Hi everyone, new guy here with a 1981 280ZXT. I've had the car since it was new and now that I have a little more time, I wanted to enjoy it more and spend some time fixing it up it a bit (not that it needs a lot). My other passion is motorcycles, and I am a member on a few MC forums. I've been able to learn quite a bit on those forums (and share some knowledge) and hoping to do the same here.

Here are a couple of pic's of my 280.

 

Welcome to the forums man. And that is a sweet looking Z. Can't go wrong with the blue and silver scheme. Is it the original auto, or did you change it to a manual?

 

Everything is still original. Do a lot of people switch them over to manual? I had been trying to keep it stock possibly for collector value, hence why it is still on the original tiny 15 inch rims.

Not really sure what I'll do going forward.

 

Most people switch to manual, because automatics suck so bad. lol Plus sticks are more fun to drive. As for collector value, they don't go for a whole lot. Those wheels are not as common though. I have one and half sets of those, that I probably will use in the future. It really is your call what you want to do. I know if I had it I would switch it to manual shift. Good luck, and post some more pics of the inside of the Z as well.

 

Well it is a 33 yr old vehicle, so I'm not necessarily trying to make it my fun driving car. Even a Camry can probably outrun it these days, LOL. I put about 300 miles a year on my Z (I did run it for 2 tanks of gas last summer though). My goal has been run at least 1 tank of gas through it every year and to store it every winter with a fresh tank and Stabil. Fortunately I have another sports car with a 6 speed and my motorcycles for when I want to have fun.

If everyone changes over to 5 speeds, maybe I'll end up with the only automatic left on the planet someday.

 

Very nice car. Welcome to the forum. Not a lot of people have owned their cars since day one. Get the FSM from XenonS130 - it will answer 99% of the questions you'll ever have about fixing your car. It's nice to hear you're running your car - having it sit idle is one of the worst things you can do to your car. I'm fixing up a car that sat in storage for 13 years - nightmare!

Sounds like the car is running well - you'd just like to tinker with it. Have your thought about replacing all the bushings with urethane (just not the TC rods! - use rubber bushings on those)