Hello All,

Well I recently graduated and decided to buy myself my dream car. A Datsun 280ZX. This one was the fully loaded edition (Power everything, T-top) in Gold colour, then repainted black. For $2000.00 it didn't seem a bad deal at all. 240,000 KM on the odometer, a good running engine with no smoke issues, original spark plug wires on it as well lol.

Young guy who enjoys fixing up 300ZX's in Lethbridge offered it to me. I snapped it up at 2 grand (he had been asking 2600).I drove it around the block and down the highway and back, and then had him drive it so I could see his "style" of driving. Seemed like a good deal to me!

So, within about 2 days of buying it... I am assailed with small issues.
- Muffler came off.
- a few hoses started leaking, including a couple small rad hoses. Prestone everywhere
- Tail light warning on the computer in the dash keeps coming on when my headlights are on. But the tail lights are fine.
- Radio worked for all of a few minutes, now all I get is static. Tape cassette player lasted a week then died, it won't hold my tape inside and when it does, it keeps trying to fast forward or rewind.
- Front left tire started leaking

About a month in, (today) these major issues occur:

-Fuel mileage steadily getting worse, despite driving on only premium octane fuel from Esso. A quarter tank in a 70 litre tank should NOT last only 110 KM, being driven reasonably (one or two passes, but otherwise right hand lane driving)
-Grinding/popping sound from the diff/clutch area. Took it to my mechanic to hoist it up and looks like I have loose drivetrain parts. Great.
-Oil change with Castrol 10W-30 about 3 weeks ago. Woke up this morning and went to start my car. Oil light comes on. Shut off car and look. NO OIL. No spillage under the car, no major leaks on the block. I did some tests with a buddy of mine, holding the throttle, checking for leaks. Turns out I now am burning oil, and suddenly am putting out clouds of white smoke, right in my driving RPM. Filled up with a few more litres of oil and added Bardahl No-Smoke/Leak Stop. See what happens... have a bad feeling it's valve seals or compression issues.
- Driving along with my new Thrush Glasspack installed. Happy as can be. Suddenly, a roar from the engine. Looks like my exhaust gasket went, or I have a major exhaust leak. I know this since I popped my hood and when gunning the gas for the oil test, billows of white smoke come out forcefully out the left (driver's perspective) side. Underside of my hood has started to become sooty as well.
- Stop for gas. Go to start the car and... no power. Found the battery is strapped down with a bungee that came loose. Tightened it and voila. Power. Weird, battery terminals are fine and cables are OK.
- Front speaker in the middle of the dash started crackling and popping loudly at regular intervals. Gets louder/faster the higher the engine revs. Stereo system is totally off. Starts when car is turned on and keeps going till shut off. SUPER. ANNOYING.

Repairs/Fixes I did:
-Oil Change (Castrol High Mileage 10W-30)
- New sparkplugs and wires (NGK V-Power + Belden 7mm Wires)
- Inspection for Insurance - Passed

So. Being a recent graduate... and looking at this, I am asking you seasoned gentlemen what I should do. How much money am I looking to fix this? I have no garage or tools I should add. Is it worth it? People tell me the N/A engine is crap and that for the car as it is, I got ripped off for 2 grand.
Should I swap in a new engine and transmission? I was considering an RB25 or RB20. Is that easy to do with a mechanic's help? What is the price I would be looking at for that?
Finally, should I just sell it and cut my losses? It seems new issues crop up daily, and it would break my heart to come out one morning to a totally dead engine.

I welcome thoughts. Sorry for the long post!

-Zephyr

 

if you can't do the mechanics yourself find the greater fool to buy it. WAs that 2000 when canadian dollar was real low or recently? If recently you got burned badly on the price. the l28 engine is pretty bulletproof. a lot of the other stuff is using a vom to track things down. radio is crap anyway get one made this century. DId you look under th hood when you bought it. The bungee cord on the battery was probably a good indication of the type care the owner gave the car. Paying somebody to get it in good shape. you should probably look around for a z32 in decent shape for a decent price might spend less money on that then getting the 280 running right. wasting big bucks on running premium fuel in an l28 engine. it doesn't improve performance at all due to the engine being engineered to run on low test. even a later 88-89 z31 would be a better bet. try getting in touch with th vancouver z club someone might come take it off your hands.

 

Lol $2000 Canadian then is still $2000 Canadian now.

First off - what is the rust like on the car? If the car is nice and solid it's worth $2K here in Canada - there are precious few solid 280ZXs around. All the other stuff might seem like a big deal but it's stuff that can be dealt with. If you want to swap something in and L28ET is the best bang for the buck and the least amount of grief.

Oil is the life blood of your car. Everyone on any vehicle should check their oil when they fill the car up. It takes a grand total of about 1 minute and it will tell you everthing is fine just like the last 50 times you checked it OR something is happening.

FYI - in the future the best plugs for your car -> BPRE6Es as listed in the manual. Also run 87 octane in the car if it's stock - you're wasting your money otherwise. Higher octane has less power but cars that run high compression or turbo's need it to prevent detonation. You need to find out why it's burning oil (needs rings) or white smoke (blown head gasket?)

Sounds like the car needs a good going over. The L28 is pretty bullet proof - dunno who told you it wasn't. Are you willing to mess around with the car?

It sounds like the car has been neglected and needs to have someone take the time to go through it checking the hoses and belts. The AFM could probably use a rebuild.

 

The body has some rust underneath but most of it is surface. Overall it's quite solid. As for swapping in an L28ET, I cannot find one anywhere. Any ideas FricFrac?

Willing to mess around, sure. Willing to fork out a couple grand to just figure out what the problem is, no.

At this point, I am considering selling it to someone else with the time and money to take better care of it.

 

I'd stick with the current motor, fix the drivetrain, and do an L28ET swap later.

An RB20 will bolt right up to the turbo driveshaft splines, the stock motor mounts, and the (280zx) automatic transmission mount, wiring will be your enemy here (you will also need to have the stock oil pan cut and welded in a complete 180 degree position to clear the steering rack)

As far as wanting an RB25, if you have enough money, you can do it. Your driveshaft, motor mounts, and transmission mount, will all be custom, as well as having to get the oil pan flipped around so it will clear the steering rack.

But I can understand where you are coming from on wanting to bail on the car, purchasing it and then it giving you a LOT of problems within the first two months. Especially with only 149,000 miles (For us kids south of the border)

I've spent a good $1,500 on rebuilding my L28ET to a completely stock and 0-mile motor, and I can't wait to get back into that OHC spirit.

It's really what you want sir.

 

You can say that again!

However I did get a good deal on mine. Still I've spent more than $1,000 on it so far!

 

My rule of thumb...

Don't spend money on a car if you can't get that money back by selling it, or don't plan on keeping the car for A LONG TIME.

I've got $15k+ into my Z... that's why it stays garaged.

If your beat Z was meant to be a daily driver, make the repairs and keep it for a long time or cut your loses now and sell it.

 

Agreed! With my current car I don't plan to spend too much more (who knows). However one day I plan to buy and completely restore a 240z.

I don't have a limit to spending for my plan on that (Hoping to be making good cash haha ). Essentially whatever I want/need because I plan on keeping it forever.

 

Thanks guys. I'm putting it up for sale as of today. With just finishing school, and living on my own with no parents, it's not easy to support such a car habit.

I do wish for a sports car... perhaps it's poor taste but is there a cheap, fun little tuner car you can suggest?

Cheers mates. Maybe someday I'll own another 280. Till then, God Bless you All and your Z's!

 

Well unfortunately most sports cars aren't cheap however honestly the ZX's are some of the cheapest and best that I've found. It sounds like you got unlucky and didn't have a good experience but maybe next time if you do your research and wait for the right car you'll have a better one.

Good luck with the sale!

 

You got a rat bagged ZX that wasn't maintained. An old car is going to need some work done to it to be reliable and the ZX is one of the most reliable cars for it's age out there but when you've got old fluids, cracked belts, old hoses, siezed calipers, etc, etc you're going to have problems. There isn't an import out there that is as cheap to work on as a ZX and as far as an EFI car it's one of the simplest to work on.

That being said if you don't have the money to pay someone to work on an old car when it needs it or the time/desire to learn and do it yourself (because pretty much anyone can - I am!) then you shouldn't have an older car. Get something new with a warranty.

Cars are money bro.... just like well I'll stay PC on this one.... lets just say there are lots of things that will drain the bank account

 

I agree with these guys. The 280zx is pretty much the cheapest sports car to own and fix. If you are willing to learn how to fix and maintain it. You can save a lot of money and grief. A good majority of my mechanical experience came from working on my Z's. I have learned a lot on here and reading my manuals. These are for sure, a sports car for the most broke enthusiast. But if you are not willing to learn, or devote the time to do it. Sell it, and cut your losses. As mentioned in this thread. Good luck man.

 

Well, thanks guys. Someone is already interested... the more I think about it, the more I just want to keep this car.

The sad thing is, my friend who owns a Skyline GT-R 1993 keeps telling me that my car can't even keep up with modern Corollas now. It's a niche car, and I wish to learn. But when your engine is smoking and needs a full overhaul, it's thousands of dollars no matter which way you go. I just don't have the money for that. Buddy keeps saying just sell it, save and buy a 90's Nissan. He says the late 70's and early 80's cars are the worst of the century, due to that damned "save the fuel!" recession.

Just my 2 cents. It hurts to let her go but he has a point, the 90's were more powerful. The technology and electronics in the 280ZX are also archaic.

 

I don't agree with your buddy's opinion of cars of that era. Sure they were down years for American muscle cars.....but alot of nice import sports cars came out of that era.....not only the 280ZX, but the RX-7, Porsche 924/944, Ferrari 308, etc.....these are not exactly "crappy" cars.

Who cares if the 280Zx can't outrun a modern Corolla?? You'll look a 1000X better! Plus a few minor mods will fix that.

 

Your car can't keep up with a modern Corrolla.... yea and what's his point? My 370Z is faster than a Lamborghini Countach. Again so what? A newer car being faster than an older higher end car - that's called technology. As we advance with technology we make gains in performance and efficiency.

A '70's Skyline is going to be worth WAY more than his GTR any day of the week. R32's are a dime a dozen here in Canada - tell him he's jelous because you drive a car people will turn their head to see what it is compared to his car you'll see 20 of any day of the week... Besides a lightly modded Subie will eat him for lunch but who cares - it's still a plain jane grocery getter. It's no more sporty looking than a Mazda 3.... actually the Mazda 3 is probably sportier looking. I dunno I just like the whole package when it comes to cars - not just it fast or not just it looks good - I like the whole combo. Z cars have long been know for their high technology at an affordable price for their time frame and after the fact a very good performance value but to each his or her own....

Get a 90's car because they are still old, more complicated, more difficult to work on and it will cost a lot more to get someone to fix it. I've got a '94 300ZX vert and it's a mint low mileage car but it scares me thinking about what can go wrong with it....

 

I work on probably 6 Corollas a day. From 1998 to 2012. They're all the same. Plastic, broken, and cheap.

All I can say is:

You're going to love your 280zx.

 

And of course, someone with a Skyline R-33 would suggest getting something newer, faster, more technologically advanced.

My friend tried to do it in league with his Integra DC5, I stuck to my 80s guns and stood up for our Japanese magic.

 

I don't like my old-tech 81 280zxt... Imma sell it and just drive my NEW 1994 Geo Metro. It's got 90's tech y0! That means it's fazt!

 

I agree with everyone's points.

If you're the type who likes to do your own maintenance.....go look under the hood of that 280ZX and see the long, narrow engine with huge spaces on both sides and all the main parts easy to find and get to. Few cars are easier to work on! Then go look under the hood of a Z32.....

 

what kind or mods???

 

I'm running my 280ZXT and performance wise I've only removed the stock air filter and removed the AFM, put in a crush bent used 3" exhaust (more like a 2 1/2"), stock turbo, stock boost and Mega Squirt 3 and it's a decent performing car. Definately fun to drive and makes some good power. I really think your money is best spent on an L28ET swap which will give you about 40HP more than stock for starters then cheap HP with turbo system upgrades from there.

For the record the 0-60 on the 2012 Corrolla is 10.1s and the 280ZX NA is 9.1s (turbo is 7.2 which is faster than the RX-7, Porsche 924 and Ferrari 308GTSi (7.9s) listed above ). Another interesting fact about the 280ZX/Ferrari 308GTSi - the Ferrari used the older K series Bosch Jetronic mechanical EFI whereas the Datsun used the L series electronic EFI lol.

 

I was thinking intake and exhaust.

 

Well you guys make a lot of convincing arguments. Honestly, I've always liked being able to work on the engine in a non-cramped engine bay. My old 79' half ton Chevy was like that, as was my 1981 Mustang with the Falcon I-6.

I've also heard the 280ZX was very poorly manufactured compared to the 240Z, less power, more issues etc.

I would LOVE to do a L28ET swap. However, I cannot find an engine. They just don't seem to exist out here. Also, we are talking thousands of dollars for the swap at the end of the day.
Now, I know whatever I buy, it will always be a money pit. I enjoy the Datsun 280ZX, she drives and feels very smooth and nice.

To be honest, if I had 10 grand, all I would need is:
New Tranny
New Engine
Body Work (front end straightened, alignment, new rims or refurbish the old ones)
New Fuel Pump

Don't get me wrong, my job at $17.00 an hour could definitely allow me to do this stuff. After a few years of saving. I have no house, no garage and no tools. A good, reasonable mechanic, I do have that.

So, we'll see what happens around Thursday. A gent wishes to buy the car and we'll see.
I should remember from now on: Own Tools, Own Garage or No Buy Fancy Old Car!

 

uhg... for the last time... enough with the "I heard that...". If you are getting all this "info" from your friends, you need new ones.

^^^ What a rediculous statement.

The REAL lesson you SHOULD have learned is to ACTUALLY inspect the car before buying it.

 

The 280ZX doesn't necessarily have less horsepower than a 240Z. Although the 240Z was rated at 150 hp and the 280ZX was rated at 135, they used a different method of measuring horsepower back in the early 70s which overstated the horsepower somewhat.