motorman7

Hi Bob, Yes, the first silver ('71 240Z) sounds like exactly what he is looking for. The guy was originally asking $4500, but took $3200. The only rust issue was a quarter sized rust hole in the passenger floor pan and two minor rust patches near the rear dog leg. I will be welding those up soon here (before paint), but no big deal. The frame rails were dented but no rust and in reasonable shape. The battery tray was clean. The engine is a 260Z motor with high compression pistons that had just 5K miles on it. Still had cross hatching on cylinders when I popped the head. It also has a 5 speed trans and LSD, suspension package, Konig Rewinds, racing seat and racing wheel. All in very descent shape. The interior also was very nice. The guy also tossed in some beautiful stock seats, steering wheel and other parts. The silver paint was faded, but I will be painting that here shortly. Now that I have the '73 (with flat tops!) running well, I will put the '71 in the garage and start stripping parts, removing motor and glass, welding holes and sanding smooth. Should take me about month. I will have Lance in OC do the paint for me. Anyway, I am very happy with the '71. It was a very good deal and better than a lot of what I am seeing out there now. As always, PATIENCE is the key. Rich

some more items. The paintjob is really lame. Very bad overspray as you noted. also, you can see the bondo or bad patch spots. This is not a $3000 dollar car. Maybe $1600. There are much better...

here are some good rails...boy, I need to clean the bottom of my car

Looks to me like the original was very rusted out so someone partially welded bar stock in there. For what it's worth, I consider it one of the most important parts of the car. It is a structural member or a box beam component. I will see If I can find a picture a what a good one should look like.

Is this a frame rail???? I think it is

Looks like a fun project car with a nice body and rims...My biggest concern would not be the drive train (those you can get cheap-donor cars are all over). I don't see glass, bumpers, interior carpet, dashboard and a host of other things. Those get pricey when you add them up. If they are there, what is their condition? I think the thing to do is look for what you want in a car. Some people want a complete car in great condition. Others, like myself, want a diamond in the rough they can work on for a year or more (keeps me out of trouble). Depends on what you really want to do and have the time and money for. I think you can get a drive train for $1000, but that may need some work as well (I usually pull the head just to see what condition things are in). Hope that helps, Rich

The tape is just kind of worn/slightly torn from contact with the block, so I am leaving it 'As Is' for now. If it gets too bad, I will just re-tape it. I think the tape is just a secondary restraint for the magnets.

I had something like that happen to mine. The problem was the wire going to the dizzy would short on the exhaust manifold. I have since re-routed the wire to keep it way from the exhaust manifold. Just a thought. Also, check the terminal fits on the contacts for the entire ignition system (wires going to resistor and coil). Make sure they are clean and snug.

A couple observations from my install: In step 4; it seems very odd to me that they have an adjusting screw and then two fixed countersunk holes. What's the point in the adjusting screw if the assembly is fixed? The second countersunk hole (without screw in the picture), should be a slot just like a set of points. That way, when you assemble the magnet collar and it contacts the 'Hall effects sensors assembly', you can adjust it to avoid contact. Not only do you have worn dizzies, but you have tolerances of manufactured parts (petronics rivet assembly) that vary from assembly to assembly. After tearing up the green tape on my Petronixs because the fit was too snug, I slotted the countersunk hole. Much better fit...no problems. In step 5. What's up with the wire routing? The Petronics part should have been designed with the wires coming out the other side so you dont have 3 inches of wire flopping around inside your distributor. It should be on the other end, 1" then out the dizzy, no excess wire issues. The excess wire also tends to get pinched when you put the cap on. Anyway, just my two cents. Such is the curse of being a Mechanical Engineer. I think they could have done a much better job. Peace Out

I must say that I really enjoy this zinc plating stuff. I think the enjoyment comes from the fact that in about 30 minutes you can take something that looks like complete garbage and turn it into something gorgeous. Here are a couple before and after pics of stuff I did today. The flourescent lighting makes stuff look a bit orangey. In real life, the parts look much better. The only problem I have here is Patience. I am supposed to let the Yellow Chromate dry for about a day since I dont bake it at 150 to cure it. The problem is that I want to assemble NOW. So, here is what I put together today. Most of this was plated and assembled today. Only a few pieces were done a last week. It makes assembly slow, but sure looks nice.

Yes, love the color. Very nice set-up there!

I have both bought and sold vehicles on Craigslist. I find what works best is a phone number. Typically if someone calls you it's pretty legit. I always call them if they leave a number on the ad. The only problem is that you get the occasional car selling company that wants to low ball you or someone that wants to trade you tatoos for your vehicle. Private parties typically work best. Cash Only. Be careful with non-craiglist e-mail addresses.

When I bought my '71, my daily driver, it had the Tokico 5020 Springs and Illumina adjustable struts. This was way too stiff for me. I changed to the Stock springs but still have the Illumina's. I like this combo much better. It rides about an inch higher. It is still a bit stiff (I have 7/8" anti-sway bars front and back), but very solid.

I was first introduced to the Nissan USA folks through our Z-club, ZCCIV. They had my car in thier booth for the October 2009 JCCS show along with Yokohama. They wanted an original '70 Z to show with a 2010 370Z. They recently called me up about 6 week ago and asked if the car would be available for this photo shoot. I will probably blog that experience later. Nice to see the car getting a little press. Dad will be happy to see that. I'm in the 370 and my son is in the gold 240 for the dynamic pic. http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=CW&Dato=20100209&Kategori=CHICAGO&Lopenr=309009996&Ref=PH http://www.motortrend.com/auto_shows/chicago/2010/2010_nissan_370z_40th_anniversary_edition/photo_15.html

Yes , Just thought the whole spy thing was kind of funny as it was not very secretive at all. They did let me drive The 370 for the 'Dynamic photo shoot'. Was pretty fun with plenty of horsepower. Only bad thing is the track is really a motorcycle track and not a car track.

Of course we see a nice picture of the new 40th anniversary 370Z, but the spies have misidentified the 240 shown in the pics. It's obviously a 1970 Safari gold 240Z. What were they thinking?:stupid: http://www.autoblog.com/2010/01/25/spy-shots-2011-nissan-370z-40th-anniversary-edition-spotted/ http://forums.mazdaworld.org/index.php?showtopic=40760

That is GREAT news!..very glad to hear it. Thanks for checking into this! :)

I love Les's shop! I feel like a kid in a Candy store when I'm there. He has quite a number of roadsters there and they are all pretty sweet. Fortunately, I live just 10 miles to the east of the shop, so it's pretty easy to stop by and get things when I need for my Z.

I was thinking if MSA does not do the Nationals, that perhaps the local Z-clubs could put something together. Between, the SD Z-club, ZCCIV and Empire Z, you could probably get a pretty good showing.

And if I am not mistaken, last year they had 2 or 3 rimes more Z's than ZCON. It made ZCON look small.

Yes, it's disappointing not to hear anything. Was planning on bringing two cars. Maybe 3 if I can teach my daughter how to drive stick. Hopefully they put out a statement fairly soon.

Or maybe an 'N' for "not advanced"

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37246&highlight=Z%27s This is what I got for $950. Very original, except for the Recaro's which are awesome. The interior is in very good shape and very little rust. All it needed was a new Mechanical fuel pump and the fuel lines blown out with compressed air. It sat for 3 years, and the previous owner lost interest. The plan is to clean it and keep it as original as possible. I will clean the engine bay, re-zinc all of the plated parts (here at home) and put a nice paint job on it.

PATIENCE is the key. Wait and a good one will pop up. Just be ready to scoop it up when it comes along. You should see what I got for $950 here in San Diego just a couple weeks ago. It will run circles around that thing. I had been looking for months. Just had to wait for the right one.

That's what I say when I turn it too far CCW.