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Wanted: 240z (preferably modified) - Cash Waiting


Jay.

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22 hours ago, siteunseen said:

That's not that bad. I've owned much worse '72 240 and sold it for $6,000. If that means anything. :)

The best shot for me is under the battery. That can be a tricky spot with the acid eating up the fuel lines. I ran rubber from the slave cylinders location to the fuel filter.

Tabco has replacement panels for what you've shown in your pics.

That does help, thank you. I've not heard of TABCO, but having had a look I see they're a pretty big company. 

 

21 hours ago, rturbo 930 said:

The floor doesn't look that bad. Doesn't look like it goes through, but if it does, you could just patch it, vs total replacement. I'm stretching my memory here, but I think I recall John Coffey saying it was $1500 a side to replace floors. That said, that picture only shows one spot of one floor, and may be misleading to overall condition.

I may be wrong, but my gut is telling me that the driver's side frame rail reinforcement there has rust behind it. Could easily be wrong, but that spot rusts out pretty often, and seems to start from behind. Just kinda looks like it's been pushed out a bit in the middle there from the wheel well.

Hatch sill rust looks pretty tame. Not sure you'd need a full replacement. FYI, Tabco parts are kind of a mixed bag for fitment. Some of their panels are just useless.

If there's one thing I've learned though, it's that rust is usually worse than you expect.

I forgot to upload the worst picture which shows one of the floor boards which is pretty much gone, see here: 

19478432_10155524285893826_178544867_o.jpg

 

Where are you looking for the sill rust? Below the Golden stripes? The guys been out of town the weekend, so I'll be calling him tomorrow evening. Any questions and stuff I should put forward?

I'm sort of preparing myself for the worst in terms of Rust, in hopes I can only be pleasantly surprised. 

 

21 hours ago, grannyknot said:

Jay, that looks like a pretty decent car from the pics, lots of owners have cut out replaced the floors themselves, it's not an easy job but it will save you lots of money. There are lots threads in the archives with great pics of how others did there Z's

Thanks for the input, it's good to hear as I'm concious I'll overlook obvious things in my haste/excitement. I've found a nice YouTube video documenting it which shows the job is easy and straightforward, albeit slow and time consuming. 

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L O L at your picture of the floorboard being pretty much gone. Dude, that's what we call mild rust. It's pitted, and if you sandblast it, maybe you'll get some perforation. Consider those floors to be reasonably solid, and maybe in need of patching. They might need a total replacement after removing the factory sound deadening and blasting, but I doubt it.

What you're calling the rear valence is what we call the hatch sill. "Rear valence" is usually referring to the panel below the tail lights. Also, what you call "sills" I believe we call "rockers" aka, "rocker panels"

As for what else you should ask for? Battery tray for sure. Spare tire well, doglegs (the bit just in front of the rear wheels, the shape looks like a dog's leg), rear fender lips, underside of floors. There's more areas that typically rust out, but that car looks pretty solid, so I'm guessing the less commonly rusty areas are fine.

Edited by rturbo 930
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2 minutes ago, rturbo 930 said:

LOL at your picture of the floorboard being pretty much gone. Dude, that's what we call mild rust. It's pitted, and if you sandblast it, maybe you'll get some perforation. Consider those floors to be reasonably solid, and maybe in need of patching. They might need a total replacement after removing the factory sound deadening and blasting, but I doubt it.

What you're calling the rear valence is what we call the hatch sill. "Rear valence" is usually referring to the panel below the tail lights. Also, what you call "sills" I believe we call "rockers" aka, "rocker panels"

As for what else you should ask for? Battery tray for sure. Spare tire well, doglegs (the bit just in front of the rear wheels, the shape looks like a dog's leg), rear fender lips, underside of floors. There's more areas that typically rust out, but that car looks pretty solid, so I'm guessing the less commonly rusty areas are fine.

Okay you have me there! I meant with the two pictures I received, I didn't upload the worst one :-P I'm glad it doesn't look "completely gone" though. 

 

Okay, I'll try and get those terms in my head. We call them completely different things on this side of the pond, but I definitely appreciate the 'Datsun' name for them, as I'm sure it'll make searching forums and talking to members a lot clearer that way.

 

Thanks for those, I've jotted them down :)

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OP:  Are you familiar with the 260z?  They get a bad rap because the motor was choked down with emissions compliance and the bumpers were larger, but you wouldn't be dealing with those things on a modified car.  The way I see it a good 260 is a 240 with upgraded electrical and a stiffer chassis.  I'm getting close to putting mine on Bring A Trailer  

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 I Agree. The 260's were-are the red headed stepchild for various reasons but being single year model they will be a rare commodity in a few years. They really aren't much different than the late 73 240's. Most people wouldn't know the difference if a 260 had 240 emblems.

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2 hours ago, Mark Maras said:

They really aren't much different than the late 73 240's.

That's partly true. Early 260Zs are very similar to late 240Zs. However, late 260Zs are very similar to early 280Zs.

I understand why people prefer the 240Z, to an extent I do too. But depending on what you want to do with it, and what characteristics you value in a car, you might be better off with a 280Z. Having seen both a 240Z and 280Z as a stripped down chassis, I can tell you that the 280Z is the better built car. More obvious in some places than others, but it's clear that they had either improved their manufacturing process or their standards between 1970 and 1975. It is heavier, and uglier, but that can be remedied to some extent. It's not hard to swap the tail lights and bumpers. More difficult to remove the additional structure on the chassis for the 5MPH bumpers. Of course, some of that extra weight is in areas of the car where it is beneficial.

Edited by rturbo 930
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2 hours ago, Mark Maras said:

 I Agree. The 260's were-are the red headed stepchild for various reasons but being single year model they will be a rare commodity in a few years. They really aren't much different than the late 73 240's. Most people wouldn't know the difference if a 260 had 240 emblems.

 

4 hours ago, Kurbycar32 said:

OP:  Are you familiar with the 260z?  They get a bad rap because the motor was choked down with emissions compliance and the bumpers were larger, but you wouldn't be dealing with those things on a modified car.  The way I see it a good 260 is a 240 with upgraded electrical and a stiffer chassis.  I'm getting close to putting mine on Bring A Trailer  

 

4 hours ago, Kurbycar32 said:

OP:  Are you familiar with the 260z?  They get a bad rap because the motor was choked down with emissions compliance and the bumpers were larger, but you wouldn't be dealing with those things on a modified car.  The way I see it a good 260 is a 240 with upgraded electrical and a stiffer chassis.  I'm getting close to putting mine on Bring A Trailer  

 

I'm not completely against the idea, but it'd have to be the "right one". I am hoping to own this car for a long time (forever, if I can) so it seems sensible to pay a little extra and start with the 240z. I don't know why it really matters if I do decide to modify it, but I guess it's having that option for it to be returned to a 240z at some point if needed!

 

I think if I was going for a non-240z, surely the 280z would be the better option as stated from @rturbo 930they seem to be the best built?

 

19 minutes ago, Reptoid Overlords said:

https://seattle.craigslist.org/skc/cto/6181096570.html

Saw this one on Craigslist the other day. Not sure what's going on with that lower valence but might be worth checking out.

Many thanks! I don't know how I missed this one. I've sent him an email :)

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If you're willing to start with a 280Z, you could maybe find one more locally. I found a dude on YouTube  who bought a '77 in England. The guy had two for sale.

280Zs are unquestionably better built, but whether or not they are "better" depends on what you want from the car, and what you like about them. 240Zs are definitely more raw/vintage. Basically, from the factory, a 240Z is more sporty and nimble, a 280Z is more of a GT car. You can make a 280Z feel more raw/vintage, and you can make it look like a 240Z, but that will require effort and money. Some would consider that the fun part, some don't want to bother. Also somewhat depends on what mods you want to do. For me, 240Zs are at the point where I'm getting kind of uneasy seeing people drastically modify them (ie, engine swaps, cutting/welding the body), at least the nicer ones. I'm becoming a purist, lol.

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