1973 Datsun 240z

[Jacob M]

Hi,

I have been searching through my local craigslist for quite some time looking for a Datsun 240z. I came across this good looking 73 Z. The seller is asking $4500. My question is: Is this a reasonable price? This is the sellers description of the car:

Pink slip in hand, 83k original miles, second owner

I bought new round top ztherapy carbs that need to be tuned, on the car one month ago $1k

New alternator, fuel pump, some console/shift knob accessories, other than that the car is all original

Got the car back from Mike's Zshop in Whittier a couple days ago, car runs great now. $200

The fuel system/regular maintenance are up to date.

No rust anywhere, car has always been covered and garaged.

Yes, air pump/ac still attached.

Is there anything in particular I should ask? There are four attached photos.

Thank you all!!

Jacob

[madkaw]

Jacob,

if the "no-rust" is true, that's worth big bucks right there-but in CA you might be used ti that. SU carbs are a nice upgrade from stock. Need to be tuned seems questionable, unless the owner doesn't know what he is doing. The carbs should have been bolt on and go for the most part.

Are you buying without driving? I'd want to drive it. The pics look good. For me the money saved is NOT having to do bodywork, everything else is pretty easy and inexpensive. These motors are TOUGH.

Ask the typical stuff

History on car

Engine condition-compression test??

Drivetrain quiet

Any suspension work done

Any wrecks

[Hardway]

All in all it does not look like a bad find. However the description and pics raise some flags. It does look like the car has a little rust on the driver side rocker panel. Go over the car with a flashlight and find tooth comb. If you can, take a body guy with you or someone that is familiar with Z cars to look it over good. Very few of these cars are truly rust free. Second, Z Therapy carbs are supposed to be near perfect out of the box. Hard to believe they still need to be tuned. Besides, if he had spent $1K on those carbs why would he not spend the 10-15mins getting them tuned, they should not need much unless there are some possible issues with the engine. Interior looks okay but where are the passenger side door components? The under hood area has been spray bombed black and pretty crappy at that. The next big question is do you like the color? If you have addressed these questions and satisfied with the answer then $4500 might be reasonable. However in my opinion it looks more like a $3K - $3500 car. I know others will chime in as well.

[jfa.series1]

I'd say the car has been repainted - I don't think 920 Safari Gold was offered in '73, plus the black paint in the engine bay suggests a color change. Door handles painted? The interior looks pretty decent, a few cracks in the dash are to be expected, radio antenna cable hanging by the tunnel. All the hardware is missing from the right door - why? Anything else missing? Call Mike's Zshop and see what they did for $200 and do they have any comments on the car. I'd say this car needs a good pre-purchase inspection for paint quality, rust, suspension, brakes, equipment operation - all the usual suspects.

[Hypertek]

i seen that car too, offered trade for my 99 blazer but he didn't accept . I seen some posts on here or hybrid from that car with issues with the carbs, But doesn't seem too bad. Car looks decent from the pictures. THough I am not a fan of why the engine bay is black and not matching body color.

If you feel the car isn't worh the price, than keep looking.

Edited December 19, 2012 by Hypertek

[pacemkr]

I shopped craigslist for over a year, every city in USA cause i was willing to drive for a car i could afford and was worth the $price.

My first thoughts after looking at this car are, looks like a decent start but I agree with previous comments that paint looks suspect. I noticed the painted door handle and wondered also.

From other cars i looked at, I would just guess this is a 3000-3500$car.

Just off the top, Once you get started on this car. I would guess it will be easy to spend another 2500$ min to get car up and running, maybe some items like tires, brakes, etc.

Take the asking price of 4500$, add 2500$ that gets you 7000$. Now type in 7000$ into craigslist and see the kind of cars listed around the states.

I would suspect the cars offered for 7000$ are going to be head and shoulders over what this car will be after spending just 2500$ to get it up and going.

Thats not to say this car isnt worth buying. just be very sure you know what its going to cost you to morph the car into what you want.

If the car as it sits is just what you want needing nothing. start low on an offer. You can always go up but cant ever go back down.

good luck, let us know what happens.

[gogriz91]

The doorhandles even got painted?

[az240z]

painted door handles suggest an Earl Shibe paint job