Arne

I can think of several possible reasons. Smog exemptions for the older car, or qualifying for the Antique registration which is generally very low-cost in most states. So it might not be as "sinister" as it first looks. The 260Z donor may not be stolen, maybe the real 240Z was rusted, and got scrapped as a "260Z".Doesn't make it right, though. I too feel for the buyer, it's bound to come up at some point.

Same guy. BRE = Brock Racing Enterprises, now found at bre2.net

On an item like this that has crevices and such (like where the blades are riveted to the hub), I prefer NOT to use stripper, as it can seep into the crevice, and then slowly eat at your new paint from behind. This could be a bigger problem than normal on a part that spins fast as does the fan, as the centrifugal force would tend to sling the stripper out. So using dry abrasives seems the safer course.

Mine is not in the car right now. (I use a lighter plastic fan for my normal driving.) It is a very creamy color. I wouldn't call it white, more of a very light cream color. The color in the picture looks fairly accurate on my laptop.

I'm not the right guy to ask. I prefer a vintage looking wheel on these cars.

Well, they're on it. But they didn't come from the factory, no. Possibly dealer-installed.

Ads from late '70s R&T magazines showing various widths and fitments.

Ahh! I haven't seen any of those in decades! Those are either BWA (made in Italy in the '70s and early '80s), or one one of a couple brands of replicas made in the '80s. Since they do say Datsun on them, I'd bet on them being real BWAs. Probably 14x6. If they are true BWAs, they will use normal cone-seat lug nuts, will have tapered steel lug seat inserts, will be machine finished with clear coat, and will probably have 'BWA' lettering cast on them somewhere. BWA were imported to the USA by Conti Enterprises, the same people who imported Ansa exhausts to the USA back then. BWAs were quite common on Fiats here in the States, but they were available for almost any car.

Looks like a 260Z with the door tag from a '71 240Z to me. I'd want to see the other VIN locations prior to bidding. Could be a nightmare to title or register outside of Georgia. In Oregon, for example, to title a car from out of state, the car must be inspected by the DMV in person and all known VIN locations must match. I suspect other states may be similar.

:embarrass::embarrass::embarrass:Very nice, looks great. Do you have any plans regarding the front bumper?

I just loaded it, but was automatically redirected to http://www2.zhome.com:81/ If you don't get redirected, try going to the alternate URL directly.

My dealer told me a few months ago that new windshields from Nissan were still available, but only with the blue shaded band at the top. Non-shaded windshield (as original) are NLA. I didn't want shaded, so I got an aftermarket windshield. I'd rather have non-Nissan than shaded.

Yeah, I'll buy that - up to a point. I understand the reasons for the price gap, but I don't think they're relevant for many potential buyers. Someone looking for a #2 or better car will have glanced at this car, will have seen that it wasn't that caliber and moved on. On the other hand, an enthusiast like myself may look at the high-end cars, but will gravitate back to the cars like this one instead. The markets for #2 and #3 don't overlap much, if at all. No. Not to me, at any rate. The subject of this thread appeared to be ready to drive and enjoy. Sure, it wasn't show worthy, but that's fine. As a great-looking classic to drive and enjoy, it didn't lack much.But #48 for $21k? That extra $5k would have been wasted in my case. Because you don't maintain a low-VIN or any #2 car in that condition by driving it back and forth to work a couple of times per week, as I do my car routinely. As has been mentioned in the past, I'm an enthusiast, not a collector. Doesn't matter what car I have, I'm going to drive it. And so pretty soon it won't be a #2 car anymore. So why pay extra for that at the beginning? The answer to how much should one pay is always the same - buy the best car you can find and afford. If a $18k #3 car is better than a $12k car, buy the more expensive one if you can swing it. Even those of us who drive our cars regularly like to have them in great condition. These days even $20k for second car for weekends and occasional other use is nothing to many people. So why should we balk at a $20k #3 240Z, if it is VERY nice?I don't know the final answer. As you noted above, we all have to make our own decisions on this. But we've all seen the threads that claim that the Z community itself is holding down the market on 240Zs, and I do believe that might be the case. Part of the issue is us picking apart every car we see, finding flaws and "wrong" details. But perhaps the larger picture is that too many Z people are trying to hold all 240Zs to the "collectible" standard. Here was a very nice, mostly stock 240Z. Granted, it was not a #2 car. So why do we feel we need to judge it by those standards? Why not judge it for what it is, not what it isn't? Compare it to the general market, not to a fixed "240Z show car" target. Compare it to similar a TR-6 for example.

My 2¢, from the perspective of someone who owns a very similar #3 condition car.1.) I wonder about the 'value' of the blue interior. To people new to 240Zs, the blue interior is odd, and many newbies don't care for it. Something as simple as that could easily have kept a couple of people from bidding, and could have helped to keep the final cost down. 2.) I've seen this discussion about the relative value of #3 and #2 cars here before. And I don't think the comparisons are all that valid. Someone who is in the market for a true #2 car isn't even going to look hard at one like this. Too much work to bring it to true #2 condition. But a person (like myself, for example) who wants a Z to drive isn't going to pop for a #2 car. But they might spend more than some of us think to buy the best #3 that they can find. Consider - this car sold for $16k, plus possibly some shipping cost, depending on where the buyer lives. For that price they got what appears to be a nicely cared for, great looking and driving classic sports GT car, that you can drive frequently, and will turn heads everywhere it goes. What else can you buy for $16-18k that will do and be that? Or for $20k, for that matter?

It would be interesting to know what part of the country the buyer lives in.

Slotted mags are not original. Despite what many uninformed people say (calling them the "original wheels"), no Z ever came from the factory with slotted mags. All slots were aftermarket. Many were dealer installed, but that doesn't make them "original".

Not too many people here that have much flat-top experience. More often they just replace them. Maybe sblake01 will see this, I recall he has some experience with these.

Outstanding job, Mike!

That's normal, as shown in Chris' post above.

I'm also watching the blue car - not because I want to buy it, but because other than the color, it's VERY similar to my red car. The odometers read within 30 miles of each other, both are rust-free, the blue one is probably two months earlier build, both have had one good quality repaint. Mine has a Spook on the front, the blue has sport mirrors. Even located in the same corner of the country. All in all, it's about a wash. So I figure it's a pretty good indicator of the current market value of my car. Depending on how it goes, I may need to adjust my insurance coverage.

Indeed. Why two different part numbers for what would certainly appear to be the same thing? I wonder if the E4200 lacked some US-DOT code or something?

The Type A transmissions were only used in '70 and '71 Zs. From '72 on they were Type Bs, both 4 and 5 speeds.

I agree. This car is not likely to be sold to someone who intends to drive it, it is a collector or museum piece. For those uses, the condition is FAR more important than the equipment.

Which is why I don't plan to leave, despite the fact that I could make a pile more in my profession in other parts of the country. But we love it here. That's right, I seem to recall hearing that Florida is the only state in the Union that actually requires (and enforces) bumpers. Seems to me I recall that you (technically) aren't allowed to modify bumpers from stock? Sounds Draconian to me. But shoot, where I'm at there's no smog testing, and H4 headlights have been Oregon-legal since 1976. Stephen, I think I'd prefer to meet you in person while you are still breathing and talking.

Mike, my car didn't have the end caps when I bought it either, but I did install them post-paint. I have no idea whether or not they are correct for a late '71. There's no date range for them in the parts CD. But I'm pretty certain they weren't just a '73 part, judging from the attached scans. These pictures are from the January 1970 issue of Road & Track. While the scans aren't totally clear, these pictures appear to show the rear end caps in place on a very early (pre-production?) press car.