would like to buy a Z car

[B_A_BARACUS]

I am new to the Z world and I would like to get some advice reguarding buying a Z car. First of all, there are 3 cars for sale that I am looking at.

1) 1972 DATSUN 240z excellent condition, new paint, floorboards, tires, brakes, rollbar, additional new performance parts available, car runs great $6000CDN

2) 73 DATSUN 240Z, brand new 280 eng, flat top pistons, 5 spd, perf body, all met red, eng bay painted, AirCared, drive it & say wow $8000CDN

3)74 DATSUN 260Z, 97,000 orig mi, AirCared, no rust, frame & flr, solid, rcnt exh, brks, CD sound, tires, orig 6 cyl dual carbs, 4 spd, body stripped & repainted red $6500 cdn

I am wondering which one sounds like the best deal. its all in canadian dollars and they are western cars, british columbia, so there is minimal rust.

I am wondering what the difference, if any, between a 72 and 73 240z is? I am mostly interested in the 73 because of the engine work and the 5 speed, but I need help in what to look for.

are there any tricks in trying to figure out if a Z car is a lemon? any help would be great.

[26th-Z]

Hello B_A,

Interesting set of options. I would say that any 30 year old lemon has already been squeezed and I don't agree with your British Columbia / minimal rust statement at all. The car with new floors and the other car with "all met red (redone?) are rust statement cars. All that work has been performed because of rust. They all seem pretty expensive, too.

The 240 - 260 - 280 is known as the S30 chassis and all of them suffer from rust issues. Cars from the desert suffer the least. Rust is the major issue and one we discuss here frequently. I think anyone here will advise you to shy away from the rust issue cars. There isn't much difference between the '72 model year and '73. The '74 is a 260 - quite different drive train - and watch out for those carburetors. It sounds like a better deal, depending on how well the engine conversion was done on the '73. A 5 speed would be nice, but the '73 sounds like it has been run a little harder than the 260.

If it were my money, I would spend $6500 on a rust free car before I would spend $6000 on a new floor board car. The $8000 car would have to be pretty darn nice.

There's my two cents. Happy New Year!

[gator]

I live is BC ..western Canada ..this is one of the worst places on earth for rust ?? I would not pay more than 2-3k for a car here. They are almost all rusted out .. Almost all ..

[Ed]

Originally posted by B_A_BARACUS

I am wondering what the difference, if any, between a 72 and 73 240z is?

There were a few differences between these two. The one that is mostly talked about is the carburators. The 72 came with round top carbs (good) and the 73 when the emissions laws came in got flat top carbs (bad). Alot of 73 owners will swap out the flat top carbs also known as "boat anchors" with either 71 or 72 round tops. But seeing that your 73 has a 280 engine one would assume that the carburator issue has been dealt with. Another difference between the 73 & 72 is the front bumper. The 73's front bumper is about 2" farther forward and has a rubber "insulator" between the body and bumper. Also the bumper guards are bit larger.

Given a choice I would go look at the 73 first. Go through our photo gallery and take a look at some of our cancer patients. You can quickly see where rust begins. Take a flashlight and a camera get underneath the car and look carefully. Any sign of new undercoating might be a bit suspicious. Like mentioned earlier rust will be your worse enemy.

BTW what is "Aircared"?

[B_A_BARACUS]

Originally posted by gator

I live is BC ..western Canada ..this is one of the worst places on earth for rust ?? I would not pay more than 2-3k for a car here. They are almost all rusted out .. Almost all ..

western cars tend not to have as much rust. The worst enemy of metal is not rain, its the salt on the roads. vancouver BC has such mild winters that salt is not an issue, where as toronto just dumps salt on the road all winter long. salt is hard to clean off the underside of your car so usualy a western car is the way to go. a desert area car would be nicer, but a BC car would be my second pick.

So anyway, thanks alot for the help, I dont want to make calls to these people until maybe the weekend. ill let them enjoy there holiday before I try to haggle the price down with them hehehe.

by the way, if ALL MET RED means all metal redone, doesnt that mean he has stripped the car and restored all the metal, or does it mean he had a serious rust problem. I figure if all the metal is redone, then that would be a great thing and that would be the best answer. tell me what you think.

[jeffs73z]

I would also look for rust behind the battery hold on the fire wall.

If the floors were done, were the frame rails, rocker panels, fenders, lower rear quarter panels? These are the "main" rust prone areas, but not all.

[jeffs73z]

by the way, if ALL MET RED means all metal redone, doesnt that mean he has stripped the car and restored all the metal, or does it mean he had a serious rust problem. I figure if all the metal is redone, then that would be a great thing and that would be the best answer. tell me what you think.

Could be metallic red paint, no?

[Smokey]

From what you have posted, I would have to go with the '73. There is no mention of major repairs, it has a good driveline (L28), and the '73 will have better metal than the '72. However, these descriptions can be less than revealing.

I have only looked at Z's that have the description of "excellent/no rust" and have still seen enough rust to push my next tetnus shot up 3 years . I have found, more often than not, that owners will overlook bad areas when describing the car to you. Not all the time to be deceitful, but just not wanting to scare off a potential buyer. It is up to you, the buyer, to make every effort to determine if the car is, in fact, rust free.

Never assume that a Z will have no rust because of it's location. I have seen a bunch of Z's for sale in Ca, and Az with mentions of rust. Granted, it is not as bad as it could be. Any Z will rust, that is a fact of the car.

Take some advice from someone who has owned one and has searched for the last 2 years for another. Take your time, and look at as many as you can. Each one has a different lesson to teach. Over time, you will become a professional Z critic, and a more informed buyer.

[B_A_BARACUS]

Just how reliable are these cars. I am still a College student and I do not have much income. I am looking for a car that I dont have to constantly be spending money on to fix. My Dad is cautioning me away from this car saying any 30 year old car will cause nothing but problems. but I am captured by the beauty of this car and maybe am blinded, I seem to think that these cars are fairly reliable, not to mention fairly easy to work on(simple mechanics). What is your experiences with these cars as daily drivers. especialy one with a L28 motor swap and 5 speed.

also, is the L28 motor feul injected? or does that come later still?

please tell me good news.

thanks once again.

[Smokey]

OK, here's the good news

The Z is a reliable car--for 30 years old. The L28's were all equiped with Fuel Injection, and for the most part they are reliable as well. Most on the board choose to use the L28 short block with a different head and still use carbs, but that is your choice. Parts are not really that expensive on these cars, so when you do need to replace something, its not too terrible to do. They are fun cars to drive, but have their quirks, as any old car does.

So, now here's the bad new, or more accurately, the stuff you don't want to here.

This is not the best car for a daily driver, and that is compounded when operated by a student with limited income. I am not saying this to be mean, just speaking from my own personal experience. I bought a '72 while still in College as a daily driver. I too, loved the looks of the car. This one appeared to be in good shape when I bought it. But, I bought without really knowing the problems in these cars. I found all kinds of rust that had to be dealt with. I ended up replacing most of the rear suspension, all the bushings, and spent an additional $1000 on it the month I bought it. Later I had to replace the clutch, and a couple of wheel studs. My savings took a beating on this car, because when something broke, I had to have it fixed right then, cause it was my transportation.

All that was expensive, but the killer was this. As a daily driver, you will be forced to drive in the rain and whatever weather happens. This is a death warrant for these cars. The frames allow water in, and then the frame rusts from the inside out. Splashguards were rudimentary until the end of the 280 run, allowing water to spray everywhere underneath the car. These cars, while reliable and fun, are not the best choice for a student looking for transportation.

My advice, that I should have had in '93 is this. Buy something cheap like a Civic. Don't dump all your money in it, just keep it as transportation. Save your money, and look for a Z. It will take you a few years to find the best of the lot. Hopefully, when you find your Z you will have a garage for it, or at least be able to borrow/rent one. Keep you a beater to tool around in, and the Z is saved for sunny days and smiles :classic: .

[TomoHawk]

I bought a florida car. The body was good, the frame clean and screws were easy to get out.

The problem I have was that I think the heat caused all the rubber stuff like boots & bushings to dry out and go bad. Tires dry too, but those were worm out.

also the dry envirnment caused the wiring to get dry and somewhat corrode the contacts.