what do you guys think this will go for/

[=Enigma=]

Well put Arne. I personally would be proud to own and drive the hell out of this car. That said, it's fairly close to what I envisioned when I started on my current project, which turned out to be a lot different than what I originally imagined. When I was ready to pull the trigger, I found the cleanest 73 I could rather than the 70 I wanted since I planned on doing a restomod. My thoughts were that I would leave the "collectibles" for those interested in doing faithful restorations. By this time I had decided that I wanted to keep the overall flavor of the original including the L6.

In the end, it is really up to the owner to decide what he does with his car, collectible or not. This is obviously a really nice driver, and if I knew then what I know now about what it takes to build a car like this, I would actually consider dropping up to $25k on this one. However I believe it is much more satisfying and rewarding to build your own car the way you want it then to just go out and buy one. Hopefully this will go to someone who appreciates the history of the car and not some drifter who just beats the hell out of it.

[Oiluj]

In the end, it is really up to the owner to decide what he does with his car, collectible or not. This is obviously a really nice driver, and if I knew then what I know now about what it takes to build a car like this, I would actually consider dropping up to $25k on this one. However I believe it is much more satisfying and rewarding to build your own car the way you want it then to just go out and buy one. Hopefully this will go to someone who appreciates the history of the car and not some drifter who just beats the hell out of it.

Also nicely said Adam...

When done, I'll have about $24K in my silver Z. So based on that, if the oragne Z sells in the high 20's, it's a pretty good buy considering the Rebello engine and other upgrades.

Except for the fact that I wanted to build my Z the way I wanted, I'd buy it in a second...

[Mike B]

I think it is probably a situation like Arne described. Someone bought a VZ and then modified it they way they wanted to, probably not too long after they got it. I saw a VZ in excellent shape resold at auction in 2001 for under $13k. I had no idea until a couple of years ago that Nissan only sold 38 of them, making them much more valuable and collectible then just another restored Z.

The only problem I see with this car is the price. At almost $40k, the dealer seems to be pricing it based on what the prior owner had in it, or what it would cost to recreate it. The fact is, people that collect VZ cars want them to be as they were delivered, so the additional modifications either add no value, or reduce the value of the car to them. If the car still has the engine that it came with a collector might be willing to buy it, have the performance parts removed, and use them to fund the cost to return it to original VZ condition, but not at $40K. If it doesn't have the correct engine, it loses a lot of its VZ value to a collector. Non-collectors probably see it as just another modified Z in nice condition with an interesting history, but wouldn't pay a big premium for it. Either way, I think in today's market it is worth about $25k. The fact that is has been listed 4 or 5 times and hasn't gotten above $21K seems to indicate that the seller wants more for it than the market values it right now.

-Mike