240z 89 ford 302

[driftmunky]

hi, i'm new to this board,

i'm thinking of purchasing a '73 240z that had a 5.0 mustang engine put in already. it's not in running condition. it needs all the accessories put back on the engine, the fuel lines have to be hooked up and the driveshaft from the mustang has to be spliced along with the driveshaft from the Z car. it also needs a rear window and a custom exhaust system. he's selling it for $2600CDN. is this worth getting into? he says he doesn't have enough money to finish it off but yet he says it'll only cost a couple hundred bucks to get the engine running....what else should i look for?

[2ManyZs]

No offense, but I think you should look at another car. Sounds to me like he is in way over his head and want to dump his problems on someone else. If he has gotten this far into a project and says it will only take a couple hundred to finish and he wants to sell, I believe it will cost you ten times that much at least. You can figure it will kill a couple hundred just to have a driveshaft made up. Not to mention the wiring nightmare he may have on his hands if he is trying to keep the EFI on the 5 litre. I would also check his fabrication skills on such things as motor mounts and transmission mount, good way to see if it's a nightmare waiting to happen, or a job worth finishing.

Sorry, but since it's an unfinished project I think the best thing to do would be wait till he gets it in running condition, or else wait till the price is reduced a lot, when he realizes no one wants to finish what might be his nightmare, he may end up selling it for half what he is asking now. Or if the chassis is in really good shape, you might talk him into taking the 5 litre out and re-installing the stock engine and selling it for a more reasonable price. Then you can do as you please once you have the car.

[chocobosteve]

for a few hundred, you could probably get a decent 5.0 mustang engine, which IS running. it also seems silly to put a dinky v8 like that in when you could fit probably ANY small block in there! i've also heard of people selling a running 350 for $50. there are many options, and most of them cheaper if you're looking for a project car.

[driftmunky]

i think the wiring is all hooked up already he said but need to put the computer somewhere. he had a cross member welded in to support the v8, and the transmission...it actually looked like a very good job that was done...it pretty much looked like it was stock....as for the v8, it is in running condition he said but just needs the accessories hooked up....is $2600CDN too much for a 240Z? body wise, it's in really good condition...very little rust...thanks for the opinions...

[2ManyZs]

Not sure what the exchange rate is now, so I'm not sure what that converts to in US funds. If the chassis is in really good shape it may be worth the money, but not knowing what a good Z in your area goes for I'm just guessing. What is reasonable in one area isn't always what another person would be willing to pay in another part of the country.