1978 Datsun 280Z Review | IT'S AS GOOD AS THEY SAY
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- Опубліковано 4 лип 2024
- Well, this is my 1978 Datsun 280Z. It's a special car, and definitely as good as the rumors out there say it is.
00:00 Montage
00:43 Intro
01:05 Driving Experience
01:58 Specs
02:21 The Datsun Experience
03:30 Questions?
03:39 Extra Driving Footage - Авто та транспорт
I had that exact color combination with a 78 z and a 5 speed manual. It was an incredible car. Sadly a deer ran out in front of me and I T boned a huge oak tree. Nearly died, but 35 years later im still here. Miss that car!
Thanks for the cruise down memory lane. I had 3 of these 78 Zs, a 76 Z, and finished off with an 80's 300ZX. Loved every one. My favorite was one of the 78s in black with mag wheels. Looked great!
I had a 77 Z, an 82 Z and an 84 Z. My favorite was the 77. Did everything right...
Original 72 240 owner here… Have had many… 72 240, 78 280, 86 ZX and ordered a new 300 in 1990. That said, I’m back to a 72 240. By far and away the best Z I’ve owned or driven! Great video! Adore these cars! ❤
Just bought a ‘72. Had a new ‘71 for two years and 50k. mi. Nostalgia got me. The ‘72 is still in the shop with some fuel issues but hope to get it back soon. Look forward to driving one again. It will look good sitting next to my ‘64 corvette.
@@Solittletimetoomany Oh my! How will you choose which to drive?! Terrible to have to make such a difficult decision! ☺️ Those carbs can be tricky, hang in there! You will love your 72 once back on the road. “Lizzy” the Z car & I send our very best! Keep us posted on how things are coming. 👍🏼
I fell in love with this car when i saw it on the road one day when my dad was taking me to school, it was stopped at a red light next to us, painted in a deep red with shiny black rims, an engine that was singing at idle even.
Watching him pull away after that i just knew i wanted this car.
Now fastforward to where i am today, still don't have the car but i had the pleasure of driving one, now it really was an experience, you really just become one with the car, the steering, throttle response, everything just feels like you are the car.
Sadly there aren't many available near me nor do i have the funds for it. but believe me, i'm gonna get one, even if it's a beat up one, i'll restore it to it's full glory.
I'm restoring my Father's '72 at the moment. A full ground-up restoration though not to factory original. I've got a Rebello 3 ltr going into it, a L28 block with our original L24 head, for a little higher compression. Combining with a 350Z 6 speed combined with ZCar Garage provided suspension/StopTec disc brakes all around.
It's been a HUGE amount of work to manage and perform and I'm only at the beginning of the actual rebuild now that I have the unibody chassis back fully restored after 14 months of effort.
My point is to fully understand what you are getting into because it is a huge commitment of time and money. It is definitely a labor of love. I wouldn't have even attempted it if there wasn't the sentimental value of it being my Dad's car as well as my memories of driving this car when I was much younger and loving every moment of it. As Rob @ ZCar is so fond of saying. Long Live The Z!
This is really an absolute beauty. Nice that there are some of them still out there.
Great video, very clean and well thought out 🤟🏽
View number 7 chiming in. I can tell this is really passionate, hard work. Great video, very polished sound and editing, and great car!
I love the Z steering system! Incredible feel while driving!
Great video!
100% Even though it is impossible to turn sometimes lol.
Maybe it was just the mic, but it sounded like there is a noisy valve train and toward the end, it sounded like there's a miss in the ignition. Usually minor fixes, but leaving it like that will introduce premature wear. Other than that, it looks like a sweet car and it brings back good memories.
I'm wearing ear pods, you are spot on
Yes, those valves are making too much noise. This motor needs attention; not necessarily immediately, but sooner vs. later is good.
The engine is perfect, I owned a 240, 260, and three 280zs in the 80s. They all made that noise. I miss my Zs. Wonderful cars!
@@lakeviewstyle A very good friend in high school had a 280Z and that was his baby. He never abused that car and I always loved riding in it and it was a torque monster from a dead stop. I don't recall the valvetrain making noise, but that was 40 years ago. That said, back then I was a devout MOPAR fan and the Slant 6's had noisy valves right out the factory door and they were bullet proof. Thank you for your input.
My 280zx with an l28 made a lot of valve noise like that too I thinks it’s a common thing on those engines with age
Wow that montage was insane!
I had a 1975 280Z manual same color as yours. Wish I still had it.
Great video awesome car👍
I enjoy my 5-speed 1979 280ZX . Shifting threw town is the way to go and your right about feeling the road through the steering wheel.
I've owned three of them over the years the first being the 78. 280Z. Nothing compares the ZX came next and was loads of fun finally the 90 300ZX well what can I say.
My sediment exactly! I have a 1974 260z with a 1jz swap...no matter the stress in my life, no matter if it's hard times or if I just need to clear my mind; whenever I drive my z everything starts to make sense! Get you one while you can...they are all rusting out.
Good looks , power , indestructable engine and gearbox , a true gem .
Only weakness was rust .
Love them! Thank you 👍👍
What a dream car!
I have the same model 1978 was two year old when I bought st still have my is red all original I’m very happy I kept all this years is very fun to drive on a sunny days every place I go people ask me about the car
💓💕 my first Car was a 240Z ,and later i have the 2. Car plus 240Z ,and later i have 2 to 280 ZX , the beautyfullst Cars ever , and the Enginesound is WOW , greatings and thanks for your Video. 👍👍
Beautiful lines. If I ever give up motorcycles I will definitely buy a 2 seater car.
One day I will have one of those, I love the Z line
78 which I turbocharged, then an 81 turbo, then a 300zx twin turbo. All amazing... then a 97 porsche 912 twin turbo I raced in scca. Wish I could find a 280z for sale that isn't a rust bucket.
I love your enthusiasm for this car. :) Zeds (forgive me, I'm Aussie - it's a "Zed"!) are the best! My first car was a 1981 280zx. My second car was a 1979 280zx. :) I'm hoping my next car will be another Zed after not owning one now for more than 10 years... (bloody kids!)
Great car and the best thing is I own one !!!
Lucas heavy duty oil stabilizer can help with engine knock its quiets it down , i use it with every oil change.
There it is
So those 16 inch rims fit with no mods? Zero offset ?
I was given a 1978 280z by a relative. Mine had modern electronics...but they were old.
There is a Hitachi Ignition module on the right kick panel inside the car. If it goes bad, the car will not start...for awhile.
WOWWWW
Yo yoo! I found you through agency navigator Q/A section 😂Was just wondering if you liked the course and also if they were ever able to fix your URL problem. Great job with the Datsun review btw
Hey Amir! Lol, it was a good course and they did fix it.
Nice ride! My parents had a 76’ automatic. You may want to check out your fuel injection system as the engine sounds like it’s misfiring. New injectors will fix that problem.
can you add powersteering?
I had one back in 1986 white color I will never forget was such a nice car. Now days this cars cost a fortune.
The "Z" cars were the last of the old school sport coupes ever built. No power steering needed, or desired. That's what gets the driver connected to the experience of sport driving. That, and the 5-speed gear box. The Original 240Z was sold rally ready, the 260z was faster with three Hitachi carbs, the 280Z was the last of the series and was fuel injected, which simplified maintenance and made it a terrific daily driver while upping the engine displacement to keep it in the running for street power. The 280 was no screamer, but more than adequate for a rally. I consider my 78 as one of the best all time cars I have ever owned, out of aboyut 47 in th elast 50 years. Very low maintenance made these cars easy keepers. Superb fit and finish, comfortable gran tour interior, light and nimble - and that sound from th eexhaust note from the in-line six was intoxicating.
I had a white 280 ZX, loved that car. I regret selling it.
5 speed.
Super RIPE edit !
I have modded my 280z.
Striped it to a bare shell,I fixed any rust. I sprayed chassis with, heat barrier and bed liner. No more rust.
I took out all the weight ,I reasonably could to match a 240Z shell, I rebuilt at the same time.
Including taking door skins off to remove side impact bars,bumper brackets, and reinforcements ,and those very heavy bumpers.Removed the fake trunk floor and brackets.
I made a fiberglass dash off my 240Z. To lighten it still more.
I fit 240z tail lights and refabbed the panels to look factory installed.
Next I fit a high quality G- nose, just for the most ,exotic Z design. It's lowered, with adjustable yellow koni shocks .Konig rewinds 15x7 with extreme contact 205,50 tires.
Factory seats ( heavy) replaced with much lighter
Racing seats. Fitted a Quaife limited slip diff with 3.7 gears and a finned diff cover with extra capacity. A mild up graded motor,bolted to a 5 so gearbox, with 2.5" stainless exhaust for a long life of daily driving. Painted it white Pearl with red real leather accents like door panels,headliner and trim. E brake cover ,left the rest raw white over bed liner for the boy racer NISMOish look.
Not selling it ever, so I added big brake up graded with vented rotors Front and vented rotors on rear brake conversion with Mustang brake calipers.
Yep yep I love my build.
I'm happy to see your enthusiasm for the Japanese Ferrari ! Hai ! Hai ! Hai !
The goal to bring it close to a 240 in weight.
Good for you my man. One question: Where did you source the 5-speed transmission?
@@gharavisam sorry just saw this. Sam, Sam Sam, the secret to any sports car , acquisition and or upgrades.
You must think like a Z owner. And not like a man, that owns a Z.
You own a Z, you are a member of the Z community.
Join all the face book Datsun Z groups that are out there.
Explain how you have loved this car as it is, but now you want to bring the true sports car out of your Datsun Z. And you are looking to up grade.
Well many Z owners, have a horde of Spare Parts. But they are only interested in helping a fellow Z, owner out.
The offers will tumble your way, because you are a Z owner, a member of the Z community! Welcome!!!
Had a 76 would still have it if it didn't rust away. Great car.
Thanks for sharing this video, really enjoyed it even though I LOL at the idea of this being hard to steer with no power steering.... C'mon now, it's not that hard. 😉
BTW, will add that this shows as a really nice looking example (despite the unknown condition of the dash top and the generally despised door ding strips on the body! 🤦♂️) but do yourself a favor and test drive a stick for the real/total experience. IJS ☘️
Nice video for sure but I couldn’t help roll my eyes at the “incredibly hard to turn the steering wheel “
Jeez buddy grow some arm muscles haha.
Anyways, pretty z, too bad about the automatic but at least it leaves a project down the road.
one of best sports cars in our opinion lol. we actually own 3 of them. 2 1977 280Zs and one 1974 260Z. funny that my nismo v1 370z is technically the 4th Z we own haha.
this car is identical to a Z my brother painted back in the 80's. Is this car from Fremont Ca.?
my 75 280z says hello
Had one for years.
I truly feel sorry for the current and future generations when I see cars like this and the smile on the drivers faces. Every word that came out of his mouth is true and then some. I bought my first Z in 1986 to get back and forth from college. It was a green 1972 240z with tan interior and had 85k miles on the odometer. I very quickly became a Z lover and enthusiast. Over the next ten years I had purchased three more. 1970 240z, 1976 280zx, and a 1978 280zx. I kept the 76 and restored it until life kicked in and needed room for the kids. I wish the kids of today could have the same experiences I had over that decade. The whole car could be disassembled and reassembled with a phillips screwdriver and a #12 wrench. The intimacy of the cockpit-like design and your bestie in the passenger seat, the world was a much simpler place.
Better than any Honda or Toyota.
Great car, beautiful color. But those huge rubber bumpers. Are they American? It really spoils the looks, especially when looking at the car directly from the side (0:35).
can a 6"3 dude sit comfortable in this?
Just add a little bit of lucas for engine health
Needs a 5 speed and a 100 more hip. I had one when I was 18. Fun but slow.
Drive a Nissan Datsun 280C 430 with a 4N71B, 4 speed auto. You definitely need to.
What a good looking car, but at 1:16 it sounds like diesel.
if you drive a NA Miata you get almost the exact same feel.
Nice quality video, Auto box is terrible, 5 speed brings out the character of the engine. I Keep seeing videos saying the L28 has 170hp but this is the old measurement, in today’s measurement it has 145hp.
I want to get a 5 speed, but I don't know how much it would cost with labor and all. Let me know if you do.
@@gharavisam I’m in Australia so prices are wildly different! I did a manual swap on my 280zx (same engine as yours) and it cost me roughly $1650 USD including labor but I already had a 71B 5 speed spare from when I bought my 240z. I estimate it would be far cheaper for you though, second hand 71B gearboxes would be cheaper and more available in the US, and i had to pay ridiculous shipping costs for some parts from the US. I recommend you install a fidanza aluminum flywheel while you’re at it, it makes a huge difference to acceleration and rev speed. So you just need to source a good condition 71B, have someone who specializes in old z’s open it up and check the gearbox over and replace all the seals. Hopefully you find one that doesn’t need rebuilding as this is costly (here anyway). Looks like you have a solid car, and once you manual swap it you’ll love it even more! Just get a list of parts you need and slowly start collecting them, there’s no rush
@@Ryan-wf7sh Got it. I'll get to work on it :).
Wangan Midnight Movie (2005) Film
Any one can help me restore it . Oklahoma
1:20 Put's it in Drive??? Pause video. #imout
It's even better with a manual 5 speed! I should know.
'77 five speed, triple carbs, resto mod, wilwood brakes. Loud and smelly!
✌️🌝❤️🎗️🍄 1977 280 z 2+2 copper coupe...😃
My 78 280Z cost me $7200
Sadly from 2030 on all combustion cars including classics will be banned
from public streets in entire EU and Scandinavia :-( In Germany the
Green Peoples Party gave order to shorten fuel supply from 2025
on by reducing all conventional fuel stations to only one state operated central gas
station per city or county. Now they want to slow down all the gas station fuel
pumps from 20 litre per minute to 2 litre per minute...From 2027 on in
the EU certain car spare parts will be banned too....as exhaust systems,
turbo chargers and even some engine and gearbox oils...California and
New York will do the same from 2027 on.... So no investments should be
done in oil burning cars any longer....They even created a new kind of
crime here, called "Abgasbespaßungsverbotsverordnung BABVVO" in German.)
Y'all need to elect new leaders.
German here, above are plain fake news.
@@TheSalt2011 No! Read Berlin leaks!
Someone here can sell me the ecu and harnees for my 76 Datsun 280z
i left after you said automatic
72 240 was many X s cooler than the 280 , needs a valve adjust bad
Auto-ma-YUK!😢
Love the Z cars... my daily driver is a 350Z. I love them all...but it's a shame that any of them have have automatic transmissions. I guess handicapped people need to drive to.
Keep it original.
100% Agree (except for the wheels).
@@gharavisam
I'm just into original, especially the wheels, although the wheels on this '78 Z are sweet, so I'll make an exception.
Wow! Not one clear side view of the car
AUTOMATIC???
Stopped watching as soon as he said Automatic . And by the way big deal that it doesn't have power steering. That shouldn't be a issue at all
It's an auto. They are dogs. Drive one with a 5-speed.
I want to convert it. Is it worth the time and money?
@@gharavisam Yes it is. Night and day difference. I have driven both.
@@gharavisam The better 5 speed is the one from the late 280zx's (82-83) since they have closer gear ratios, or if you get one from a factory turbo 280zx it would be a Borg Warner T5 which is stronger than any of the nissan transmissions. Both of those should fit a 280z without issues. If you check around at junkyards you could probably find one and make sure it feels good when you rotate the input shaft and try it in all of the gears before you buy it.
I have a Non-Turbo 1982 280ZX that I have stripped a bunch of weight out of and have lightweight Centerline wheels, semi-slick tires, polyurethane bushings and some suspension tweaks and it handles great. The 280zx can get you like 80% of the looks and experience of an S30 car for 30% of the cost.
just saw video and posts, nice car. I like 5 speeds, I have a 78 factory 5 spd and factory air. If you decide to change out, will most likely need to change rear end gears, auto-4 spd- 5 spd have different gearing in differential. Probably different drive shaft also.
GREAT car down side Automatic transmission
Beautiful car. Please DON'T USE THAT SCRATCHY BRUSH ON YOUR POOR PAINT🥲