need opinion on 240Z

[jmillheiser]

i found a 72 240Z today for sale in my town.

the body and interior are in decent shape as is the engine.

the PO swapped out the 2.4 for a 280Z engine (my guess is the L28). its the one with both intake and exhaust in the left side.

this engine has been cammed, has a header/exhaust, and is running a 4bbl holley vac secondary on a clifford manifold, may also have had suspension work done as it sits lower than stock.

the engine has a very lopey idle but has ferocious throttle response (revs VERY fast). and its quite loud.

the asking price on this car is $3995 USD. is it worth the asking price or is it overpriced?

also should i just pass this one up due to the mods

[Smokey]

Whether you should pass the car up based on the mods is solely up to you. Do you like what has been done to the car? If you plan on doing performance mods to the car in the future, are these the type that you would want to do? If so, you are ahead of the game.

What you need to be looking at is the body and frame rails. You say "decent", but that has a wide range of meanings. If decent means it has some rust then you must address that pretty quick. If decent means that everything is rust free and sound, but the paint is faded, you are all set. Paint can wait, rust can not.

The price you mention seems pretty fair for what you have described. If you don't like the mods, and he does not have the original parts, figure out how much it will cost to put the way you want it. Decide on the purchase based on that.

Hope that helped

[Bambikiller240]

As mentioned by Smokey, the important thing is if YOU like the mods or not. Also, the body condition must be detrmined EXACTLY in order to assess the value of the car. RUST IS CRITICAL. Inspect every part of the body. Are there bubbles of rust showing unde th paint ANYWHERE? Rocker panels, benhind the fender well, around the rear wheel arches, in/on/around the hatch area of the car? How about in the spare wheel well? On, under, around the battery tray area? Floor pans, inside AND outside?

Has the car been used as a daily driver in your state? Does your state apply salt to the roads in the winter? Salt will KILL the body and once the car has been subjected to this environment, it is VERY difficult to prevent the car from developing a serious case of body rot. The salted snow, ice, water gets everywhere, into the smallest gaps and crevices and will disolve a Z before your eyes over time. The photo shown below is an example of what to look for. This rust is fairly advanced, and is "probably" more pervasive that what is actually visable.

[lance75_280z]

Rust is your biggest concern other than the trans & engine. For $4000 Would goto ebay.com a win a GOOD prospect there for half the price. This is my opinion, but would rather have a 280Z just because of the upgrades since the 240z. Rust will STILL be a prob though. There are more available parts if needed. BUT IF that 240Z is worth it than talk em down to $3400-3500

[26ounce]

Bambikiller240 - Posting an image like that without a warning is just not nice. Seeing that is going to give me nightmares!

I'm hoping the Z you looked at does not look like that J.