Arne

Very true. No indicator in the VIN until they went to the 17 digit VINs in 1981 or so.

For street use, Larry, I doubt the newer airbox will affect airflow enough to notice. Track use might be different, depending on the shape of the air horns that the adapters have. As for the insulators, I'm not sure what you will want/need. Are you going to use the 260Z manifold? Are your round-top carbs from a '72 (three screw domes w/water passages) or a '70-71 (four screw domes w/o water passages)? Lastly, the carb domes can be polished using any normal metal polish. On the other hand, the carbs didn't come very nicely polished from the factory. They were clean, but not polished. Mine (pictured below) are typical of the original finish.

Back on topic, now. Nothing wrong with a P79 head, that's what Gary (beandip) has on his L28. It has a good chamber shape, but needs flat top pistons to have even normal compression. I'm willing to bet that it is the original head for your L28 block. The block casting number (not serial number) is on the other side of the engine, down low near the oil pan near the motor mount bracket. I'm willing to bet that when you find it, it will say F54.

Yeah, Bryan. Even my yellow car runs...

Washington WILL HAVE another really nice one when a particular orange 240Z I'm thinking of is finished...

Try Massey's in Oklahoma, they seem to have lots of obsolete center caps. I got a set from them recently too. http://classiczcars.com/forums/showpost.php?p=191337&postcount=16

Oh, it's even worse than you think, Bryan. Not only am I stuck in a motel room in a town I don't know, I'm spending a bunch of my time here (when I'm not in class or reading Z posts) breaking and then fixing Linux virtual machines. Practicing for Friday's exam.

You know, I may have seen it - kinda. As in driving down the road and Deanna says, "Look! There's a Z!" Before I can see much, it's in my mirror at best. Bring it down South some time and we'll look it over.

No, some live farther South. At least one each that I can think of in Salem, Albany and Springfield!

The other option is to part it out your self. If it has some of the desired parts that are good on it, you may be able to come out better than the $500. But that assumes you have somewhere to store the shell while you strip it.

IF I were to finish my yellow car, and if that finished product included an L28 rather than the L24 I have in it now, I think triple SUs would be extremely cool. I don't think that'll happen - but I can't rule it out...

Ian, the market for 240Zs that need significant work (or to be parted out) is pretty soft. The $500 offer for one with the rust and damage yours has sounds pretty good to me.

Certainly not, it's your car! All I ask is that you make it nice! :classic:

Yup. On the fan guard of the radiator on early 240Zs. My car is a late '71 (7/71 build). I've seen it at both Banzai and ZeddSavers for sure. Maybe others as well.

Yeah, I figured there was a bit of tongue in that cheek. But I did want to make sure I didn't mis-speak TOO badly on this.And yes, the red 240Z was at the right price. The yellow one? Umm... not so much. I generally have to learn from my own mistakes. Luckily, I can afford them. But I'd like to help keep others from making the same ones I did.

Carl, I just reviewed what I wrote about that silver car in the other thread. And maybe I didn't express myself well. But what I meant to say was that I don't think the silver car is worth $15k either. But I don't think that will stop other people from bidding it up. It really wouldn't surprise me if it got close to $15, even with it's shortcomings. And it won't surprise me too much if this gold car meets reserve either, which is probably around $14k, judging from this ad.

I documented all of the differences I found in the tech article linked below. The differences are towards the bottom of the thread.http://classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21274

You know, Carl, I'm not afraid to say that my concepts of 240Z value have been scrambled recently, due in large part to the rash of value and collector type discussions going on here lately. And I'll also admit to being a bit naive about 240Z values outside the Pacific NW. So my pronouncements on that particular silver car may have been not so good. Your advice was better.But in the case of this gold car - it's very similar to what my yellow car was when it was original so I'm familiar with what it should be. It's being offered for sale 110 miles North of me, so I'm familiar with the local market. And I know what a low miles, original car is really like (thanks to my red car) and what it will still need to make it really ready to drive. Add this all up, and I'm comfortable on this one - I personally would not pay $10k for it. Obviously, someone else is willing. I hope they are happy with it if they win...

Not quite correct. I have identified several differences in the body shell that are present, depending on the build date. Automatic bodies typically do not have the clutch pedal stop welded to the floorboard. Many do not have the metal mount on the right side frame rail where the metal clutch fluid line connects to the hose. (Although I have seen one automatic built around this time time that did have this mount.) Automatic shells do have an extra mount welded in behind the dash for what we generally call the kick-down switch. And finally the automatic shells have four or six holes with captive nuts in the transmission tunnel for the shift selector assembly to bolt to.Also remember that both the dash and engine compartment wiring harnesses are different for automatics, as is the distributor. So converting to a manual in such a manner that no one could ever tell is far more difficult than it sounds. This though, is very true, at least in all the cars I have seen here in Oregon. The un-restored automatics seem to all have led a much easier life.

Update - A quick glance at the parts CD shows that none of the hard parts are the same between '70-72 and the '73 cars. That is true for both front and rear.

Been there, done that.I'd recommend against converting to a manual in that particular car. Not because it's difficult, because it's not. I did it on my yellow car, which is the same month production and only ~300 cars difference. With a bit of time and effort, the conversion can be done very well. But the only thing which can possibly make that car worth that price (even the $10k opening) is the fact that it is still original, or very close. While a four or five speed would make it a better driver (in the opinion of many, but not all), it definitely would not improve the value, and if not done absolutely meticulously, might actually reduce the value of the car. As has been pointed out recently to me (and I totally agree), the value driver on the cars built prior to 1/71 is numbers matching originality. Converting to a manual transmission is going to pollute the originality of the car. In the case of the car I converted, originality was no longer a factor, as the matching numbers engine was gone before I bought the car. So converting a car that can never be totally original again is not a big issue. Here again, we need to identify your goal. Are you looking for a car to restore and show? Or one to drive? If you want to restore a show car, this should be a good start. For a car that is restored to show, the automatic is not a liability, in fact it could be a good thing as it might set the car apart from the more common four speed examples. But if you are looking for a car to make a nice driver or weekend cruiser out of, it's the wrong car, unless you can live with the automatic. Otherwise I'd recommend starting with a car that is either already a four speed car, or a much less expensive automatic car that isn't so original. If you are looking to have a 240Z that is pretty much original and is a manual transmission, I'd wait for a similar car to this one, but not an automatic.

Well, I've got a red one, and a pale yellow one. Both are nice colors. Red can be striking when done well. Many modern yellows can be pretty vibrant as well, but I typically prefer the original pale yellow of the '70 & '71 cars (#919). As for blue, blue cars can be beautiful, but in my opinion a non-stock color doesn't look quite right on a vintage car that is otherwise stock appearing. Got a body kit? Then dark blue looks great. Got stock chrome bumpers and emblems? The car may still be attractive in that case, but to me an obviously modern color on an older car can sometimes detract from the overall impact of the car. Kind of sends a mixed message. Some colors are worse that way than others. Still, some modern colors look really good on a 240Z - take the metallic burgundy of the car in nwcubsman's avatar. I've seen that car in person, and it looks really good. See it here. In your position, of the three, I'd go with the yellow, simply because it is a less common color, yet so typical of the early 240Z. Of course, these are just my personal opinions. It's your car.

That car has been for sale locally in Portland for quite some time. My guess is that when inspected in person, people feel it is over-priced. And I may agree - for the BIN of $15000 it had better be REALLY good. But then, I haven't seen it in person. All that said, the pictures show it as a Series 1 car that appears to be in very similar condition to my Series 2. A car that needs perhaps a mild refresh to be really great, but would make a very nice driver as is. The automatic is a bit of a minus to many of us, but not to others. Seems nice - but $15k?? That might still be a stretch.

I think Carl nailed it. My '71 is in excellent condition. If it's been sitting more than 4-5 hours, it takes 5-10 seconds for it to fire. Seems to be totally normal to me.

The '73 bumper bar is a different part - thicker, heavier and reinforced. The bumper guards are not the same either, I think because the bumper is physically bigger. I'm pretty certain that you'll need to use the '70-72 bumper to accomplish this change.