Jumping in with 2

[ArnieTX]

After looking around for a while I finally picked up a pair of 1971 240z's for $300 bucks. One car had a decent interior but some rusty floorpans and the other has a cruddy interior but pretty solid metal.

Pics of how they sit at the moment:

[ArnieTX]

#2

I have to go get them in the morning.

If anyone can provide some tips for getting them onto the trailer I would appreciate it. I have a come along and chains. Will have two F250's and 2 goosenecks to transport. Not sure where to coonect to these vehicles to pull them onto the trailers without causing damage, etc.

I'm jacked! Me and my boys are going to have a good time tinkering with this.

Thanks

[Darrel]

They should have tow hooks under the bumpers front and back. They look really solid. Do they have original paint?

[ArnieTX]

Thanks Darrel.

I don't know much about them. Once I get them home and cleaned up a little, I guess I'll be able to tell. Is original paint significant for some reason? Just wondering.

I am a noob to car restorataion. I have average skills. I need to decide if it's better to clean these up and try to flip them for more money and put those funds towards a z in better condition or get after it and make a good one out of these two. I have the room and facilities to work on them, just never attempted something like this before. I guess once they are cleaned up and I note the condition of both bodies, it will be easier to see what I have. The nice thing about having 2 identical 71's is I have a template to compare to if I take one apart. I need some tips on how to keep track of all the parts coming off and how it goes back. Searching the threads for that info all day...

I'm ordering a few Z manuals and the restoration book. I'm researching all the threads. I owned a 77 and a 78 in my younger days. This is my first 240.

Thanks

[Darrel]

My reason for asking about them being repainted, with the original paint you are able to see the real condition of the panels. If they have been repainted, then there is a good chance there might be bondo hidden under a "new" paint job, even an old paint job.

You got a heck of a deal on one for the price, let alone 2 for the same price.

Keep us up to date on your progress and post more pics as you go along.

[ajmcforester]

I bet the wheels are frozen in place. If so I'd recommend the ancient method of using round sticks (aka 1 or 1.5" PVC pipe) and a sheet of plywood. Bring the trailer as close as you can jack the car up and place a bunch of PVC pipes down and then the plywood lock the wheels on the car and set the car down on the plywood with this set up you can move almost anything. then push or pull the car on the plywood on to the trailer moving the pvc pipes in front as they come out in the back. I'd recommend using a winch to move it onto the trailer. You can use the tow hooks another good spot on these cars to connect to is the steering support in center of the car. Don't use the bumpers, frame rails or the diff mount you will more than likly damage the car at these points.

They look like a lot of work but it will be 2 fun project cars.

[ArnieTX]

Thanks for the advice.

I have an air compressor and a bunch of chains going. A friend that's taking his truck and trailer said the easiest way is to chalk the trailer, run a chain from the back of the truck all the way down the length of the trailer, hook it to the car, and pull it up the ramps with the truck...... We'll see!

Is there anything else I need to take along besides air, chains, and straps?

Thanks

[ajmcforester]

Some penetrating oil, BFH, and brake cleaner you can sometimes get the wheels to rotate if you spray down the breaks and hubs, with the drums taping with a BFH can break them louse

[=Enigma=]

Be careful with the "tow hooks" as they are actually just tie down hooks and not rated for towing. Use only the ones on the front, and pull slowly and steadily up as slight an incline as you can manage with the trailer. They were strong enough to pull my car onto a flatbed tow truck for relocation so you should be fine. If the hooks are missing, you could probably get away using the front suspension member, but I don't recommend pulling from the lower radiator support member. If the frame rails are badly rusted out near where they attach to the firewall, go very slowly and make sure nobody is standing behind the car. Probably a good idea either way. Good luck.

[Walter Moore]

You know of course that the one with vents under the rear window is a "Series 1" with and earlier build date.

You even have the original seat belts! I am impressed.

That is a huge project. Stick with it, because it will take some time to get either car back on the road.

[kenz240z]

You might also consider bringing a floor jack. It may help if the trailer has a dovetail. If the car doesn't clear the tail you can place the jack under the front suspension/engine cross member to raise the car up enough to continue pulling it onto the trailer.

Make sure you tie the car down at all 4 corners with an appropriate ratchet strap or chains. Don't use the generic tie down straps you get at the hardware store, be sure to either use straps that are designed & rated for securing a vehicle to a trailer, or use chains & a chain binder. Please don't take chances with safety or with the DOT!

I paid 300 for the first Z I refreshed. I bought another '73 this summer for $450. From the photos you have, both cars you have look to be in better shape than mine were. I sure hope they clean up good and that one of them is a good candidate for revival. Once you assess the condition of the cars, I'd suggest making your decision to fix one (or both!) based on what you find and your comfort level with doing the work. If you are mechanically inclined and do your own body & paint work, then you might consider reviving a car that is a little rough. If not, then sell them and get a car that is solid. Personally, I like doing as much of the work as I can, old buzzard gear head that I am!

[ArnieTX]

Thanks for the all the great advice. I'll clean them up good over the weekend and see what I have.

You know of course that the one with vents under the rear window is a "Series 1" with and earlier build date.

You even have the original seat belts! I am impressed.

I believe both of them have vents under the windows. Sorry for the noob questions and I can only read so much on this site in a day, but what is the significance of "series 1". I'll try to search the history of that term shortly.

Zoomed:

Thank you

Arnie

[ArnieTX]

I found the info on Series 1. Cool!

The steering wheels in these cars look different. One is slotted, one is not.

This is fun!

Arnie

[Carl Beck]

Amazing... A Series I and Series II {maybe} - both Green, both with OEM steel wheels!!

From the pictures it looks like the Series I is quite restorable.. the Series II seems to be missing its engine.

Something is out of wack with the images. In the first picture the Series I seems to have a jack under the front with the tires on plywood. Looking at the Left side of the car...

Then the second pictures shows the left side of another Series I - the one sitting in the background of the first picture..

At that point they both seem to be Series I cars....

Then in the third pictures - we see a Series II Right Rear Quarter on the car that is jacket up..

It will be interesting to see what you really have there... No question that they are worth getting and no question they are worth $300.00 - - - I'd have grabbed that deal in a heart beat.

FWIW,

Carl B.

[Carl Beck]

The Series I cars have the solid spoke steering wheels the Series II had the slotted. They had to weaken the spokes, so the steering wheel would collapse more easily to meet the safety standards for 71.

It will be interesting to see what the VIN's are on the cars...

FWIW,

Carl B.

[Darrel]

if they do still have the hooks, they are plenty strong enough to drag the cars onto the trailer. In emergency they are strong enough to even tow with. But since they probably don't have any brakes towing with chain or strap isn't an option. Since you do have a couple of trailers make use of the hooks.

Carl, he has the vin numbers in one of two threads he started.

Edited December 4, 2009 by Darrel

[ArnieTX]

More pics:

The one missing the headlight has the cleanest body from the 15 minutes I spent looking at them. It had the bad interior though.

The one with the good interior had rusty floors from front to back.

The rear hatches of both looked decent at a glance.

My gut tells me to run with the one without the headlight, HSL3011989, and use the rustier one's interior parts to clean up the interior.

I'm heading out in the morning if it doesn't ice over tonight and I actually get some sleep. - San Antonio + freezing rain = crazy drivers

Thanks

Arnie

[ArnieTX]

Both motors are still in each car.

I'm looking at the first pictures of the jacked up one and wondering if that big piece of pipe on the ground under the vehicle is supporting anything.

I'll take pics tomorrow as I load them up.

Thanks

Arnie

[Carl Beck]

Ok - thanks Darrel....

Title #1 says HLS3011989 1971 = = 10/70

Title #2 says HLS3016914 1971 = = 12/70

In the 50's, 60's and into the very early 70's - - many Countries around the world sold/titled cars based on when they were actually produced. In effect they did not have "Model Years", but rather used Calendar Year of production to identify the cars.

In both cases above if a traditional American Car Dealership acquired a Datsun Franchise to add to their Dealership - they would have most likely titled both cars as "1971 Model Year" vehicles. Because traditionally new Models were put on sale in Sept. or Oct. of the prior year.

If on the other hand a traditional Import Car Dealership acquired a Datsun Franchise - they could quite easily have sold/titled them as 1970 Datsun 240Z's. Because most imports made model changes in step with Calendar Year changes.

As the US Federal Government got involved with mandated Safety and Emissions standards being implemented by certain dates... all the car manufactures adjusted their model changes to be more or less in line - - - So by the 72 Model Year - Nissan was making model changes necessary to sell cars here in the Sept. time frame... for the following year.

FWIW,

Carl B.

[ArnieTX]

Carl

Is the emblem on the rear qtr panel throwing a wrench in your thinking? That's the only difference I spot. What is the delta between the S1 and S2 qtr panels?

Thanks

Arnie

[Carl Beck]

Series I have the Fresh Air vents in the deck lid. For the Series II cars the fresh air vents were moved from the rear deck to the quarter panels.

Series I cars have a 240Z script on the quarter panels - with no vent holes. The Series II cars had a round emblem on the quarter panels - with a little Z in the center - the emblems are not solid - they let the air out of a hole in the quarter panel.

Yes - that was what was throwing me off - but now that I see the VIN's they are both Series I cars - could be someone changed the rear quarter on that one car - or many be just the emblem...

FWIW,

Carl

[Carl Beck]

Oh I should add - at the Dealerships - that we saw cars built 01/70 that had both the vents on the rear quarter and still had the Series I rear decks with the vents.. But we never saw any cars with different quarters on either side of the car...

FWIW,

Carl B.

[JonnyRock]

Hope you keep 'em green!

[rdefabri]

Yes - keep them green, great color!

Having just sold my '72 240Z (to fix my Jag E-Type), I was kicking around the idea of finding a project Z to hold on to...these would have been perfect. Excellent purchase for $300!

On another note, and you may know this, my Jag mechanic (a legend btw) showed my absolute wrecks that he restored to almost 100 point condition. Now, that's not going to be cheap, but almost anything can be done. I was totally amazed at the work this guy could do.

I know of a project Z near by my house, I may well try to snag it

Good luck!!

[240dkw]

if they do still have the hooks, they are plenty strong enough to drag the cars onto the trailer. In emergency they are strong enough to even tow with. But since they probably don't have any brakes towing with chain or strap isn't an option. Since you do have a couple of trailers make use of the hooks.

Arnie: I agree with Darrel as long as the cars will roll freely, here is a photo of a tie-down hook I removed from a parts car. Someone tried to pull the car when it did not want to be moved. So be careful how much strain you put on the hook if it has one and you use it.

Dan