Factory Restored 240Z's

[mskhoury]

I had a couple of 240Z's in the mid-70's and have always wanted one again. I think that I will be able to swing that soon, but my ability to get under the hood and the car to do work is long past. I seem to remember that Nissan started a program about 10 years ago to buy and restore classic Z's for resale, but I have never seen a car that indicated that it was resptred in this manner, or any other information about the program.

Anyone have information? If the program did, in fact, exist, were the cars any good?

Thanks in advance.

Michael

[Jeff G 78]

Yes, it did exist and the cars were good. That said, there are MANY good non-program cars on Ebay, Craig's list, etc. Cars that are in great shape and need nothing usually go for between $10000 and $15000 depending on originality, collectability (low VIN), etc. If you want a perfect car, but don't want to spend quite as much, there have been several awesome 280s sell lately for less than $13000 with very low miles and pristine, original bodies. If you don't need an original, low mileage car, you can get one for much less and still get a car that needs nothing. Generally speaking, the early low-VIN cars bring the big bucks, but there are many cars that would fit your needs.

[ta240]

here's a link to one post that covers some information on the rebuilt cars from Nissan:

http://classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25942&highlight=ebay+factory

scroll down just a bit past the first couple posts.

oh and my page on them:

http://www.geocities.com/z-car/rebuild.html

-Trevor

[Carl Beck]

Hi Michael:

The program you are referring to is commonly known as the Vintage Z Program (as has been mentioned;-) . The Internet Z Car Club maintains a classic car register specifically for the Vintage Z's on the <a href=http://zhome.com/IZCC/ZRegisters/VintageZ.htm TARGET=NEW>Z Car Home Page</a>

As far as we know to-date, 37 Datsun 240-Z's were repurchased, remanufactured and resold by Nissan through one of the 10 Authorized "Z Stores" located around the Country. With so few having been completed, it's no wonder you haven't seen any. Most are now in the hands of Collectors and/or held by some of the Dealers for display.

Every once in a while you might see one auctioned on E-Bay. Lately they have been selling for between $25K to $35K.

You can order Pete Evanow's book from Amazon.com - he was a project manager for Nissan involved directly with the Vintage Z Program, and he has a chapter related to that program.

Z - 35 YEARS OF NISSAN'S SPORTS CAR

PETE EVANOW

ISBN -13: 978-0-7603-2181-2

ISBN-10: 0-7603-2181-7

Published 2005 by Motorbooks

"Were the cars any good?" - - Yes, very good. Given the price - the Vintage Z's represented an excellent value. I doubt that anyone could duplicate them for less than $65K today.

If you are considering another Datsun 240-Z today - shop, shop and shop some more. Buy quality not price. Buy the best quality car you can afford - they almost always cost less than the lower priced car in the short run.

Rust is the biggest killer of the Datsun 240-Z's so the condition of the body is of the utmost import. If you are looking for an example that has been restored or nicely refreshed - look for complete photo documentation of the process, invoices for parts etc. Shop, shop and shop some more.

good luck,

Carl B.

Carl Beck

Clearwater, FL USA

http://ZHome.com

[mally002]

Are any of these cars currently for sale?

I wasnt sure if the owners would post on Ebay, or if there was a more "legit" site.

[Walter Moore]

Oh, no!!! Hide this thread from "You know who"... He used the "F" word again.

[Carl Beck]

Are any of these cars currently for sale?

I wasnt sure if the owners would post on Ebay, or if there was a more "legit" site.

None that I know of right now. I have one VZ owner that is "thinking about" selling his.... but so far no firm decision, nor a firm price. On the buyer side I have a list of four people waiting.

Several have been either sold on E-Bay - or generated enough free advertising that they were pulled from the site and sold - or sold after the auctions ended...

Watch E-Bay and Hemmings...

FWIW,

Carl B.

[mally002]

Thanks Carl,

Do you know how many were done in Green #907 with 4speeds. I noticed one gentleman had two of the restored Z's in GA I believe, and one looked like a 907 color but with an automatic.

Thanks,

Randy

[bobc]

Randy,

Hey if you're still looking for that 907 green there have been a couple on ebay in the last week or so that looked pretty good. I don't know if they sold or not.

I don't think anyone (maybe Pete or someone at Nissan) knows the actual colors of all of the Vintage cars, because they were made at different locations. Pierre Z did most of them, so he could probably tell you how many 907's he did.

The Green automatic was restored by Pierre and sold to a gentleman in NY. It was recently purchased by a collector in Atlanta, but I don't think he'd be interested in selling it. That's the only one I know of that was done in Green. There was a partially finished car that was going to be one of the Vintage cars that was 907 green. It wasn't finished when the program was shut down so it isn't considered one of the vintage cars. It, along with most of the parts to complete the assembly, sold on ebay for $18K about two years ago.

Bob

[e_racer1999]

Oh, no!!! Hide this thread from "You know who"... He used the "F" word again.

i was hoping i would be the first to say that

[Inf]

i was hoping i would be the first to say that

Me too

[mally002]

Bob,

Thanks for the reply and information. I'm toying with the idea of selling my 71TR6, but only if I could find a 907 color 240. Still in the undecided phase, as I still enjoy dropping the top on the TR.

I did see one on Ebay that was around 8K, looked clean with little work needed.

Regards,

Randy