Availability/Price Zed's in OZ?

[eob]

I've been aearching the net and I can't seem to find any classified ads for Z's for sale, or even get an idea of what price they go for? Anyone over there got one to spare? I want a RHD to export to Ireland.

[Mr Camouflage]

zeds are pretty rare in oz,we only got about 3000 of them i think. It would probably be easier getting a LHD from the US and converitng it to RHD. All you'd really need would be a new dash. and maybe a steering rack if you cant flip it over. You could probably get the mechanical parts from a 2+2 or a wrecked 240 locally.

Anybody done a steering conversion on a 240z? I'd be interested to hear how hard/easy it is.

Also anybody know how much it cost to ship a car to australia from the US.

There was a 1970 (might have been a 69) for sale in perth for $6500 but I heard it wasn't really worth it.

look in www.autotrader.com.au theres a couple in there i think, but you have to check the small, medium section, hot and custom section, sports section etc... separetly cause you cant search them all at once (poor website design on thier part)

[afildes]

Hi guys

Zeds in Oz will bring anything from $2K (AUD) for rusty dog to $15K for something pretty good

As editor of the NDSOC monthly mag I usually advertise a couple of Zeds a month. 240s will always fetch a high price than a 260 (280Zs were not released over here) 2+2 260s are usually very cheap and one in mint condition can be found for anr $5K

I recently advertice a 76 260Z coupe for $12500 and it sold within a few weeks

Is far as shipping one to Ireland I would suggest you find a rust free US car and convert it as it would be far cheaper.

cheers all

Alan Fildes

NDSOC

[Luke]

a site you might find useful is www.tradingpost.com.au there are usually at least two 240's a week. search the automotive section (DONT BOTHER WITH www.autotrader.com.au it sucks), all states.

[Cuong Nguyen]

Hi all,

just a point on converting a LHD to RHD.

I used to work in a panel beating shop that specialised in converting US Porsche 911s to RHD. The conversion is very involved, having to cut lots of the LHD metal out and spot welding new RHD panels in. In a 911 RHD conversion, things like the pedal box (have to relocate to the other side and also reshape the floor to make it fit), door mounted rear view mirrors, and other things have to be attended to (such as extending the wiring for the electric mirrors and modifying the door panels for the switches).

I personally don't think is cheaper, and you would be far better of getting a RHD car in the first place. Think about all the work (cost of your labour or a tradesman's), cost of buying the RHD panels, cost of painting the area that was converted, and cost of buying a RHD dash. At the end of the day it is MUCH more expensive doing it this way.

But I know that someone will always think otherwise, so go ahead and prove me wrong!

[halz]

Actually I WOULD BOTHER with autotrader.com.au. There were only a limited number of Z brought into Australia and if you're serious about owning one you should get serious about searching for them. Australia is your marketplace - search it.

[afildes]

I understand the difficulties of converting a Porsche 911 to RHD however the 240Z his an infinantly simpler construction and more importantantly has a simetrical floor pan. (which german cars lack)

Compared to a 911 the conversion would be reletively simple and all parts are interchangable apart from the steering rack and firewall plate

If you compare the price of a reasonable RHD rust free 240 from say Australia, Japan or South Africa and work out the cost of shipping back to Ireland , you would be looking conservatively at say $6000AUD for a car plus say $1000 for shipping ......... compare that to a $1000 USD for a clean 240 from the States (there are a number of companies in UK locating and importing these cars) and add the conversion cost I still think you would be far better off getting a US car as

A) They are far cheaper (a bargain compared to here in Aust.)

US West coast cars are almost rust free (if you find the right car) compared to cars from Aust.

C)RHD replacement parts such as the dash, steering rack, etc are all available and easily sourced and relatively cheap here in Aust.

[LEE240ZPERTH]

Why don't you look for one in the UK?

A lot of Aussie Zed's live close to the coast and in my experience are'nt a lot better in terms of overall condition than many UK cars I have seen.

I lived in the UK for many year's during which time I owned a 72 240z. The car had been restored 15 years before I bought it but had only travelled 12k miles in that time, the car was close to original and only cost me 3k pounds.

Additional benefits are that the uk has yearly mot tests and you could drive one back to Ireland.

Another option would be to contact someone like the Z farm in England who source cars from the US.

P.S The car I owned was recently on display at the Classic car show at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham. Makes me wish I had shipped it back to Oz.

[Mr Camouflage]

Isn't everywhere close to the coast in the UK?

[Luke]

if you check the submissons page at autotrader, you will see that ALL their ads are siphoned from the state publications like trading post. If you search tradingpost in 'all states', you can avoid the clunky interface of autotrader. trading post accepts wildcards - a good search is in the automotive section, all states, *z datsun. today there were at least 20 240's & 260's for sale.

good hunting

[Rogersz]

Luke is absolutely correct , i searched for three months and there seemed to be reasonable numbers of cars avail in the trading post , mainly in the states of Victoria and New south wales some in Queensland , and unfortunately for me only the occasional one in South Aust , pretty rare in Western Australia as well.

Buy an Auzzie one it will already have a 5 speed box and a rear sway bar as standard and emission controls didn't start here until 1975

Good hunting Cheers

Roger

[eob]

I was hoping that the 240Z wouldn't be much more complex than the 100A, where the 'blanks' for various components such as the steering column etc are already stamped in the right hand bulkhead if not cut out.

The point of buying from the UK, I need to explain. At the moment, the $USD is almost aligned with the €EUR, but the British Pound Sterling almost twice the value of the €EUR, which means a £3k Sterling 240z in average condition is equal to a $6k USD minter. Generally, Californian 240z's are in better condition too.

I also have a lot of contacts in the US, especially in Phoenix and Seattle, who I trust to inspect a car, hand over my money, and deal with shipping, value for money wise, the US makes a lot of sense.

Either way, I'm pretty eager to own one. Possibly a stomping V8 Chevy Z considering they don't seem to appreciate or depreciate based on how close or far they are from originality, and track days are probably going to be the cars natural habitat because I'm 21. To insure a 1.3 Corolla here under my own name would be in the region of €6,000.

What are your impressions of Z ownership overall?