Hardway

I agree with Carl, $5K - $6k is the mark on it. Your car appears to be a great start for the next owner and would make any Z car owner proud. As said before use all the free and low cost options at your disposal for selling it. Craigslist is great and since you already have good pics you are already ahead. Make a nice for sale sign and keep it in the window when you drive it around town. GLWS Keep us posted on it.

With the car so low to the ground and ant piles all around it I have no way of getting a good look under the car but your point is very well taken. It is not being advertised but the seller is some sort of flipper as he had 3 other project looking cars for sale. I know pictures help so I have listed the PB link below. As you can see by the cob webs its been parked for quite sometime. Seeing the fiberglass front bumper/spoiler and god awful wheels it looks like some ricer kid's project. A few other observations show a 5spd gear shift knob but I did not try getting in the car to run through the gears to confirm this as I am sure more than a few creatures have made their home in it. It has a few small damage spots, an odd wire coming out of the passenger side fender (CB antenna?) It had A/C at one time but the compressor and equipment is long gone. Worst more it does not have a data plate on the door jamb and the holes for the rivets appeared to have been filled. Something interesting was the brake M/C on the booster, it appeared to have a 4-bolt flange. I am guessing it is from another car as I know the 240 should have a vertical 2 bolt flange. The tail lights were in great shape so atleast the future owner is one step ahead. I am not sure it is even a flipper, probably a parts car unless someone really wanted a 240. I am going to mull it over a little more and see what I can possibly get it for. http://s87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/camaroguy1969/240z%20For%20Sale/

I spotted a faded lime green 240z earlier this evening and spoke with a friend of the seller. It's a '72 California car, 4spd, black interior. The guy showed me the floors and they looked incredible, body was rust free, had a good rear bumper but had some after market fiberglass front bumper. Has dual Webers and he said it ran when they put fuel in the carbs but they believe the fuel pump is out. It needs a full interior job but the door panels appeared to be useable minus holes for small speakers at the bottom and some wiring attention as there were a lot of unplugged connectors hanging down on the passenger side. I did not have my camera with me and it got dark quickly. He said the owner is looking for $2800 I am thinking closer to $1800 as it sits. My 72 needs pans and doors due to rust and I could transplant everything I need from mine to this one. What is everyone's thoughts?

That car has been up for sale before. I know this because I spoke to the owner about it and he sent me about 10 more pics of it. I have them somewhere, if I can find them I will post them up. Yes, it is sickening but at least there are still low rust to rust free cars still out there. If you want a solid Z it can be worth the hassle of flying out, inspecting it, and driving or shipping it home.

Congrats on the purchase, she is beautiful and worth every penny of $5900. I love that it is so original and still orange and not painted over in another "more popular" color. As others have said before, inspect the fuel vent lines. Seeing that the car is 40 years old and they look good it would be good to go ahead and start making plans to replace them in the near future as they do breakdown and will start to leak. The job is some what of a PITA but totally worth doing as you should not have to worry about them for another 40 years. Again, congrats and we look forward to more updates and pictures as you work on it.

I can't believe it's only at $150 with 3 days left. Do they promote these cars in any way? I would guess given the condition it should bring $600 - $1200 and maybe more to the right buyer.

That's beautiful! Hopefully we will get to see more of it out of the garage. I wish mine looked that good. Tell your wife thank you from all of us.

I truly appreciate everyone's feedback and details on this subject. I have decided I am going to return the 4-piston calipers I bought from Rock Auto and have canceled my order for the 280zx MC I placed on Friday. In turn I will be picking up a set of Fenco rebuilt stock calipers and some ceramic pads from the local parts store after work today. Even though they won't be going on the car for a few weeks at least they will be on the shelf waiting. With the ceramic pads and SS hoses I should be in good shape.

Pretty neat! Where did you find it? Do they have anymore? Definitely adds that little extra something to your car.

Anything to neutralize the rust and prevent it is a good thing. Priming and painting over it once the Evap rust has done its job is a good option. Por-15 is good too but I do not think its designed to be painted over. Maybe you can evap o rust, then por-15, then prime, then paint? I am sure some other members will chime in on this.

EuroDat is on the right track. You have spark, now you just need fuel and air. Is the fuel filter on your car clear? If so can you see it filling up with fuel or see the fuel moving? If not your pump may be going bad, could be a clogged fuel line, or possibly bad gas. Is your fuel pump mechanical or electric? Have you try spraying some starting fluid in the carbs and seeing if the engine fires up? Where in TX are you located?

This is good to hear. May I ask which adj. PV you are using? Did you remove the stock PV and install the adj. PV in its place?

As part of my front suspension upgrade I will be doing a brake upgrade as well. My stock calipers are stucking and I will not be rebuilding them. If I choose to continue with them I will buy some reman. units. My car will not be raced, just enthusiastically driver around town and on cruises. Currently I have sitting on the parts shelf is all new SS braided lines F&R, new rear brake shoes, wheel cylinders, and hardware, a pair of new rebuilt 4-piston S12 calipers for use with my original solid rotors that have been turned. Also on the way is a new 15/16 brake MC for a 280zx. I have been told by a few members that using the solid rotors and 4-piston calipers is not a real upgrade over the stock setup. Yes the car will stop quicker but also have a large front bias. This I can understand and the use of an adj. proportioning valve may be in order. I really do not want to stick with the stock brakes. I will have everything apart and this will be the time to upgrade everything. My question is, should I move forward with what I have right now? If not should I return the 4-piston calipers I have for the solid rotors and get a set of S12's with the groove for the vented rotor, buy a set of '84 300zx vented rotors, and the spacer from Modern Motorsports? My other train of thought is to just go all in and get a pair of S12W calipers since I am going to be buying all of the other hardware anyway. Driving in the city, I want all the stopping power I can get. Any thoughts and experience with each system is great appreciated.

Interesting. I already have the S12 calipers for the stock rotors that I ordered from Rock Auto. My stock calipers were in sad shape and one of them is sticking bad. Since I will have everything a part I wanted to do the brake upgrade while I was at it. I am kind of at a loss at the moment. If I need to send the calipers back and either order some S12+8's for vented rotors or order some S12W's along with the appropriate pads I want to do it sooner than later. Can anyone else chime in on this or should I repost it in the brakes section?

I hear where you are coming from John. So should I try to track down some S12+8 calipers with the wider slot for vented rotors or just pony up and get a set of S12W calipers and vented rotors?

I went and back and forth on going vented vs. keeping the non-vented setup. There are several write ups out there regarding just the strict caliper swap and the results along with an upgraded MC seem to give a lot of bang for the buck. The vented setup is easily 2x more than non-vented when you factor in the higher cost of the calipers, buying new rotors, and purchasing the spacer. For now I will see how my non-vented setup goes and if I am unhappy I can always move to the vented setup at a later date. As far as the rest of the setup goes am I missing anything else?

Hey Madkaw. Good question, let me clarify as the website is a bit confusing. $405 is for the covers and cushions together which is a savings of $90. I did not buy my covers through CD. The cushions are $125 per set so I paid $250 plus $60 for shipping for a total of $310. I hope that helps with the price.

Been seeing a nice goldish bronze 240z around Pflugerville on my way to work a few times over the last few weeks. Hoping to catch up with the owner one day soon.

After successfully doing a full fuel system rehab, carb and ignition tune up, oil pan gasket replacement, driver seat recover, and a host of other misc. tasks I am now diving in to the suspension system and brakes on my ’72 240z. I pulled the wheels off to inspect the brakes and found not only old cracking brake hoses but also bushings that were shot and ball joints that had lost their dust covers and exposed to the elements for a long time. Seeing that this not only significantly degrades performance but also poses a large safety concern I have decided to invest in the car and pretty much reach the point of no return with a full on suspension and brake rebuild & upgrade. My 240z will be a fun cruiser only with no track time in its future. I am currently running a set of 14x6 Appliance mag wheels but plan on upgrading to some 15x7 Rota wheels in the future. After countless hours of reading threads on here and other Z sites I determined what I should go with and warmed up the Visa card accordingly. Below is a list of what I have gathered and would appreciate any thoughts or input if I am missing anything. Front Brakes New Toyota 4x4 S12 calipers from Rock Auto for solid rotors Semi-Metallic brake pads Turned my stock rotors since they were still good SS braided hoses from Orion Motorsports New wheel bearings New Raybestos 280zx 15/16 brake MC (hopefully it arrives and I am not told its really sold out) Bending new brakes lines as needed since a previous owner ruined some of the line connections. Front Suspension Energy Susp. Black Poly Master Kit (it does include the bump stops for the struts at all 4 corners) New TC rod hardware from AC Delco, poly bushing on front from ES kit, rubber on rear from AC Delco kit. New Moog ball joints New Moog outer tie rods Disassemble, inspect, and rebuild steering rack. Will replace the inner tie rod if needed. The car currently has what looks to be King yellow lowering springs, strut maker is unknown. I only drove the car 1 mile after I bought it so I will inspect the strut cartridges and mounts and make a decision on where to go at that point. I plan to either wire wheel or sand blast everything and coat it in Por-15. Rear Brakes Turned the stock aluminum drums New shoes New springs & hardware New wheel cylinders since the adjusters were ruined SS braided hoses from Orion Rear Suspension Install the components from the ES kit Take the diff down, replace the leaking rear gasket, clean, and paint Inspect half shafts and U joints Possibly install RT diff mount Inspect rear struts and replace is needed Clutch System New clutch slave with adj. rod since mine has a slight leak New clutch master SS braided clutch hose from Orion

Carl said it best, its going to be hard to find anything in really good shape near you that is at a reasonable price point. If you want something you can get in and drive and enjoy right away you will need to open your search to other states. CA and AZ seem to have the most rust free and fair priced cars. A plane ticket and shipping will still come out cheaper than doing tons of body and paint work. Keep your eye on the Ebay discussion thread as a lot of guys post up interesting cars they see on Ebay, Craigslist, and other online classified sources. We all like helping members find the car they are looking for.

Its really hard to say if its a good price or not unless we see some pictures. Unless it is super low miles or has a celebrity owner I think $7900 is a bit on the high side. You can buy a really clean 240z for that kind of money. But if you want a 280z and this car is exactly what you want and is ready to be enjoyed then it may be worth it. Many 280z's out there have seen better days a long time ago so you could easily pick up a $3K car and but the time you are done with it have $8K in it. If its really what you want try to get the seller down a little and drive it home.

Congrats on the install! It is interesting that you did not have to trim the bell housing a little on your 5spd. Is your 5spd from a 280z or a 280zx? Mine is from a ZX and required trimming but it was no big deal. Looking forward to hearing your review with the new muffler installed.

I am so sorry to hear this George. I hope no one was hurt but I do know it breaks the heart to see such a great car end up like yours did. Given your decision I assume the ins. company made you a fair settlement. I too tried to find it on the website and could not. I will keep checking back over the next few days.

About 5 years ago I had a '77 280z that was my daily driver for about 3 months. It was well maintained and had AC which is a must in Texas 9 months out of the year. I did not have to drive very far each way to work, only about 7 miles or so. Even with a car in near top notch condition it got old after awhile. The overall brakes and handling really felt old school which was great when there was very little traffic around. But when driving and dealing with other drivers who most of the time were on their phone, doing their makeup, and just about anything else but driving it got a bit scary after awhile so I bought a 1989 Chevy SWB truck. So as others have said before, make sure everything on your car is up to scratch and keep an eagle eye out for everyone on the road.

The breakdown above includes the prices of everything I had to buy that I did not already have. It comes out to $582 so if you split that it comes to $291 and that is of course my time being worth $0. If I was paying myself $10/hr and have 8 hours in it, that brings the total ito $371 for the single seat.