Hi ya'll
I'm Jonathan (aka Woody) and I've got a decision to make. My mom bought an 82 280ZX 2+2 new back in 82 and drove it to work every day for about 15 years. Somewhere around 97 she bought a new Jeep and the Z has been sitting ever since.
She mentioned the idea of selling it a few weeks ago but gave me the option of keeping it. I'm trying to decide whether its worth fixin' up or just letting her sell it.

First off, I'm not a "car guy". I've never even changed the oil in a car, but I am a motorcycle roadracer and do all my own work to my bikes so I'm not mechanically incompetent by any means, cars just never interested me enough until recently.

Mechanically, its got a few small issues, most of the visible rubber hoses are deteriorated and most of the guages cut in and out, etc but for the most part it runs fine (~123,000 miles) The interior has some problems, it sat out in the sun every day for 15 years so the dash faded, and the plastic around the ignition key/steering wheel is pretty much breaking down into dust. The seats are grey but over time they've started to turn yellow/brown and the carpet is worn out and faded, especially in the back.

We actually got lucky a few years ago, we had a new stereo put in (a Minidisc player actually; don't ask lol) and the guy installing it fixed a bunch of wiring problems we had ($1 installation, definitely a good deal!). I'm planning on putting a CD player back in it, something low profile so it doesn't stand out, obviously a graphicy one would looks stupid in an otherwise stock 82 280ZX.

The exterior is great, it was repainted a few years back and looks like new but some of the emblems don't look that great.

If I do decide to keep it and fix 'er up, it'll be a fairly long time project, racing takes almost all the money I can scrape together as it is.

here is a pic:

first post and I put it in the wrong damn place, this just ain't my day

then based solely on that I would say sell it and get something new(er) Old cars like this are fun and "hobbies" for people who like to work on cars, to people who don't they are money pits and aggravations. If you are looking to become a car guy....then an 82 z isn't a horrible place to start.

No Problem. Fixed. welcome.

thanks ya'll

I like to tinker with stuff and have a few different projects going all the time. I guess my main question was (typed in a hurry, didn't really get to clarify that part lol) whether or not the Z would be a car for a "noob" to start with, and thats been answered so thanks

My dad had the oil changed, plugs replaced, coolant flushed, and put new gas in it about a month ago so it should be good to go on that end. Luckily it doesn't need much mechanically at this point so I don't have a bunch of crap to troubleshoot at once

Gotta get some time to dive into wiring diagrams and all that fun stuff. Thats a whole new world for me, cars are so much more complicated than motorcycles its just nuts.

although now I'm debating selling the car and building a go-kart with a spare motorcycle engine (130HP @ 250 lbs hehe) or buying a shifter kart (not in my budget but those things are badass!)

I don't really have time for either project right now, it'll have to wait until racing season is over but I've got to decide in the next month what I'm going to do with the car.

oh I've driven it plenty of times, its different but fun
I'm definitely not used to sitting that low to the ground

its an entirely different perspective (I usually drive an 06 Chevy 2500HD lol)

I definitely like the Z a lot

welcome, it always is a very hard decision. it looks to be in great shape, so drive it a while longer, until you really know, like daily drive it, not just a weekend car. that'll sort your mind out and allow you to make a educated desision you wont feel screwed aboot. if you need info, just ask here, we all try to be as helpful as one can get online. im actaully building a 1000cc cart as well! hehe!