Sometimes we will look at cars that were released only in the Japanese Domestic Market, and lament the fact that they were never released outside of their home country. The Datsun 280ZX Turbo is a case where the reverse is true. Released in 1981, the Japan Ministry of Transport deemed the Turbo engine to be too powerful for their own market, so it was never released there. Barn Finder Simon P spotted this 280ZX Turbo for us to look at, so thank you for that Simon. The Turbo is located in Yaak, Montana, and listed for sale here on Craigslist.
The Datsun has spent the last 15 years stored away, and while it is basically straight and complete, there will be some items that will need to be attended to at some stage. There is rust visible below the windshield on the driver’s side, and also some visible below the garnish panel and tail-lights. A lot of the black plastic trim is also exhibiting that dreaded matte look which seems to be a trait of plastic trim from that era. Overall though, the Datsun doesn’t look too bad.
When 1981 rolled around, what was under the hood was the big news for the 280ZX. A Turbo version was introduced, and with the Turbo came some other useful changes. It signaled the introduction of power-assisted rack and pinion steering to replace the often-criticized recirculating ball system, giving better and more precise steering feel. One downside of the 1981 Turbo was the fact that it was only available with a 3-speed automatic transmission, as the standard 5-speed was deemed to be too fragile to handle the torque increase that the turbocharger imparted. The owner says that this car will need a tune up, which indicates that it starts and runs. Unfortunately, we are provided with no further information on the mechanical state of the car.
While the interior appears to be completely original, it is showing some wear-and-tear. The seats are discolored, and there is noticeable wear, especially along the section where the piping is on the outer edges. There are also some other plastic pieces that are discolored, especially the wheel. There is a crack in the center of the dash pad, and the headliner is pretty saggy and stretched, and will probably need to be replaced. One of the big plus points of the 280ZX is the comfort of the standard seats. Unless you are fairly solidly built or very tall, the seats provide a remarkable degree of support and comfort, especially if you feel inclined to undertake some spirited cornering.
There has always been this misconception that the 280ZX was not a popular car, and the numbers simply don’t bear this claim out. If you look at the average annual sales of all of its predecessors, the average for the 280ZX was always higher. What changed compared to its predecessors was the fact that it became less of a sports car, and more of a Grand Touring car and this meant that it tended to appeal to a different market segment. Regardless of what we may personally think of the 280ZX, it is still a fairly popular car, and nice examples sell well. The real challenge today is finding a good Turbo that hasn’t been thrashed within an inch of its life. If you can find one under $12,000, then you are doing well, while a concourse one will set you back three times that much. The owner of this one has set the price at $5,000. If the engine is okay and the rust is limited to what is visible in the photos, then this could be quite a good project car.
I think the price is right, sitting that long, I’d run from this one. Since when did a stock automatic fare better than a 5 speed with hp.? I have a hard time believing that. Usually, manuals were used because an automatic couldn’t handle it. With that spaghetti bowl of wires and hoses, this looks like a headache waiting to happen. I’m sure the turbo is stuck from sitting, and got to be a vacuum leak or 10.
Can anyone tell me, and honestly now, is the automatic reliable? 200K reliable, as many of these have. And is that fuel injection really as troublesome as some say? I’d love to have a non-turbo, but am I nuts for wanting one? Let me know, because I really want to make this happen soon, before Spring fever hits, anyway. Last thing I need is a headache for my last car.
Remember back then, Porsche kept using a 4 speed because the 5 speed they had was too weak to handle the power of the 930.
just wanted you to know i bought this car for 3800.00 drove it to oregon put 1240.00 in it . sold it for 14000.00 . thank you for running from it.
Had one of these — black with the gold wheels, T-tops and leather. Fell in love with it when I first saw it on the dealers lot in 1983 as a used car. Had to have it so I traded my 260Z and some cash for it. Got rid of it a year later. These are great point-and-shoot cars that couldn’t quite figure out whether they wanted to be a sports car or cruiser. They had a pretty substantial amount of turbo lag and some of the drivetrain features like the cruise control, transmission shifting, etc., were not sorted out very well in the early cars. The motors now are highly sought by the drift car and tuner crowds and can produce excessive amounts of HP with pretty easy upgrades. Don’t see a big win at $5K as a basis for a restoration but it only takes 1 person to want it to make it sell.
Agreed. These cars were a major upgrade from early Z cars and T-Tops that didn’t leak was unheard of back in the day.
Milestone car we are looking at. This was the car responsible for the horsepower wars of the mid 1980s and the rebirth of the performance car. The new for 81 Turbo Z shocked the world with it’s performance. Offered as an automatic only in 81, the 5 speed was available the next year, however, the automatic always outran the 5 speed. The automatic Datsun 280ZX Turbo was the fastest automatic transmission car in the world in 1981/82 and I believe the 3rd fastest car ever in 1981, a record that Datsun would hold for several more years. These cars were no joke.
Could be, but having owned a 260 and one of these, given the choice I’d take the 260 hands down over one of these. Like I said, the kids running drift cars and the tuners die for these motors as transplants into everything from early Datsun trucks to Mustangs. It’ll be interesting to see how long it takes to sell.
my shoes make my heels sore ??