Dollar Tree: 1984 Nissan 300ZX
I have to admit that I’ve driven home a few cars where the previous owner has said “you’ll need to tow this thing home”. I usually finish the transaction and then jump start/adjust timing/add oil & gas and drive home, because all you really need to get a car home is a few functioning cylinders (in the engine and the brakes)…everything else is just gravy if it works. Anyway, this next car might be the something you could nurse home if you’ve got the gumption. It comes as a tip from Art C who writes: This could be a great deal, or you could need some intravenous antibiotics after an impromptu kidney extraction. Either way, a cool car. Find this 1984 Nissan 300ZX offered for $800 in Rhode Island via craigslist.
From the seller:
1984 300zx
fuel: gas
title status: clean
transmission: manual
1984 NISSAN 300zx, 6cyl non turbo, 5spd 160k miles, 4 seater, Ttops leather interior, runs, needs a Tune up and a good once over and clutch slave cylinder, no, it wont drive home. $800 FIRM NO TRADES
See a better way to drive a ZX? tips@dailyturismo.com
that clutch cylinder may turn out to be the most important one here. had a slave cyl fail once . only time to that date where i needed a tow. cant get the car into a different gear or out of the gear it is currently in. so yeah, that ride home in any traffic could be ….interesting.
I'll second this. Had one fail on my former '86 Toyota Pickup once after a 1-in-a-million branch impact while off-roading. Had to sit around and wait until the traffic died down, and, basically, roll through red lights and stop signs at 2-3am to get it home. Thank goodness for the "clutch start cancel" button on the old Toyotas.
A tow would have cost more than the slave cyl ($20, at the time).
– not like the clutch start cancel button would have done any good in this situation… but I'd used it a few times to start the truck in gear & was familiar with how the truck would react.
my incident was with a Mazda 4wd truck.came to red traffic light at the base of a hill i needed to climb and could not get it out of third. pushed in the clutch and braked. shut it off. now trapped. couldnt start it up that grade in 3rd. dint know what a slave cyl was. or where it was. that truck was an odd bird to begin with. I felt lucky the shop could diagnose my problem and repair the existing cyl.
I have driven home cars with a leaking slave. filling it often gave me enough of a clutch for a short drive. RI to VA may be pushing it though…
This car looks really interesting with that nice engine (just a little too fancy roof for my taste) and is the car that the P944 never was. It looks like he sells cars and has a garage nearby, this would be gone after 21 days on CL if there were not a lot of extra stuff needed. George in Toronto
2+2 Z cars have been looking better and better to me. I could go for something like this.
My first foray into vintage cars was a Euro 635 CSi I purchase in Indy and drove home to MN. Stopped for the night in Madison, WI. The next morning the clutch pedal went right to the floor. Tow and repair in Madison then back on road next morning.
$800 for that pretty darn clean 300ZX seems to good to be true, which means it probably is.