Brand new to Z's need a little guidance

[dj's240]

Hi,

My name is Don and about 4 hours ago I agreed to purchase a 71 240z. The car turns over fine and is a solid Az car. I can't say it's complete because I have no idea,yet. The gentleman who owns it (past tense) decided to pull the dash and console out to install new one. I am having him put it back together and should pick it up Tuesday evening.

I need to find a fender tag or build plate or something with the vin # so I can do some research on the car. I have some experience with resto's just never a Z. I am curious about the 5 spd, whether or not it's original also.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I will post up some pic's when I get her home, although it has had a repaint and needs a passenger taillight and wiper arm, it's pretty sweet lookin' imho.

[JLPurcell]

The ID tags are located on the "B" post of the drivers door (left) and on the (right) shock tower in the engine compartment and there is a Vin tag on the left side of the dash visible through the windshield. The Vin can also be found etched into the firewall by the brake booster. The tags will give you the build date, VIN, and Engine number. The engine number is also on the left side of the engine block just below the head. The original color will be indicated on the radiator support it is a 3 digit number on a small sticker. You will find that there is a wealth of collective information on this site specific to your project. Good luck and keep us posted. We like photos!

[Travel'n Man]

Don -

Get ready for a great ride. Back in '71 the Z's only transmission was a 4 speed. A popular mod is upgrading the transmission to a 5 speed. If you are looking to putting her back to stock I would be interested in taking the 5 speed off your hands and shipping you my 4 speed (we would need to discuss that live if you have an interest in a swap).

Be sure to look under the driver and passenger side floorboards / back hatch area / battery carrier / wheel well / dog legs / rocker panel / for rust - these are the most prone areas. Passenger side brake lights show up on e-bay very often (the drivers side is usually the worse one due to the exhaust fumes). There are a few nice one's right now for a small price of about $70.00 - windshield wiper arms may still be available from Nissan - call you local Nissan dealer and see if they can order part number 26380-E4600 (just happened to have a parts manual next to me this AM). While you are getting that you may want to fresh up part number 28890-E4100 - shaft boot for the wiper arm.

Get some pic's up when you get the Z - welcome to the site!

[dj's240]

[dj's240]

Here are the pic's so far off my phone. Don't have a clue why they are framed like that where you have to scroll left or right, though.

[Threehz]

Pics look fine to me, and she looks great! Nice find man, I live in down in Tucson and just recently got my 77 and let me tell you there are unlimited resources out there! You should definitely look into joining or checking out the Desert Z Association, http://www.desertzassociation.com that is the Z Club up in PHX, there is also a Tucson and I believe another AZ one as well. You get a bunch of discounts through the club which you can check out and I just joined my Tucson club down here and the people in it have already been a massive help!

What are you planning on doing with the car?

[dj's240]

My first plan is to get it roadworthy and then get her out there and knock the dust off her. I have never owned one or driven one! I have always been a 1/4 mile guy but I think road racing might be some fun. I thought about a full resto but I have been there and never seemed toreally enjoy the cars for what they were, always for what they were worth.

I think I will drive the wheels off this one

[psdenno]

Welcome to the Group! Is the A/C still functional? It will come in handy while you're driving the wheels off in PHX.

Dennis

[dj's240]

The a/c is there and complete, once the dash is together I will test it out. My brother owns an auto shop , thank god, so I can have it recharged or fixed before she hits the road, I do know the car was a daily driver from phx to tucson when the owners son lived at home and I can bet he had a/c!

[Threehz]

Most definitely. I have yet to drive a Z myself because I 'm tearing my baby apart and doing a deep down clean up and resto before she hits the road. I can tell you however from everything I've heard that the Z's are for sharp turns and winding roads and it's all about the handling. Maybe we can race when my girl gets up and running haha

[dj's240]

I have found my vin # and build date and now am confused, vin reads HLS30 55789 with a build date of 11/71. So not having seen a title yet, as i have not yet driven it, would I be safe to think this is not actually a 71 but a 72? Also can not find anything regarding vin #s for these cars as to what they mean, any help would be wonderful.

[ajmcforester]

The vins don't mean a whole lot. All US 240Z stat HLS30 and the second part is numbered in order the car was built so you own the 55,789th Z built for the US