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

1978 Datsun 280z Resto-mod on 2040-cars

US $12,750.00
Year:1978 Mileage:113957
Location:

Byron Center, Michigan, United States

Byron Center, Michigan, United States
Advertising:

For Sale, 1978 Datsun/Nissan 280z.  Inline 6, 5 speed manual, rear wheel drive. 113,957.

I bought this car in 2008 shortly after it had been fully restored.  The restoration process included a full strip down, rotisserie rust removal, fresh paint and engine rebuild.  The engine had less that 100,000 miles on it when it was rebuilt.  I purchased the car with a bit over 100,000 miles on it.  I have put about 12,000 miles on it in the last 5 years.

I continued to improve on the restoration with performance (and other) modifications over the last several years.   These include Tokico Illumina struts and lowering springs,  a “big throat” throttle body and leather seats.  You can see in the pictures that the car has been lowered with struts/springs and custom camber plates.  This Z sits over 4 inches lower than stock.  No tire rub ever though.

I have not had the car dyno tested but I estimate that it is putting out around 45 hp over stock, maybe more.  What ever the numbers are, this Z is very quick, handles like a race car and is silly fun to drive.  

The car gets loads of attention everywhere I go.  Lots of looks, and thumbs-ups and I have even come back to it in a parking lot a couple of times to find people taking photos of it.

A full shop manual, car cover, bin of extra parts (including a spare starter, alternator, and fuel rail) come with the car too.

I’m selling the car because I just don’t drive it enough and I’d rather see it go to someone that is going to have more time to enjoy it.

I have really enjoyed owning this car, but now it is time to let it move onto the next guy.  It is a very reliable, and fast Z and who ever ends up with it will not be disappointed. It would make a great track day car or daily driver.

I have loads more photos including over 60 of the restoration process.  

Below, is a chronological list of all the work that has gone into this car.  

Everything that happened before I bought it is listed as 2007.


2007:

tear down

sand blasted and repainted all suspension parts

rotisserie body rust removal

custom sheet metal work

new rings

new seals

ported and polished heads

79 5-speed trans installed

urethane suspension bushings 

pickle x rust proofing

custom metallic paint


2008

FJ62 Totoya Land Cruiser 4 piston brake calipers

17 inch BSA wheels/spacers

Tokico Illumina 5 way adjustable gas struts

Tokico lowering springs

billet bump steer spacers (to maintain stock steering geometry)

MSD fuel pump

Parking brake cable

custom short shift lever (notched 240z 4-speed lever shortens the throughs significantly)

Nismo shift knob

Nismo grill badge

Spectre cold air intake

keyless entry, power locks


2009

Brake master cylinder

Toyo Proxes 4 tires


2010

new seat foam

new leather seat upholstry

Z logo floor mats

Momo Competition steering wheel


2011

K&N cold air intake (upgrade from the Spectre)

Big throat throttle body

Clutch master cylinder

Clutch slave cylinder


2012

rising rate fuel pressure regulator

new leather shift boot

billet Z logo door lock pulls


2013

Pertronix FlameThrower coil



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Auto blog

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."

Datsun previews new budget sedan for Russia [w/video]

Thu, 13 Mar 2014

Nobody does cars on the cheap quite like the Renault-Nissan Alliance. The former part of the equation already has its Dacia brand of cost-effective, no-frills vehicles that have become a favorite of Top Gear co-host James May, and last summer, the latter revived its Datsun nameplate for a budget brand of its own.
The reborn Datsun launched in India this past July with its Go hatchback, returned in September with the Go+ minivan and revealed the Redi-Go concept just last month. And now it's given us our first look at an upcoming budget sedan developed specifically for the Russian market.
The as-yet unnamed vehicle (which we'll bet will incorporate the word "go" into its nameplate somehow) is set to debut on April 4, where it will launch the Datsun brand in Russia. Few details are available at this point, but the low-cost sedan was designed in Japan to offer Russian drivers "an engaging driving experience, peace of mind ownership and accessibility at the right and transparent price, with a competitive Total Cost of Ownership."

Datsun reveals new On-Do budget sedan in Russia [w/video]

Tue, 08 Apr 2014

When Nissan revived the Datsun brand name, it essentially hit the "undo" button on the rebranding it undertook decades ago. But this time, the Datsun name is being used solely as a budget brand for developing markets. The reborn marque launched in India this past July with its Go hatchback, returned in September with the Go+ minivan and revealed the Redi-Go concept just last month. And now it's back again with the new On-Do sedan.
Launched in Moscow by CEO Carlos Ghosn, the On-Do was designed and engineered in Japan specifically for the Russian market - Nissan's fifth largest worldwide - where it will be built at the AvtoVaz plant in Togliatti. Decidedly budget-oriented, the Datsun On-Do is a four-door, five-seat econo-box measuring 172 inches long, 67 inches wide and 60 inches tall with an 18.7 cubic-foot trunk which Datsun describes as class-leading. Punctuating an otherwise bland shape is a large front grille and lighting front and rear that looks (and very well might be) bigger than the wheels.
Not that the Datsun On-Do needs a big contact patch to transfer power to the road: motivation is provided by a 1.6-liter engine with a grand total of - wait for it... wait a little longer - 87 horsepower. Which might strike you as a reasonable amount of muscle, considering the 400,000 rubles Datsun is getting for the On-Do (but consider that translates to about $11,300). That's a couple grand more than what Nissan gets for the Micra in that other giant northern country, or about the same amount it gets for the Versa in the US (which sells in Russia for 499k in rubles) - both of which are powered by what is in all likelihood the same 1.6-liter four but producing 109 hp. Of course Russia has different tax rates than the United States or Canada, but with such little power, the Datsun would fall into Russia's lowest tax bracket.