ArnieTX

More pics: The one missing the headlight has the cleanest body from the 15 minutes I spent looking at them. It had the bad interior though. The one with the good interior had rusty floors from front to back. The rear hatches of both looked decent at a glance. My gut tells me to run with the one without the headlight, HSL3011989, and use the rustier one's interior parts to clean up the interior. I'm heading out in the morning if it doesn't ice over tonight and I actually get some sleep. - San Antonio + freezing rain = crazy drivers Thanks Arnie

I found the info on Series 1. Cool! The steering wheels in these cars look different. One is slotted, one is not. This is fun! Arnie

Thanks folks. Arnie

Thanks for the all the great advice. I'll clean them up good over the weekend and see what I have. I believe both of them have vents under the windows. Sorry for the noob questions and I can only read so much on this site in a day, but what is the significance of "series 1". I'll try to search the history of that term shortly. Zoomed: Thank you Arnie

I remember the door dates said x/70. At what point do these get titled as 71's? Thanks Arnie

Pics here: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36688 Title #1 says HLS3011989 1971 Title #2 says HLS3016914 1971 What does the HLS# tell you? Thanks and I'm excited Arnie

Thanks for the advice. I have an air compressor and a bunch of chains going. A friend that's taking his truck and trailer said the easiest way is to chalk the trailer, run a chain from the back of the truck all the way down the length of the trailer, hook it to the car, and pull it up the ramps with the truck...... We'll see! Is there anything else I need to take along besides air, chains, and straps? Thanks

I just picked up two. I think the door plates said 12/70 and 10/70. Arnie

Hi I registered a while back and finally found a project. I look forward to working on these, learning, and passing some skills on to my 3 little men. This is a great site. Arnie

Thanks Darrel. I don't know much about them. Once I get them home and cleaned up a little, I guess I'll be able to tell. Is original paint significant for some reason? Just wondering. I am a noob to car restorataion. I have average skills. I need to decide if it's better to clean these up and try to flip them for more money and put those funds towards a z in better condition or get after it and make a good one out of these two. I have the room and facilities to work on them, just never attempted something like this before. I guess once they are cleaned up and I note the condition of both bodies, it will be easier to see what I have. The nice thing about having 2 identical 71's is I have a template to compare to if I take one apart. I need some tips on how to keep track of all the parts coming off and how it goes back. Searching the threads for that info all day... I'm ordering a few Z manuals and the restoration book. I'm researching all the threads. I owned a 77 and a 78 in my younger days. This is my first 240. Thanks

#2 I have to go get them in the morning. If anyone can provide some tips for getting them onto the trailer I would appreciate it. I have a come along and chains. Will have two F250's and 2 goosenecks to transport. Not sure where to coonect to these vehicles to pull them onto the trailers without causing damage, etc. I'm jacked! Me and my boys are going to have a good time tinkering with this. Thanks

After looking around for a while I finally picked up a pair of 1971 240z's for $300 bucks. One car had a decent interior but some rusty floorpans and the other has a cruddy interior but pretty solid metal. Pics of how they sit at the moment:

beautiful

He mentioned parts cars and I've seen a bunch of those lately. I have the room at my house for parts cars and I have run by quite a few cars for $300 or less this week. The front fenders and light buckets , hood, most of this stuff survives rust free. Motor parts , carbs, lots of stuff. Do you think a man can buy a parts car say for $300 or less and make his money back + some? I know where there are at least 15 old Z cars laying around. It would be fun to save what parts I can and use that money to save up for a Z-car. How much are these parts worth? What parts are more in demand than others? Where do you guys buy your body parts? Where can I see what's being charged out there? Thanks

In my search for another Z, I am looking at 2-3 /week. From a distance my first glance at these Z's is exciting but the closer I get the worse I feel. These poor things are rusting away. Some of these cars have been sitting for years and it just saddens me to see such a great car rusting away beyond recovery...at least with my skills. Texas heat is brutal on the interiors too. One of these days I'll find the right one. I need to take my camera along with me on my search. Document these cars.... Anyway- it's sad to see great cars just dieing a slow death.

I've been looking around for a Z car and have run into a couple of roadsters. None have been driveable though. We all know how easy it is to fall in love with the old Z cars. Have any of you Z owners also owned a Roadster? How did it compare to owning your Z? I'm intrigued by the little car and I think it would be fun to have one. I'd like to hear experiences and comparisons if anyone has any experience with these. Thanks

Nice car. I think thats the one off of Craigslist I've been watching. I'm south of you around San Antonio. How's the interior look?

Thanks for the link. I enjoyed it.

I rode in a 350Z for the first time today. Convertivble/Automatic Handled nicely but the accelleration up to 85 was less than I expected. Fellow driving is in his 60s. He did scare the Sh8^T out of me going around those corners. We live way out in the country and was having our Lions Club meeting. I asked him to take me for a ride. He had a 240z in the early 70s. Nearly spilt my beverage going around those country roads. I remember saying" Hey- I have 4 kids" "SLOOOOOW down" :) It's definetly different when you are the passenger.......nice car

I've had two 280Z's in my lifetime. Got my first at 18 and my second at 20. I don't have pictures of my first but here are some of my second. I went in the Air Force at age 20 and when I was in tech school for a year at Lowry in Denver, I bought this yellow 78. I was coming through an intersection one evening and some highschool kids in their parents Mitsubishi Montero hit me pretty hard and pushed me into the median. I was doing 40mph and I have no idea how fast they were going. Bent the frame pretty good.I was a week from leaving Lowry so I got my insurance money and headed for Virginia. PICS of my Z were taken in 1991. Sorry about the quality of the pics. Taking pictures of old pics with the digital are hard to do well. I miss all that hair I used to have too!!!! :) If any of you guys have some memories of you and your over the years please post them.

We are not loaded.......I wish I were. We buy used and we live off of one income. It's not how much money you make in life, it's how much you save. Texas cost of living isn't too bad compared to other places.

Since the wife stays at home with the 2yo and infant, I take the 4 and 6 year old to school. It's on my way to work. Drop off #1 is 3 miles down the HWY and drop off #2 is 9 past that. Wife picks them up. My commute is 100% hwy fro 60 miles and then 2 stp lights after I exit. With a 5 speed 2+2 I would guess my mileage wouldn't be too bad at hwy speeds. The Grannymobile gets consistant 26MPG. I want to enjoy and take some pride in what I drive. The driving experience in the Buick is like watching paint dry. If I'm always going to be driving used cars for a long commute (<$3000), I might as well get something I want and will care about. I bought and sold two motorcycles last year. Started out with an enduro off/on road type. Had fun but decided to commute to work so I sold it and bought a BMW K75. After commuting and seeing all the wackjobs driving around I decided to sell it and buy a boat. My wife thinks I'll get the Z and soon tire of it. She doesn't understand the love I have for those cars. She doesn't know this but the plan is to buy myself 3 or 4 over next few years and fix them up for my 3 boys. I have to break her in slow. Find a 2+2 and get her used to it.

The wife thinks I am nuts anyway. Datsun or not. She likes what she drives(4wd Excursion) and I always end up driving a beater because of my commute. Life is short. I have been wanting another Datsun for a long time. I looked at the 90's 300zxs and it appears the maintainanace is pretty high if you drive a lot. I haven't ruled out a nice 84-85 300zx or 280zx in 2+2. I really want a Z though so the search is on. I know the L28 is reliable and easy to work on. And, the parts car thing down the road makes sense. Anyone around San Antonio knows of any please holler.

How does a man get his Datsun Z car fix and still get his kids to school? 2+2! As a previous 2 seater owner( I was single and that was >15 years ago), I am lusting over all these beautiful Zs I'm seeing and I'm trying to figure out how to get one as soon as possible. (Wife thinks I'm nuts) I currently drive a grannymobile (94 buick bought from Granny) because I drive 120 miles roundtrip each day and I hate to own anything "new" and put that many miles on it. It works but is not fun to drive. Z=fun Z=fun Aha! The answer suddenly came to me. If I buy a Datsun 280Z 2+2, I can sorta of fulfill the need AND still get my 4 and 6 year old to school. Now, a 2+2 is not my favorite Datsun BUT, it beats the hell out of the grannymobile in style points and I can spend 2 hours everyday soaking up the Datsun smell and dreaming of the 2 seater I will eventually purchase to drive on weekends and during the summer. The 2+2 will give me at least some of the Datsun FIX I so badly need. For you current 2+2 owners, don't get me wrong. I am in no way trying to say that the 2+2 is inferior or bad in anyway. It's just not my dream Z:love: . However, in my situation, it sure looks good right now though:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: So, to any of you 2+2 owners or folks who have driven one, would it make a good daily driver kid hauler for a budget concious Dad? Would you rather have a Datsun 280Z 2+2 or a BUICK? What would you do? Vote choice 1 -- Sell the Buick and buy a 2+2. Get the wife used to it and corrupt the kiddos into thinking the Z is the best car in the world(My boys are easily influenced by their ol Man).Then ... Buy a 2 seater down the road for weekends and summer driving. or Vote choice 2 -- Keep the grannymobile(BOOOOOO) , save my money and buy a sweet 2 seater I can only drive on weekends and summers when the kids are off. LOL LOL

Daddy hold my hat!