SOLD There it was, sitting dusty and abandoned at the Carlisle Auction in Sarasota last November - a silver 1987 300ZX in Silver over blue cloth, one of my favorite color combinations. It ran terribly, hitting on maybe 5 cylinders, and the original paint had some un-correctable flaws - but my heart immediately went out to it, and I bid on the car to win when it came through.
I'm glad I did. After spending the last couple of years driving the old SIlverado, I was due for a change - and this car fit perfectly. I had been trying to find a 280ZX for the last few years, in a very casual way - waiting for one to cross my path. None came along, but I figured this Z would do, as it fit with what I was looking for - a base car without all the digital tomfoolery, in the 2-seater format, and with a manual gearbox. This would work fine.
We got it home and took inventory - the AC didn't work, the engine was misfiring, the brakes were completely shot, the battery terminal, the radiator corroded beyond rescue, and an inoperative factory radio. Despite all of this, the guts were good - the interior was very clean and together, the paint could look nice despite the flaws, and the rest would be fun to put together.
All we had to do now was order parts - and that would be easy, considering this was a Z-Car - definitely a machine with high demand for parts and pieces. Wrong. Absolutely nothing was easy to find - being a strange mid-year 87 model, it wasn't clear which brake calipers it would use, and neither one seemed to be available anyway. Just about anything we ordered for it wasn't in stock, and waiting for stuff to arrive was frustrating. We even had to settle for rebuilding the rear calipers, as none were available anywhere - not even at Rock Auto.
We ended up getting the car together mechanically - it had sat for a long time, but had been extensively serviced before being put away. To be safe, we did a timing belt and water pump, radiator, hoses, spark plugs and wires (this fixed the misfire), front and rear brakes, and a fluid flush throughout. I was now enjoying driving the car, but the lack of a radio was dangerous (it's bad for me to be left alone with my thoughts). I reached nothing but dead ends trying to get the factory radio going, so decided to go period-correct aftermarket. A friend of mine with an audio shop had an old pull-out Alpine in good shape, and I found speakers that fit perfectly in the factory location. An Alpine amp beefed it up a little, and I'm thinking of experimenting with a passive EQ and old Bazooka bass tube. Fun stuff.
So I'm really enjoying the hell out of this car. It's not really a sports car, not very light, and not extra nimble - but it's sporty enough to drive, and fun to bang through the gears with Nissan's lovely 5-speed manual. Also, the build quality of the car is tremendous, and it's surprising how this 33-year-old machine can be such a comfortable daily driver - after a recharge, the air conditioning has been ice-cold for 3 months now.
So love this thing I do - very much. It runs well, remains fun to drive, gets appreciative looks, and takes me back to what were simpler times for me. As far as collector cars go, that checks off all my boxes.
Full review and test drive by Bill - for now, this car is not for sale, because I'm having too much damn fun with it.