Help: Should I buy this 1971 240z?

[blueshark123]

Should I buy this car? The owner says it has very little rust with only 70k miles on it. He's willing to let it go for 2.3k. Car runs but I will be doing a ls1 swap anyways. It's a 3hr drive away and I will be checking it out tomorrow. The only bad thing I see is they destroyed the rear end with different horrbile looking lights and a hack job of a rear bumper shave. Owner says the rear was fiberglassed. What do you guys think? Buy or wait for a cleaner car? Unfortunately he doesnt have a better camera. Thanks in advance.

[bigoak]

No such thing as very little rust on the East Coast...only very little rust visible....Get it up in the air and pull the carpets up...

Really depends on your budget/ability to do bodywork. All conventional widsom buy the absolutely best body you can afford as the rest (mechanical/interior/etc.) are much less painful and/or more affordable.

[Bruce Palmer]

Someone was looking for the Daytona Coupe look with that rear end treatment. You either like it or you don't......

Get about a 2" lift kit under it and you could go off roading. Why so high?

[blueshark123]

Someone was looking for the Daytona Coupe look with that rear end treatment. You either like it or you don't......

Get about a 2" lift kit under it and you could go off roading. Why so high?

What do you mean?

Yeah Im not afraid to pay top dollar for a good chassis because I will not be doing the bulk of the bodywork. Most I would Is sand, sandblast the rear, and put the stock lights on. Any other work would be done at a body shop

[beandip]

Only you can judge weather the car is worth the money. Here where I live it would sell for less than 1K. Especially with the fiber glass "mods'' that were done. I live on the left coast though. There was a good looking 260 on Craigs list last weekend with a 280 and 5 speed nice mags . Needed some paint repair. $650.00 , I know we are a long way from your neck of the woods.

Gary

[lonetreesteve]

Here's a '71 240Z in Arizona that looks to be solid and pretty much rust-free. At the time of this post, the car was at a little over $1.5k (see pics below). Shipping will probably be about $1k, but it's better to start with something that is solid than have to spend a small fortune on rust repairs. Since you're asking for our advice, I would say if you're looking for a solid 240Z, then look to either California (non-coastal) cars or Arizona and stay clear of any East Coast cars. My latest project is an AZ car and I 'm ecstatic about the condition of its rust-free body.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars-Trucks___1971-Datsun-240Z-NO-RUST-ARIZONA-Car-4-spd-AC-more_W0QQitemZ330305008704QQddnZCarsQ20Q26Q20TrucksQQddiZ2282QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item330305008704&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=72%3A317|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318

Edited February 8, 2009 by lonetreesteve

[Walter Moore]

Saying "he doesn't have a better camera" is usually a bad sign... Just my opinion.

[JonnyRock]

Pass. I agree w/Steve that it'd be cheaper to have a decent one shipped from the west coast.

[Zak's Z]

I agree with most of the points here. I think you would thank yourself down the road if you waited for a car that you are certain is rust free, and of course not full of fiberglass and other potential surprises.

You will find that to take all that crap off to get it back to original is a hefty task, and might suck the fun-factor right out of you. I live in the snow belt also and there is definitely going to be rust under there. If you decide you gotta have this car please get it up in the air before you hand over $$. Have someone take a real good look.

Again... just an opinion trying to help.

[Sailor Bob]

I would just stay away from it - these cars are tricky to asess with perfect pictures. Lots of nice cars around that will cost less overall and keep the fun to work ratio in much better balance.

I could guarentee you will find much better for less $$ in the southwest and the shipping costs will be far outweighed by the advantage of starting with a solid body.

[Travel'n Man]

I agree with everybody above. I puchased mine in Calif. and had it shipped to the Carolina's, and I still had to replace floor pans, dog legs, rear deck lip, rear valance. I would stay clear personally................IMO. Now, somebody has changed the rear end looks to a fiberglass look and IMO destroyed the profile of the rear end. It's all up to you but I would wait and don't get in a hurry. A hurried decision can cost your 1,000's down the road.

Make a good educated, firm fact found decision. In the long run it could pay you to spend a little more now and not have hidden suprises later.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[Zealous]

Like always I have slowly learned that what might appear to be rust free at first often isn't. My best advice and something I would do now is wait to find the exact Z you are looking for with many of the mods already done and a great body. Z's are cheaper now and you can save a lot of $$$$ by picking someones project where lots of the work has already been done. Otherwise you will be spending big $$$ on rust repair and chasing all the little missing parts as many have already stated in this forum.