TKR514

I guess it did not sell... for even half the appraisal...

I don't think that a turbo would have helped emmisions. There were all kinds of ways to increase performance and still keep the emmisions low enough. Still, the 260Z was not all that popular. With onlt 40,000 sold in the US compared to, say, a Mustang with 386,000 units when they also changed models in 1974. It was only popular with a particular segment of the overall car market.

And the 280ZX is even more highly developed yet... Most regard the 69 -70 as the desireable/collectable in the series. The high VIN number 73's are less so.

I just finished a 79ZX for $4,000 USD. I did all the work myself including the engine rebuild(see my gallery). I would guess that if you farmed out the engine and paint work that it would be closer to $10,000 for a bone stock restoration.

well, 13 grand and it looks like it won't sell in the next few minutes. The more I look, the more work that I see that needs to be done. It looks like many of the hoses are original...

I believe this is the exact same one that was in a "Classic Car" auto lot in Tampa about 14 months ago. I forget what the price was, but it was way too much for the car (IMHO). I think that's where the $22,000 "appraisal" came from. As I remember, it looked way too worn to be only ~50K miles.... Maybe this guy (who says he knows little about Z cars) actually did pay a lot for it? Looks like $13,000 is too low on the reserve..

Well, I also know that Nissan has it's own prejudices and tariffs. They would rather buy locally than get better carbs from "outside" Japan. Either way, Nissan was the manufacturer and there were no "surprise" laws that Nissan (or any other manufacturer) did not know about. They, like any other manufacturer, did not want to invest a lot of money on redesign on a car that just completed design a few years earlier. The 260 was "good enough" as far as Nissan was concerned for selling in the U.S. Market. And they were right. it was "good enough" by still selling in the same numbers as any other 1st Gen Z car (40 - 50,000 a year).

Going 2-Liter, 12 valve, 2 Webbers would have easily passed emmisions in 1974. I still wish that they went that direction in the U.S. spec S30. I'm trying to remember but I believe that high octane (91-95) leaded was still available in the States till well into 1976. ?

Stuff is so good these days that it's fun to look back and see just how bad things were. Nissan in 73 fumbled the 260 for the U.S. market. I don't think that the home market in Japan had easier rules for smog. Nissan chose to increase displacement and change the carbs. Hell, I would rather have seen then drop displacement and increase compression to meet the standards, but I guess that their marking folks don't want to explain how a 200Z would be an "Improved" 240Z and cost more. I would have bought a 432 Z in a heatbeat! They had the technology to make a decent engine in the S30 . You bet they did.

Well, if you blame the Government's smog laws for poor performance on the 260, you better praise it when performance increases. Right? I blame Nissan for the lowsy 260 performance, not Nixon.

Then why did you say that that they did?

Our government enacted anti-pollution laws that necessitated the changes so we now have 2.8 liter engines producing 300HP and getting a constant 25mpg. Thanks Uncle Sam!

Nah, The 260 is not a basterd child, it's a LIMITED EDITION Z Car! I always like seeing a 260 since they are so rare. After all the years and mods, you probably won't find a hill of beans difference between the 240 and the 260. If I could find a steller 260, I'd buy it.

baddriver might have figgured it out. It's basically "bad taste" to add a barn door wing to a Z. It would be like buying the Mona Lisa and painting eyebrows on it because you think it will "look better". Some things look best in simplicity, IMHO. I guess if folks add a wing on a street car as a "fashion statement", we are free to make one as well (like pointing and laughing). Seems fair...

So... the custom exhaust did not come with instructions and you are unfamiliar with installing custom exhausts? Experts at muffler shops never read instructions since they do it day in, day out. You did not work all day for nothing. You gained some experience with exhaust systems. I learned to take it to a shop and have installations done for cheap after spending a day under my car and doing exactly the same thing. Not a fun day

Maybe, But no street car that I ever drove "needed" one. Some pickups would have benefited from the extra downforce, but none of the cars. I guess that adding "fins" to a car are once again in "style"?

1) They are only really effective at higher speeds 2) They are only really effective for cornering at high speeds Unless you routinely exceed the speed limit and do so only in the turns, THEY ARE USELESS. Why add useless stuff to your Z?

Change fuel filter, plugs, cap/rotor and all fluids. Just wondering if the compression is low...