Potential buy? what are your thoughts?

[spitz17]

Owning a Fairlady State-side myself, I would say that the cost is not driven up at all.

I have been able to get the same parts as any other 240Z. It is definitely a cool factor to have a rarer Z, but in the end its still a 240Z to me The 2+2 is not my cup of tea though.

Differences to name a few:

Factory Fairlady Z's had lower/stiffer springs from what I understand.

Brake Booster/Master + vacuum lines on other side

Steering Rack (Crossmember has grooves for both RHD and LHD).

Signals and Light Switch on opposite sides (potentially expensive to replace)

Edited September 21, 2011 by spitz17

[Gary in NJ]

I just looked at the ad. That is not a 2.0L. Also, despite his description, there doesn't seem to be anything special about the SU's.

While it would be interesting to own a Fairlady, it would never want to be sen in a 2+2.

Just my own opinion.

[Slight]

thanks Spitz,

after doing some looking around i guess my opinion is somewhere around the fact that the coupe looks better than the 2+2 but the difference to me is negligible.

my major concerns would be costs of those certain parts to repair.

ie.

"Signals and Light Switch on opposite sides (potentially expensive to replace)"

how potentially expensive am I looking at?

and the add says that "Has factory air [ not working ] - the Hitachi compressor is free wheeling, so it is not seized. all the copper lines from it are are intact. The heater hoses are not hooked up - suspect it might need a heater core"

my situation is that at this point i dont have all the money in the world to straight up restore,

I am a student.

but having said that i do work at the local nissan dealership and I have access to tools, help, cheap labor rates, and the like.

the more I look at these cars the more enthralled I become...

I guess my understanding is that you can expect normal to high maintenance, but it is worth the effort and work.

[psdenno]

Check the price & availability of the rubber trim strips that are missing/need replacing on the early style bumpers. All things being equal, and they never are, I think I'd pass on this one unless I had always dreamed of owning a righthand drive Fairlady 2+2 with questionable history. In which case, I'd be there checkbook in hand.

Dennis

Edited September 21, 2011 by psdenno

[olzed]

The general consensus is that not many like 2+2. I'm another.

He says bumpers need replacing. Very costly.

Dash is cracked. Also very costly and might be hard to find, if not impossible for this model in RHD.

2c

[Slight]

where do i start to look for those items? are referring to the trim around the wheel wells? thanks for the opinion

[Slight]

it seems like this may be a endeavor beyond my ability.. if those costs are high and the parts are hard to source..

[Arne]

Any part that is JDM specific will be hard to get here in North America, and more expensive than the normal North American parts. If they are available at all, most will have to come from Japan.

[spitz17]

Ordering parts from Japan is a possibility. But let it be known, it is darn expensive! I have ordered through both third party auction sites and received aid from friends to bring parts from Yahoo! Auctions Japan over at a hefty price. To give you an idea, my car was missing a windshield wiper rod when I bought it. It took me 6 months to source a simple RHD-specific wiper rod!!

[Slight]

yes, i think with all this input and information I will decide against this car, especially with your first hand experience Spitz, thank you. and thanks to everyone else too. I shall keep looking and learning =)

[olzed]

Wise decision.

[Threehz]

I have to ask, do you want just a 'classic' Z car in general, or did you want the Fairlady specifically? Because if you just want a classic Z but you just happened to come across this one, which is a Fairlady, you will have no trouble finding a stateside Z. There are many many Z's out there and new ones pop up for sale every single day in places all around, if you go check ebay you can find a slew of really nice restored ones for a worthy price, however there are usually a lot of really great deals on some in good/great condition that just need a loving owner.

my 2cents

Hope you are enjoying your time in the Z world and good luck finding the right Z for you!