71 Z sells for $38,250 on Bring-a-Trailer

[Namerow]

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1971-datsun-240z-35/

I'm surprised that there's been no commentary so far on this car.  It brought a ton of attention during the auction.  It also sold at a price that -- I think -- lies well above the curve (not that that's a bad thing).  Almost $40,000!

The part that really surprised me was that previous high-dollar Z sales (i.e. those in the $30K+ range) seemed to be based on extreme originality.  This car didn't have that.  While it was very free of rust and had been very nicely restored and had a nice, shiny-new paint job, there were a number of details that weren't OE (most notably, the ZX 5-speed transmission - also: Konig aftermarket wheels, lowering kit, PU bushing kit, overside front roll bar, black-crackle paint in the engine compartment, aftermarket aluminum rad, mishmash of engine hose types, screwed-in-place bare-metal replacement battery mounting frame).  In addition, it was a crossover car that had a mixture of Series 1 (angled halfshafts, metal engine fan) and Series 2 (seats, steering wheel, console, no-vent hatch, etc).

Don't get me wrong.  I wish that my car was this nice.  But this one seemed to violate some of the accepted rules for when a Z will move in value out of the low-mid 20's and into the 30's (and the very high 30's in this case).

Does this sale mark the beginning of a new era of S30 pricing, or did the car just show up in the right place at the right time?

[siteunseen]

Reading some build threads over the past few years I think those were close to $40K.  Somebody leap frogged the ordeal and bought a completed project. But a dash cap?!? 

 

[Namerow]

I missed the note in the write-up about the dash cap.  Nothing wrong with that if it's properly done but, again, it takes the car an important step away from the 'all-original' status the has always seemed to be mandatory to get a Z's price firmly into the $30K - $40K range.

[Zed Head]

Seems like this particular buyer might have bought it as a car, to drive and enjoy, not a collector item.  Nothing wrong with collecting.  The videos on the BAT site give a good impression of looks and sound.

It is odd though, since the engine "rebuild" was just a hone, rings, a new timing chain, and some seals.  And the AC isn't hooked up so even driving it is limited to cool weather.  Maybe they just like silver.

[DatsunZGuy]

3 hours ago, Namerow said:

Does this sale mark the beginning of a new era of S30 pricing, or did the car just show up in the right place at the right time?

Sometimes the planets correctly align and a buyer find exactly what their looking for. 

The price hammer seems fair if this is what the new owner envisioned an ideal example would look like if they located the perfect blank canvas, and did not have the patience to tolerate the investment of time and headaches involved the in restoration process.

It is easy to see when having disposable income and the desire to have it now would make the cash flow more freely. 

[AlbatrossCafe]

"The seller reports that the gauges, lights, and switches work with exception of the power antenna."

My antenna works... can I sell my Z for 40k?

Edit: wtf, the AC isn't even hooked up. With that and the plastic dash cap, how did this sell for so much? This sounds like what a lot of us do to our cars. Nothing special...

Edited October 20, 2017 by AlbatrossCafe

[Patcon]

Read through the comments on BaT... The buyer "Latebrake" produces several car events in the California area. Sounds like he has money and is going back to his 40+ year ago memories. It's not an original car is but is nicely done and appears very clean.

[Namerow]

If we're lucky, this will trigger a rising tide that floats all our Z-boats

If we're not lucky, it will attract a fresh horde of parts-car-quality Z's to BaT, thereby reinforcing the belief that all Z's are either victims of the J.C. Whitney catalog or just rust buckets and thus not worth more than $5K - $15K.

[JSM]

It's weird what they cleaned up and didn't. Seems towards the end of the restore it was hurry up and finish. 

Did the later 71 come with 72 style fuse cover and an am/fm radio?

[7tooZ]

I have never seen a 71 with that console except when it was converted when the 5 speed was added. AM/FM in a 71 is possible.


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[7tooZ]

Actually I went back and looked there is so discussion about why the console was changed

My guess is in order to make money flipping these the work quality would have to suck because you could easily spend $30k not counting the purchase price. Wonder what’s under the new paint and what’s inside the engine paint.

Just thinking

 

 

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[Namerow]

The seller said somewhere in the Q&A comments that he installed the later-style console because the original was in poor shape and a replacement was impossible* to find.

* Impossible? Almost never the case.  Expensive?  You bet!