Smokey

Hey Thanks Carl!! That is the kind of info I need to support my low price bid on the car. The rust looks kinda new. The paint is still peeling from the main areas of damage.

No pictures, I took a video camera instead. I'll post the ones that he sent me. BTW, the build date is 05/70.

Well, I just got back from looking at the car. When I drove up, I was ready to trade even for my 02 Tacoma. It is just that nice. The paint is very glossy, and is on par with a brand new high end car. Perfect match for the factory orange (918 I think). The wheels are clean, and will shine up right nice. All the emblems are there and mint. The bumpers each have a small dent in the centers, but not really noticable. The windshield is free of cloudiness around the corners, and all the rubber is fresh (and present). We opened the car up, and sure enough was brand new carpet in the front floor boards, and new in the trunk. The jambs have been sprayed, so it all looks new. The steering wheel needs to be restored, as the wood is very dull and lifeless. The radio does not work, but there is a '70 radio ready to go in the console. The center console is scratched from the radio replacement, but a new console is provided. A new leather boot is affixed to the shifter but not clipped to the console (waiting for the new one). The driver's seat is shot. The vinyl is torn is several places and you pretty much sink to the floor when you sit there. He let me drive it around town and then over to Rock's. I put about a hundred miles on the car round trip. I drives pretty good. The motor is strong and smooth, without the typical Z smells. It started right up each time I cranked it. I noticed that the front end seemed to wander over about 45mph. The brakes were strong, and after they warmed up, quiet. The shifter needs new bushings BAD. I had a very hard time finding 3rd gear. Sometimes I could not tell if I were in gear at all. Once I got to Rock's we began to tear into the car. The trunk is clean and rust free, as are the floor pans and firewall. The dash is original and uncracked. All gages work (except the clock). The A/C is there, but does not work. The engine was clean, and did not have any major leaks. The oil smelled good for a year old. There was no sludge that I could see from the oil cap. The frame rails from the top looked good. No rust on the driver's side. The passenger side is the problem. Only a little frame rail rust, but it is from the battery acid. There is surface rust on the firewall, inner fender, try (top and bottom), and the wheel house. All of this is solid and would not give when poked. It will need to be sand blasted. Underneath, Rock says these are the best rails he has seen in a LONG time. They are straight and rust free. No signs of rusting from the inside out either. The floor pans are perfect too. However, it needs all new ball joints, and tie rod ends. Could also use sway bar bushings. No leaks under the engine, or trans. The rear end is wet, but is not dripping. Prolly an output shaft seal. Wow!! I had a lot to say about that car. Short version--for 11K I would expect the battery rust to not be there, the seat fixed, the trans rebushed, and the air to work. Rock says about $1000 to $1500 to get it right. I am taking time to think this over, but I imagine I will offer $8000 for the car. Hopefully not go over $9500. Any suggestions???

A VIN that high, according to Datsun Z club would make it an early 280Z. The 5spd would have been swaped in since the 4spd was standard. As far as the "deck vents" (I assume you are talking about the hatch vents) the hatch was prolly put on from a '70 or early '71 car. Check the VIN, cause if it is accurate, there has been some BAD tampering with the VIN plate. Not good. Make sure the VIN in the door matches the VIN on the dash. There should also be another VIN placard in the engine compartment. make sure all of these match up, and that the car was not clipped years ago.

I figured you "forgot" a word. And, I guessed what that word was. Might have a future as a detective after all .

Hahaha! Our one we just found out has allergies. We have to give her Kitty Claritin to keep her from snotting all over herself, and us. Kats are fun. I really do like my cat. I just would rather only have one at a time.

Focusing master :beard: but it is driving me nuts :stupid: . I need the car so I can sleep, its been 5 months now. Anyway, the engine compartment was untouched during the repaint, as the motor was left in. The fenders were removed, along with the doors, and hatch. Everything was jambed. The underside is untouched, and rust free. During the repaint there was no body work, or rust repair done. The only reason it was painted was the original paint was getting dull (Confirmed by Rock). Rock is going to let me bring it by his shop and put it on the lift and smoke it over together. But, believe me, I will make a very careful decision since it is a LARGE chunk of cash. And worst of all, the wife has already said if I get a Z, she gets a second cat. I like having the one, but TWO of them?!?!?!?! I'll have to live in the garage--Hmm not too bad of a deal.

Daniel, I love the Parkway. Lived on it right at the Ahoe Gap in Boone for 4 months while in school. The scenery is awesome to be sure. 2Many, Rock's words were "This is the second nicest 240 I have seen lately". That statement pretty much seals the deal for me. Based on what the owner and Rock have said, the price is going to be right on the money. Especially since I get original wheels and 3 D hubcaps, with the '70 radio in a box. I think the clock even works. I had wanted to do a little "tweaking" on the car originally, but I have come to be very fond of keeping it original and showing it. I did not think I would be fortunate enough to come across a series I, with all the pieces out here. I am really getting stoked about this car, in case you can't tell.

OK, I just got back from talking to Rock. I saw the last repair order for the '70. $1500 worth of work between radiator, hoses, master cylinder, and some other things were done. Only thing left to do was sway bar bushings. He worked on it before the paint job, and said that it had very little if any rust on it. He remembers it to be a nice car. This was about a year ago. Since then the $4000 paint job has been done, with new emblems, and new rubber seals. This one is looking very promising. Talked to loan officer too. Gonna try and get it by the end of the week. Hope I can get it all worked out.

The arm rest is a nice piece. Pretty soft for comfort, and easy to remove when you want to row through the gears. Carl, I do understand that danged Z bug. My '72 I bought cause my CRX got totaled, and I liked the body style. While I owed it, I became very fond of the car on so many different levels. As the buyer was driving it off, I choked back a tear and vowed I would have another one, when I could treat it right.

Yeah, the one in Florida has some concerns for me too. The amount of work under the car will make it very difficult to assess the condition of the rails and pans. It has been for sale on trader for about 4 months now. It really does look nice, but I think it has had quite a bit of body work to get where it is. I really appreciate you guys checking on cars for me. I just can't convince myself that I don't "need" a Z. I feel a fever comin on.

Here's an interesting twist. I just saw oncollector car trader the very same car. They are wanting 12.5K for it there. They are calling it restored there instead of original. Still gonna check it out.

Hey thanks for the link ZmeFly. I might have to look into that one. I gotta do a quick check on the VIN to see if anything looks strange with the history, I love my job . Asheboro is not that far from me, so I might be able to go check it out before the bid is over. From the look of the pictures, it appears that the car was not jambed when they painted it. They appear a different color than the exterior sheet metal. Also, it looks like the shock towers are carpeted instead of the vinyl diamond mat. Does look nice, and I will keep my eye on the bid. I go and check out the other one on Wednesday. I am fortunate that it has been serviced by Rock Vest. I will call him on Monday to see what he says about it (I love connections from my former job).

I think you have a good idea there, but it has been covered (at least indirectly). Wick Humble's book "How to Restore your Datsun Z" has wonderful info on that. He has a diagram with areas prone to rust out. There is a chapter detailing how to repair major and minor rust out. Also, there is tons of info here on the board relating to rust and repairs. The best part of your idea is the before and after rust repair pictures. There should be a gallery topic for just this. Where the before is followed by the repair process and finally the finished product.

And, one more of the interior. By the way he is asking $11K for the car. Looks like it is worth it here on the East Coast.

Check out those hatch vents

Here is the engine compartment

Here is the latest Z I am looking seriously at. It is a '70 240 #4804 which is all original with 77,000 miles. It even has an original radio in a box ready to go in the dash. No rust anywhere except for some very small surface rust under the battery. There are no blisters on the car. It was painted by a guy that does old Chevys in Stateville, NC last summer. I am going to try and go look at the car sometime this week. Here is the car.

They were a dealer accesory. Not too hard to install, but requires drilling in the buckets. Might be able to mount it up with adhesive to keep from drilling, but they might grow wings and fly off.

The starting problem was due to the flat top Hitachi's. Since you will have the round top SU's you will be fine even with the E88 head. Look for some parts cars. Classic Auto Trader has a couple of cheap (750.00) cars with the E31 head. They don't run, but the head might be in better shape than your. Plus, you will have some parts from the car.

:love: :love: Don't know bout the wheels, but DANG!! I am in love.

Whether you should pass the car up based on the mods is solely up to you. Do you like what has been done to the car? If you plan on doing performance mods to the car in the future, are these the type that you would want to do? If so, you are ahead of the game. What you need to be looking at is the body and frame rails. You say "decent", but that has a wide range of meanings. If decent means it has some rust then you must address that pretty quick. If decent means that everything is rust free and sound, but the paint is faded, you are all set. Paint can wait, rust can not. The price you mention seems pretty fair for what you have described. If you don't like the mods, and he does not have the original parts, figure out how much it will cost to put the way you want it. Decide on the purchase based on that. Hope that helped

300hp is attainable with enough money for sure. However, make sure that the car can handle the grunt. If it is an early (70 or 71) Z then the car is not as rigid as the later ones. Also, if any rust has been found in the rails, or pans that will need to be cut and replaced and strengthened. You will also want to make sure that the tranny and diff are up to the new power. I would hate for you to reach your 300hp goal and then snap the car in half. Always remember: With cars, if you change one thing, a half a dozen other things are going to be affected. Think through this chain of parts and you will have a successful buildup. Good luck.

I'm with Ed on this one. If you are wishing to bore the motor, you obviously want more displacement. The L28 comes stock with about 400cc's more of displacement. If you wish to bore that block you will still have the same options as with the L24 since they have the same bore. The L28 paired with a good high compression head will yield better results than just a bore job on the L24. Just a thought.