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Comments
At least the Datsun you get will be real.
The biggest problem with the "Z" series was rust. The engine and driveline was great but after a while you had a great engine in the middle of a pile of iron oxide. This may not be a problem in California or the Southwest, but Z cars are getting really rare in the northeast.
overspray inside the body - not one ounce of paint
purposely applied in there. Therefore they do rust badly. A joke in the NE used to be that if you put a pretzel in the glove box of a Z the floor would fall out 90 days later. This little oversight was corrected (so I have heard) with the ZX's and those made thereafter.
A 260Z can be made to run fine if you block off
the coolant passing through the intake manifolds
and carburetors. On the one that was around my house I used solder to make 3/4" long little billets to stick in those coolant hoses and put a small spring clamp on the outside to hold them in place. This got you past the inspector who looks under the hood to see what has been disconnected.
One other thing that will make a 260Z (or any of
the "SU" type carb's.) perform far better is to
make certain that the metering needles are perfectly straight. I found both of them bent on
the one my son had. If you can find new ones I
would go with those, along with the body that it
passes through in the main body of that "thing."
I hope whoever says that 280Z's will never be anything but a "used car" is a bit wrong. My '78 with 60,000+ original miles is still a fun car to
drive, and I hope will someday be worth at least what I paid for it in 1980. Oh, it has never been to the beach/shore, and definitely not anyplace where it snows and salt is placed on the roads. No pretzels in the glove box either!
Like all older cars, unless you can maintain them yourself, you better have deep pockets.
A lot of parts for the Roadsters are still available from Nissan and several companies specialize in repo and used parts on the West Coast.
As mentioned before, Hemmings is a good place to find out what any classic is worth. How you grade it is the key.
I always say that asking prices are really just an exercise in First Amendment Rights.
Of course, asking prices can be helpful, but you have to combine that info with price guides, and auction results. It's the money that actually changes hands that sets the market price.
RUST--I think most cars from the 60s and 70s were prone to rust, even the German cars. It's not particularly a Japanese problem.