Hi all,

I'm brand new to the Z car scene. I sold my R33 Skyline last week and will be fetching a 280ZX tomorrow. Its a bit of a barn find.
From what I could see its been parked for ages. It's been sprayed before and it looks to be a decent job. Couldnt tell much because of the thick dust on the car.

No rust and the body is straight. No idea whether it runs.

My plan is to first clean it up and assess what is there and whats needed.
I'm considering whether to keep it stock or to slap in a VQ35DE.

I'd appreciate any comments around which would bring in a higher value. Stock L28 or VQ35. I've found a crashed 350Z where the entire drivetrain, suspension etc. is intact. It looks like it went under a truck. So just the roof etc is gone.

 

Welcome to ZDriver!

Obviously stock would hold value much more than an VQ engine swap... but it's your car. Evan Wallis has done a VQ35 swap in his 280zx. Most of the ZDriver members are now in the Facebook group "280ZX Drivers".

 

Thanks. After washing it, I can see the condition is much worse than I thought. So, for now I will be doing a restore and once that is done i will consider the VQ.

The major issues are:
- LOADS of overspray
- body filler on both doors
- body filler on both fenders
- the front has had a small tap and the surrounds for the headlights have been repaired with fibreglass. They did a bad job.

The fenders are not a train smash coz I will be fitting fender flares. Not sure if that requires cutting of the metal but either way it will cover the imperfections on the fenders.

If I can find some good doors I will replace them, else will cut out the problem area and weld in new metal.

 

I chatted to my mechanic buddy who will be helping with the build and he convinced me that we rather do the full build in one go.
So, we will fit another motor. Possibly a RB25DET.

I've searched the forum a bit and did not find much info on a RB25 into the 280ZX swop. Any info would be appreciated.