Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. We've only seen one Alameda 280ZX in this series, so we're due!

We've also had a 1971 240Z and a 1978 280Z (both of which get regular driving time), though the ZXs are much more common on the island. We're also seeing quite a few in California 24 Hours Of LeMons races, which means you can buy 'em cheap. Plus, we already know they have the pulsing power of a fuel-injected soul!


In 1980, you got a Malaised-out 138-horsepower L28 engine in your 280ZX, which weighed 2,786 pounds. The price tag for the base hatchback: $9,899, versus the $7,121 price you'd pay for a new 1980 Camaro Z28, which had a slightly better power-to-weight (190 horsepower/3,381 pounds) but much more primitive suspension and brakes. Which would you have purchased?

Send an email to Murilee Martin, the author of this post, at murilee@jalopnik.com.