1979 Datsun 280ZX Reviews

Regular oil changes, valve adjustments, spark plugs, fuses, etc.

This is the best car that I have ever owned, and to be honest, I can afford almost any car on the market.

This car handles better than my 30K dollar BMW Z-3, and is not exactly faster than my 66 Mustang with a built 302, but has superior engineering.

I can keep up with anything on the freeway, even a 50K German car.

The braking is a little bit substandard, but is reasonable.

I got this car with the original mileage and had never previously driven one of these cars, and can only describe it in one word; "FUN". I look for an excuse to drive this car. "Yeah, honey, I would love to go pick up some Tampax for you, but I have to drive 50 miles or so" would be my typical response.

It goes thorough the gears like ripping a silk scarf, all the way up to 130 MPH plus. I took it on a winding country road, and can attest, that if you enjoy driving, this is a great car for you. You can even maintain it yourself as there is no computer to reset when you do an oil change. This car is a work of art, for sure.

The Japanese at one time, really had it down. The car handles like it is on rails, and rips through the five gears. On a country winding road, on the freeway, or racing against someone my daughter's age in a Honda, this car kicks butt.

My car is fully stock, save for the rims, and is absolutely awesome. I have owned many cars and have paid tens of thousands more for inferior vehicles.

I have some guys that will maintain the car, and have been working on Z cars for 30 years. They say that my car should last another 200,000 miles before I have to replace the smooth 2.8 liter motor.

When I first got it, it required a full cooling system overhaul and a major service, cost $1700.

At 83000kms, the head gasket went, so a new one + a reconditioned head = $1100 later.

Even after the above was sorted, it would stall after a certain amount of time of driving it, leave it for a couple of minutes and it would start up again as if nothing happened. The coil was replaced, but the problem kept persisting.

Starter motor was replaced at 85000kms.

A/C didn't work.

The tuner knob on the radio didn't work neither did the tape deck.

This car used to be my late grandads car, and it sat in his garage doing bugger all for the better part of 10 years, hence all the repairs done to it.

It didn't have many electrical issues, but mechanically, it wasn't as reliable as I had hoped.

Its performance wasn't as good as I had hoped as well, but then again, it was only an automatic.

But considering the problems it had, I think I paid too much for it.

When my grandfather showed me the car, he said it sat in a garage for over a decade, so usual problems like dry-rot and bad paint would occur, and they did. Most of the gaskets in the engine are leaking a little and the grommets and other rubber components of the suspension have worn out. Not too much of a problem, it just means I have to clean the engine once a week and allow for more than average body roll in the turns until I have the money to fix it.

When I first acquired the car from my grandfather after he repossessed it, the brakes were shot. The back right brake pad was basically using metal to stop. That caused a lot of grooves in the rotor and the noise was horrible.

My parents made me stop driving the car after realizing how bad the brakes were, and because it sat for about 3 weeks the fuel pump went out. But that was an easy fix.

The car has had several electrical problems since I've owned the car, for example, there's a short in the windshield wiper and the fuse would blow in the fuse box almost immediately. So my grandfather just ran a wire straight to the battery and it works. Until I have a professional fix it.

I was driving down the road one day, when all-the-sudden my windshield got wet, and while I was trying to figure out how smoke started billowing out the hood vents and then I figured my radiator exploded. Well, it wasn't my radiator, it was my thermostat. It went out and caused everything to over-heat and my reservoir top blew off. Once again, easily fixed.

I fell in love with this car the moment I first saw it. It was unlike any other car I have ever driven, or seen. And the power, it had more power than any tuner car in my town and I out ran them all on a regular basis. Everyone had told me what a money-pit the car is, but its not because once I have replaced a part it hasn't given me any problems what-so-ever. Something goes bad, I fix it, good as new. This car is my dream car and once I'm done with it, it should be the dream car of everyone.