Consigli

Betcha he's also riding on Firestone 500 tires!

That's a great idea! I can only think of two things that's keeping Mark from being a legitimate cable show of his own!

Its probably a 1971 Pinto that's being passed off as a Z. Most millennials wouldn't know the difference.

I guess it did. Fixed it so try to forget about that disturbing visual!

Its so educational to point & click through a restoration to see how fast & easy things get done. Its as though I am my wife and seeing things through her eyes!

Sounds like a flogged roach coach. Open it up with a can opener and I'll bet you'll find so much rust you'll run away screaming. Pay $500

This is like watching an episode of "Overhauling" with Chip Foose. Except Wheee makes it look easier!

I'm no expert, but the resto shops charge the big bucks to restore a car to between #1 & #2 condition, as defined by Hagerty: https://www.hagerty.com/valuationtools/Classifications-and-Conditions Bottom line is that cars make no financial sense at all. The guy paying $250K for a GTO at Barrett-Jackson may take a 6 figure loss the next time the muscle car market crashes. The guy paying a resto shop $80K plus most likely will take a loss unless he's lucked into a very rare and valuable car for cheap. And the skilled do it your selfer most likely will never get all his money back. Conversely, Richy Rich who just shelled out $120K for that brand new Mercedes S class can watch his "investment" (LOL!) depreciate to $60K in about 4 or 5 years. With cars, almost EVERYONE pays! Treat cars as a hobby and that's all. Not many hobbies pay you back what you put into them, cars included. So pay your money for your car hobby and have your fun!

In Phoenix, the shops will tell you a car restoration (any car) starts at $80,000. To make the numbers less oppressive, you need to be able to restore the car yourself. But that requires time, commitment & skill that most don't have. And you will still lose money in the end. Its why many people opt to buy restored cars instead of doing them yourself. Its just not financially prudent to pay a shop to restore a car. And that's pretty much any car - not just Z cars. However, if you find one of these in a barn go ahead and drop a couple hundred grand on the resto! http://www.barrett-jackson.com/Archive/Event/Item/1969-PONTIAC-GTO-RAM-AIR-IV-CONVERTIBLE-188609

My hats off to those who can do everything themselves! I wish I could. And of course, time is money, so some must pick & choose the things we DIY and pay for the rest. In any case, for everyone's info, this is from the 1978 FSM

On my car, the toe-in was slightly out and tweaked into the "green." And you are right - that is the only adjustment. The wheel balance was way off. A hunter road force balancer was used. This made a HUGE difference. The car feels firmly planted to the road at high speeds and has no more vibration or wander. The irony of all this is that the last wheel balance was done at a Nissan dealership on a regular spin balancer. It took the Lexus dealership to get it right. I use the "Black Pearl" alloy wheels. Lexus used lead tape on the inside so no lead "sinkers" are showing on the outside of the wheel. So sure, set the alignment yourself if you have the skill and time. But open up the wallet and splurge for the road force balance. You'll be happy you did.

Just had my 280Z aligned and wheel balanced at the Lexus dealership. It use to shimmy, shake, vibrate, wander and drift to the right at speeds above 60MPH. After they got done it now runs silky smooth & straight right up to 100MPH, which is as fast as I dare take it since I don't want go to jail on felony speeding. Now the point of all this is that modern alignment and road force wheel balancing equipment uses technology such as lasers and computers to get the job done right. But I think if you spend enough time fiddling with the kite string, chewing gum, plumb bob and bubble balance you should eventually be happy with the results too.

Yes - I've been running the exact same one on my 1978 280Z for about a month now.

You definitely need a new fuel dampner: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CO6IIQ?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_sfl_title_8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Worth two in the bush.........

And don't forget, lots of international buyers at Barrett - Jackson. Here's a nice one: http://www.barrett-jackson.com/Archive/Event/Item/1972-DATSUN-240Z-CUSTOM-2-DOOR-COUPE-116466

Nothing beats a dry state car. Knowledgeable collectors target black plate California, New Mexico, Texas and best of all Arizona cars. And those cars command a premium. My 280Z is an un-restored all original Arizona survivor car. Bought by the original owner in 1978 right here in Phoenix, Arizona at ABC Datsun. Been here the whole time. Never wrecked, all original and not a spot of rust ANYWHERE. Not a perfect trailer queen, but looks & runs like new. People ask me all the time if I will sell it. I tell them to get me a bank check for $35K and its theirs. A few scoff, wanting to buy it low ball. I tell them to buy a cheap rusty roached out junker on Craigslist and let me know how much they spent when they get done restoring it. Unless they are exceptionally skilled and thrifty and rich in time, they will spend well north of $35K to get their junker to my cars level.

Its good that you bring this subject up because I just went through the process with State Farm. I insured it under their antique/classic car policy. I wanted to insure it for $25K but they would only allow $20K. They use the NADA guide high retail price for their limit. Link below. They said they would go higher, but an appraisal would be required. http://www.nadaguides.com/Classic-Cars/1978/Nissan-Datsun/280Z/2-Door-Coupe/Values

Thanks for a great informative post. One of the cars I saw at the auction, that I really liked, was a 1997 Ferrari 456 GTA that sold for only $53K! Link below. It was really beautiful and just had the expensive 30K mile service done. This car cost $255K new. Talk about depreciation! Someone got a great deal! Every time I drive my 280Z I can't go very far without getting honks & thumbs up. And offers to buy are a regular occurrence. You are right that they make good daily drivers if you want them to be, and people just love them! http://www.barrett-jackson.com/Events/Event/Details/1997-FERRARI-456-GTA-190040

It just came out today that Barrett-Jacksons revenue fell 23% from last year. Makes sense from what we were seeing. The $100K mark plus/minus 10 grand or so could put you into a certified, concourse show award winning restoration of a rare American classic. The 2016 Serial number 1 Acura NSX sold for 1.2 million! Now THATS a Jap car! Godzilla lives!!!!

I wanted to start a thread where people can discuss the latest value information on our beloved Z cars. I attended Barrett Jackson auto auction on Saturday and only saw one Datsun sale - a 1500 Roadster which sold for $22K. Link below. There were lots of old Toyota Land Cruisers which were selling for between $20K to $50K. Prices on the usual 50's and 60's Detroit Iron were all over the map. Most of the really nice cars clearly sold for less than their restoration costs, which makes car restoration a labor of love and not logic. But most of us knew that already! Impressions were that prices were down. Last year Ron Pratte sold his entire collection of premium classic cars at BJ. No one knows why. Since Ron is a savvy businessman, this "dump" leads many to believe that classic American car prices are heading down, since some say baby boomers are losing interest in cars as they age. And some say the next hot area may be Japanese cars since this is what many millennials drove when they were young and now that they are older & working they have disposable income for the fine Jap classics. In any case, post your thoughts and/or information in this thread! http://www.barrett-jackson.com/Events/Event/Details/1965-DATSUN-1500-ROADSTER-189458

Thanks!

I am going to try the Red Line MT-90 in my transmission. Would the Mobil 1 75W-90 synthetic GL-5 gear oil be ok in the differential? Or is there a better alternative? Just thought I'd ask this time before I change the oil!

The old dampner was the original one so after almost 40 years its time was up. But I did order a spare Bosch dampner in case it has something to do with the new fuel mixes like you say. On a side note, I had my wheels balanced on a top of the line Hunter Road force balancer today at the Lexus dealership. (They did my 280Z as a favor since we have a LS460) The nasty vibration I was getting above 70 MPH is all gone. I took it up to 95 MPH and it ran straight and silky smooth. Its like a new car!

It didn't start out that way. During the summer there were gas fumes in the garage but no puddle. Any drips would quickly evaporate in the 110 F Phoenix heat. Once it cooled off here I noticed the small puddles. I traced it and you could see the gasoline fizzing out around the dampner adjustment bolt. So I'm sure there was a total loss of pressure between the dampner & engine.