the auto box, god it’s horrible. But the car came with a manual pedal box, and I have a W71B that was in my 240z which if I’m not mistaken was the original 5 speed installed in these. Just need to source a 3.9 diff and those are the big items sorted. Plans for the car: This will not be a tear down project. This will be a preservation and maintenance project. That doesn’t mean I don’t have any modifications planned. I am well aware that this car is most valuable if left alone. But I cannot help but want to improve it. The stock suspension is too squishy and the engine performance is choked. All modifications will be bolt on. All stock components will be stored away so that the car can go back to original if need be. Wheels and tyres Manual conversion with lightened flywheel and LSD diff Coilovers Cold air intake and headers and exhaust Strut braces front and back Sway bars Camshaft This should all bring the car up to a better level and the stock ecu/afm should be ok with it. I’m not in a huge rush to do these as I still have my 240z project to consider. And that is the story of the Unloved Z

Hi all, I'm looking for a replacement fuel sending unit for a 07/81 280ZX on behalf of the owner in Tasmania. His current one is not reading above 1/4 full and he was told by his mechanic to source another unit or find a fuel tank to scavenge one out of. If anybody has one or has some leads on where to go for one it would be much appreciated. If there's some guru advice out from someone who's had this issue and fixed it themselves I'd love to hear from you. Scott

hi! my name is Zoe and i'm a 20 year old girl living in Melbourne. I very recently purchased my first own project - an '83 280zx from a super cool lady i lived around the corner from in Newcastle, NSW. i know its no 240 or 260 but to be honest i'm just as stoked on it!! Unfortunately due to lockdown i won't get up there to drive it for at least 6 weeks!! im devastated but i think my dad is pretty happy to babysit and have something new to look/fiddle around with haha. i thought i would introduce myself as I am planning to try and do as much of the work as I can (with a little help of course), so you will probably see a lot of silly questions from me from time to time. if anyone can point me in the direction of reliable places for parts in australia etc would be very helpful too! there are some pretty intensive rust issues that we know of; around the windscreen and on the bonnet can be seen to easily but theres also some chassis, towards firewall and the floor pans need to be replaced. anyway, thanks again! Zoe

Hey all, About 2 weeks ago I picked up my grandpa's 1979 280zx to rebuild, I have already got the fuel system redone and got the engine running after it sitting there for about 13 years which was a pretty sick feeling loll.. Just wondering what everyone recommends for brake booster and master cylinder setups, I am looking into a Wilwood Tandem 1" Master Cylinder with the Toyota Hilux 8/9" LN141 Break Booster. Just wondering if anyone has any recommendations or their setups that work well as an upgrade to the stock ones as this cars stock setup is absolutely shot now and I wont be able to get a RWC or Rego which is a pain. I am also doing an RB25DE or DET engine swap later in the late year so something that seems to work well with your engine builds. This is my first post and im sure I will be active on these forums a lot more now Cheers

I'm not sure who originally manufactured this bonnet as I bought it off eBay a few years ago. It was a hit rough when I got it, but I've since removed the hood pins and patched the holes (can see the hole on the underside as shown in the pics) and a few dings. It's been sanded mostly flat to prep for paint, but as you can see from the pics isn't all the way there. Its not perfect and wouldn't go on a show car, but with a bit more work could be made to look nice, or use it as is with a coat of paint on a more tack/race oriented car. I've also reinforced the hood catch and the two threaded inserts for the bonnet catch, and these should probably be sanded smooth before using. I weighed the stock bonnet at about 19kg and this one is about 13kg, so offers a decent weight saving. Pickup from Kensington, NSW, Sydney. I think $150 would be a fair price for it?

I've been keeping these front hubs and rotors as spares, but it's unlikely I'll ever use them again as I now have s13 coilovers and hubs installed. The bearings are still in there but I would recommend replacing them due to the hubs sitting around. Asking $100 and pickup from Kensington, Sydney. Could also post them if anyone interstate is after then.

280ZX A/C Fan, Evaporator Core & Heater Core - Located Sydney, Australia. $50 Originally procured to determine whether it could be adapted to a 260Z.. Condition as shown in photos - WYSIWYG. Fan spins without making noise. Have not tested vents or flaps other than to push open with fingers. You organise courier/shipping/postage if you are unable to collect.

Just wondering if anyone has knowledge on a manual conversion in 280zx regarding the wiring work required Apart from bridging the wires that recognize if the old auto box was in park or not are there any other electrical wiring changes required such as swapping in a manual ecu

I'm hunting for a set of 'swastika' rims for my 1982 280zx. Pretty sure I already have the correct centre caps (see pics). Feel free to correct me I'm near Chadstone in the eastern suburbs, but am willing to travel. I've been waiting in vain for ebay to provide, but I need a new set of tyres and if i'm going to change from 14's to 15's i'd rather wait until I have the rims. I'm also on the lookout for a space saver spare wheel if anyone has one rolling about. Cheers!

Hi All, I have just recently finished my 1979 HZ Premier Wagon after a 3 year complete rebuild, the donor wagon I had I swapped for a 1979 280zx with a siezed motor, body in fairly good condition, I was lucky enough to pick up another 280 from Kalgoorlie with a running engine and a 5 speed. This is all new to me as I have mucked around with Holdens for years. What I would like to know is, for example, the trims around the door openers ( inside) and the elec window activators are broken, were there any other models in the Nissan/Datsun range in that era that had the same trims that I can source them off as trying to find them off a 280 is very difficult. Regards Wayne

I was heading along Warigal Road in my 280zx the other day and heard a crack! On arrival home I found the top trim of the winshield missing.. Anyone got a replacement as it looks like crap without it. The year is 1980 Datsun 280zx 2+2. Colour is siver. Cheers.

I'm looking for these following parts. -280zx front bumper / Air dam - window washer bottle - Rear 280zx centre light panel - 280zx badges -Rear window hatch louvre -Trunk interior and side wall panels Preferably good conditioned but show me what you have. I'm located in NSW Sydney. If you need to post we shall settle that out too. Thank you ?

Hi guys, I am after an S30 2+2 or 2 seater rolling shell. Starting a new project using a 280ZX as a donor for the engine and drive lines. Would PREFER if the S30 had an interior and was complete as possible apart from engine, gearbox, diff, ect. Looking for something with as little rust as possible, rust on front end panels is okay, as I can replace them, but I do not want something with rust in the floor pans, or any part of the frame or rear quarter, (rear quarter rust is okay just depends how bad it is) Thanks Located in Northern Suburbs of Melbourne.

Hi Guys, I am after a 3 Speed Automatic gearbox for a 280zx. Mine is all worn and leaking not worth getting a rebuild for it. Need one that is in good shape, no leaks and preferably low km and has been looked after. I am located in Northern Suburbs of Victoria. Thanks

Hey guys im chasing and l28et loom and ecu. I have just bought an l28et to put into my n/a 280zx. Also wondering if there is anything else i would need to do that i might be forgeting.

Hey guys, title says it all. How much should I be expecting to pay for something like this? I am located in Melbourne, Victoria. Would prefer something I can pickup myself instead of getting freighted from another state. Am also chasing a red center console lid, mine is all worn. Thanks

Hi all, I have some targa tops from a 1983 280zx for free if anyone wants them. They are in poor condition, glass is good and comes with the original vinyl bags. thee is corrosion on the metal portion, chrome trims still in good nick located Bald Hills QLD contact me on 0411125193 no other parts sorry other than set of snowflake wheels

Hey, i got a spare l28 with my 260. I dont need it so hopeing to sell it here. Im told it was running when it was pulled out and has been turned over manually with wd40 every 6 months or so, as far as i know has never been honed/ bored out. Comes with what you see and i think i have the computer for it too $400 south east melbourne Edit - need to hold in for a while untill i find out whats damaged in my l26 may need it for parts

An original used condition filter box, paint has worn in some areas and has surface rust. Its structurally sound. Located in Alberton, Adelaide South Australia. PM for more details Price: $50 neg Shipping: Yes at your expense Open to inspections can provide pictures and measurements. Thanks.

Used condition, inside is still coated in a film of oil so no surface rust to clean up. Out side had surface rust but has been cleaned up and repainted (engine enamel) for storage. Paint has chipped/worn off in some areas so it needs a repaint (I'm a shit painter). No rust holes present always stored indoors. Located in Alberton, Adelaide South Australia. PM for more details Price: $50 neg Shipping: Yes at your expense Open to inspections, I can provide pictures and measurements. Thanks.

hey guys, ive been looking around a long while for a L28 long block but im not having too much luck. if anyone has one theyre willing to sell, feel free to message me. thank you, L_Whiskey