FricFrac

Well I guess you don't have to go far for a little car snobery.....

http://www.zcarz.us/ZCarZClassicZCar...theHistory.htm

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In Brief ..... The start of an Icon .............

The first 240Z hit the showrooms in 1970, and it was an immediate success. Priced below the Corvette and Porsche 911, it was competitive with the Triumph TR-6, Opal GT and the new Porsche 914. There was no contest in the showrooms, as the 240Z easily outran all three challengers, as well as being more comfortable, better looking and more reliable. The press immediately fell in love with the Z-Car (as it was nicknamed), praising it in all the enthusiast magazines. Not surprisingly it was a highly competitive racer, winning its class in Sports Car Club of America racing from 1970 onwards. The new Datsun was also befriended by the aftermarket industry, which came out with hundreds of performance and styling options for the new model. Priced at a remarkable $3,526, the 240Z was soon being sold at more than 4,000 cars per month. But nothing lasts forever, and increasingly stringent emission and safety regulations took their toll on the beloved Z-Car. In 1974 the engine was enlarged to 2.6 liters to make the 260Z. Although horsepower was up from 151 to 162, weight was also increased and performance was not improved. A 2+2 model was added to the line the same year. The 260Z was built for only one year before it was replaced by the 280Z in 1975. While the 260 was saddled with troublesome emission-control carburetors, the 2.8-liter 280Z benefited from fuel injection, improving performance enough to surpass 240Z levels.

Unfortunately Datsun decided to scrap the classic Z-Car in 1978 and replace it with a "softer" model. The new 280ZX was a lackluster sedan in GT clothing, and although most sports car enthusiasts hated it, it sold well to those who would rather look sporty than be sporty.

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Lackluster? Hmm... IIRC the turbo was the fastest non-exotic production cars of the time. In fact the NA was as a tenth faster than the Corvette of the same year. No love for the S130.....

NismoPick

zcarz.us eh? Never heard of it...

For being a "zcar" website, it's only dedicated to S30's (last time I checked, the term "ZCAR" also included the S130, Z31, Z32, Z33, and Z34). Hum... maybe he should rename it "S30carz".

acleveland38

The new 280ZX was a lackluster sedan in GT clothing, and although most sports car enthusiasts hated it, it sold well to those who would rather look sporty than be sporty.

^^^^hahaha thats the best line on the whole website. at least they are very proper when they talk about their. "zcars"

snwbrderphat540

They're my heroes!

mrprofile

pft... I wonder what an s130 would look like as a sedan, im totally going to model that in 3D! maybe give it four doors, notchback!

WildmaN

Please don't, I would like to keep my breakfast down.

WildmaN

All I can say is they are retards. And have no taste. I love driving my 280zx everyday, and it is a pretty good reliable car. To me it is a sports car. Because it has 2 seats, is a 5 speed, and handles great. Plus the fact it will handle higher speeds, than the 240z would. I still get annoyed when people hate on other Z cars. I have learned to appreciate all the generations, and respect them. Of course the S130 will always be the best Z car made.

snwbrderphat540

I appreciate the S130, they gave the S30 bolt in upgrades after all

SportBikeMike

I wouldn't go as far to say the 280Zx is a "sedan" (although there is nothing wrong with sedans!), but they did go upmarket, there is a lot bigger emphasis on luxury. Whereas the 240Z was a true sports car, the 280ZX is more of a sporty luxury car (although they did correct that somewhat with the turbo version). Hope I don't offend anyone, but its true!

hoov100

Lets be honest here, from 79-86 nissan was concentrating more on build quality and anti-corrosion methods then performance. Also the 280zxt is an awesome car, but it just lacks in the suspension, power and brakes department.

SportBikeMike

Hoov, how can it be an awesome car if it lacks in the power, suspension and brakes areas? ...or are you being sarcastic?

mayhem052

mayhem052

I never got the memo on "anti corrosion methods". It probably fell out of that giant hole in my spare tire well.

hoov100

It is/was my opinion, more of an ironic joke then anything.

Never said they where making z's rust proof. A 280zx has alot better of a chance at surviving corrosion then a 240z ever had.

FricFrac

Obviously since the L28ET was by far the most powerful L series engine and the brakes on the ZX are a performance swap for the S30.

Not to be contrary but I often wonder about wether the S130 was less prone to rust or if there were just more S30's preserved...

100% agree on the stock springs being WAY too soft.... swap those out and it makes a huge difference....

mrprofile

the 280zx is a weird car, its hard to tell what they really focused on with this car, i mean yea it rusts, like any other car of the time, i feel like its a car that they made to fill in the gap from 70's to 80s, something pieced together, not completely new like the 300zx or something, but whatever, its still an awesome cars, and those pieces fit together quite nicely

hoov100

I don't know who would bother with 280zx brakes, when the z31 stuff is bolt on up front and you gain 5 lug up front.

As for the l28et, it might have been the most powerfull, but it also had to carry around an extra 600 or so pounds.

There really is no comparison between two different cars when one is modded vs. stock.


I wouldn't personally use anything off a 280zx for a 240z though, my donor of choice would be a turbo 300zx.

SportBikeMike

You never saw my '81 280ZX 2+2....

hoov100

Reread the statement you quoted. That and nissan really didn't start doing road salt resistance till the late 80's. (there's a pamphlet nissan made that explains it)

SportBikeMike

I re-read it....you said the 280Zx has a better chance of surviving corrosion than a 240Z. Maybe true....but they're both pretty bad!

FricFrac

Not even the five speed? 600 lbs is a generalized statement of course.... the '79 base ZX with slick top was the fractionally lighter than the '78 280Z with a stronger body AND far better areodynamics... It really doesn't have to do with which one is "better" - they are different cars. It mostly asthetics.

mrprofile

I always thought the 280zx was heavy then the 280z because it had power windows, mirrors, and all the other extras, i have a 79 2+2 slick top and it has everything except the headlight washers and it weighs 3000 lbs

snwbrderphat540

stronger body? eh... and the 5speed came out with the S30 actually. 78 had the option

FricFrac

Actually the '77 had the option but as we all know the 77/78 are very uncommon and when you do a five speed swap the majority are from the S130. The whole point being of course that the S130 does have merit even when it's being used as a parts car. The other point was that the S130 can be very close in weight to a late model S30 with both in stock form and the S130 isn't as big of a heavy pig as everyone makes it out to be. Of course the S30 lovers (of which I am also) tend to ignore the fact that the areodynamics of the S130 are light years ahead of the S30 which is a very important factor. Of course the S30 guys will say that you can easily add air dams, spoilers, etc to overcome but in the next paragraph will say it's not comparing apples to apples unless you compare the stock features of each car.

There is lots of stuff worth putting into an S30 from the S130 off the top of my head...

- R200 3.9 diff from the 81-83 NA

- 5 Speed from the 81 up (non turbo) have a much taller fifth - the whole reason most people put a five speed in.

- P79 and P90 are the best flowing stock heads and the best quench design

- F54 block is the most common go to block for most L series builds. Yes the N42 is good too but most builds are on the F54.

- Flat top pistons

- Bigger injectors

- L28ET best bang for the buck peformance upgrade for an S30 or S130 (typically speaking of course)

- The Maxima has long been the sibling of the Z car. Out of that close relationship comes the LD28 making stroker builds possible.

The 510 guys like the front suspension parts/disk break swap, five speeds and diffs as well as the super light weight six spoke 14" magss - one of the lightest out there and the Swastika 15" are a common bolt on as well for the 510s.

BlueKitsune

The R200 3.9 was in nearly all the years of S130 my Early 80 2+2 as a factory 3.90 gear set

And my 2+2 weights 2790lbs So thats not to bad really lol

Personally I like all the Z cars, some more then others but each one has something that is unique to that style of Z