Nothing is finalized yet, but it's in a billion pieces and it's $100, split with a friend. Someone who lives in Sacramento was building it at his mother's house in rural michigan years ago and moved away, and gave up. It's really nothing that exciting, I never particularly desired one, it's a non turbo T-top 5-speed car.

I guess the general plan is to make it into an extreme budget race car, just so we can finally go to events and play around, even if we won't be competitive. When it was assembled and running, it ran a 16.2 at Lapeer dragway.

I guess my question is- how affordable are performance parts for these things? I know nothing of them, so someone school me please.

About the same as any other JNC, which is to say not cheap or easy to find.

Your best performance upgrades are in switching to better factory stuff. Either 280ZX turbo engine swap, or spend some bucks and do an
RB20/RB25 swap?

The best cheap speed in one is a small-block Chevy. Been done many times and makes a very fast S130...

As I expected. Are there upgrades that I can nab from junkyards or off newer Zs or 240SXs and such? I know a lot of 240 people.

Not really. The newer Z's and 240SX's have almost nothing in common with these cars.

'84-85 non-turbo Z will net you bigger front brakes. And as I said, 280ZX Turbo engine would be a nice upgrade?

Z32 or S14 seats would be a nice upgrade, too. S130 seats suck for performance.

IC.

I saw someone somewhere talking about an '89-'90 240SX throttle body as an upgrade, were they talking out their ass or no?

I'd go with a L28ET. Definitely will have to post up pics of it if you get it.

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- '71 Datsun 240z.....L28ET here we come

Now it's looking iffy. The person who was going to tow/store it apparently landed himself in jail this afternoon. And I have a week before the car HAS to be gone.

ugh.

This is all I have of it's current condition, and these are 6 year old pictures-

If I had an S130 and needed a parts car, I'd consider buying that one for $100. But to buy it for $100 with the hopes of putting it back together is another story. S130's are still plentiful enough that you could buy a running, more complete one for less that it would that to make that one running and more complete. You say those are 6 yr old pics, the present condition is likely worse. JMO...

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1979 Datsun 2dr.-Sold 6/24/2009
1964 Datsun L320-Sold 6/3/2009
1978 Datsun 280Z-Sold 5/28/2009

I agree somewhat with what has been said, and unless that car was completely rust free, I'd consider it a parts car....but by all means don't let that stop you from trying to rebuild it if you want to. Has it sat outside for six years with the front clip off?? If it has, you'll probably need a new wiring harness because of corrosion on the terminals and such.

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http://edz280zxblog.blogspot.com/
http://www.zazzle.com/edz280zx?rf=238417716376693023

Since you were never really interested in the car in the first place, and the fact that it's in need of a LOT of hard work and attention, I would say pass. Spend the $100 elsewhere.

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Play: 89 Z31 Turbo
Blowing Away: 71 S30 Sr20det

Trust me, I'm not that stupid. I'm aware I'm looking at a huge mess and that if I wanted one of these I'd be better off waiting and finding a nicer one. But as something to practice welding on and just toss back together, it's not a big issue. I don't have grandiose dreams of this becoming any more than a haggard beater, if it even ran again. It's been indoors the past 6 years, the guy who owns it, his mother is moving and he had to disperse his remaining cars. He has a '69 Lotus Europa that's 10x worse than this he's having shipped to Sacramento because his father bought it new, but obviously the Z was left behind. If I don't get it, it's likely being scrapped.

The reasonable part of my head just says run as far away from this as you possibly can. But there's another part that keeps saying I should just take it and try messing with it, and if it doesn't work just part it out or sell it on. But I don't know. It was a Pac-NW car until 1999, supposedly all it needs are floor patches. The outdoor shot was from when it still ran. I have some pics from before it was dismantled too-









It also comes with a NOS Nissan quarter for the side that got hit. :shrug:

There's several Zs near me for a few hundred, one in my city that was a really clean, also brown car that got hit hard in front. It was a turbo car as well. I've considered making one out of the two, but it's an awful lot of effort, and I'd really just rather buy a Celica. :shrug:

I was supposed to go pick it up today... to find that the barn it's locked in now belongs to someone else, who isn't there today. Glad I called and double checked before I drove 200 miles north.

Well sounds like it wasn't ideal anyway... better of getting something you really want!

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You know, that's what an intelligent person would do.

But not I.

I stand alone.

And now own perhaps the biggest pile of s*** 280Z I've ever seen.

No lie. This thing is 10x worse than the pictures or descriptions could prepare you for.

I'll explain and show pictures later.

Here's a couple-







For clarification, when we found it today, everything unboltable that didn'e effect it's ability to roll, steer, or stop, was laying around this barn. We put the doors, fenders, and hood back on with hand tightened bolts because we didn't bring tools and the tools I was told I could take with the car had been laid claim to by some bony ZZ-top looking a$$clown who "doesn't work on cars anymore" and wouldn't lend us a 10 mil or a hand removing it from his property, car was there when he bought it, as were the tools.

Wow, that is, um, rough

More power to ya!

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Yeah, this thing is NOT gonna be fixed. I'm deciding whether to try inserting the engine/trans in it and see if I can get it running and just wail on it still, just part it out, or buy another Z, because this whole venture has piqued my interest in the S130.

But... I'd rather get another Celica, so.... who knows.


Likely it'll sit around and I'll just sell pieces off it slowly.