About to buy a 74 260Z

[5thhorsemann]

On a scale of 1 to 10, how happy are you? That is where I would put your purchase on the scale. Spend a day cleaning it up real good before you answer. I think you did okay, not too terribly high, but a bit high. I'll go a 5 or 6...................without a bath.

[ms260z]

Yeah, I really need to give it a bath, repair clutch and brakes and then get it on the road (slowly), and then give my rating. And i would have rather paid a grand or less but I am ok with the price for now. I just sold a CJ 7 so I have a little $$ put back for repairs.

[grantf]

I used to have a 260 back in the early 90's. it had the early bumpers. I have heard the there was a latter bumper style but I had no idea it looked like that! are those the same as the early 280z but missing the rubber ends?

[CW240Z]

Looks like you got yourself a good starting point. as long as you are happy with it $1300 isn't a bad price. Keep us updated on the progress!

Chase

[Mike W]

The bumpers you have are the later style that were also on the early 280. If they are the original ones then you likely have a late model 260 that was only produced for about 4-5 months before they finally introduced the 280. I have the same car and you can see them in my avatar. The rubber ends are missing and it also looks to me like the front bumper is on upside down. The attachment for the license plate is supposed to be on the other side.

One of the challenges with this car if it is in fact a late model 260 will be in identifying the correct parts for it and some of them can be tricky. Some of the parts they used were carried over from the early 260 while some parts came from the early 280. For example, the radiator in the car is from the 280, not the 260. You can tell for sure by looking at the manufacture date which you will find on the information plate which is located on the jamb of the drivers side door. If it is after 9/74, then you have a late model version.

Mike.

[ms260z]

Thanks for the info. I do believe it is a late 74 but will check the date. The seller told me it was a late 74 as well. I did a little cleaning on and found a few positive things. The spare tub has no rust, the battery box has almost no rust, the rust above the windshield doesn't look as bad as I thought. Also, there are some rust bubbles on the doglegs, and behind the front tires. Bad news is the headlights were working and now don't , and some rats are gonna need a new residence. I will clean it up more this weekend and maybe drain the gas and start work bleeding the brakes.

Anyone that has pics of a correct late 260, i would appreciate seeing them.

[ms260z]

Oh, Mike W., I couldn't pull up pics of your car. How do I do that on here?

[Mike W]

ms260Z,

I actually do not have any pictures of my car in the garage area so that's why you could not find them. You can find a couple of pictures in this thread below but admittedly they are not the greastest shots of the bumpers.

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?43224-Appliance-Wheel-Refinishing&highlight=appliance+wheels

I'm traveling back home from Asia at the moment, but I will try and post some better ones for you when I return this weekend.

Mike.

[ms260z]

Well, I got it somewhat cleaned up and it does look a lot better anyway. I drained the old gas out and put fresh gas in and was able to get it fired up. I live on a rural road with hardly any traffic. Bear in mind that i still have no clutch or brakes. However, I just couldn't stand it any longer and had to take her for a spin. I cranked it in gear and putted around the yard first and then up and down the long driveway. After that I took it on a couple of half mile rounds to the nearest intersection. I was shifting without a clutch and got her up to 3rd gear. The more it ran the better it ran. I am pleased so far and will get the clutch and brakes repaired soon. The bad news is I did find some more rust and former rust repair, but I am still pleased with the purchase.

5thhorsemann, I give it a 7 so far!!

[ms260z]

She is going in the shop next week. I hope my mechanic doesn't make too much $$$$ off me. I will post updates. By the way, the manufacture date is 10-74, so it is a late 74 model.