A rare find in NZ..Alan I need your help

[240znz]

Driving along taking my son to Kindergarten I turned into a quiet street and caught a glimpse of a 240 roof line over a small fence. You know how sometimes you look around when your driving and something catches your eye...this is one of those times.

This happened a week ago and I and after a 240 now I'm back in NZ and I went back for a real look today. Someone was at home so I walk in and chat to him.

It is a 1977 240 body with a L20 injected motor with AC and 5 speed. Alan....do you know if this was a factory setup in 77 of is this a back yard beast? FairladyZ badges on rear and side of front guards ONLY. In red with iron cross wheels.

It is in very bad rust mode with chassis rails just there and door skins are badly gone as is the front guards. But no rust on the firewall or under the battery....wow. Interior was..er..well...hmmm...in need of some serious help.

Turns out he sold it 3 days ago to a restoration company with first refusal to buy it back once completed. The price....sitting down...you'll need to. 150 US dollars...yes you read it right....150 greenbacks.

Weep...sob...crawl back to my car in tears.

[2ManyZs]

Uh oh, stoking that fire again huh??? :devious:

[Ivan]

how much are you looking to spend?

[HS30-H]

Hi znz,

Looks like that car would have been a private import to NZ ( i.e. non-official ) Japanese-market car.

If it was a '77 with an injected L20 ( that would be an L20E ) and 5-speed then it was probably a Fairlady Z-L ( S31 ) or Fairlady Z-T ( S31-J ). If it had a 4-speed it would have been a Fairlady Z ( S31-S ).

The Air-Con was a factory option in Japan on those models.

Technically speaking the Japanese-market S31 model was pretty much equivalent to the RHD "260Z" model, but with a smaller engine.

Actually, they were quite refined cars with the Injection and 5-speed - and the L20E with its injection system was almost as efficient as the carburated L26, and a lot smoother. They rated the L20E at 130BHP. It had a pretty low compression ratio of 8.6:1.

Shame you missed it, as at that price it would have been a real steal..................... You'll have to keep looking. I've heard that there are some good Z cars in NZ.

Regards,

Alan T.

[240znz]

Keith....I've ran out of those pills that keep the fever at bay. We are now settled and I'm on the hunt. PC I'm using is crap so I can't use "Chat" yet...new PC for Xmas please Santa.

Ivan....I'll look at almost anything at this stage, you have to admit , I missed out on a honey there but it would have heaps to get it back to what I want. Heh...like anyone, I would pay fair market value for the right Zed. What range are we looking at. I saw a 240 in the TandE that was listed for 3K, not too sure if it was a runner though.

Alan... as usual you have come up with the goods. Yes it sounds like it would have been a rare car to bring back to life...albeit a lot of work. I would hate to think what it would cost to replace those frame rails.

Thanks guys......I'll keep a lookin:disappoin

[seh75]

Hi All,

Well i am the ex - owner of the car that 240zNz saw. Yep, i sold it cheap but it is going to a place where it will get repaired in a way I cannot do for lack of garge and tools. I had always wondered what type of z it was and Alan, you seem to be the first person who ever knew. Is there any way of discovering the worth of a car, it's raririty ... as I have yet to find a place on the web where this sort of info is to be found.

>Actually, they were quite refined >cars with the Injection and 5-speed - >and the L20E with its injection >system was almost as efficient as the >carburated L26, and a lot smoother. >They rated the L20E at 130BHP. It had >a pretty low compression ratio of >8.6:1.

and boy do they go like a cut cat. The speedo stops at 190km ( 120 miles ) but the car didn't. Unfortunately a driver decided to turn right from the left hand lane of a roundabout. I had no where to go and she ran into me ... car off the road for a year until her insurance company paid up ... sigh. ... end of car going.

The guy I sold it too is going to restore it from the ground up. The deal is I get to work on it with him, right of first purchase if he sells. That way my baby will run again, I get to work with it and hopefully learn on the way. ... I must admit though, seeing her go is breaking my heart.

[240znz]

A fully restored 240 here in NZ will set you back about 10K+

Yours being a rare model, for here (as far as I know) will put that price up in my book. Remember that it only worth as much as someone is willing to pay for it.

Your resto guy might end up shovelling more that 10K to get it back to mint.....good luck.

Another Z car owner in based in Auckland is Ivan. He will read this post more than likely and he might like to answer as to how much is it worth.

Cheers all and Merry Xmas.

[Ivan]

no idea? have you contacted the NZ Z Club: http://zclub.org.nz/