orangecounty240z

wow read through that, years worth of work in a few hours. Looks like you haven't worked on it in a year?

It's actually running great, the problem is I'd have to buy it from them and don't have the cash. It's really up to them whether to sell it to me, or on the open market, we haven't had that discussion yet. I'm actually shocked my dad even considered selling it, I assumed he'd keep it for life.

OK thanks everyone, I'm thinking about whether and how to get/keep this car. It's a beauty to me for sure and a family heirloom. Just don't know if I can justify keeping a car I'd be afraid to actually drive. Even if it's only worth $35k I don't have the cash handy to buy it right now. Wow a ten year project! That's incredible. I guess I can see that happening to me - I start trying to just fix the outside problems but when I take things apart I find other problems, or I break something and it takes a year to find a the right vintage part, and then find out that that part requires another part that takes another year to find, etc. Would love to hear your story, or can I find that by searching your previous posts?

Bummer. Thanks for the advice, I guess I was just wishing I could do a high quality external-only restore and undo all the damage I did to it as a kid. Then it would still be all original interior (except driver seat cover) and mechanically and look nice on the outside and so be worth close to what it would if I hadn't done that.

Thanks. Yes and that 95 is speculative, depending on if anyone really wants it, it could end up being 50 for all anyone knows. Hm. Ok, I'm a novice in this area, and working on cars in general. I am physically fit and mechanically inclined, I'm usually able to figure out how things work. If I had space to work on it indefinitely, would someone with this background be able to disassemble the car to get it prepped for paint, and assuming I take copious notes and pics and bag and label everything, put it back together after? My dad MAY pitch in once in a while for things that need two people. How much space is needed? i'm guessing at least a two car garage, one place for the car and another for the parts but that could be too small?

Hm. That's good to know. So it's impossible to get a good paint job without removing the glass? Yeah, $60k is exactly the quote I got! 😄 For a full nut and bolt restoration. I just don't like the idea of doing that since in my opinion it's mechanically in good shape and cosmetically only really has problems on the outside surfaces.

Thanks for your help everyone, here are the new pics I was able to get. I didn't know the driver seat had damage, I've never seen it without a cover on. I talked it over with my dad and I don't think he's willing to do any work on it. He did remember how to work the radio and it works. I'm willing to handle this for him and my current thought is to do external work + repaint hood completely + fix driver's seat. The rest of the interior looks good to my novice eyes other than fading in the carpet (rubber mats were laid on top of the carpet mats in the footwells leaving outlines; the hatch carpet is badly faded except for lines where the straps were). The engine runs great according to him and has never had work besides the usual carb tuning, oil changes, hose replacements, etc. so I'd rather not take it out. There are lots of original parts I don't think will survive a remove and reinstallation such as hoses, clamps, etc. The dash has never been out and I'm not able to do so, so the tach and clock and heater (probably, unless it can be fixed in the engine bay) will remain non working. Exterior work: flatten out the door dents. Remove all surface rust. Repaint leaving glass in - all the original rubber looks in good shape but I don't think will survive a glass out repaint; even the windshield has never been out. Try to remove oxidation on the chrome, if not possible, get the bumpers rechromed - other chrome parts aren't really oxidized just not bright and shiny. Do you think this is a good plan or a bad idea and should go for a full restore, which I've gotten quoted at $60k? That restorer was kind enough to say it probably isn't worth it; the car currently is worth under $40k in his opinion and after restore I'd have to be very lucky to get near $100k.

Thanks, what does ROM mean retail open market? So it'll only sell for around $30000? I wish I'd done more research before telling my parents it was worth a lot, looks like I got them excited over nothing 😕

Thanks, I'll start looking. Where does one find a set for sale, craigslist and ebay? Or are there specialty sites for these?

OK thanks I'll see what he thinks.

😀 thanks! I will watch that. He is kind of a hoarder so I'm sure he kept some original paperwork. I went into his office the other day and he still has manuals for DOS 2.0 and Windows 3.1 haha. But finding it all and getting it organized will take a while.

interesting, thanks! That's a lot lower than I would have expected, I thought all original 1970 models were going for much more than that. Yes I agree, the issues it has right now will probably deter the high bidders. I need advice on how/what to fix. But if it's only worth around $40k right now I am betting my dad will just want to keep it, I got him interested in selling by telling him about the ones I saw selling for over $100. Thanks!

small garage, big 80s car and a hyper kid who threw his door open no matter how many times he was told to be careful 😓 Yeah a broker who reviewed thinks it's only worth 50k in current condition. I'm now thinking it needs a repaint? External panels and hood only? Except that would leave the hatch area with cracked paint. I need to research the paint and dent removal cost, I don't think any areas will need metal work just clean the rust off the surface. But if that ends up being like $25k and after the work it'll sell for $100k then I think it makes sense to do.

Hood has rock chips and scratches outside, big area of oxidized paint inside, wear points where it touches the engine bay that have worn off the paint and surface rust, and the peeling problem.

Here are some pics. Door is the worst panel. All four fenders look like this, some areas with the paint worn off and surface rust.

No pics yet, can take them if you want to see how bad the paint is or anything else. I know we will need pro photos, any recommendations for a studio in LA area would be appreciated! Serial is HLS30-05858. Date of 6/70.

Hi! To my surprise, my dad has decided to sell his baby, a series 1 240z. I know the value of these is pretty high and need your advice on how to sell it. He is the only owner, and it has under 90k miles, which he has documentation for. It is all original except: radiator (oem replacement), brake pads, oil filter, headlights (generic), spark plug wires and plugs (generic), distributor rotor and points (generic), engine hoses (oem replacement), some hose clamps (non oem replacements), aftermarket shocks and struts, wheels (mom bought him a set of mags for Christmas 1970 - he kept the covers but not the steel wheels), tires, hatch strut, battery, and antenna (oem replacement). He says he may have changed the pedal pads but can't remember. It runs great. All original rubber trim still looks good. Known flaws: rear bumper was rechromed around 1980 due to a ding, radio (AM only) does not work, exhaust is rusty, tachometer does not work, heater does not work, antenna does not extend, several door dings (some of which show surface rust) and a few shallow door dents from parking, paint is peeling a bit on the inside of the hood (about 7 square inches of metal are exposed, no rust yet), a few spots of surface rust. Inside of the hood, where the fan is, has 2 square feet of surface rust looking paint - not sure what's going on there, but dad thinks the fan splashed water there when it was wet. Paint is all original but oxidized and faded. The chrome bits show some surface oxidation, not pitted and I think can be polished out. Clock doesn’t work. The spare well is perfect, but the flat area under the hatch carpet has cracked paint - don’t see rust there either. I have done extensive reading on this and other forums. I checked all the common rust spots and they're great. I have not yet gotten it on a lift to check the underside but what I can see looks fine, including inside the wheel wells. Questions: 1. where should we sell it? Bring a trailer, conventional auctions, private/forum sale? 2. what should we fix? I can try to find a set of 1970 wheels, and mount those instead of the mags (the mags don’t even have any curb rash but the center caps are rusty). I can try to find original wires and plugs, headlights, etc. The dash has never been out, so he didn’t replace the tach; we don’t think we have the skill to do so without damaging something. I can have the dents pushed out, and the rust spots cleaned and put on touch up paint (impossible to match maybe?). I will definitely have it deep detailed to restore the luster of the paint. Or should I do it myself? Been reading about it, the paint is so thin I am worried about a detailer using the wrong products on it and damaging it. I’m happy to put in the time to waterless wash and buff it by hand. 3. any recommendations on detailers in SoCal? We're in Orange County but can drive/trailer it anywhere from LA to SD. 4. If you think we should have the non OEM parts and broken parts and paint problems professionally replaced, which shops do you recommend? I’m willing to pay to ship it somewhere if the right shop is not in the LA area. Thanks for any advice!