Donated vehicles remain a source of fascination for me, mainly because I cannot get over how many seemingly decent cars end up being given away. I suspect in most cases this phenomenon is due to disinterested heirs, but it still seems like a waste of a good project to me. Check out this 1980 Datsun 280ZX here on eBay that sports a manual transmission, T-tops and clean body in a no reserve auction.
We’ve seen worst interiors in cars that are still in daily use, so it’s amazing to see a cabin this nice in a car that was given away. An added bonus is that this is a manual transmission model, but this is also a point of confusion: I had read that Nissan didn’t trust its own manual transmission to handle the added thrust of the turbocharged models when first introduced, so all 1981 model year Turbos were saddled with the 3-speed automatic transmission.
This car is clearly a Turbo model, wearing the correct badges and NACA duct on the hood. That hood design makes me think the seller has the year wrong, as the ’82 and later cars could be outfitted with the turbo motor and manual transmission. This example shows consistent body shut lines, very nice paint, ugly but functional U.S. safety bumpers and an attractive set of matching alloy wheels. Despite this, it does come with a salvage title from CA.
The confusion around the model year notwithstanding, this looks like a very nice Z car with the desirable turbo motor and manual transmission. Add in the clean interior and body, along with T-top roof and seemingly rust-free condition, and it looks like a potential bargain with its no-reserve pricing. It seems strange someone would donate a running, driving 280ZX, but perhaps the salvage title and obscurity made the potential tax write-off worth it.
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