1977 datsun 280z

1977 Z's aren't "bad" cars by any means, but they are not really up to the "standards" of the eairly 240 Z's. By 1977 the cars were strangled by the emissions regs of the day and had gained a LOT of weight. The driving dynamics of the car is very different from the 240. The overall acceleration is about the same because of the larger motor, but for driving fun, the 240 wins hands down. Now saying all this, if the car is in really good shape and the owner is only asking 3500 obo, it might not be a bad deal. The engines are just about bomb proof. The bottom end is very robust and last forever as long as it has oil. Not a bad car to tool around in the summer.
Best of luck,
Darrell.

 

Check it THOROUGHLY for rust and rot. You should get it up on a lift and check underneath. If the body and drivetrain check out 3500 is a good price. Since you stated you've meet your parents requirement I'm assuming you are a young driver so insurance will be most likely be high. Gas mileage shouldn't be too bad I would say you should get in the upper teens. Good luck.

 

If not corrosion and well maintained, it's a really fun classic car that should be easy to maintain and you might even make a buck off of it.

 

Thought I'd throw in a picture of my 77 280Z. I've had it since 1980 and have since logged on 370,000 miles. This car has been re-engineered, modified, and tweaked. All of this car's performance inadequacies have been for the most part remedied. It is a lot of fun to drive. Handling is awesome. As always I'm working on improving it!

Ciao,
George
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There's nothing wrong with a 280Z - my first Z was a 1976. There is weight gain, but that's overcome by the more powerful engine. The weight gain came from 2 major areas - larger bumpers and improved bracing in the body shell.

The engines are bulletproof. Go do a Google search on Nissan L28 - the lower ends of the cars are extremely overbuilt and usually don't need a rebuild until after 250,000 miles (!!!). The heads, which are aluminum, can warp and should have valves adjusted, but any "failure" is NOT catastrophic. In fact, adjusting valves is SOOOO easy on these cars, you can do it yourself.

There are few better choices for a classic sports car than a Z. Any Z.

The Z's achilles heel is rust, rust, rust! It's a uni-body, with no front subframe. If the frame rails have damage, or the floors do, you have work to do. It can be done, but at a cost that may outweigh the value of the car.

Post some pics. Is this for daily use? $3,500 is not bad if it's in good shape...

I've owned Z's for over 20 years, I know them well - as does F-Chat member ZUL8TR. Ping me if you need any more help.

Here's a pic of my '72 240Z:
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The 76 - 78 engines even though fuel injected were dogs compared to the 75 280s. What happened was Datsun (AKA Nissan) changed the cylinder head from a large square exhaust port to a significantly smaller round port with a steel liner designed to heat up red hot and burn off excess hydrocarbons. I replaced that head with a 1975 N-42 cylinder head. The throttle body was garbage....airflow meter way to small.....exhaust was too small dia. Change all those things out, and you have a screamer on your hands - 6500 rpm no prob. Regarding the bumpers. They are twenty-five pounds each so no problem...no discernable driving difference with or without. Those bumpers have saved me on an occasion or two since it is a daily driver.

Ciao,
George
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I hope to welcome you to the Z family soon!

A 280Z would be an absolute blast to own.

As stated earlier, you need to really check out the body and frame rails for rust. The battery tray is a bad spot. Also the doglegs in the body between the door and the rear wheel. Floorpans and frame rails also need to be checks. All of this can be fixed. There are companies that supply floorpans and framerails, so you just cut out the bad and weld in some new. Not a big deal, but adds cost.

If you have the modification bug, you will be in hog heaven. As previously stated, you can swap out the head easy enough. These old Z's are really easy to work on. The emissins stuff on the 280Z takes up some space, but its not that big a deal.

If you go for it, I'd highly recommend you do the following:
1) replace every last fluid in the car
2) clean every last electrical connector
3) replace every last inch of vacuum line

Also check the bushings in the suspension to see how they are. Rubber that old likes to fall apart from age. IF in bad shape, replace with rubber or swap to poly-urethane bushings. This can make the car so much more fun to drive via better control.

There are a ton of Z sites out there to explore and one heck of a helpful community of Z nuts that will assist you sort through gremlins, mods, or just hanging out and talking Z's. www.zcca.org and help you find a Z club in your area. www.zcar.com is a helpful forum. www.hybridz.org is where to go for serious modifications like a V8 or RB swap.

 

You mean 77 - 78. The N42 was standard in '76. The nice thing about the N42 is the square exhaust ports. If you use flat-top pistons in the 280Z, you'll get 10:1 (or better) compression ratio. I had that done in my '76 - these cars love a little compression boost.

Another great Z site is www.classiczcars.com (my personal fave). Lots of helpful and knowledgeable people there!

 

You are once again showing your non-addiction to turbo boost! LOL!


I finally got around to resizing some pics of my 1983 Datsun 280ZX Turbo.
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I do like your car - the 1983 280ZX turbo was the nicest of the ZX's IMHO.

It's not that I don't like turbos, I just think there's a limit to what you can do with the L28ET. RB26DETT is a different animal, of course. However, price / performance, the L28ET is tough to beat, and it's a (mostly) drop in replacement for the 240Z / 260Z / 280Z.

 

Of course you are right on the years. At the time when I switched heads the accepted dogma was N42 only with flat head pistons. Now, 23 years or so later I am reading that the later steel liner heads flowed better than the square ports. At this point, for me it is a moot point. +2 on the compression boost. Unless u are racing, I suspect the perceived difference would be marginal at best.
Ciao,
George

 

As with anything, careful matching of parts and tuning is key.

There are a few accepted ways to make more power with a Z, some affordable, others not so much. An L28 with ported / polished head and mildly "shaved" to increase compression would put out about 200HP at the crank.

Go check out www.datsunzgarage.com - Bryan Little did exactly this in a 240Z. His car pulled high 13's in the 1/4 mi. Not bad for a "junkyard rebuild".

Of course, as ZUL8TR likes to point out, you could get an L28ET (turbo ZX motor). With stock turbo, you could get 300HP easy and it would still be reliable / drivable.

 

You could always go the Chevy route and put in a Corvette engine!

 

Yep - not that difficult either, but more so than the L28ET!

I like your 280 - it's quite nice. I do miss mine, although I love my 240 just the same!

 

I think the 240Z is an incredible car!

Ciao,
George

 

OK, I admit I am addicted to turbo boost.

Actually have to say a NA Stroker in a 1st Gen body would be really sweet. Same goes for a set of triple Webers (ignoring the tuning nightmare). RB swap is just darn sexy in a 1st gen!!!

I do like a V8 swap. There is just a sound to a V8 the inline 6 cannot come close to duplicating. Also, lots of inexpensive go fast parts are available for a Chevy V8 or even drop in a Ford 5.0...which btw was mated to a BW T-5 tranny. Not sure of the compatibility of the input shaft, but if identical, then all you should have to do is swap out the bellhousing from the ZXT BW T-5 and you should be good to go.

FWIW...if you are running the BW T-5 tranny out of a ZXT, you need to order up the B&M Pro-Ripper Short Throw Shifter for the 83-00 Mustang. ITs a bolt-in swap. I get my shifter bushings from the Ford dealer. Exact same part for less $$ than ordering anywhere else and you get the fun of telling them its dropping into an 1983 Datsun and watching their confused expression. LOL!

 

The more we spoke about this, the more I saw YOUR side of the story!!

The L28ET is really an optimal way to get more horsepower, especially if you are on a budget. I did some checking around eBay and some Z sites - you can have an L28ET probably for $750.00 (as you pointed out) and it's a drop in replacement!!!!

A few guys at Hybrid Z have turbos in their 240Z - one guy mentioned 300HP using the stock parts. That's plenty in a 2,300 lb. car!

A know a guy that has a Rebello stroker. He bought the car from the owner that put the Rebello in - from what I understand the motor was $10K!!! Rebello dyno'd it at 260HP...

hmmm...$750.00 = 300HP; $10,000 = 260HP

 

Exactly! I definitely understand the desire to go all motor, but bang for buck goes to turbo. Obviously as you increase, the need for some serious headwork, forged internals, etc all begin to feed off your wallet, but still not as bad as a full-on Rebello will run you.

Be careful if you try to go for 300hp on stock parts. That's pretty darn vague. If all you do is add a manual or electronic boost controler, the max boost is 10psi. To get to 12psi, you need to add an intercooler. Also good to go ahead and install a 3" mandrel exhaust and cold air induction. At that, you are still on stock fuel system and ECU. That will put you at 235-250rwhp. To get to 300rwhp, you will need larger injectors, hybrid turbo, ECU, MAF and possibly fuel pump. To get 350-400, you need to start looking at forged internals on top of all the rest. And if you want above 650rwhp, follow what JeffP did to the letter, but I think he has ~$40k wrapped up reaching that.

 

I'm not anywhere near the expert others on this thread are, but I did own a 280Z when I was in my early 20's, (that was 30 years ago) and I remember it was a lot of fun. Good luck

 

If it was fun stock, it's a blast tricked out.
Ciao,
Geroge

 

You'll get a kick out of some of the Youtube videos. Check out user "turbo280Z" (aka "Big Phil") - he and a buddy have some wild L28ET motors in their cars. There's also user "ZRedBaron" - he's got a killer Rebello stroker in his.

Lastly, look for "RIPS Z" - this is a street legal RB26DETT brute that runs low 9's in the 1/4 mile - bad ass!!!

 

I'll check it out. I get the feeling we are the only ones on this thread. That's OK, more will join in time.
Ciao,
George

 

No worries - that's fine by me. I've debated selling my 240Z as I do want an F-Car, but this sort of chat makes me rethink that. It's good to see the Datsun getting some respect.