puttputt

I got a brand new 1979 Datsun 280ZX while I was in college. I loved that car, I had it for six years until I had to sell it because I needed the money after I got married. I put 100k miles on it, but it was still running strong. Here is a polaroid pic of my original car, taken around 1980.

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So now that I am older, I decided to get another one because I missed that car. I looked for a while, I was waiting for a clean one that had the same blue interior as my original 79 280ZX. I found one a few months ago in Texas and had it shipped up. It was in amazing condition for a 33 year old car, and had only 58k miles on it. It was obviously babied and had only two owners before me. The engine seems stock as far as I can tell, as is the interior with the exception of an add-on CD changer where the cassette player was in my original car. The car is in such good shape I would have to imagine that some of the interior was redone, but I'm not sure what. The car is a lighter shade of blue than my original car, but the interior is an exact match. I am not mechanical, so it was important that I get one that was already in great shape. I do have a mechanic who loves vintage cars who I trust, and I've had some work done, but not too much. I had a complete tune-up, timing adjusted, all fluids changed, a new cooling fan clutch with thermostat housing and gaskets. The AC was weak, and adding only one can of R-12 freon made the AC ice cold even in the 100+ temperatures this summer. I had the clutch pedal pivots greased which made it feel brand new. The car drives really tight, the only problem being that it isn't quite as fast as I remember. The compression was about 125 across all 6 cylinders, lower than I would like, but it drives so nicely I see no reason to mess with it right now.

I had a couple of small rust spots taken care of at the body shop, nothing big. It has a great paint job, I have no idea if it is the original paint but it looks great. Today I washed it, cleaned it up with the Mother's clay bar kit, and applied a coating of Maguires wax. The car looks great, like it came out of a time capusule. Here are some pics.

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<a href="http://s125.photobucket.com/albums/p49/puttputt59/?action=view&amp;current=IMG_5059.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p49/puttputt59/IMG_5059.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s125.photobucket.com/albums/p49/puttputt59/?action=view&amp;current=IMG_5049.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p49/puttputt59/IMG_5049.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s125.photobucket.com/albums/p49/puttputt59/?action=view&amp;current=IMG_5048.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p49/puttputt59/IMG_5048.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

PredatorZ

Grats on the new car, she looks very nice, near mint condition. You will find everyone on this forum very helpful, there are quiet a few guys who are Z Guru's Like Nismopick and Fricfrac to name just a few( Fricfrac has some very beautiful cars) Cheers on the new ride !!

NismoPick

Beautiful Z! A++

FricFrac

Welcome back to the club! Very nice example! I really like the paint scheme.

71OLDS

Funny I did the same thing bought the exact same z I had in 1990
83 turbo 2+2 with a 5spd. Took me years to find the exact match.
Anyway I remember the car as fast. But as we are used to modern cars it feels slow but
Still puts a smile on my face everytime I drive it.

SportBikeMike

Beautiful car....and welcome to the site!