Find or Sell Used Cars, Trucks, and SUVs in USA

1978 Datsun 280z With Chevrolet V8 Conversion on 2040-cars

Year:1978 Mileage:99999 Color: Green /
 Black
Location:

Lineville, Alabama, United States

Lineville, Alabama, United States
Transmission:Automatic
Engine:Chevrolet V8 305
Vehicle Title:Clear
Fuel Type:Gasoline
VIN: HLS30 Year: 1978
Exterior Color: Green
Make: Datsun
Interior Color: Black
Model: Z-Series
Number of Cylinders: 8
Trim: 280Z
Warranty: Vehicle does NOT have an existing warranty
Drive Type: RWD
Mileage: 99,999
Condition: Used: A vehicle is considered used if it has been registered and issued a title. Used vehicles have had at least one previous owner. The condition of the exterior, interior and engine can vary depending on the vehicle's history. See the seller's listing for full details and description of any imperfections. ... 

You are bidding on a 1978 Datsun 280Z with a Chevrolet V8 305 out of a 1987 Caprice Classic. I bought the car 4 years ago as a hobby car. I am moving and cannot afford to finish or transport it with me. It needs a few more interior pieces and fine tuning but it is rust free and fun to drive. I did not intend for it to be a race car of any kind so the engine is pretty original. It recently picked up a short that drains the battery. I just pulled the battery cable off to keep this from happening. I haven't had time to track it down and fix it. It should be an easy fix. (I mistakenly listed the engine as an '85 model, it is in fact an '87) 


Under the hood
The original Nissan inline 6 engine did not run and I had a Caprice in the junkyard. The engine and transmission both ran great and were pulled together. The V8 engine is a 305 and I believe the transmission is a 700R4. I used the JagsThatRun motor and transmission mounts. The radiator is new and all aluminum, custom made for Datsun V8 conversions. I had a custom exhaust installed. It sounds beefy enough without being obnoxiously loud. 

Exterior 
The car was originally from California and had little rust. The main areas of rust were the doglegs and floorpans. The body was sanded down and all rusted metal was cut out and replaced. Any surface rust was sanded and treated with POR-15. The fenders and hood came from a 1974 260Z and were rust free. After the body was sanded and straightened it was sprayed with 2-part urethane primer and block sanded again. It was then sealed with a DuPont 2-part urethane sealer and basecoated with Chrysler FJ6 Green. Three coats of DuPont clearcoat finished it off and was then wet sanded and buffed. I have the front bumper from a 1974 260Z that will need restoring. I also have 240/260Z style fiberglass front and rear bumpers that have not been installed yet. I will ship all three with the car. The rims are the original factory 14" aluminum rims. I also have a set of four 14" chrome rims that need cleaning up but look great that I can swap or ship with the car. The tires that are currently on are Kumho Solus tires with less than 100 miles on them. I never got around to upgrading the brake or shocks system but I did buy replacement factory style rotors, calipers and pads with braided lines. The shocks are new factory style replacements. I sandblasted and repainted all of the original suspension and replaced all of the worn rubber with urethane. The windshield and back glass have new rubber weatherstripping. The exterior door locks were missing when I bought the car. I have new quarter emblems but all of the others are missing. All of the brake and suspension replacements are about 2 years old.

Interior
I am missing a few pieces from the interior. The seats and carpet are in good condition. The dash is cracked and will need replacing or covered with a full skin. The fuel, oil and voltage gauges work. The speedo and tach are not hooked up and will not work with the engine without modification. I was originally going to buy a GPS speedometer but never got around to it. The rear shock towers are missing their vinyl covers but may look good just painted black. I have two center consoles that need repairing but I will ship both. It needs a new steering wheel and shifter. Both doors received new rubber weatherstripping. 

Overall the car is in good running order. I have driven it several times around town. It was fun and reliable and turned a lot of heads. Aside from the few missing pieces and battery draining I believe it is in great condition and all of these are easy fixes. It has been kept in a building for the past year and now I must pass it on to someone else. I am located in Lineville, Alabama and buyer will need to arrange for pickup or shipping.  I hope somebody can finish this car and have as much fun working on it as I did. Please message me for any other questions or details.
 


Auto Services in Alabama

United Auto Repair ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service
Address: 200 3rd Ave SW, Vinemont
Phone: (256) 739-9735

Transmission Doctor and More ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Automobile Parts & Supplies, Brake Repair
Address: 4216 River Rd, Phenix-City
Phone: (706) 507-4521

Townsend Roadside Assistance ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Automotive Roadside Service, Locks & Locksmiths
Address: Locust-Fork
Phone: (205) 406-7489

Tire Express ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Automobile Parts & Supplies, Brake Repair
Address: 529 N Highway 113, Ranburne
Phone: (770) 214-1555

Stadium Grill ★★★★★

New Car Dealers, Used Car Dealers
Address: 1002 4th Ave N, Bessemer
Phone: (205) 424-9210

Radiators Inc ★★★★★

Automobile Parts & Supplies, Radiators Automotive Sales & Service
Address: 3230 Messer Airport Hwy, Homewood
Phone: (205) 323-3333

Auto blog

Roadkill pits every project car against each other

Sat, 22 Feb 2014

The guys behind Motor Trend's monthly Roadkill series have collected nine of their favorite project cars from their videos and pitted them against each other in a battle royale to determine a winner. It's 44 minutes long, but it's completely worth the investment of time.
The cars run the gamut from a 1973 Chevrolet Ramp Truck, a 1975 AMC Pacer and a legitimately impressive 1967 Chevy Camaro, and they are pitted against each other to see which is the fastest around an autocross course. The drivers include Roadkill's two hosts and Motor Trend's Johnny Lieberman and Carlos Lago. It's reminiscent of the best episodes of Top Gear and worth a watch.
So it's the weekend - the perfect time to relax. Grab your preferred beverage, get comfortable and enjoy 44 minutes of some seriously ratty but utterly cool project cars as they are throttled within an inch of their lives (or past it). Scroll down to check out the video.

Datsun's lackluster initial sales fall below Tata Nano

Wed, 15 Oct 2014

When Tata introduced the Nano back in 2008, everyone was amazed at how cheap it was. They called it a game changer, but no game was changed. In fact, it took Tata five years to sell the 250,000 units it had the capacity to build in a single year. As it turns out, even buyers in what economists call "developing markets" like India aren't necessarily interested in buying an ultra-cheap automobile. And now it appears that Nissan may be falling into the same trap.
A little over a year ago, Nissan revived its old moniker Datsun to serve as a budget brand - similar to what ally Renault did with Dacia. Its lineup (consisting of models like the Go hatchback, Go+ minivan, On-Do sedan and Mi-Do hatch) is largely based on old architecture, packaged with little more than basic equipment and sold at rock-bottom prices. But Bloomberg reports that, even in the brand's core markets like India and Indonesia, the new Datsuns haven't been selling.
According to local industry figures, Datsun has sold fewer than 10,000 units of its $5,100 Go hatchbacks in India since its introduction back in March. Maruti Suzuki, by comparison, sells twice that many of its similarly priced Alto hatchbacks every month. In fact, after peaking in April, Datsun only sold 607 units in India this past July, dipping 77 percent to drop below even the number of Nanos which Tata sold that month.

Fiat contemplating sub-brand to compete with Dacia, Datsun

Tue, 05 Feb 2013

You can add Fiat to the admittedly short list of automakers considering a low-cost brand to rival Dacia. The inexpensive Eastern European brand from Renault-Nissan has performed on the balance sheet like a premium model line, and the money the alliance is taking off the table is encouraging other players to deal themselves in. Pretty soon Nissan's Datsun sub-brand will join the Dacia party, going on sale in Russia, Indonesia and India and will claim even more rubles, rupiahs and rupees for the parent company. Volkswagen recently said it will make a decision this year on a budget line for the Chinese market. With the euthanasia of Lancia and plans to move the Fiat brand upmarket, company CEO Sergio Marchionne wonders aloud to Automotive News Europe whether there could be room for a new budget brand underneath Fiat.
We're told that the initiative has been in the idea box for five years and even moved to the stage of name considerations, like Innocenti, but worries about profit kept it from realization. If such a range were to be developed, Marchionne says it couldn't be built in Italy and stay within budget, and the company is "analyzing its manufacturing capacity outside of Europe to see if a low-cost brand is viable."