Landshark

Ok, here are extra engine specs : The engine's compression ratio was increased to 10:01 from stock. It has a Mallory Unilite distributor It has an electric cooling fan, instead of the stock engine driven one. Electric fuel pump. Tokiko lowering springs (1") Tokiko "blue" struts (Both under 1 year ago) 4 Piston Toyota 4 wheel drive truck calipers 280ZX rear disk brakes 280ZX Master cylinder Adjustable proportioning valve Relays for the headlights K+N air filter 1978 280Z 5 speed transmission 280Z radiator Stainless steel mesh bug screen in front of the radiator MSA Aluminized exhaust I was also wrong, the brake calipers are what need to be replaced, not cv joints...not sure where I came up with cv joints in my previous post.

Well, we picked it up on saturday and drove it around a bit on sunday. What a great car! I'll have pics up in a day or two, and I have specs on the engine and what's been done to it, I'll post that up when I get the pics. We (well, Anna is...I'm at work) are taking the car to Z Specialist today (right now actually, I think she's there already) to get it looked over. From what I learned, the engine is a L24 with around 30k miles. It's been built for 10:1 compression with several other goodies added onto the engine (I'll update exact specs in a day or two). The transmission is a 5 speed from a 280z, not sure what year though. Suspension (shocks/struts) were all replaced about 2 years ago. Tires are all good, plenty of tread and we have a full set of winter tires we'll be receiving probably this weekend as well. Things wrong with the car, maintenance stuff that needs done oil change/spark plugs/radiator flush/something else I'm missing. The brakes are having issues, probably air in the lines so we need to bleed them for sure. This is compounded by a possible bad alignment. The brakes are disc brakes now and they have new pads, but it pulls hard to the right under braking. There's a klunk sound from the front left of the car when turning (only sometimes), probably suspension, not really sure yet. There's several blemishes on the paint that we expected, Anna is going to sand them down (especially the few rust spots that are poking through the paint) and primer them in prep for a whole new paint job. She gave it a good cleaning, inside and out, yesterday (both cars got a bath actually). It's missing some minor things, passenger handle to roll down/up the window, passenger armrest on the door. Z decal on the passenger side quarter panel (exterior). The door panels on the inside don't match. There's a small ding on the front left wheel where the car ran into a curb at a round-a-bout, but it's barely noticeable. The floor/carpeting is missing, trunk liner is missing, there's a small rust spot/hole in the floor on the driver's side so we'll be welding that at some point (we have the tools). both floors (drivers/passenger) have drop-in insulation right now. The dash has many sun cracks on it, but is otherwise ok (although it will need to be replaced). All gauges work except for the fuel gauge. The seats are leather, not the originals. The drivers seat slides forward a notch when under heavy braking, I have to investigate this. There's also a pop sound when up-shifting under moderate acceleration. This might be normal, but we'll have a shop take a look at it. Neither of us has any idea what these cars are suppose to sound like, so it's getting checked out. There's a couple other things missing/wrong with the car, loose screws, etc, but overall the car is sexy and is really fun to drive! EDIT: forgot to mention, the e-brake is not working, which makes it fun to park. Not really sure what's wrong with it. Also, Z Specialists are telling Anna the cv joints on the front need to be replaced, that might explain the klunk and the alignment problems we experienced.

Hey Carl, Thank you for the very informative post. It's good to be reminded about the classic car quality that the 240z really is. We will definitely be treating it as such. Now for a bit more personal reading material: Both sides of our family have been known to be attracted to more unique cars. On my side, my Mom has always been a fan of 2 door sporty cars. She's on her 2nd FIAT Spyder. She also use to own a mid 80's Pugeot 505 Turbo. This rubbed off on me and during my high school years I owned a 1978 Datsun 510 (4 door and with a moon roof!). Absolutely the most unique car anywhere near my school at the time. I ended up donating that car after having massive electrical problems. In hindsight I wish I would have kept it and fixed it up later on down the line. On my girlfriend's side, she use to own a Baja Bug which she did all of the repair/engine/etc work on her own (her Dad has taught her a lot). She also learned to drive manual on the 240z which we are receiving this weekend. She's a girl who does all of her own engine work as long as she has the tools to do it. Definitely a keeper. The 240z will have a place in our garage, it will sit next to our motorcycles safe and sound. To answer the age question, I'm 27 and she's 22. We've got a few years before we both hit that 30 mark.

Hey Dave, that's awesome! We've spotted the Z Specialists shops daily (we take hwy 9 to work). I really appreciate the offer and information! My name is Scott, my girlfriend is Anna. We will need to meet sometime soon since you are so close. I think our first priority once we get the car is to have someone more knowledgeable than us take a closer look at the car/engine and let us know the condition. It has been sitting outside, somewhat covered, but it's also been driven a couple times a week (i.e. not sitting for years and years or even weeks). I think this is going to be a fun car to own.

Thank you for the replies and suggestions. I believe the rust is non-existant on this car, but we'll be taking a very close look once we get it in our garage which should be this coming weekend. I noticed that you are both posting from Washington State, is there a local z club or more local website? I live in Lake Stevens (although the car is currently in Tacoma until this weekend). I've been reading a lot on this site so far. It's always fun reading about a new car.

My girlfriend is going to be the new owner of her father's 1971 240z car before the end of the month. From what I can figure out after doing some research online is that it's a Series II of the 1971 model. Sorry I don't have pictures at this point, but it's green. What I do know about it is that the engine was replaced with one from a wrecked 240z. The engine has roughly 30k miles on it, the car itself (odometer) shows around 107,000 miles. Her father is a machinists for the u.s. air force (he's civilian), so he's taken very good care of the car. I'd really like to know as much as possible about this car. I'm new to the 240z car world (I drive a subaru wrx wagon and I use to own a 1979 datsun 510 4-door). While we will be getting info about the car from her father, I'd like to get some advice and info about the car in general. Are there any common problems? Things that are great about this car? Things that aren't so great about it? etc. I've read about the specs (engine, size of the car, etc), but was hoping to learn more about day to day driving experience. I believe these take premium? I've heard it gets around 20mpg as well. Is there any random info you'd be willing to share? I'd appreciate all chatter about it. Thanks!