The 1978 Datsun 280Z Project
THE HISTORY
Since I was a kid I've loved these cars. They're from Japan. They were designed by Yoshihiko Matsuo (RIP - July 10, 1934 - July 11, 2020). They were assembled in Hiratsuka and Kanagawa Japan. And they are still one of the most sought after and recognized cars of their generation, and somehow still look incredibly modern. The problem is, if they're not meticulously cared for, they will wither away before your eyes, and just like that - story's over. Datsun has an interesting past - if you're a car enthusiast, I'd recommend perusing through the Wikipedia entry for a brief on the brand - it's a good read.
My Datsun has a story of its own. I wish I knew the whole story because my chapter only started in 2020. Prior to that, there were 42 years of stories that this car was undoubtedly a part of. I know this because of the weird things I'd uncovered while working on it.
HOW I GOT IT
I was lucky enough to save up a little money, knowing I was going hunting for one of these. The prices at the time were all over the place. You could get a rust tub for around 2K all the way up to a low-mileage all original for around 40K. In January of 2020, an all-original 240Z sold for over $300,000. I didn't want either of those. Don't get me wrong - I will always appreciate an all-original classic, but it's not my thing. I was looking for a project, sure, but not rust repair. I wanted it to be in good condition, but not mint. I started looking around. Craigslist... AutoTrader... Bring-A-Trailer... eBay... I saw a lot of 280ZX's. Gross, those are the 80's ones. And they look like they're 80's ones. Boxy, and all around wonky looking... No offense if you have one.
I saw a few that people over-modded. LS engines, wide-body kits, the whole works. Not what I want either, after all I still want the original straight 6 motor. To hell with the LS swap nonsense, let's have a little respect. Ultimately what it took was for my brother-in-law to stumble across one for sale in Arizona that he'd found on Facebook Marketplace.
This is a place I couldn't look. I do not have Facebook, in fact I despise it. It causes too many problems, filled with peoples ego's, ignorance and self-entitlement - all outward facing and recorded to the history books of the internet. I like to imagine when in the future when these peoples children find the nonsense their parents spouted off a decade prior. But here - in this moment, I got lucky. I asked him to reach out to the guy through his account and have him email me. And that's exactly what happened.
THE DEAL
The guy I ended up buying this from was nothing but helpful. Keep in mind, I'm in Michigan and this was coming up from Arizona. Because of the pandemic, I had no intention of flying down there to look at it. I also wanted to make sure to not to let on that I was from Michigan because I didn't want to scare him off or have him think I was trying to scam him. I was prepared to roll the dice and buy a car sight-unseen so I planned on peppering this guy with questions. Thing is though - he beat me to it. In his very first email to me, he gave me the full history whilst in his care - the good, the bad, the ugly, modifications, extra parts, photos - the whole works.
This is exactly what I was looking for. He'd replaced several parts already. These parts included new intake, manifold and exhaust gaskets, bushings, upgraded 5-speed manual transmission, new fuel lines, aluminum rear diff mount, new shifter bushings, weather stripping, tie-rod ends, calipers, brake pads, fluid flush, new distributor plugs and plug wires, new driveshaft and a recent alignment. All using high end stuff too - no knock-off aftermarket garbage parts.
He also had the stock radiator replaced with a Mishimoto radiator with 2 electric fans, getting away from the crankshaft-mounted fan that came stock (brittle pieces of non-functional garbage). XXR 17" wheels, KSPORT coilovers, and an aftermarket exhaust. The car was also wrapped in Rally Beige Vvivid vinyl. He was also clear about the bad. His version of bad. No AC. No heat. A little shudder at highway speeds. A few very minor surface rust areas. Dash cracks, missing trim pieces, and no carpet. I didn't care about any of that. I wanted an engine and a car.
I'd researched this car incredibly thoroughly - I knew what questions to ask, what issues to look for and where, and what I needed to see to make at least mostly sure I wasn't going to get screwed, and everything I asked for he provided, including videos and a live drive of the car. Good... at least I knew it ran. I even went so far as to check the geo-tag on the video to make sure it wasn't old, or from some other state or pulled down from the internet.
When I finally mustered up the confidence to make an offer, we set up a phone call. I was nervous - if this happened, I'd be committing to buying the dream car of my childhood - the pinnacle. The phone call was about 10 minutes or so, a little catching up, couple more questions, and finally the offer. He accepted what I was offering, great news! I then broke the news I was in Michigan and would have to have the car shipped up here. Zero silence - he says "I kinda figured since you never came to actually test drive it. Not a problem my man - not a problem at all."
THE REST
Since I got the car, I've taken around 600 photos of it, cataloguing all the work, effort, blood sweat and tears. I get attached to cars, and I really cherish the history. I'll never sell this one (is what I tell myself today), but if for some reason I had to, I have it's story to pass on to the next enthusiast. I've broken this project down into several (ongoing) categories. I learned a lot in this process, and if someone wanders by and finds something useful here - I'm happy to have helped. I know damn well I owe several YouTuber's, forum-posters and bloggers a serious thanks for some of the things I've dug up during this journey.