NEW!!! Click to page two: For a bit of a reasoning rant argument for the 280, and new pics :D
...So I'm about to graduate from college, and my dad knows that I need a GOOD car. For some reason I was at the time driving around (daily) in an 86 Lotus turbo Esprit, which is a good sports car, but not necessarily a good car, for reasons that I won't elaborate on in this page...
My dad had prior experience with with at least five of these things between the eras of 240 and 280ZX as I grew up, and I'd always had a soft spot for them, but the Zs vacated the garage when my dad was issued the standard Corvette that the government gives every man at 50 years of age and I hadn't been near one since I was about 4 or 5... (interesting how quickly these managed to disappear off the road...)
I'd attempted a good amount of automotive soul searching in my scant years driving, having commandeered muscle cars of both the classic and modern era (old Chevies, new Camaros), the Lotus, and as a result of Lotus ownership, semi frequent borrowing of the family trucks. Somehow my dad seemed to know just what I needed, and as I was contemplating doing something horrible like buying an economy car, tipped me off to one of these in his area...
Knowing a bit about Zs, I knew that the 240 is the one that everyone wants, the 260 is the one people tend to steer clear of, and the 280 is the one that brought horsepower levels up to respectability once more, but added huge, ridiculous bumpers.
...luckily this is a 75 model with only moderate sized bumpers, and I have to say that as long as I forget about the older style bumpers existing, these look just fine, especially as all of the rubber trim is kept intact.
In fact, this car is amazingly intact, subject to regular maintenance by an aircraft mechanic, the only modifications having been committed (arguably) being a dash veneer to cover some cracking (as happens to all Datsuns in the CA sun), a paint job (in a bizarre shade of metallic gray that sometimes convinces others green), and the most godawful, plastic, fake lug nut sporting, Camryesque hubcaps ever, likely of Kragen procurement. A pic for reference, also pre-buffing.
That was the first problem to solve itself, as the car's monstrous torque while pulling up CA's I-5 Grapevine set the car free of one of them on my inaugural journey, prompting me to spend $50 on the original, daisy style caps, which IMO are so whimsical to be timeless... One concession I've made to personal style is the fact that they're polished rather than painted flat black in section, to add a bit of brightness to the car...
Speaking of that first journey (of nearly 400 miles through mostly nothing), that's when I discovered the character of this car... It's a torque monster first of all, and basically blends the power of an American muscle car with the precision, refinement and tactility of pretty much any sports car not made in America. So I finally figured out why baby boomers were always hard as oak trees over these things :) It's a livable, civilized Hot Rod :D
The fuel injection and inline 6 make for nearly unmatched smoothness, it starts right up and behaves just as a modern car should, but revs and responds quickly, alluding to a rawer age... And with nearly 30 mpg on the freeway, you know what? I wouldn't rather have a 240 :D
Another pic, post buffing.
The 280Z is the best all around car I've owned, period, and probably the first where I've had no real urge to change something about it (though now I have crazy ideas in my head about buying up junkyard 240s and modding them with turbo'd L28s :P).
Speaking of all that buffing (much to do still on the rear deck), the paint is probably the only thing I'm likely to change (the bumpers I see as a period piece that will only be changed to 240 style in the unlikely event of being stolen off the car). Zs from the 70s need to be Lime, Lemon, or Orange, some citrus hue at any rate, though I think with the proliferation of black trim on the 280, metallic hues of the above are appropriate :)
Though oddly, the menacing gray shade is growing on me... The car only really needs new paint, the original shade (as the peeling tells me) was that light metallic blue shade, which I have no large urge to return to.
Under inches of sheepskin and velour the original interior survives unmolested...
...And everything works even :D Though I don't know about the "floor temperature" light, as apparently my floor has remained mild enough not to have warrented its lighting. Oh yeah, turns out I need a cig lighter, though I tend to mask this by just plugging in my cel phone charger :P
Unfortunately, I don't know how often I'll even be able to update this page as well... My plans for this car are nothing other than steady maintenance, and it's actually so nice I'm scared to drive it... And unlike the Lotus, this car doesn't need a seperate page alone for its own repair history.
...Prompting a bite from the Datsun bug, as I've halfway convinced myself to build another Z as a result of this one's greatness, or more likely a 610 (same engine/suspension as a 510, swishier looking, Cougaresque body), but luckily they're hard to find or else I'd already be doing that... I do promise to post more pics of more things and of the Z in more scenic locales :D
In closing, few cars are as solid, strong, and quick as the Z, and really... the car is just magical.
Next seen shocking upwardly mobiles in the company parking lot ;)
