87mj

I don't want to seem like "that guy" but I think your rear bumper guards are upside down. :)

Hopefully, this image is helpful. The hatch sill plate on this car is factory. The passenger taillight surround is installed but the piece behind the license plate is not. Please let me know if you need another angle. Thanks

I had the same problem with the alignment of my rear hatch. I was a little concerned because my body man replaced a hatch lid hinge. Then he turned into a d*** in the later stages of the repair work and then killed himself shortly thereafter. So I couldn't take it back to him. This is how I got mine aligned. I figured out first of all that the hatch cylinder that I had was slightly too long. But not by much. I took it completely off and replaced it with the correct size after I was finished. I could see it stressing the mounting bracket above the strut tower each time I closed it all the way. Then I loosened all 4 bolts and allowed it to relax. The driver side still sits up a little high by about 1/16-1/8 inch and I don't have my rear glass or latch installed so it might be good now but if yet but if not, the gaps are marginal now. I should note, it took several times for me to get it right. I had to repaint my bolts because of my repeated attempts.

I may as well stir the pot a little on this. The thing I find most amusing about this is that out on FB, people believe the escalating price of this 432 actually impacts the value of all 240/260/280 & ZX. Can you imagine a guy selling a 260z telling a prospective buyer that one of these recently sold for $800k? I have seen people comment about the Franklin Mint Z as if somehow their car could be worth that if they restore it properly. I could argue the rising demand of 240z impacts the value of unique cars such as this one, the Franklin Mint Z or the VIN chasers. But I just wonder how many people overpay for a car because of the occasional sales like this one and do so for a car that will never be worth anything. Marketing hype raises sale price for the uninformed but then reality sets in after you get it home.

My point was what would make a modified 240z sell for 6 figures and who would do that other than the uninformed? Usually in the classic car world, the less the car has been touched and the closer to stock it is, is what will demand top dollar such as this lovely green thing at the top of this post. Not the customized cars. That 6 figure custom car could easily be worth only 1/5 of what a buyer paid for it. I could just imagine in a few years putting a car like that on craigslist and having a prospective buyer asking the seller why he wants north of $100k for a custom car and the seller responds "this is #001 guild car". Then the buyer says "yea so what?". What would cause someone to buy into that?

There is a guy 240zguild that shows up on BAT regularly that buys and resells z cars. He has recently begun assigning numbers to the cars he sells. The most recent, he calls "guilded series 001" that he claims sold for 6 figures. I don't understand what people see in his work that would warrant such silliness. I could see this car fetching top dollar due to its low miles and originality. I can MAYBE also see the Franklin Mint car selling for top dollar for it past history. But I cant understand why anyone would pay 6 figures for a modified car. Thoughts anyone???

Mine didn't have them either. VIN 5200 or so. There wasn't any residue to indicate they were ever there. So I assume they never existed?

I have a 6/70 that is a '71. Yes I saw those hub caps right away too. :) The first thing I would do if I owned that car is pull those seats and sit them on a shelf. If indeed that is the original poor quality upholstery, they will begin to tear within the next 500 miles. That would sicken me on an original low mile car.

I am very curious about this problem. I had a very similar issue with a '73 as a teenager. I never could get it resolved. '73 had nasty carbs but the symptoms appear the same. As a kid back in '79, the car would run great and idle great until it got hot. Then every time I turned a corner or clutched it to slow down for a stop light, that car would die unless I would tap the gas pedal while clutching it. I remember getting the engine hot one day and I connected long fuel line to the supply and return on the fuel rail. Then I placed both hoses in a clear jar of gas. The car would not suck gas. Then eventually it would. I concluded it was the fuel pump so I replaced that. It had no effect. I got the '73 carbs overhauled by an "expert" at the Datsun dealer. No effect. The car really wasn't very old at the time. Rather than overhauling the carbs, I suggested they swap the carbs from a '72. They looked me like I had 3 heads.

I hoped that was the case but there is no adjustment to the front of fender. This is the right front. Either it is bolted to the subframe or it isn't. Also, the long horizontal stamping just above it prevents the fender from moving up and down. (Ignore the hood height in this pic. It isn't closed or latched. btw).

I can appreciate everyone's point that the hinges may be worn. The reason I am skeptical in my case and possibly BoldU's case is that the hood closed properly before it was removed. I would think if the hinges are worn, it would not have closed previously. Anyone disagree?

To recap, I have a 5/71. Even though it is not a series 1 car, it came the series 1 center console (your second picture above). I must confess I installed the later style console (your first pic) temporarily because I have the later style transmission which slightly relocated the shift lever. Installing the later console was an easy fix. Your car may have had the same changes. Your car should have the series 1 console, series 1 radio and series 1 transmission even though you have the vents in the c pillars and not the deck lid. I think Sept '71 was the cutoff (?). Regarding the second switch installed in the blank, I bought an early series 1 that had the same switch. Someone installed an aftermarket radio and they installed that switch and connected the power antenna to it.

Thanks for the help. I believe you are probably right.

You may not be able to see it in my photos but on the inside of the front cover where the gasket was, there is a rainbow effect as if it is plating rather than paint. It is at about the 4:00 position in my second photo. The outside looks more like paint but mine is in terrible condition. So it is difficult for me to tell for sure.

The exact same symptoms and results I experienced.

Thanks everyone. That was helpful. The front, including the disk inside was plated olive green. So was the nut in the center. The screws were probably also plated olive green. The back and the base were clear.

Sometimes I wonder if sellers look at early Z cars and think that somehow that price also applies to their car. In other words, maybe they saw a low vin 240z and think the 280 will bring the same money. This is especially true of the ZX folks. I'm not really a low vin chaser but if that were a low vin car, it would be worth much more than it is. Although no where near their asking price but certainly closer. That is sheer fantasy. You can find dry 280z all day long. That one was pulled out of a lake.

I experienced the same problem. My hood lined up perfectly until it was removed and reinstalled. So I doubt in my case there are any problems with the hinges. Here is how I was able to change mine from "sloppy" to "not bad". Loosen the hinges. With both hands and on each side, press on the hood. Be careful to only do this directly over the hinges where the hinge brackets are welded. You are dealing with thin sheet metal. Then while you are pressing, ask someone else tighten the hinge bolts. Don't be afraid to allow the hood to go lower than the fenders. After it is tightened up, it will still come up a little. Another tip: Both me and my attendant had a bud lite before starting this. It gave us both a little more patience than we normally would have. :)

Hi, I am in the process of restoring a 6/70 car. I am curious if anyone remembers what color the factory horns were. The car was factory white but it was rattle canned white later in life. That is why the overspray in the first pic. It looks to me as if it was painted black at the same time as the radiator support. But when I tore it apart, the insides looked like an olive color zinc plating of some kind. See the second photo at about the 4 o'clock position behind the gasket. Any ideas? Thanks

And one guy said there were engine problems because of the popping sound in the driving video. If you didn't know any better that could have easily scared someone off. I think someone even tried to tell him it was the smog pump but he wouldn't listen. I think BAT has gone from an auction site to entertainment. But it is entertainment. :)

I have grown tired of that myself. Plus they are all "experts". There is one guy that posts comments. Then compares the car for sale against the cars he has for sale. Presumably, he is trying to run interception and attract potential buyers to his cars at the expense of the auction. Still I cant help but visit every day over my lunch hour.

When I was a teenager, I owned a problematic '73 which I eventually sold after a couple of years. An old lady to me, about 28 years old had a '72 for sale which I test drove. I easily hit 70 mph in 2nd gear without redlining and keeping it at highway speeds was a challenge. I told her "no thank you, the car was too fast for me". She snickered and said it was good for 155mph. The previous owner raced it. I've owned the POS '73, then later a good running '72 and now a low mile '71. That '72 that I test drove in high school was by far the fastest car I have ever driven. I wish now I bought it and parked it.

Several months ago, I ran across cardboard (?) caps that fit over the rear strut towers. They fit under the diamond vinyl. The intent was to form a flat surface for the diamond vinyl to lay on. They came that way from the factory. I have an earlier car that didn't come with those but I was positive that I saw them at a zcar parts store somewhere. I am sure I saw them but I cannot find them anywhere. Does anyone know where they can be bought? I would like to avoid trying to make something. I suspect the vinyl install wont look good when I am finished based on how I have seen the other results. So the less variables I can introduce, the better I should be. Thanks Gary

Barf. Someone should report this post to the moderator. :)

I feel as if I have seen that car before. Are you in the Midwest?