Check out this "71 240Z"

[280~Master]

I know for a fact here in GA you don't need a tile for a car this old nor do you need it inspected, all you need is a bill of sale and you can register the car.

When I bought my 76 280Z I took the title to change it over and was told its an antique and did not need all of that.

The great news about this, you might ask.

I got a great antique tag for the Z free of charge.

So any type of Vin change would be very easy in GA..

Also looking at the plate, it looks like he has the antique tag on it.

From GA DMV Website.

Antique Plates

To qualify for these tags, your vehicle must be over 25 years old. Or, your vehicle must be designed and manufactured to replicate an antique vehicle.

So he made the 260 look somewhat like a 240 and told the DMV it was a 240.

The registration fee is $20, and there isn't a special tag fee. You may transfer the tags to another antique vehicle in your possession.

If you wish to display the Georgia plate coinciding with the vehicle's model year, you'll have to complete an affidavit, and the vehicle must be from 1970 or earlier. Take the form to a county tag agent office, where a visual inspection on the vehicle must be completed.

Remember to keep the current tags in the vehicle at all times, along with the affidavit.

Edited December 2, 2008 by 280~Master

[bpilati]

I know the front bumper, hood and side view mirror are all wrong for a 71; among other things.

Edited December 2, 2008 by bpilati

[lonetreesteve]

Problem is that someone will buy it not knowing much about Z's only to later find out that the previous owner was creative and happened to own a rivet gun.

Well, that someone paid $3,550.00 for a 240Z 'Clone' and a very poor attempt of one at that. This is outright fraud and I feel for the uninformed buyer. You see this happen with the old Pontiac LeMans and Tempest cars from time to time that are passed off as GTOs. Or the base Chevelles that are passed of as Chevelle SS's. Now granted, most of the owners of these cars will come out and say that it's a clone and it will still have the original LeMans ID tags, etc. But this guy did such a bad job, I'm surprised it went for $3,550.00.

Edited December 3, 2008 by lonetreesteve

[Jeff G 78]

The problem is that there is no real benefit to cloning a 240Z using a 260Z. My guess is that the 260Z was a stolen car and a junkyard 240Z VIN was used to launder it.

Turning a Tempest or LeMans into a GTO makes sense in some ways, but dialing a Z back three years is a bit more sinister sounding to me. He only swapped the VIN, he didn't try to clone anything. I am not accusing the Ebay seller of anything, but SOMEBODY broke the law.

[hls30.com]

Well, with any luck, the seller will get bent when the buyer tries to register it-or has it worked on. Possibly the buyer will join the club, find the thread and head right back to the seller with the law-since several of us let the seller know he had a major VIN issue that could and most likely would bite him in the butt.

I would say the seller bit, found the vin problem and is selling before getting stuck with the issue-hoping it won't come back to him-if it was my 3550-you can bet I'd be bringing the police back to his door.. thrashershop...I just hope the buyer knows to get good documentation, and pays with something requiring ID to cash.

Will

ps just for later searching

Ebay auction # 300275847579

Seller trashershop

1971 DATSUN 240 Z. COLOR IS RED WITH BLACK INTERIOR. RUNS GOOD BUT NEEDS CARB WORK. I ORIGINALLY PURCHASED THE CAR TO RESTORE BUT NOW HAVE DECIDED TO GO IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION. TRUTH BE TOLD I THINK A BIT OFF MORE THAN I CAN CHEW. LOOKING TO SELL THIS CAR TO PUT TOWARD THE PURCHASE OF ANOTHER CAR OR WOULD CONSIDER A TRADE FOR A JEEP WRANGLER IN EQUAL STATE OF REPAIR.

Edited December 3, 2008 by hls30.com

[Arne]

The problem is that there is no real benefit to cloning a 240Z using a 260Z.

I can think of several possible reasons. Smog exemptions for the older car, or qualifying for the Antique registration which is generally very low-cost in most states. So it might not be as "sinister" as it first looks. The 260Z donor may not be stolen, maybe the real 240Z was rusted, and got scrapped as a "260Z".

Doesn't make it right, though. I too feel for the buyer, it's bound to come up at some point.

[Jeff G 78]

Is there any way to find the buyer or notify Ebay? We KNOW this isn't a '71 240Z, so whether the seller knows it or not, he sold a car that was not as advertised.

[Jeff G 78]

I can think of several possible reasons. Smog exemptions for the older car, or qualifying for the Antique registration which is generally very low-cost in most states.

Really? Even the 260Z is now 35 years old. Is there a difference between 35 and 39 years old? I thought most states consider a car an antique after 25 years.

[MikeW]

I can think of several possible reasons. Smog exemptions for the older car, or qualifying for the Antique registration which is generally very low-cost in most states.

Here in Georgia the car has to be 25 years old to get an antique plate so next year even a 1984 300ZX will qualify. The specialty plate costs an extra $20. Emissions testing is only required in 13 counties surrounding the Atlanta metro area and once again cars older than 25 years are exempt.

If this fraud was perpetrated for either of the above reasons it wasn't done recently because a 1974 260Z would have met both requirements in 1999.

[Arne]

Really? Even the 260Z is now 35 years old. Is there a difference between 35 and 39 years old? I thought most states consider a car an antique after 25 years.

Depends on the state. Here in Oregon, 25 years qualifies as "Special Interest", and "Antique" requires more, I think 50 years. But it varies wildly from state to state.

Same with smog testing - I think the cutoff in California for that is 1975 model year. Other states may be considerably different.

Not saying any of this may have been the motivation for the deception, but it is possible. It's also possible that the seller MIGHT not have known that it was a 260Z either. The VIN-swapper may be farther removed than that.

[Jeff G 78]

I'm purely speculating here, but the seller might have bought the car and once he tried to buy parts for it, figured out that he had been duped. At that point, he put it on Ebay and claimed that he "bit off more than he could chew". When asked by members here about the VIN, he got defensive and blew them off. I think he KNEW the car wasn't legit, but he was just trying to erase his own mistake by screwing someone else.

If this is the case, it doesn't matter if he did it himself or bought it that way. It was his responsibility to keep the car from going back into the system.

[EScanlon]

Some states designate Vintage, Antique or Classic tags by year of manufacture and not it's age.

There are many plausible innocent scenarios that can happen and fit all the evidence presented.

That said, the pictures presented elicit questions and require explanation in order to safely consider or condone the sale. But pictures can also lie. I've seen pictures of "rust-free" cars ... that weren't. Conversely, I've seen cars that didn't look so good turn out to be gems.

2¢

E