When the 280ZX was introduced it came in for its fair share of criticism from the motoring press who perceived it as being “softer” than the car that it replaced. While it wasn’t the sports car that previous “Z” cars had been, this was because the parent company had decided to realign the model as more of a comfortable sports touring car in line with offerings from some European manufacturers, but at a significantly lower price. This 280ZX is listed for sale here at Hemmings. It has been listed with a price of $25,000 but this is negotiable.
This 280ZX is the 10th Anniversary edition, of which 3,000 were produced. They were produced in the gold/black color combination (2,500 built) as our feature car is, or the significantly rarer red/black combination (500 built). This one appears to be in great condition with a really nice shine to it. The seller claims that the car has travelled a genuine 29,000 miles, but as usual I would hope that they have documentary evidence to verify this. I do wish that they had removed the “car bra” for at least some of the photos to give us a better overview of the car’s condition.
The interior looks to be in really good condition. Under those seat covers the tan leather upholstery looks as though the car has just rolled out of the showroom. These cars also featured the tinted t-bar roof as standard along with automatic climate-control air conditioning. While the interior looks great I did notice that there is wear on the rim of the steering wheel. Like so many Japanese cars of the 1980s and 1990s, if the steering wheel color was anything but black the color was only a coating over the black base. Over the years vehicle usage would allow the color to wear away revealing the black base. That appears to have begun to happen with this wheel. If it has then it raises a small question in the back of my mind about the mileage claim. We can hope that it’s just a trick of the light.
One of the most desirable interior features of the 10th Anniversary edition was the premium (for the day) surround sound stereo system. This one is still intact and it brings back great memories of my younger days when I owned a Datsun fitted with a similar system. One of the quirky little design features was the speaker balance and fader control. That little joystick just below the cassette player is that control, allowing the user to fade the speakers from front-to-back or from left-to-right depending on where the joystick was moved to.
Unfortunately the 10th Anniversary edition didn’t feature any performance gains over the standard 280ZX. Under all that spaghetti of pipes and hoses is the L28E that was standard fare in the 280ZX at the time. It delivered a total of 145hp (Net) which gave it 24hp more than the original 240Z. Additional weight did impact its performance, but it was still reasonable and in keeping with the market that the 280ZX was now aimed at. This one is backed by the Nissan 5-speed manual transmission which did assist with performance. The seller states that the car runs like new.
The 280ZX has probably been the least popular of the “Z” car line in the past due to the perception that they were softer than their predecessors. The fact is that it wasn’t hard to extract some pretty decent performance and handling out of them with a little bit of work. They do seem to now be finding favor that they didn’t have in years past. While they have begun to increase in popularity and thus value over the past few years, only you can be the judge of whether the asking price seems fair.
Another once-beautiful and clean design ruined by the Marketing and Design folks.
Nope…The 79-83 was in its own way a masterpiece. People who owned late 1969-78 Z car generally don’t like the facelift zx for 1979 but really they are just as nice and I’ve owned dozens of each style in The past 30 years I can proudly say. In my opinion the fall of the Z Car started in 1987 with the newly bodied 300zx. The 84-86 wasn’t bad until they screwed with the nose and body lines, then it went downhill….just my .02
I’d forgotten all about the “car bra”! Another Pep Boys feature that use to be common but has completely disappeared
Not completely.
Those bra’s can do a lot of paint damage, as I experienced on a Detroit to L.A. drive once upon a time, especially if not tied down tight. I think the seller should have removed it for the pics.
“Hi doll,can I have a few pics of you with your bra off?”
Seriously, those things caused a lot more damage than they ever prevented.
I mean the car bras.
$25K if it was a 240Z in this condition, maybe. Or maybe at $8k, once removed of its tacky bra. Seller is dreaming.
Hear, hear! Owned a 240 for a few years and loved it. Now prices are skyrocketing on those. Always hated the 280ZX body style but to each their own. And yeah, car bras! Yikes.
There were a couple of these in town with the Turbo motor.
I barely remember seeing a red & black one somewhere.
This two tone made them look way more upscale thtwn the base models & were a far cry from my buddy’s spartan 260z.
I know one was owned by a local doctor & had every accessory imaginable including the joystick for the speakers. So cool!
So started the downhill slide away from light makes might in the sports car world into the land of GT’s with extra complication, weight & distraction (much higher buy in/profits).
Really sharp cars as 2-seaters, the 2+2’s not as much.
When getting bigger and heavier with a car design was not better.
As a “lot boy”at a big Datsun dealership in 1980, I drove virtually every year of the 240/260/280 Z cars. Unlike most people, I liked the solid feel and quieter ride of the ZX much better than the Z cars.
Had one for a while, had the red and black model. Decent car but it seemed to go through mass air flow sensors like candy.
On this beached whale they were probably air flow mass sensors.
Wow, did I just see a post involving a 208ZX 10th Anniversary Edition with no reference to its advertising? I suppose it’s possible to post this way, but why would anyone do it? :-)
Here ’tis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWF-hH1nloo
Let the porn ‘stache jokes, etc. commence.
Awesome commercial.
The video feed afterward pulled up a feature of one that had only 190 miles in 2015.
Cool cars. I’m sure the plastic interior bits are ready to crumble though just like on the ’84 Maxima I used to have after my grandfather passed. I believe the Maxima had the very same engine.
Quality built and T-Tops that don’t leak like Z28s of the era. Compared to early Zs these cars were refined, fuel efficient and had precise shifting and great looks.
Pretty low bar.
The inventor of the “Car Bra” knew nothing about cars, or women.
…or bras for that matter.
I’m ashamed to admit I once dated someone who that bra would have fit perfectly.
Though the paint job looks nice, the rest just adds poundage. The metallic silver “stripper” I bought that had spent far too much time on the showroom floor was probably 200 pounds lighter. Got a fantastic deal, thanks to g/f ! No power anything. No A/C or T Tops, nothing. Fast and smooth. Not a fan of plasticy shift knob, but was infatuated with the woman’s voice that said things like: “Door ajar”, or “Fasten seat belts”. Wow. Also really liked the secondary fuel gauge once 1/4 tank was reached…. Lots of great memories !