I just turned on Pawn Stars just in time to see a man trying to sell black and red Datsun 280zx 10th anniversary edition. The man was trying to get 28k for it before getting turned down.

If you looked closely, the car had a VERY cheap paint job on it, recently done. THe owner called it a "20/20" as in "looks good at 20mph and 20ft." The seats had "burlap bag" covers, the dash a red felt pad on it.

The car sounded awful when running, really shaking and sucking air.

The guy went on and on about how only 500 of the red/black 10AE cars were made (true) and how they were extremely rare (semi-true). He also said in excellent condition they are worth $60k (FALSE) BUT he would take a mere $28k for it.

NO WAY say the pawn guys. Will you give $10k asks the delusional ZX guy? NO. $5k? NO. We'll give you $4k if it is mechanically sound says the Pawn guys.

Pawn guy mechanic takes the car for a ride. No good he says, tranny slips and slams, engine runs really bad, needs more than a tuneup.

Never mind says the pawn guy, not interested. ZX guy is mad, needs the money, says they made him an offer should stick to it.

SO, there is a mechanically bad, shot interior, bad paint job red 280ZX AE car for sale in Vegas CHEAP should you be interested!



PS - I believe this episode of "PAWN STARS" is being replayed on History Channel tonight at 10pm should you want a laugh or two.

_________________
John Taddonio
1970 240Z
1977 530Z
1984 300ZXT
zcarnut@hotmail.com
FB: Zccr zcarclubofrochester

i still thought 4k was a good deal for them. and how much does this mechanic know about Z's? i mean the show was quoted as putting the Z series being made from 69-83. incorrect. 69-78 the Z series was made. 280ZX's 79-83. then it went to include top speed 121mph. now that may be true for the 79-83's but not the 69-78's.

p.s. i wasn't a fan of the aftermarket wheels on that Z. too american for me.

$4k would have been a good buy here in the northeast IF one was willing to put a $30k bare shell restoration into the car. If you get the chance, look at the car again. Cheap paint, hammered seats and dash, underhood tinkered with and a mess. They didn't reveal the mileage either.

Technically the Z series was made by Nissan from 1969-1996 then again from 2003 to the present......

The 240Z certainly was capable of 121mph in the right conditions (not that I would ever do that!) I would think a properly running 280Z would come close as well.

The 280ZX was to heavy and underpowered in stock form to do that kind of speed, I agree.

_________________
John Taddonio
1970 240Z
1977 530Z
1984 300ZXT
zcarnut@hotmail.com
FB: Zccr zcarclubofrochester

that is true. i was just going by how they worded it on the show. but to be very technical 79-96 they were ZX's and 2003 Z's again. i understand they are all Z cars but if you say 280Z you think 75-78. if i say 280zx you think 79-83. you can't say hey i have a 280Z but be driving around an 82.

and couldn't a series one car do more than 120? i know that Frank said if you pop the hood during high speed it allows the car to go even faster. i know my 83 280zx turbo definitely hit 120 when i was racing against a 5.0 mustang. my tach was pinned and i could tell we weren't doing 100mph. a Mustang is capable of more than that and he was pinned as well and we were neck and neck. granted it was a 94 and that was the reduced power 5.0 but i would imagine even that car could do 120. so it's possible. but non turbo no way. what's with the 160mph speedo if i can't do close to that? not that i would but just a thought.

so even though only 500 were made it doesn't help it's value at all? let's say the body was rust free. and mechanically let's just say it did need just a tune up. how much is that car worth?

Let's not dis the 280zx / zxt now.... All three model years were in the 115 to 125 range, with the turbo the highest. The 280z being the slowest.

http://www.zparts.com/showcase/zcarstat ... f280zx.htm

http://www.zparts.com/showcase/zcarstat ... rf280z.htm

http://www.zparts.com/showcase/zcarstat ... rf240z.htm

_________________
Phil
1981 280zxt - Now in the care my son!
2014 370Z Sports Touring Roadster

What IS it worth?? As with any item, whatever someone is willing to pay for it.

IF I was looking specifically for a ZX 10AE car in RED, it would be worth more. IF someone just wanted a ZX, not as much.

The optimum buyer for this car would be the guy wanting one to restore. This would be a good candidate due to it being a relatively rust free southwestern car. In that case, I would peg it at $4k IN THE SOUTHWEST. If this exact car were in the northeast, I would say value would increase up to 25%.

That being said, if someone just was looking for a ZX driver, this car with a bad transmission, the engine needing work, poor paint, aftermarket wheels and the interior poor....$1500. Maybe.

_________________
John Taddonio
1970 240Z
1977 530Z
1984 300ZXT
zcarnut@hotmail.com
FB: Zccr zcarclubofrochester

oh no dissing here Phil. i loved my 83 280zxt. although i gotta say my 78 280z feels more like a sports car than the ZXT did. but both great cars in there own right.

You guyz are close, but no cigar.

When I had my nearly-new 240Z in Hawaii, I had the keys to a brand-new 8-lane highway ("H-3") which had been built across the island of Oahu but not opened due to pending federal court lawsuit. I was an MP with keys to the last gate, where the H-3 ended at my base. On Saturdays I would let myself onto this free, empty, 30-mile-long 8 lane wonderland and wind my little 1970 Datsun up to redline in the first 3 gears and try like mad to hit the red in 4th. It was like having my own private racetrack.

No matter what tricks I used (except popping the hood, which I did not learn for another year), I could only get my Z up to 124mph. It refused to do 125.

Now that it has a bored engine, a 5spd and a ZX differential, the previous owner claims to have had it up to 136mph, but I simply won't even try to drive it that fast.

The ZX cars excelled in aerodynamics over the 240Zs. If you ask Dave Russell he can tell you the exact drag coefficient of both cars, and tell you how much more slipery the ZX is. This SHOULD result in a substantial increase in top speed.

So I know for a fact that the original 240Z was good for 'nearly' 125mph, and I suspect the stock ZX (non turbo) should have broken 130 without too much effort.

Interesting Frank. I would have loved to get on that closed highway with you!

I don't think that the 280ZX was much more aerodynamic than the first generation Z, and even if it was, the several hundred more pounds it was carrying would nullify any improvement.

I CAN tell you that I have seen a 240Z (L28, triple Mikunis) do over 130mph (I was there!). At the same time, the 240 he was trying to catch (LS1 powered) topped out at 161 when he hit the rev limiter. This is a TRUE story for another day!

AND I have hit 140 with my 350Z with a bit more to go.

Now, I certainly DO NOT encourage excessive speed OR breaking any traffic laws! Lets leave this silliness to the professionals!

_________________
John Taddonio
1970 240Z
1977 530Z
1984 300ZXT
zcarnut@hotmail.com
FB: Zccr zcarclubofrochester

Actually John, I would have felt a LOT better if you (or ANYBODY!) had been there with me!

The road was totally empty. No traffic. No cops. No workers. NO HELP if I had a blowout at 100mph and rolled the car. I could have laid out there for months before anyone saw me (probably from the air) and come out to sweep up the remains.

We do a lot of stupid things when we're young.

I've hit ~120 something indicated in my 280z on an undisclosed highway at an undisclosed location and time in an attempt to keep up with a 911. I had no chance, but I decided to see how much she would push. This was back when I had my stock NA engine and stock wheels and crap tires. I decided after the guy in the Porche almost sideswiped a guardrail (in a long straight) just goosing the throttle to get past me that it was enough.

Good thing I still have plenty of young and stupid left in me! I'm still itching to get this car to the track to see what it can REALLY do.

Back to the main topic though, besides the ridiculous asking prices some of these guys want for their stuff on pawn stars, I think they're all idiots for thinking they're going to get any sort of good money from selling their stuff in a pawn show. They'd have much more luck getting better money on an actual antique auction/etc.

_________________


-Chris

Our '70 with all the Competition Department, Clifford, and Mulholland
stuff on it? Don't know; at 110 I was doing double the speed limit with
what felt like a good bit left; that was a lot more than I would ever
need, so that was all I needed to know. The fastest accelerating was
the '71 with stock gearing that I sold-- don't have any idea what she
would do top end. I never tried.

The one thing nobody has addressed is gearing ratios. If you had a
5.88:1 diffy you would leap off the line, but reach maybe 90 MPH top.
If you had say a 2.90:1 you could probably reach 150 with the right
fuel and exhaust systems (breathing), but it would take awhile to get
there. And then there are the transmission gear ratios.................

Too many variables to make a real apples-to-apples comparison.

FWIW,..........~Rick~

_________________
All Z Best,.......Kathy & Rick

1969 Z.CAR (#00013 10/69) 8/30/76
1969 ITSA.Z (#00171 11/69) 8/24/73
1970 OLD.Z (#06289 6/70) original owner
1971 510 2dr since 12/31/75
1969 1600 rdstr (our 160-Z)
1971 (#19851 1/71) sold
1975 75.Z (#01343 1/75)

Just for another point of reference,last Sat a.m. I was cruising to the Rhinebeck gig,minding my own business when I happened to run up on a yellow Lotus doing about 80 outside of Hartford on I91. I guess he was'nt in the mood to be passed and he promptly kicked it. In the few seconds it took for me to decide whether to play or not,he had opened up a pretty good gap on 'lil red(my '71 240zx). We charged right up to 135 and the gap was'nt getting any bigger (or smaller) before I started to wonder 'how much this ticket would be?' and got off the gas. Car felt great,maybe just a tiny bit 'light' and I think there was still a few more mph left.
Before you get all 'technical' on me,the 240zx part is mostly tongue-in-cheek;under the hood(which is vented,btw)sits an '83 crate motor from a Nissan dealer in Austin,Tx. Headers and electronic ignition are the only mods thus far...
I'm just sayin'...

Yeah, your deep-breathing L28 would have no problem pushing that lightweight 240 up to probably 140 or more.

I'm still trying to make-do with about a half-liter less than you. I have a shaved E31 head, headers and tweaked SUs. It ain't bad for what I expect from the car. I suspect you're running an injection system on that 1983 engine.

I also have a rebuilt L28 with spare E31 head and trip webers being built at Vinny's just now. I'm sure that will show me bigger numbers, but I'm not trying to make a racer out of my car.

If Clive ever gets off his duff and puts his 500rwhp Evil Z on a metered track, I'm sure we'll see speeds upwards of 170 (if he can keep the front end on the ground).