When is a car too far gone to restore? The CAR WIZARD shares his insight on this '83 Datsun 280ZX 

I bought the car I couldn't afford when I was 20. I'm 51 now and still have it. I'm glad I don't have to buy it now.

True. I bought a 95 cobra for that very reason. Definitely a case of don’t meet your hero.

My younger son's first vehicle was a 1994 Ford Bronco. His older brother began fixing things up on it and ended up buying it from his brother. Solely by researching on the internet, he did a 4" lift on it, then decided it would be better to just change out the Independent suspension for F250 solid axles. Now he bought a diesel F250 we have taken the transmission (he got it rebuilt) and 73 engine out of and we'll be putting those in the Bronco next week. It's going to be a beast. I learned some basic maintenance but never would I have thought of attempting the things he has. He's always had a brilliant mind and this comes very easy to him. I'm his go-fer when I'm around to help. 😏

You always want what was cool when you were a kid. I bought the Corvette that was new when I was 7 years old at 22 and have loved it for the last 8 years. I don't think I'll ever get rid of it

Yeah it's a problem when you were young in the sixties like me because the cars I couldn't afford then I still can't afford now! Kids who grew up in the Malaise Era on the other hand will find most cars from their youth will probably always be affordable.

Absolutely this. While it's a bit cosmetically challenged, everything else I see is just typical project car stuff. This would be very easy to get on the road as a rolling project.

I just redid one of these. Back to original. Took me a year. A lot of welding. Undercarriage rust. But man what a great car. This engine is a pain because of the fuel system. Cheap to rebuild engine. Definitely worth the love put into it

Very much so. Got a '80 280zx that's, for lack of a better term, cut in half and getting new metal as I type this. Stock they're not worth a lot however it's a fun project if u got the time and money

dylanmcool just had to deal with this.

Invaluable information Rob!!!

@@brandonosborne6894 Cool, I'll have to check that out. My 1988 Nissan Stanza has an AFM unit that was causing a stumbling idle and stall when applying throttle. By varying the pitch backwards on the metal weight, more fuel is allowed in to the mix. To loosen up the moving parts and circuitry I used Deoxit, a spray cleaner used in Hi-fi amplifier/radio servicing. Cheers, Rob

ive never had a AFM with a bad spring. first I have ever heard of it and I have been playing with these cars since 1999

Excellent advice, though these early NipponDenso trapdoor style AFMs have a cutoff switch in them that typically kills power to the fuel pump when they fail or are disconnected. Common issue on 86-88 RX7s and I want to say the 84-85 GSL-SE uses the same style but I'm not an expert on first gens. However, that's not happening here. If some injectors are firing but not all, yank the rail and send them off to Injector Rehab for cleaning and flow testing. They're the same style of injector as 86-88 RX7s, even got the same connector, just a different flow rate. S130 Turbo injectors are 265cc/minute, N/A ones are 188cc/minute. for comparison, 86-88 RX7 non-turbo ones are 460cc/minute and FD RX7 injectors are 550cc primary and 850cc secondary. www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/injectors/index.html Injector Rehab charges $18 per injector and they'll be good as new when they're finished. I did it years ago with some 20B Cosmo injectors and they came back dead-on at 550cc, exactly where they should be. FAR fetter than the chinese garbage sold everywhere now.

I really like the two tone paint with the silver leather and silver wheels. My Z was black with gold wheels and brown leather.

Or if you really like the car and you want that car to be pristine go for it. Just as everyone understands you never get the money back you'll sink into a car like this z

buddy mine it's in the classic cars and has a bunch of them he says if you really want a classic car buy one that's already been restored because the cost of doing one will bankrupt you

Yep...shame the engine was garbage. Probably one of Nissan's best Z car's except that.

@@OmegaGamingNetwork That in-line 6 was a really good motor. I had 360k on mine before it started to let go (burning oil.) The only problem was that Nissan could never figure out how to build an exhaust manifold for it that wouldn’t bust studs. Time for headers.

All you needed was some hot rod headers and a little wider exhaust and she'll be happy. The l28 is just a stroker Rb25 made to run like a tractor. I only wish I knew about the super low frame rails and weird exhaust path before slamming it on s13 coils ( also coil swap is stupid idea, just go airbags ) I really want the digital dash tho

Yes those are excellent transmissions. The turbos had a borg warner

@@OmegaGamingNetwork The engines are not garbage. They are very strong and reliable. Originally designed as the L16 inline 4 available in the 510s and 520s in the mid 60s. They then were stretched out to 6 cyl. The L24,L26 and L28 I’ve been building these engines for 40+ years they are great.

Oh! forgot one bit, the dash pad itself no one makes replacements for unfortunately, but there are a bunch of people who make overlays that don't look bad.

On an '82 ZX Turbo I spent a day replacing as many vacuum hoses and tubes as I could reach, under the dash and in the engine bay. After that the climate control started working again.

​@@HiroNguy I've done the under the dash job too, my hands smelled like rubber for a week.

Sometimes if it's THAT far gone, you have to chop and adapt so many other cars to make it back that it's no longer that car. But it'll look beautiful as new on outside.

@@j.a.r.family2576 Yes, I know theres a point where it goes from restoring to building but I havent seen a car on wizards channel that crosses that line. Even the crusty subaru baja tyler had wasn't that far gone.

If someone has enough money and time, almost anything can be fixed and restored.

It just needs some love by a shade tree mechanic.

It all depends how much you are in love with it and how much money you have. A lot of times if you want a classic ride it's probably best to buy one ready to go. When I asked a old man how he estimated restoration work he told me to think of the highest price possible and multiple it by three and expect to pay more.

Same and agreed!

Shame they weren't dip galvanized

Last year of 280zx, 84 was 300 zx!😏

love the 240s to 260s and 280s can't stand. never been the fan of the ZX it's wider longer and much heavier, especially the two plus twos.

@@curte7739 The 280ZX coupe is very close to the same weight as the later S130 280Z chassis, and much more rigid. It's actually a better platform and of course, comes equipped with the L28 long block. Turbo, if you like. The look isn't for everyone, but they're a great car.

''They say the car has been sitting a couple months but it has actually been longer'' (years) these same people are on booster 14 now wearing 4 mask.

There's 0 following for a 280zx, if you know fairladys then you'd look another way but if you know 70s car struggles then this is the one.

@@EJMags Please explain further

@@nononsenseBennett if you wanted your gas to be stolen and having to visit the pump more often get the generation before. If you want a stock econobox with almost 0 mods but still a 'datsun coupe' then get a 280zx. Jeremy Clarkson said it looks like John Prescott, the most attention it ever got was in road and track for being the most economical 'sportscar' but besides that nobody bought them which is why people dont know the difference between the 240z, 260z, 280z, or the 280zx Im not sure why I had to explain, the 2+2 is the ugliest thing to ever happen to a fairlady even though theres was plenty room for people, despite being a hatchback with plenty rear space. One could argue that the nissan RB is based on the L28, which it is, just smaller displacement but much more power.

@@EJMags I tend to disagree. The 82-83 turbo with the T5 5-speed on stiffer springs and a manual boost controller pushing 10psi makes it a really fun sports car to drive. The "economical" part is due to having a 20 gallon gas tank

Bingo.

It’s inclusionary and important to a happy marriage?

its a 2+2 its junk regardless

@@TEXAS45ACP those cars are rare.

@@bngr_bngr as a s30 z owner… i can tell you these are shunned in our community… any z with a back seat is not worth much… the owners are usually delusional and think they are worth what a coupe is… but the fact is they suck

@@TEXAS45ACP Your "community" sounds pretty shitty if someone having the wrong trim of a vintage car gets shunned. Probably better off without the "community" then, honestly.

...or stay away from shops and learn to fix this crap urself.

had or have?

@@imtheonevanhalen1557 Had. It wasnt reasonably repairable. Weak spot on the older Zs is something you cannot see unless you know to look. Is where the rear suspension bolts to the body. That started to rust through bad. Plus some other spots. So structure was compromised beyond being reasonably repairable. So stripped everything I could and then it went to scrapper. But if somebody needs some 79 280zx parts? I still have a fair bit of it in garage depending on what is needed?

@@russelljacob7955 I have a 79 280zx, are you anywhere near Ca? Would love to know more about the parts, please and thank you

@@EJMags Nope. Way up in Canada. Mostly side stuff that was still good. Whole dash assembly, though vinyl of course is cracked. Seats, good frames but cloth and padding is needing redoing. rear lights, engine, 5 speed, differential. The front light bezels. Would need to go through and see what all is left and take new pictures. The rolling steel chassis is what was hauled away. I tried getting off of it all the small stuff hard to find remanufactured. Not NOS condition, but solid enough in case somebody needed unobtanium.

@@russelljacob7955 what year? I've always wanted later year tailights and wouldn't mind a digital dash.

Agreed!!!

I am one of those people. I own 7 of them. There is no such thing as a junk z. Very simple and cheap to work on. Wizards prices are way off. An aftermarket computer usually wakes these cars up. For 200 dollars. Some of my cars sat for over 15 years. We had them running, tagged and insured in less than a week. We bought one on craigslist that sat since 1987. We took tires, gas, cap and rotor and new computer with us. It was in the guys driveway. Paid him 500 bucks for it. Within an hour it was driving down the road home. The owner was standing at the door in disbelief. People are stupid.

I had a boss who is a Z car enthusiast for these cars . He dose most of the work himself. He was the president of the local Z car club. He told me they are an inexpensive to buy & rebuild. He drove all the way to Los Angeles to buy a 74 Z. The people in that club are all to happy to help you out with parts ,labor, & information. He would take on this car as a challenge.

Any Japanese car from that era is a rust bucket, they recycled soup cans for the metal constantly and didn’t care as much as we do today about rust prevention from the fsctory

I have a 58 sunroof Beetle and a 60 VW pickup. They are worth stupid money now

A nice example of a Busso powered 164, especially an ‘S’ would fetch twice what any datsun Z series car would fetch.. The Alfas are RARE, and very special. Can’t compare no datsun with something like an Alfa..

I had three164 Alfas over ten years. Never needed a spring or a door seal. They cost no more to look after than most cars. I had five Alfas in total spread over nearly 20 years and only one breakdown in a twelve year old 164 with 150,000 miles on it when the diff went. Needless to say I'd take the 164 every time. They have a galvanised shell from waist level down. That is quality.

Probably worth their weight in gold now, heh!

Certain cars rust in key places make them a no-go.

@@CR7659 Here in England, UK rust hits our cars bad and we actually enjoy welding, sometimes, but so far I only scrapped one car due to rust and that was serious rust not visible to the buyer (me) but underneath ... oh well !!!

@@TheJensenInterceptor Step down Hudson, when the floorpans are shot the unibody rails are generally also rusted through ahead of the rear axle; if really bad, the car tears apart; so unless it's a convertible or confirmed early Nascar racer not worth fixing. 1957-1959 Chrysler products, the frame rusts out at the rear spring perch and at the kick-up for the axle, and the floors and rockers rust until the car is just about broken in half. A 300, any convertible, Fury, maybe a big engine car is worth repairing, but a four door sedan with a six, is a parts car. Just a couple examples. I have seen cars that sat so long nothing is left of the floors and frame. One '58 Bel Air I recall opening the trunk and all that was there was two coil springs poking out of the sand and the top of the rearend housing. No frame, no pans, no gas tank, all gone.

like the Honda that Gina who I worked had bought. fenders rusted completely away after one new New England winter yes rutted roads with sand and salt so unexpected.

I wonder what they use in Japan? Cuz they get snow too. Maybe they don't salt?

@@BestAnswer12549 actually due to their emissions laws they have to replace maybe every two year AND if you rinse underbody after use and let dry, not freeze it will last longer the new deicer solution rots away sand and plow trucks in a bout a year.

Not that rare, and rare doesn’t always mean desirable. They were desirable in the 80s if you had kids, they aren’t seen as much as coupes anymore because well, they rusted out and they’re constantly used as parts car. They sold millions of these cars, 20% is a good chunk

Thank you for bringing this up. I was a follower of car design in this era, it was considered a duckling. Not a swan. I disliked the look back then, still feel the same. An 83 camaro or firebird was/is a far better looking car.

I've had 4,and when painted in the right color, without rust, it's simple perfectly proportioned,lines, look timeless,clean and crisp, with character.Its evocative of a Ferrari and E Jaguar.If you see it compared to the shapeless melted chocolates slab featureless plastic that all look alike, you know it's timeless. You may be bored with it's dated appearance,but personally it's beautiful to me, and countless others.Just my humble opinion.

@@---Avalon---Sky--- great points. and none i agree with. if you see Ferrari in that, i find that idea fun and interesting. when it was new, there was a large group of car guys, datsun guys and designers who decried the weakness of this design. i was among them, we loved the purity and breakthrough cleanliness of the original 240z.

@@JoeGaganCount Albrecht Goertz, I believe designed it,Enzo Ferrari, said the E type Jag, was the most beautiful car he ever saw. The long pointed hood is evocative of it,and looks a lot like a Ferrari 250 and the lights are just like a Ferrari Dino like,the windows like a Ferrari Daytona,the main thing is the 240Z proved you could have a fun fast RELIABLE and affordable car, that would be a smilemaker. By 83,she became a glorified Luxo cruiser, more bark than bite, but what a pleasant place to be eating up the miles.I had one in Ferrari Red, gorgeous.Simple lines sometimes are clean crisp, and for me they have character and presence.Lots of cars to love, I've had over 40,among my favs. Have a good summer👍🙏🏝️

naw... I'd turbo my 370z instead...