Would it be a bad idea for an 18 year old with a $10/hour job to get a 280zx? I have a daily driver that is very reliable and under warranty so that is not a problem. Im looking for something on the side as a running project to work on in my free time and cruise with. I am very eager to learn about cars and how to fix them(i dont have any hands on experience as of today). I have lots of great peers that would be more than happy to help me. Would getting a datsun be a money pit for me? I know it really depends on the car i get and how lucky i am but im asking for a general consensus. Also, I am in Virginia which i dont think is considered 'dry' so i assume rust will be a big problem? Last resort, i might have a garage to keep this baby in. Please share your thoughts!

The 280zx is an awesome car and a great starting point for anyone wanting to get into cars, the lack of electronics is a a curse and a blessing as the engine management is much simpler but the vacuum lines will have you cursing. Overall if this is something you are passionate about and you have a reliable daily there is no reason to not do it assuming that you have space, time, and tools to tinker. Plenty of the folks on this site, myself included started out before the ripe old age of 18, walked into some huge project and paid for it. It sounds like you have this planned a bit better than I did so kudos and GL. Oh and where are my manners, welcome to NICO.

Honestly I think everyone first car should be an air cooled bug. They are stone simple, they constantly need fiddling with, they aren't fast enough to get into much trouble, and they are tin cars so you lean to not take unsafe chances I also think everyone should own a miata for slightly different reasons. The miata has all the aftermarket one could want while being only moderately more complicated than the datsun. The Datsun would be a good project to learn on, I highly recommend buying the best chassis you can find. The engines are simple, rust repair isn't.

thanks for the warm welcome! Im glad to hear that this car is very simple and easy to learn on. When you say 'space' what exactly do you mean? Like a shop/garage big enough for me to work on the car in?

I was actually thinking about getting a miata instead because the convertible would be sooo fun but i cant get over how beautiful the 280zx is. I have watched many videos so i know generally where to look for rust spots but if i find a craiglist post in my area ill probably run it through you guys first.

Will this car be the type of car that i can only drive every once in a while? I wanted to have my current daily driver as a backup plan in case i couldnt get the 280 to run on certain days.(im trying to cut back on how much i drive my daily because its very high and i love driving). It would be great if this 280 became my new daily driver for school,work,gym and my current daily driver to be everything else.

The miata is a bit trickier to service despite having the smaller engine, it's just packaged much more tightly. The 280ZX can be a very dependable daily driver, once you fix any neglect it should be relatively trouble free aside from the wear items.

its good to hear that these cars can become very reliable and daily drivers! I love driving especially on long road trips and scenic routes so i will be putting lots and lots of miles on this car. Of course not right away, but after i have gotten use to it and know how to fix things.

I might post another thread on this but, what do you guys think of this one? http://baltimore.craigslist.org/cto/5069202742.html

No pictures of the repaired rust spots so i am skeptical of that. the good thing is that im not too far from it! I could take a drive down there and come back without it no problem. Problem is... i might not want to if i test drive it

That is a lot of money for a 2+2 N/A.

evildky wrote:That is a lot of money for a 2+2 N/A.

wrote something about an hour ago but i guess it did not post.. I started looking into miatas after you mentioned them and im really considering getting one over a 280. i found these in my area that im really interested in -http://baltimore.craigslist.org/cto/5039882752.html - http://smd.craigslist.org/cto/5090069658.html - http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/ ... 32805.html - what do you think about them? and thanks for keeping up with my replies, i appreciate it. i have also found a few more datsuns in my area if you are interested in looking at those too

There are two cars I consistently find driving under the speed limit around here. One is the Prius, the other is the Miata.

I say this as a former Miata owner. While a nice car, it doesn't compare to a Z.

When it comes to miatas they also are rust prone, mostly in the rockers behind the drivers door. The one disadvantage is the top will need replaced periodically, better tops last longer and are harder to install. NB's (99-03) are much nicer cars, I've owned 3 NA's and one NB. I would recommend buying the most stock car you can find, who knows what has been done to that stanced out car. The other really big problem with miatas is highway driving. If you want to drive on the highway at 70 mph, get used to listening to the engine spin at 4k rpm, the 6 speeds don't help this is they are close ration boxes. They have the largest and best aftermarket ever, goodwin racing, moss miata were a couple of my favorites. More miatas are raced on any given weekend that any other car by a large measure and for good reason, although it's frustrating hitting the front straight at your local track and watching the speed slowly creep up, loads of fun in the turns, frustrating in the straights. Also get used to gay jokes, you simply can't drive a miata and not hear gay jokes unless you are a chick, If you are a chick disregard Conversely you can't drive a datsun without people wanting to look at your car and telling you about the one their uncle's next door neighbor had 30 years ago. But the torque and gearing make for a much more relaxed cruise on the interstate.

evildky wrote:When it comes to miatas they also are rust prone, mostly in the rockers behind the drivers door. The one disadvantage is the top will need replaced periodically, better tops last longer and are harder to install. NB's (99-03) are much nicer cars, I've owned 3 NA's and one NB. I would recommend buying the most stock car you can find, who knows what has been done to that stanced out car. The other really big problem with miatas is highway driving. If you want to drive on the highway at 70 mph, get used to listening to the engine spin at 4k rpm, the 6 speeds don't help this is they are close ration boxes. They have the largest and best aftermarket ever, goodwin racing, moss miata were a couple of my favorites. More miatas are raced on any given weekend that any other car by a large measure and for good reason, although it's frustrating hitting the front straight at your local track and watching the speed slowly creep up, loads of fun in the turns, frustrating in the straights. Also get used to gay jokes, you simply can't drive a miata and not hear gay jokes unless you are a chick, If you are a chick disregard Conversely you can't drive a datsun without people wanting to look at your car and telling you about the one their uncle's next door neighbor had 30 years ago. But the torque and gearing make for a much more relaxed cruise on the interstate.

I really like the NA model because of the flip up lights! I was thinking about getting a car that was already modded so i could save money and not mod it myself because the depreciation of mods is so crazy but yes i do understand that they may have been driven hard and abused. Will music drown out the sound of the engine? Id imagine id have the top down 90% of teh time so i dont think the engine sound would be a problem to me. It only took me a few days to get over the fact that everyone hates miatas. ive come to decide that it would be a very fun car to drive and it would look cool as hell if done correctly. Now i just need to find one for the right price and condition!

also, im curious to what kind of problems i could run into with a car that has been modded like the "stanced/lowered nb1 miata". Im just getting into this but it seems like in the description he has not modded the engine? if the mods are just cosmetic there should not be too big of a problem right? the only thing that worries me is the amount of miles on the chasis, but then again, i dont know how long these babies run for.

If you like pop up headlights maybe you should consider a Z31? Very comfortable cruiser, adequate power for the n/a and loads of potential from the turbo, the same crappy IRS as the S130, slightly better brakes, slightly more difficult to service but probably a little more dependable mostly due to the age of the parts, and more of them are still available. Also easier to find a car as it was the best selling Z car of any generation.

The stereo is weak on the NA miata and you can't really hear it with the top down unless you got an optioned car with the headrest speakers which are tiny and blow out then you can hear the crackle with the top down Power windows on the NA are terrible, and the wipers are marginal. The NB had and a better stereo, power windows that actually work, and better wipers. also the torsen equipped NB's are far superior to the VLSD optioned NA's, also NB's got a glass rear window in the top and an improved top design. The NB's also had a more spacious usable trunk, bigger wheels and more power.

When I say modded I didn't mean the engine, the 1.6 or 1.8 miatas are fantastic little motors and what they lack in power and torque they make up for in high rpm goodness. Not much you can do to one of them to hurt them short of ripping the oil pan off on a speed bump. When I see a car stanced I wonder what they did to get down there and to get that much camber, it doesn't just happen, so there is a fair chance someone cut some springs, slotted, cut or bent something to get down there, also a stanced cat has the potential for loads of damage to the under bits, including the tub, the subframes, oil pan, diff housing etc. If you are considering a car that's modded heavily find someone who knows these cars and these mods to look and see if it was done properly or if any damage has occurred as a result. Keeping in mind that stance means increased tire wear, increased steering effort,shortened life span on tie rod ends, ball joints, suspension bushings and wheel bearings, decreased handling, braking and acceleration.