My project to restore my yellow Series 1 has been derailed. Today I closed a deal on a red, two-owner '71. It was a hard call in some ways, but after looking at the car closely, and then driving it as well, I figured that there was no way I could pass by a car this special.

The car is a real find. A late '71 (Series 2) 240Z that the current owner bought from the original owner about 18 months ago. The car has been garaged its entire life, and has a documented 59,500 miles on it. The current owner spent a two or three grand getting it road worthy since he got it, all new brakes, tires, tuned, cooling, etc. It is red (905), original paint in pretty nice condition. The car is 98% stock. The only non-stock items I could see are the wheels (14x6 Appliance Fine Wires - true wire wheels, not baskets), exhaust, a pair of driving lights under the bumper, and an aftermarket sunroof. Everything else is stock - AM radio, 4 speed, steering wheel, upholstery, even all the smog gear is intact. Interior and under the hood look awesome, nice cad plating on all the smog stuff, great early ashtray/fuse cover, console, etc. Excellent chrome bumpers.

Since it has always been a garaged Oregon car, and seldom even seen rain, rust is nil. I looked in all the normal places, found nothing. Not even surface rust under the battery, or anything. The interior is almost perfect, beautiful ubcracked dash, and the car runs like a dream. It appears to me to be ready to drive right now.

Downsides? The paint could use a little work. A fair number of chips on the nose, and little flaws here and there. But if it were polished and properly touched up, I think it could be really good without a re-paint. Of course, the sunroof is a minus to many of us (myself included), although this one seems to be fairly high quality and the seal looks good. The rear hatch strut no longer holds the hatch up (although I already have a pair of good used ones). The factory power antenna no longer works. The shocks are a bit weak, and all the hoses (cooling and fuel vent) are original 35 year old braided units. The new tires are too small - 175/70-14 - so it'll need new tires before long, and - while I know that some of you will disagree - the wire wheels will have to go. But I'll have to find something really nice to replace them with first.

But all in all, it's just way too good a car to pass up. Now I have to rededicate my efforts to get rid of the parts car shell, and then to see if I can sell the yellow car. It's almost ready to drive, mechanically, needs someone who can do their own body and paint to finish it. So now keep your ears open for someone wanting that kind of a project.

Looks really sweet Arne. We need pics interior etc. I don't think you'll have any problem selling the yellow one. It's amazing these cars are so addicting. I bought my 260Z and now a series 1. There's no hope for us.

Nice find!

I wonder what the sunroof is like from the inside?

Have fun

Congratulations, man, nice find.

Steve.

Nice car. Congratulations. Sorry to hear you're parting with the yellow one.

G'Day Arne,

Congratulations on a real FIND. I'm glad it's found a home with someone who appreciates Zeds and knows how to look after one.

Is the sunroof one of the COENEN sliding variety????

I have one in "Precious". The P.O. told me it was a dealer option. It's the only thing I don't like about the car. It takes up about 2 to 3 inches of head room.

Rick.

:devious: :devious:

Arne,

Good for you! I always thought that you had a big challenge with the yellow car, converting from auto to manual and all that. I think this is a good move, now you can really enjoy the new Z and get out for a drive!

Much luck!

Rich

Hi Arne, well done you've got yourself a neat little car that's been well cared for.

I agree not a fan of the sunroof and the wheels have to go. I'd like to see it with Panasports but I guess some people are sick of them, still a timeless look for me.

Sometimes it's neccessary to sell the old car to buy and enjoy the new one. It can often help and give a new shot of motivation and enjoyment. I went through the same process I owned a 73 and had to sell it because I didn't have the funds to fix her up the way I wanted to at the time.

Nice find!

I wonder what the sunroof is like from the inside?

Have fun

I have a sun roof in my '72 (Its a complete eye sore to me; I really want to rip it out) BUT, they do look cool from the inside.

Arne; I feel bad now, because that guy who has that set of 14X6 Mesh at my house actually wants them back, when he told me that I was like "Oh, Arne wanted those...". Oh well.

Great find!

Nice find, Arne. I'm so used to associating you with the yellow car. The care that this one has had might just offset the fact that is has a sunroof. Really, there is nothing practical you can do about that but I doubt that many would disagree that the 'wires' will have to go. I actually had a set of those on a 620 pickup. Maybe is was the adapters but they were a pain to keep balanced and even harder to keep clean.

Arne,

I have to agree that you have a nice find. I am not sure I would have bought it with the sun roof, but everything else looks really good. Hey, how is the roof on the parts car? Cut that sucker off and set it aside. When this car is ready for a re-paint, have the roof welded on and you can eliminate the only downside I see with that car.

Why sell the yellow car after you have gone this far? Now you have one to drive and one to work on, !

Congrats!

Marty

That's a great find, and I agree with you about the wire wheels. I do actually like wire wheels, just not on the Z. Find someone with a nice British roadster and sell or donate to them-those are the only cars that look really good with wire, IMO.

As Marty already stated, cannablize the parts car for the roof, and when the time comes, use it.

Congratulations overall, enjoy yourself!

Thanks for the great comments, people! I can't wait to pick it up.

Individual replies:

To nealkeith - More pictures soon. (A few more of the pre-purchase pics are attached below.) I should pick up the car tomorrow. I hope you're right about selling the yellow car. I don't have room for everything I've got now!

To SavannahZ, 1 Bravo 6 - The sunroof is the biggest downside to the car, by far. But, it appears to be a very nice one, well installed and with a nice looking seal. It is a twin-glass pop-up type. It takes up almost no headroom at all. As add-on sunroofs go, it looks to be a top-notch one. While I don't care for it, the rest of the car is so good that I decided I'd over-look it for now.

To sakijo - I had to really ponder this purchase, because I only have room to store one Z indoors. If I were to keep the yellow one too, it would have to live outdoors and that won't do.

To rdefabri - I guess part of the reason to go from the yellow project to the red car was that now that the mechanical work (transmission conversion, engine swap back to L24, etc.) is substantially finished, the time was approaching for the part I can't do myself - the rust and paint. So while the yellow one was a challenge, it was also great fun and a good learning experience, and so buying the red car instead was not as easy a decision as it might seem.

To Gav240z - I'm still trying to decide what I'd like to see on it for wheels. I think I'd prefer to not go with slots or Panasport/Minilite/etc. style simply because they are a bit too common. I don't know for certain what I want, but they'll have to be really nice, and I'll probably know them when I see them. And I've still got my steelies and 'D' hubcaps for 'formal attire' if that seems appropriate.

To sblake01 - Yes, when I was shopping for my first Z I turned down a couple unseen solely because they had sunroofs. But the condition and originality (other than the sunroof itself) of this car outweighed the presence of the sunroof to me. And while there are a whole lot of people who agree that the wire wheels must go, there is a sizable minority who have already contacted me about buying or trading for them. To each their own...

To Marty and zbane - Yes, the roof on the parts car is good, and that thought has occurred to me as well. I'll need to find a place to store it though, as I doubt I'll paint this car for several years.

Anyway, more to come after I take possession. Stay tuned...