Smokey

The manual steering is one of the great parts of the car, why would you want to alter it? So much of the road is transmitted to you via the steering gear. Unless you are parking the car, the steering is very light and gives great feel.

That is why they call it "getting some Z's"ROFL . I have not slept in four months since my wife said I could get another one.

With Z's, it is not how much they are worth, rather, How much is it worth to you? I would venture to guess upwards of 15K is what the car will bring in that condition. Shoot, I've looked at ones close to the 8K it's at now that need about 5K worth of work just to look like that. If your wallet can take it--go for it.

which is why you aint seen me bid on it:stupid:

OK, digging this one back up cause, so far it is still my best option. After all I have looked at, the body is in the best condition with only some minor surface rust. I recently sent him an e-mail seeing if he would entertain $3500 for it. He, of course, declined. He has said that $5800 is acceptable, but after doing some thinking about it, that seems high, and since I did not really "offer" that (I said would he even think about $5800?), I don't feel overly obligated to stick with it. Should I keep bidding on it? He has had no more bites since I looked at it over a month ago. Might help my cause. Any further opinions or comments welcome.

OK, here is the rundown on the '74. Looks pretty good at first. The motor is from Jasper, but was a little different than factory specs. It is running a P90 head, with a hot cam in it. The carbs are 32/36 redline webers. Runs great. Same original 4 speed tranny. Interior is almost complete with new carpet and shift boot. All new seals either installed, or in a bag. The bad stuff--All exterior chips which developed rust have been POR15'ed and painted black. The floor pans have have been POR-15'ed and covered with rubberizing paint. The passenger side is already splitting open. The driver's door is rusting from the inside out. Two blisters showing, and inside the drain hole you can see a large amount of rust. All that is acceptable, but here is the REAL BAD STUFF. The rear quarter panel that I spoke of is a real bad repair. The seam where the quarter meets the rocker is unsealed. They did not weld it, or put any kind of seam sealer on it. It just lays there with a hairline opening. Behind that, you can see the original quater where the metal butts togeter. It, of course, is rusted. Externally that is the worse part of the repair, the rest looks good. However, inside the trunk shows the history of the damage. Once you pull the carpet back you can see the waves in the floor to the right of the spare well. The inner quarter, behind the finish panel, has been fixed with a BFH, and is rusted pretty bad. Looks like the back righ was hit HARD. This car has been hurt, and the repair is questionable in my opinion. That was the breaking factor in my decision not to purchase the car. :disappoin

That is great!!!! I love the part where the shop assistant tried them on. Still laughing.

I agree, the way he was talking is there is just a slight bit of surface rust under the battery from where he left the battery cooking too long one day. I have only briefly talked with the owner because I really wanted to see a Z that was worth 11K. Man, that has to be a nice one, I thought. The more I talked to him the more I was not too sure it was worth the money. He only drives it about a hundred miles a month, and from '99 to '02 it was not registered. The suspension is all original and needs to be redone to make it a "road" car. Same with the hoses under the hood. The cooling system is newly serviced, but fuel, and vaccuum lines are all original. Seems like to get the car dependable for a weekend cruiser, I would need to outlay some money on the mechanicals. And then there is the inner fender under the battery. I may wait and see if the price starts to drop. I doubt he will get his asking price. He says that 5K of it was what he has done to it over the last 5 years. I would be willing to bet he payed 5-6K for it originally. I am sure he is trying to get 100% of his investment back, which is unlikely. Carl, thank you--and everyone on this board who has contributed for keeping me thinking with my head and not my heart. I have never had the trouble before the Z. It is just an emotional car. BTW, I love the eye:love:

Daniel, you make an excellent point, and one that I came to terms with last night. I expanded to the 260's cause the early ones are basically '73 240's will stroked motors and bigger exhaust valves. Since I am in this for the long haul, I think you are right, and I should hold out for what I started looking for. Problem is, it is just so dang expensive to find a 240 in great shape. Found another local Z for sale. This one is an all original '70 240 #4804. It has less than 77K miles on it. It was painted last summer. The owner even has an original radio and center console to go with the car. Asking price is [OUCH]ELEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS[/OUCH]. It has rust under the battery, but I doubt that would give me enough bargaining leverage. Oh well, better talk to the wife about getting that first born on the way so I can trade out.

Thanks Carl!! As far as the electrical issues go, it sounds pretty minor. No meltdown just corrosion on all the terminals. He has cleaned some in the fuse box, and under the hood. He says this will be time consuming at worst. He advised the tach would just cut out, and then come back on later. Same with oil pressure guage. The electrical fuel pump is also DOA (could be from the aforementioned electrical problem). There have been no fires, but unknown on electrical spaghetti under the dash. The quarter panel, he says, was undetectable until he was washing it one day and saw the evidence by the dog leg. From what he says, the repair is good. I am just concerned with the gas filler and inner quarter. Those areas could have been opened up to rust, that can not be seen from outside. My big question is why is he selling after owning only 6 months. During this 6 month period, he has recovered the seats, put the new motor in it, removed the surface rust from the drivers floor pan, and sealed both sides. He has removed the old undercoating and applied new undercoating (same stuff used in the beds of salt trucks). The trans has received new bushings, along with a new clutch. To top it all off, new dash cap, and 4 new wheels and tires. If it were me, after all that I would drive it for a while. Just makes me curious.

And while you are in there, go ahead and pull the motor and tear it down. No sense in having a fresh tranny with an aged motor.

Well, I was going to go and look at the Green 260 this weekend. But the snow killed that plan. Guess I will have to wait till next weekend to go and check it out. Been talking to the owner for a few days now, and have found out some more information on the car. It has been repainted (not sure when) with almost the factory #304 Green. The current owner advises that the passenger side quarter panel has been replaced. The only evidence of it is some brazing marks at the kick panel. Also, around the quarter window there is some evidence. The reason for the replacement is unknown. Additionally, the electrical system needs some attention. The terminals are oxidized and will not give a solid connection. He states that the terminal need to be cleaned, and the fuse box needs to be gone through. This problem affects things like the tach, oil pressure guage, and other electrical items. Are any of these things supposed to fly big red flags at me? Should I be weary of this Z? Thanks for any advice or tips. I want a Z, but I want it to be a pleasant experience this time around.

It is a one time only printing. When they are gone they are gone. It is only available from your Nissan Dealer.

Yeah, in '67 I think when the first Z prototype came out, it did have a 4 popper in it. That did not go over very well. For 69 they changed the body and put in the straight six. That---as you know is the combo that worked.

One more quick question before I go and look at the car. Based on my research between the 240 and early 260, there is little difference. Of course, the motor is stroked, and the interior is a little different. Before the bumper change mid way through 74, is a 260 pretty much the same car as the 240? Would it be like putting a L26 in a '73? I ask this cause I am still talking with the guy selling the '73. This car "sounds" to be in better conditon than the '73. If the motor has the larger displacement to overcome the emissions stuff, I would seriously consider it. I just don't want a "weak" car to start out with. It just would not be right for my V6 pickup to run stronger than a purebred Z.

Well, I talked to the man selling the green 260 tonight. He seems like a real nice person. He has had the Z since August 02 and has put about $5000 in it so far. This includes recovering and repadding the seats, the Jasper engine, Weber carbs, new driver door trim, and a new dash cap. The motor was replaced after he bought it, because it had sat in a garage for some time. The motor had deteriorated to some degree, and he thought it would be better to put a new motor in. It is a rebuild L26, rebuilt to factory specs. Currently the only mechanical problem is the fuel pump near the tank that does not work. He says it is hard to start, but will start eventually and run just fine. He says that the driver's side floor pan had some rust on it about where your heel would go. There were several pin holes through the metal. He cleaned all the rust out, and repaired it with a special epoxy that has the strenth of metal, and bonds like crazy glue. Then the whole area was treated with POR15. The underside was stripped of the original undercoating and replaced with a rubber type substance that is used in the beds of salt trucks. He has access to all kinds of nifty stuff through contacts at his place of work. He has been restoring cars for many years, and they include an MG, and several Jeeps. From what I could gather, he is very knowledgeable in the resto game. This Z sounds like it is in wonderful condition. I will be going to see it on Sunday, weather permitting.

At the very minimum, you should drain and refill ALL the fluids and change out filters. This includes coolant, Oil, trans, and diff. Check for mouse nests in the blower assembly and under the hood. Check the injectors while motor is running and check for leaks around the seals. Best bet is to find out what all is included in the biggest service and then do that service. That will insure that all systems are up to snuff. Good luck, and good to hear someone putting another Z on the road.

As always, thanks for your speedy replies. Of course, I am leaning towards the green one out of these two. The V8 caught me eye cause of the clean body, but I am not a big fan of putting a non Nissan motor in these cars. I have never really done much research on that aspect. Also, the V8 has been for sale for 6 months or more (If memory serves). I will be talking to Green Z guy tonight while I am at work. Going to find out more about it. He sent me an E-mail this morning talking about the slight rust in the floorpan, that has been irradicated, sealed, and POR15'd. He continues to talk about pitting on the inside bottom of the driver's door. Not rusted through, he adds. Gonna have to find out if this is active rust, or if there was just no filler used after the repair. Thanks for the question ideas, I plan on asking those "hard" questions tonight.

Another 260 that I saw was a 350 conversion for $5500 dollars. I have no knowledge base on the V8 swaps. I also have no intention of going to shows with the car. Is this something that I should look at, or run away from?

OK, the latest in my search for the "perfect" Z leads me to a 260Z. Now, I have not been considering a 260Z at all, until I see this add. Now all of a sudden, I am considering it. He lives about an hour and a half from me, so going to look at it will be a piece of cake. Tell me what you all think. Is it worth buying a 260 that is in this condition? 1974 DATSUN 260Z,Really nice Datsun 260Z, 6cyl, 2.6L, with less than 80,000 miles. Runs great. Fresh Jasper engine w/less than 500 miles. Two new Webber Redline 2barrel carbs with K&N filters. Rebuilt alternator & starter. New Borg and Beck clutch setup. New clutch hydraulic master cylinder & slave cylinder. Rebuilt brake booster. New front bumper & corner rubber. NOS door seals. Seats have new foam & new upholstery in factory original design. New driver's inside door panel. New left & right door armrests. New carpet. New drivers side mirror. New battery. New hatch struts. New dash caps. Transmission tight, rebushed shifter & new output seal. Original factory tinted glass, nice condition. 4 new tires and rims. All original emblems. Original owners manual, tool bag, jack, and wheel blocks. Body had small pitting in drivers & passenger floorboards & around rubber drain holes. Removed rust, sealed floor, treated with POR15 inside & out. Sealed floorboards with rubber sealant and removed loose undercoating and recoated. Body has some small dents from boxes on it while it has been garaged stored. I have too many 'toys' to devote anymore time to it. Exc car to finish a restoration on. More parts have been replaced, some parts on hand included in price. It has 80K miles on it, and he is asking $4300 for it.

Hehehe, I don't try and keep it a secret. I am proud of what I do. I agree with you that the flagrant misuse of power is terrible, and in some cases very public. I have always said, no matter what the job, there will always be those that dishonor the job. That applies to everything from bagger at the grocery store up to politicians (OK, that last one is a bad example, as most are questionable :stupid: ) I just sometimes get a little irratated when stereotypes are brought out, and then applied to everyone. Further posts have made it clear that the target is the small town that has an entry tax. As far as the use of force goes. It has a time and a place. A burrito is not a valid reason for any use of force. Dealing with police feeling they are above the law. There are some out there. I do not like those, and have a strong disrespect for them. I don't even bend the law as much as I allow citizens to. For instance, I will let them go faster before I pull them, than I actually go. I will never pull someone for something that I do. That is just hypocritical.

Yeah, ya'll guessed it, I am a cop. Not a Trooper, but a City officer in a fairly large, for North Carolina, city. I don't see myself as a tax collector, and I would leave the job the minute that changed. I do enforce the laws of the road for one simple reason. I hate to take the time to do the fatality wreck reports. I don't pull for barely speeding, I go for the fast ones. I get the ones that blow stop signs, and red lights. The ones I pull, and write, are the same offenses that lead to the wrecks that investigate daily. My Sgt. puts me in the area of our Sector where traffic is at a problem level. I get the drivers to calm down (even if just for a little while), and then move on to another stretch of road. Strange thing is, after I work an area for a couple of months, the amount of wrecks and speeding drop down. That is why I do what I do on the Traffic front, not to collect revenue. I could care less about that. I fully agree with you guys that writing out speeding citations for the sole purpose of collecting revenue is wrong. If there is a speeding problem (bt that I mean, average speed is 15 to 20 over the limit), then I support it. If the guy you stop is only going 5 over---not worth the effort to write. Anyway, traffic is just one of my focuses as an officer. I do many other things too. I truely try and help the public out with quality of life issues. And most important-----I love Z's--so I can't be ALL that bad:D .

Ahh yes, the donut shop jab. How original:cross-eye . Why not just go ahead and do the Barney comparison--you know you wanna. Before you start blaming the cops for all the problems in the world, just consider that there might be some Po-leece that drive Z's and are members of this board.

When I started reading the story, I kept looking for the date of the Challenger explosion. I thought it was "a piece of history". I too thought we would not live to see a second occurance. According to what I read, some insulation fell off on take off and hit the wing. It was deemed not serious damage and the mission continued as planned. Not sure if that was it or not. Man, this is sad