Arne

I tend to agree Mike. I figure there's probably a sweet spot in there somewhere. My car (with 59k when I bought it) might have been pretty close. Low enough that it was still exceptionally clean and original, but not so low that I was afraid to drive it. Since I like to drive my cars (not store and preserve them), the 23k of the car in question - if confirmed - would be on the low side for my comfort. But since numerous parts (especially plated parts under the hood) show a bit of age from long-term storage in a humid climate, I think I could justify driving this one and not worrying too much about the miles I was putting on it.

Yeah, having purchased a documented relatively low mileage 240Z myself in '06, and having seen Mike B's documented low miles '72 in person, it all looks quite reasonable to me.

Sheesh, people! The OP already said he didn't want to name names, so let's not try to play 20 questions here. He gave you the way to find out - check with the BAR before trusting your car to an unknown mechanic/shop. That's good advice for any car, not just Zs.

That was just, plain sadistic. After they first saw that this was a problem, they should have added a flag or something as a warning. Instead they just laughed each time someone trashed their car. :stupid::mad: But on the other hand, in the heat of battle these drivers don't always use good judgement even when warned. Saw a guy write-off a Sunbeam Tiger at the Portland Historics last Summer (2009). A Studebaker grenaded his motor and covered the track with oil just at the exit of the chicane. The corner workers at the chicane had the oil flag out, but everyone figured that once they had tip-toed through the chicane itself that the danger was past and they all kept hammering the throttle as soon as the exited the chicane. Wrong place to put the hammer down. Several spins and such immediately. The Tiger (really short wheelbase) did two 360s before nosing into the safety truck sitting next to the dead Studie. Hit the rear of the truck hard enough that the Tiger spun again and the rear of the car tagged the front of the safety truck. A total waste.

If you enjoy it, I'm all for that. I towed home a basket case '67 (pictured above) and spent 4 years restoring it. Had a blast hunting down all manner of obscure parts for it, and rebuilding everything. I think the only bits that didn't have my fingerprints on them was the internals of the banjo diff. Drove it two more years after it was done before I admitted to myself that hunting parts and restoring it was lots more fun than just driving it. Sold it in '95 and haven't missed it a bit.

Been there, done that, threw away the T-shirt. A Z is a lot more fun to drive. I agree 100%. I agree here, too. If you're going to do a color change, anything less than a complete bare-shell deal will reduce the desirability of the car to many people, and therefore its value.A non-stock color may or may not reduce the value further, depending on the rest of the car. If you are intending to keep it stock and unmodified, a non-OE color will ruin the effect, and the value will drop. But if the car is going to be modified, especially in a non-period manner, a well-done modern color is probably not too big of a detriment.

I may still have a spare set. I'll try to remember to look tomorrow.

But note that a gas charged insert will raise your ride height by somewhere between 1/2-3/4". These days non-gas inserts are hard to find. I think Koni may be the only one left, and even those are not going to ride like the stock struts did, since the Konis are a performance insert and will ride firmer. I used KYB GR-2 in mine, but knowing that they would raise the ride height, I removed and stored the original springs and installed a cut-down set of replacement springs to bring the height back down to stock. The KYBs have a good ride - firm and sports-car like, but not harsh.

We can't assume that the last seller knew, the person who made the switch could be several owners removed...

Yes. That appears to be the case.

That number plate (and the HLS30-65361 VIN) is definitely from a '72 240Z, not a 280Z. What is the VIN as shown on dash, door jamb plate, and as stamped in the firewall?

Please provide pictures. It looks like the engine compartment plate is not the one your car came with from the factory - L24 would indicate a 240Z.

Not a fan. I'd sooner run black steelies than painted alloys. But it's not my car so it doesn't matter what I think. If you like it, do it!

Probably not rings, since the oil didn't bring them up much. I'd suspect sticking valves.

No real way to set a value on something like this here in the USA. Way too few of them, and no real track record on the very few that might have changed hands in the past couple of years. Moreover, even among the few that do exist here in the USA, and assuming you found an owner of one willing to sell, the chances of finding one that is mostly original is even more rare. Every RHD car I've seen offered over the past several years has been, beat, rusted, repainted, and frequently has the wrong engine in it. But on the flip side of this, while the numbers here are few, the reality is that the number of potential buyers for RHD cars may be even smaller. So I really doubt that you'll have to pay much of a premium for the RHD car over a similar LHD 240Z, unless you find an exceptional example.

Too Intense had those lenses made up special, and they also sold some of them to MSA for a time. I'm pretty certain that they are all gone now. So until and unless someone cranks out another batch...

Same deal - MSA gets them from esprist. Similar price either way.

A bit late to the party, but here goes anyway. Haven't dug my radio out to check the light color yet, but I did scan the manual.

On my '71 240Z the cable has two leads, one heavy and one small. The small one connects to a threaded hole on the firewall near the battery. The heavy lead connects to the upper of the two starter mounting bolts.

I looked around quite a bit - I don't think the covers are available separately.

I don't have my factory radio installed so I can't say for certain right now, but I could have sworn that the indicator light in mine is red, not green. To check that, I'll need to dig it out of storage. Not sure when I'll have time for that.

Time to update the avatar...

I've got the manual for TM-1081ZB, but might not be able to get it scanned tonight. It is similar to the A manual, just refined and re-translated. Maybe tomorrow night.

Well, something isn't right. No way it should sit that high in front.