OLD SOB

A week ago I found and bought a 1983 280ZX that is bone stock. It was driven regularly (120,000 mi) but was garage kept...no rust, etc. Repainted original color about 8 years ago so it is not totally considered a true a "survivor". All the gauges work, interior lights, a/c, power everything...it all works. The car feels as tight as the 06 350Z I had and corners incredibly well. Not a rattle or a leak (so far).
Question 1: Should I keep it bone stock or go ahead and play and make changes? It's a fun car as is...but I'm thinking about taking off some of the stock parts (seats, steering wheel, Z wheels, etc) and storing them to be returned to stock in the future, if necessary. But I know I will replace the exhaust with Magnaflow or something a little more beefy. From anyone who considers themself a purist out there: would I be better off leaving it like it is, getting a folding chair and a cup of coffee, and just going to Saturday car shows instead? It'd probably save me money.
Many more questions to follow...

NismoPick

Welcome to ZDriver!

We can't really answer that question... it's your car, what you do with it depends on what you want as an end result.

Do you want to keep it as a daily driver? Weekend racer? Trailer queen?

OLD SOB

Too many miles on it to be considered a collectable. I'm retired...so it'll be driven to town and to the golf course mostly. If it is like my previous cars, I'll plan to drive it a while until I get bored with it...and then sell it (I have other cars as well). Changing the seats, exhaust, etc., would delay the onset of boredom and help me enjoy it more (perhaps).
That said, I'll probably just restrict my major changes to wheels/tires. Get some high quality seat covers to protect the velour original seats. And drive it two or three times a week. Much of the fun is in reading about potential upgrades and dreaming about what to do anyhow!

rogerz

i'm an old sob too. first thing I would do is replace ball joints, tie rod ends and bushings (with poly). New shocks. this will tighten up the driving/steering feel. at 120 K and being old enough to drink it probably needs it. I've got a 83 n/a stock too. I have a turbo engine sitting on the engine stand which should be installed before the summer is out. Mine was a gll so it had leather seats (still in good shape) and the digital dash. climate control needs work(you can be cold or hot nothing in between) but a common problem with that model. I put a set of **** wheels on mine which I like. TRy redline tranny fluid made mine shift nicer. I would also change out the clutch hydraulics. new master and slave cylinder. saves being stranded by the side of the road on a dark and stormy night.

FricFrac

Change out the marshmallow suspension. Makes a huge difference in how the car drives. If I could only do one mod to a stock 280ZX that would be the one...

OLD SOB

My ZX doesn't have any ground effects...and the azz end looks like she's got the ground clearance of a 4x4. I want to go with some Rota RBs and fill up the wheel wells a little. Order of upgrades is a concern for me. I once bought 33s for a jeep and then did the lift and then wished I had gone with 35s. Don't want that to happen again. However, wheels/tires make such a visual difference, I'm still tempted to go there first...then adjust the suspension to fit them. Looking at Rota RBs in the 16x8 instead of the 17x9s just cause I live in Tennessee and some of our back roads around here are less forgiving to the smaller sidewalls. What is the deal about wheel well "rolling"? What is that?

SHADY280

Wheel well rolling is taking the lip and folding up against the inner fender to gain 1/4" or more of side to side clearance. If you can follow that. Hope I was clear. I'm a fan of starting with wheels then springs as well. Mine is still stock ride height believe it or not. It's not quite as low or stiff as I want but all new suspension makes up for that. Also simple upgrades like a coil and cold air intake and basic exhaust won't ruin the car to future buyers. Those are considered maintenance and can just make sure you get the price you ask for and not give a buyer a reason to offer less.

duckyz

Bone stock '83 n/a here as well. I love it. Recently, I put new shocks and urethane bushings on it, new steering rack (because the old one was, well... old and busted). Just put on a header and increased the diameter to 2.5" and running a Flowmaster on the back. Still using the stock springs mainly because I drive it 80 miles a day, but will probably get some Eibach progressive lowering springs in the future.

If you have the 14" wheels, tires that are of any decent quality or stickiness are getting hard to find. Going a bit larger would probably be good to do as it will open up the options as far as tire buying goes.