Datsun 2050-Z

[2050-Z]

Project thread for the 2050-Z:

 

I bought this 280z in Summer 2011. 

 

The original ad on Craigslist:

 

1977 Datsun 280Z - (Bellingham)

Date: 2011-07-24, 11:03AM PDT http://bellingham.craigslist.org/cto/2510772069.html

 

Well I never thought I would get rid of her but she needs someone thats going to drive her more often. 
This car is an absolute blast to drive. It handles great, runs strong and smooth. Great to take out on Chuckanut or go cruise in the county. 
Couple of notes: 
- I have the original factory manual.
- I have the original factory wheel blocks. 
- I think the spare tire is original. 
- I have a spare hood from an earlier model w/out the hood vents that comes with the car.
- The car has the original mag wheels and these specific wheels are hard to find. They are very sought after in the Z community and I have had shops ask to buy or trade them in. 

If you are here then you probably know something about Zs so I wont educate about these cars and just give a list of what I have replaced or upgraded. I bought this car to drive it, not show it, so I have not done anything to the exterior. Its hard to find one of these today that hasnt either been restored and someone is asking alot for it, or is a rust bucket. This one falls right in the middle. Runs great but is a great beginner project if someone wanted to take it to the next level. It runs great.
Year: 1977
Make: Datsun
Model: 280Z (2 Seater)
Mileage: 169,000

All of these items have been replaced or upgraded over the stock parts:
-Tokico Shocks and Springs (lowered car approx 1-2 inches)
-4 piston Toyota brake calipers installed on the front
-Pioneer DEH-P3800mp CD player with MP3/WMA playback
-Stainless steel brake lines are installed
-Stainless steel clutch hose
-Valve Cover was powder coated a gun metal grey awhile ago
-Polyurethane master bushing kit from Energy suspension. All the bushings under the car have been replaced and the ride is very tight
-It has a 6 into 1 exhaust header that was ceramic coated at a friends shop.
-Complete mendrel bent exhaust system built by Z specialities
-EGR has been removed and blocked off
-Rebuilt fuel injectors
-Fuel lines and fuel rail back to the filter
-Fuel Filter
-Spark plugs and wires
-Battery was replaced about a month ago
-New Distributor cap and rotor
-Radiator has been taken out, flushed and pressure tested and came back fine
-Thermostat
-Air Regulator
-MSD 3 Blaster Coil
-Door seals have been replaced
-Fuel injection system and mass airflow sensor was calibrated by Z-Sport in Everett
-Brand new Carpet kit installed
-Just replaced the air intake hoses (middle of June) from the air box to the MAF and from there to the intake manifold and it idles great now, the old hoses had a slight vacuum leak. 

Couple of other things:
-Intake manifold has been hot tanked and is very clean
-Engine was compression tested and the results were great: 5 cylinders above 160, one at 155

This car is not perfect, couple of things the next owner would need to know:
-The body has a few dings, nothing major but would need some TLC. 
-Car does get a little damp inside in the winter. 
-Drivers side rear tire rubs slightly on hard right turns. Might need an adjustment.
-Someone broke the antennae off recently
-There are some minor surface rust in places but nothing major. I have been inside and out and under this car doing a lot of work and the underbody and floorboards are fine.
-Previous owner backed into something on the back passenger, he repainted over it but would need some smoothing out. I have taken a picture of this area specifically. 

Cash Only. I have invested much more into this than I am asking. This is not a desperation sale so please dont lowball me. Only inquire if youre a seriously interested, if someone doesnt buy it I will continue to drive and enjoy this car and eventually drop a V-8 or something similar into it. 
If you have any questions feel free to contact me and I will answer them to the best of my abilities. 

I have plenty of more pictures, email me if you want to see them. 

 

 

 

A good start! More to come...

[2050-Z]

Golden Gardens, 2012.

http://community.ratsun.net/topic/39881-golden-gardens-ratsun-meet/page-4

 

Thanks to spudly13 and brodster for the pics

 

 

[2050-Z]

Random pictures that predate this thread, uploaded as I find them:

 

 

The Z was stored a ferry ride away for far too long. 

 

 

 

 

[2050-Z]

[Reserved for project]

[2050-Z]

[Reserved for project]

[2050-Z]

[Reserved for project]

[2050-Z]

First order of business: see what lurks underneath those carpets.

 

A previous owner seems to have put down a liner/paint... but without first chipping up the sound deadening. Hmmm....

 

 

Driver's side:

 

 

Passenger's side:

 

 

The spare tire well looks pretty good:

 

[2050-Z]

Initial fitment of a front 280z to 240z bumper conversion. Brackets from ZCar Customs.

 

This bumper isn't that great, but it will do for now.

 

 

 

Removed the rear bumpers and spacer. If you have a 280z, get this off TODAY. Lots of rust under there, where water got between the body and the bumper filler plate.

 

[2050-Z]

Found a perfect classic license plate, hence the name of this car/project. It's a '77 dealer plate that I was able to register as a Washington "year of manufacture" collector's car plate. 

 

With matching years and a "Z" in the plate I couldn't pass it up. The colors aren't bad either.

 

 

 

 

[2050-Z]

So this thread is going to be a weird mix of past and present. 

 

I'll slowly be uploading pics and stories of projects and events over the last 1.5 years of ownership, as you see above.

 

At the same time, I'll be posting present-day updates.

 

 

Yesterday I had a go at the driver's side rear bumper mount. It was a bitch to remove. Not looking forward to the passenger one, as I hear you have to drop the gas tank.

 

[Tristin]

[reserved for comment]

[Shawk910]

[reserved for comment]

:thumbup:

[2050-Z]

[reserved for comment]

 

Hah, point taken :)

[Tristin]

Nice setup with all the pictures. Whats the significance of 2050?

 

Edit: Never mind, I actually read the posts instead of just looking at the pictures. Disregard. 

[Shawk910]

. Whats the significance of 2050?

I would also like to know?

[2050-Z]

Nice setup with all the pictures. Whats the significance of 2050?

 

Edit: Never mind, I actually read the posts instead of just looking at the pictures. Disregard. 

 

 

I would also like to know?

 

Nothing to do with engine size... just randomly found a cool/rare plate that almost works as a Z model number.

[Tristin]

Ive got a '69 registration stickered plate Ive been thinking of running. My tabs are up at the end of the month so I may go for it. What was the cost of registering those plates?

[2050-Z]

Ive got a '69 registration stickered plate Ive been thinking of running. My tabs are up at the end of the month so I may go for it. What was the cost of registering those plates?

 

I think I paid around $70. I believe it's the same price as the standard WA collector's plates; I don't think there's an extra charge for providing a YOM plate.

 

You never have to renew your tabs, which is great, but there are major restrictions on how often you can drive the car. Perfect for a weekend warrior, but won't work for a DD.

 

But by far the best benefit is that you don't have to run a front plate!

 

1969 had sweet dealer plates, by the way. Imagine this on a red '69 Datsun roadster:

 

[Tristin]

Yeah I know about collector plates, but wasn't sure on prices for YOM plates as they aren't listed. Thanks for the info.

 

I've just got a basic white and green plate with the '69 sticker. Good enough for me. And I already don't run a front plate haha

[2050-Z]

A bit of hatch rust, of course. I started chipping at the paint and it's a bit worse than I expected. But I suppose it could be worse.

 

 

 

[2050-Z]

Removed the passenger bumper mount today.

 

It's a bit more complicated than the driver's side. You need to drop the gas tank to access the bolts. Support the tank with a floor jack. Undo the bolts on the two straps supporting the tank. This should give you enough room to undo the bumper mount bolts; you shouldn't need to disconnect any hoses.

 

Getting the bumper mount out of the cavity is another matter. I removed the 4 small bolts around the gas filler neck. This allows you to drop the tank down a bit more on the passenger side. Wiggle the damn thing out, somehow. It would be much easier if you sawed the piston in half. I made the hole a little bigger at the bottom, cutting into a rusty area that needs to be repaired anyway.

 

 

Looking pretty good with a shaved ass.

 

[2050-Z]

More work on the floor. Pretty clean overall.

 

[2050-Z]

Just back from the shop.

 

 - Fuel filler area rust repaired.

 - Rear 280z bumper filler valence rust repaired.

 - Left hatch area rust reapaired.

 - Dents on rear passenger side straightened.

 - Rear Sidemarker lights deleted!

 

 

[2050-Z]

New bits coming soon: