3 Z's...That's it...for now

[motorman7]

OK, I will stop with three. The latest looked so original (and cheap) that I had to get it. It's a 1973 that I picked up off of Craigslist for $950. Just needs a lot of cleaning and an exterior paint job. I will keep it the same color and try to keep it as original as possible. There is very little rust on the car; just minor spots on the rear doglegs and one spot on the hatch. No rust on the floor boards, frame rails or under the battery. Surface rust on the exterior in spots, but nothing bad. The frame rails are a little beat up. It comes with the old style mags. The fourth is in the back of the car with a flat. Trying to figure if the spare on the car now is original. It is a Toyo 175 HR 14. Haven't seen an HR in a long time. The other tires are 185/75 R14's.

The dash is cracked, so may get a cap for that. It also has some nice Recarro seats which I will put in my '71. '71 has nicely recovered stock seats which will work well in the '73 to help with the originality theme.

Once I finsh the paint on the 71, I will work on the restoration of this one. The odometer reads 41K, so I am guessing 141K . Anyway, should be fun. Here are a couple of pics.

Rich

[Arne]

Nice find. That's the kind of car I should have held out for when I bought my first one.

Yes, that spare is the original.

[Carl Beck]

Looks like a great Project Car, and at a very low price. Also marks you as "seriously hooked":-) The seats alone are almost worth the price of the car.

Enjoy the process...

Carl B.

[olzed]

Mate, you guys are so lucky .A 240 in that condition is worth 10-14

thousand dollars in New Zealand:disappoin and very few to choose from.

[bobc]

Rich, you need a 12 step program!!! Congrats on the new edition.

[motorman7]

Rich, you need a 12 step program!!! Congrats on the new edition.

I had to find something to do since we ditched the cable TV. Lot's of time on my hands now. Amazing all the things I can get done.

Actually, the latest Z is nice to have because I don't have to rush the work on my '71Z. I can drive the '73 while I prep the '71 for paint. Then I'll drive the '71 while I work on the '73. (I really don't drive the '70 except to shows).

It's fun to work on the cars when you don't have to rush because the car is your daily driver. It's been more than once where I have been up past midnight working on something because the car is my daily driver and the only why to get to work. This should make things a little less stressful.

Anyway, I'm taking tomorrow off, so that should give me a couple days to dink around with it and clean things up a bit; Oil change, fuel filter, tune carbs, polish mags, etc. Should be fun and relaxing

Thanks for the comments all,

Rich

[=Enigma=]

Wow nice find. I'm actually considering another purchase so I have a Z to drive while I finish up the first one. The only problem is that all my off street parking is full. The Bimmer may have to get kicked to the curb or sold to make room.

[Diseazd]

Rich..... Congratulations......Looks like a solid restorable Z! Get rid of the flat-top carbs......but by all means, keep those yellow centercaps!

Edited January 30, 2010 by Diseazd

[motorman7]

Rich..... Congratulations......Looks like a solid restorable Z! Get rid of the flat-top carbs......but by all means, keep those yellow centercaps!

Too late for the yellow center caps. I already painted one silver to see what it would look like. The rims should clean up well too. I think I will leave the wheels like this.

I'm planning on keeping the flat tops for now, although I love the round heads. I want to keep the car as original as possible. Hopefully they wont cause too much of an issue down the road.

Did a seat swap today. Put the stock seats in the '73 and transferred the Recaro's to the '71. The interior of the '73 is in real nice condition. The cross-hatched vinyl is in good shape. The Only thing I really need is the driver and passenger floor mats.

Also pulled of the Z tow hook. Wonder what I can get for that bad boy on e-bay. Guessing the PO used that to pull his golf clubs.

[Bonzi Lon]

I about pulled the trigger on Z #3 Wed.

The Wichita craigslist went like, 70 240Z, must sell by Fri., clear title, runs, just install tranny and clutch. $500. Looked ok as far as photos go.

Then I talked my self out of it till noon. It was gone by then. I would of had to find transport, that day, as a foot of snow was predicted and received Thursday. I don't need another car in my condition, although I could of made a little money.

There must of been something about the 73 and the trailer hitches. It seems like every one I have noticed is on a 73, or the majority anyway. Mine came with a chrome one, very snazzy. It worked very well moving me back from college pulling a U-Haul, smallest enclosed they had. Kinda squirrel-ly above 55, but that was the limit then.

Bonzi Lon

[motorman7]

I thought this was cool... Changed the front break pads on my '73 and inspected the old ones. The old ones have 'Akebono' inscribed on them with the Nissan logo up in the right hand corner. I am guessing these are original. Was debating on whether to toss them or not.

[BTF/PTM]

They key words are "for now". I've seen his garage and his collection and his restoration gadgetry, he's got a full-blown addiction going and when this one is done it will make way for many more to come