Hardway

Everyone makes really good points about the decisions in front of me. I can definitely see both sides of the coin. Once thing I have determined is items like replacing the fuel tank vent lines is not on very many peoples to-do list as it is now something I ask about on every 240z I call on. After 40 years even a car kept in the best conditions will need this done and I know first hand how big of a PITB it is to do. The rear suspension bushings need to be replaced on my car regardless if I keep it or not so I will move forward on that over the next few weeks as I get time. Like you guys said, maybe getting some seat time once it is running again will help me make the final decision. I appreciate your offer OJ but I have seen the pics of your LS1 Z and it is beautiful and very likely out of my price range.

I must say I am really not a fan of the changes to the layout at the top of the page. In all honestly I really liked it just the way it was. I am not against the site moving forward and if there was some sort of additionally functionality that was needed that came with the changes I would more in favor of it but just for the sake of changing the look, I am sorry but it does not get my vote. Now if the owner of the Datsun Classifieds site would put it back to EXACTLY the way it was I would be thrilled! Why do the sites have to be changed? These sites are meant as a community of information sharing and commodity surrounding our love for these cars. Keep it simple, keep it nice to look at, and keep the information flowing.

All in all it does not look like a bad find. However the description and pics raise some flags. It does look like the car has a little rust on the driver side rocker panel. Go over the car with a flashlight and find tooth comb. If you can, take a body guy with you or someone that is familiar with Z cars to look it over good. Very few of these cars are truly rust free. Second, Z Therapy carbs are supposed to be near perfect out of the box. Hard to believe they still need to be tuned. Besides, if he had spent $1K on those carbs why would he not spend the 10-15mins getting them tuned, they should not need much unless there are some possible issues with the engine. Interior looks okay but where are the passenger side door components? The under hood area has been spray bombed black and pretty crappy at that. The next big question is do you like the color? If you have addressed these questions and satisfied with the answer then $4500 might be reasonable. However in my opinion it looks more like a $3K - $3500 car. I know others will chime in as well.

I am continue to work on my '72 lime green 240z and about to embark on the rear suspension rebuild. You can see my on going resto thread here - http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/thread47863.html The car is an original lime green car, I have already done a lot of good work to it but to be honest I would love for it to be silver. To do it right I know it would mean pulling the engine and stripping the car down to a rolling shell, all of which I can do. The floor pans needs to be replaced and even though I have a good MIG welder it may be something best left to a pro, still deciding this. Once I complete the rear suspension rebuild the car will be drivable again and probably a pretty good driver at that given everything I am doing. However knowing that if I strip the car down between minor body work, floor pans, paint, weather stripping, re-chroming the bumpers, putting it back together, on and on and on I will quickly hit $10K+ in the car. I know no one makes money with a restoration project, I am just wanting to gauge weather I should get the car back to reliable driver status and sell it to someone who really wants and loves a lime green Z or move forward with it and paint it the color I want. The car is not matching numbers so there is no real collector value here.

Glad to hear you are making some progress. As far as having air in the fuel line, you should not have to wait a few hours for that to be resolved. Since the system is pressurized you could loosen the fuel line where it connects to the hoses that go to the injectors. With a wrag or something around it run the pump for a few seconds, be careful since it will probably spray in all directions. Once you clean up the gas re-tighten the line and try again. It should not take much to clear any air from the line. Another less messy option it to just run the car, let it die, start it back up, let it die until the air is out. It should not take more than 2 cycles of this to clear the air. On a side note, I have worked on a lot of different EFI cars and air in the lines has never been an issue. Even after having a system open to replace lines, injectors, etc. Once everything is hooked up I would let the pump prime the system, verify there are no leaks, and turn the key to start. Barring any other complications the car usually started right up and settled in to a nice purr at idle.

That Cougar should go for around $20K - $24K as it looks really nice. The El Camino is a toss up. A big plus that its got an LS1 in it but its a dark purple El Camino, might be able to get it for cheap! Keep us posted on what you see and if you bring anything home.

An Iconic Classic Car for around $25K is very do-able. Of course it is also very subjective as to how sporty and classic of a car one is looking for. Below are some nice ones I found on Ebay that seem to show well and look to be in good shape. You have to remember, buying a car at one of the classic car auctions almost always goes for a premium price and usually more than the car is really worth, even on the top end. Add in the 10% - 20% buyers fee and you quickly get int to the red. Classic sports and GT cars out there and a ton of them are well under $25K. Of course if you want an XKE or something of that caliper be ready to pony up double even triple the price point we are looking at. If I had $25K to go out and buy an iconic classic sports car in good condition I am sure with a little hunting and negotiating I would come back with one, maybe even two! Nice '76 Porsche 912 3.0L - http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1976-912-3-0L-SC-CAMSHAFTS-Runs-Drives-Great-Ships-Worldwide-NO-RESER-/251195646226?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item3a7c6d6112 '82 Ferrari 308 GTsi - http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1982-Ferrari-308-GTSi-/130813016044?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item1e751037ec '74 TR6 - http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1974-Triumph-TR6-Convertible-Fully-Restored-/160744775494?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item256d229f46 '72 Corvette Blk/Blk 4spd - http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1972-Chevy-Corvette-Sale-trade-boat-/121033718763?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item1c2e2bfbeb

Tlorber's statement is dead on and applies to so many cars. Z's along with other affordable sports cars of their time are seeing the same popularity vs. rising value situation. Look at something a little newer like 82-92 Camaro's and Firebirds and Fox body Mustangs. They are not "classic" by any means but these cars continue to be very affordable in good condition but excellent condition examples bring premium money. This due to the fact so many have been run in to the ground and I can't tell you how many I have seen at salvage yards, many of them for items like busted transmissions and blown engines but with great bodies and interior pieces. Once they are picked over they are gone and now they have parts that are considered "unobtainum" just like the Z's do.

$25K can buy a lot of any sports car these days. From Vettes, Lotus, Porsche, a Ferrari 308, and the lot. Your LS1 powered Z is definitely unique, both in how clean the install is and your car looks so stock from the outside. The Thursday and Friday Mecum auctions offer a lot of variety and in my opinion a lot of good deals depending on what you are going after. You won't ever see many Z's go up on the auction block. As you have seen you are lucky to see one. Z cars are not in the collecting spot light right now but of course those in the know are fully aware of them and what a good one is worth.

Beauty is all in the eye of the beholder. I am a big fan of '80's euro design and the Countach is one of my top 5 cars of all time. I like the white one without the running boards but would ditch the large whale tail spoiler. If you showed up at a car show with one of these you would be the ONLY one in the show.

Just a quick update. I have not heard back from Rotary Phil yet in Australia. I did hear back from the Sales and Marketing Director at Group Harrington to see if they would consider making the over riders and rubber strips for them out of SS to make a correct US spec bumper package. I also have some feelers out to other contacts about the possibility of doing a run of bumpers and over riders here in the US. As I get more info back I will post it up.

Definitely sounds like a good day Steve. A round of applause to you and everyone who helped Steven with his Z at the show. I have always said that the greatest thing about the car hobby is the people you meet and that day at the show proves it yet again. Thanks for sharing the story and the pictures.

Got back to work on the Z today. I picked up some more Roloc 2” sanding discs in 40 grit at Harbor Freight. Between those and my angle grinder I got all of the welds flattened. It took much longer than I thought as I had stacked up the welds pretty good. Using the passenger side as a source for a template for a new top piece I utilized a piece of copy paper pressed against the panel piece and ran my finger nail along the edge to crease it. Instant template! I cut it out and then traced it on to a piece of sheet metal and cut the metal out. I flipped the piece over so instead of another passenger side panel I now had one for the driver side. I felt where the metal was raised a little and knew that is where my welds should be. I started with some 5/16 holes in my new panel. Once I verified that was where I wanted my plug welds I drilled them out to 1/4. I proceeded to plug weld the holes, this time keeping my weld buildup to a minimum and flatten the welds down with my sanding discs. After I flattened the welds I cleaned it really good and shot some rubberized undercoating on to it. Once it dries it should look pretty good and be a mirror image of the passenger side panel. Now that that rust repair is done I went about mounting the rest of the driver side suspension components. Done for the day.

More Ebay sellers are using models and I am positive their hit count is easily triple than others just to see the model. I would like to know if the sellers are seeing more real sales by using the models. Girls and cars go together like baseball and a cold beer. This trend has been around for a long time and will continue to go on for a long time.

Thank you for the info Eric. I emailed Rotary Phil about the bumpers and the possibility of making a 3 piece rear bumper along with the associated rubber strips and bumperettes. Once I hear from him and get some more info I will post my findings. I appreciate everyone's input on this and hope to move this forward. Stay tuned!

Thank you for the feedback and awesome pictures Mike. I have done business with Cen-Tex before to plate some engine pieces for a '89 Turbo Trans Am I had. Their work was good as well as the price. I will have to look in to Speed Sport Chrome when I get ready to have mine done. A good job would definitely be worth the trip. What I am really after is an opportunity to start getting bumpers made and provide a supply at reasonable prices for those who want the 240z style bumpers to put on their Z. I know the Euro style is very popular since it does not have the bumperettes but I want the bumperettes and I believe purists will to. I have nothing against SS but I would like find out what options are out there to have them made of steel and chrome plated, maybe off both! If that meant per se buying them done in steel along with their associated bumperettes and taking them to Houston for plating I would be open to it. Like any custom work in order to make it affordable a certain quantity would have to be established.

I second what Lazeum just said. I did it on my 240z as well. I had to remove a small clamp that was on my steering rack and lifted the front of the engine just slightly using a board against the crank but that was all. Its a tight fit but it came off and went back on without any issues.

This is all great info and thank you for pics info regarding the SS bumpers. There is a chrome shop here in Austin that is said to have the tooling to straighten Z bumpers. Mine are black, straight, and just a little rust has formed where the paint was chipped off. The chrome shop holds bankers hours so it has been impossible to take my bumpers down there. Finding good ready to mount bumpers is getting next to impossible and the SS bumpers do make for a very nice option. If I could get a set made with new bumperettes and associated rubber strips. Since the company already makes bumpers I am going to inquiry about making some out of regular steel and seeing what connections they have to get them chrome plated or take them and have the plated here. I have seen stainless up close and it is very nice when its all polished out. However in my opinion nothing beats the look of chrome and that is what I really want.

I can't really answer your first 3 questions but I know some other members have either done this or installed fuel cells to serve as their fuel tank for their LS1. In regards of what to do with your stock gas tank. If I were you I would finish your plan of painting the tank since you already have it sanded down. Since it is in good shape it is definitely worth something to someone as many owners out there had rusty tanks. Once you cut your floor out I don't see the tank having much value for you unless you plan to pick up another Z that the tank will work in. In the end once it is painted and pretty take some good pics of it and post it up for sale. Owners dealing with rust would pay top dollar to get a tank that was ready to drop in. From a price standpoint I think starting at $150 is pretty fair, maybe even more if your tank turns out to be a show piece. Just my opinion though.

I have started a conversation with the seller of the stainless bumpers that can be purchased on Ebay as well as a few other parts sites. I have asked what it would take to produce a set that included the bumperettes and associated rubber that goes over them. I have not seen the SS bumpers first hand but I have seen pics online and they look pretty good. What I am curious about is what demand is there for a true correct set of bumpers that were made of steel and chrome plated just like the originals. Nothing beats the look of chrome and I am doing some asking around to determine if enough were made could we get them made cheaper than a set of SS bumpers.

I was apparently snoozing on 11/5 when this 240z came up on Craigslist. It is already sold (no surprise) with an asking price of $5500 posted in the Deep East TX section of CL, said to be located in Tyler TX. I literally smacked myself yesterday when I found it. Looked to be super clean in the pics but the large front bumper bracket looks like it was setup to be towed? Here is the original ad info. I have an Orange 1970 Datsun 240z, it has a 280z engine in it, the car has been restored, has new seats, new paint job, and the car looks and runs amazingly, I'm asking $5500 obo. (Seller contact info omitted)

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving. With traveling around for the holiday and making it back home yesterday afternoon I managed to dedicate some time to the Z today. For starters I wrapped up the front passenger side suspension by installing the TC Rod along with the new hardware pictured. I used the rubber bushing from the AC Delco kit for the rear and the poly bushing from the ES kit for the front. It took longer than I took but you must have the control arm in just the right position to get the lock nut on the threads of the rod. All that is left is cleaning up the line fitting and mounting the new stock style calipers as well as the braided SS brake line but that will come at a later date. Now on to the bigger job at hand, finishing the rust repair on the inner fender. I started with a piece copy paper just to get a rough idea of the shape and size of the opening. Then I moved to using some scrap cardboard to make a more refined template. Finally using some 22ga steel I cut out the template using my air cutoff wheel and dremel tool. I did not have any sanding discs like I thought so this is as far as I got today. My welding job did not come out as good as I wanted but once all the welds are flattened it should look pretty good. Hopefully next weekend I can wrap this up and move on to install the suspension pieces on the driver side.

WOW! That color really pops out at you. Great job on the paint and body work. Is that a oil cooler in front or something else? Any engine work been done? What kind of wheels are those?

Thank you for all the comments and compliments guys. In regards to the name of the color, I think its all about the lighting in which it sits under. In my garage it looks more green under the florescent lights but in the sun it is definitely more yellow. I think Bonzi Lon had a good name for it, Tennis Ball Green. Seems to be very fitting. My wife's grandmother calls it Chartreuse. In all honesty I don't love the color but I don't hate it either. It is different for sure, especially around here. If I still have the car in a few years I plan to tear it down, strip it, and repaint it a nice shade of silver or red.

Thanks for the compliments guys. Unfortunately I am not the guy from Speedhunters. Their site is awesome and would welcome joining their team!