Arne

I agree with both Steve and Carl above. If you are looking for a nice early 240Z, this is the kind of car to buy. Yes, it could be restored to new (or better than new) condition fairly easily. And for that type of project, starting with one like this is absolutely the way to go. Because you already have it all, it just needs cleaned and refurbished. On the other hand, I really like Steve's post too. That car is already original, and will never be that way again. Buy it, garage it, and drive it. Maybe have the few exterior flaws professionally repaired, and there you go. Some of you may remember that I already made this same decision about a year ago. I was a year into a rolling refurb on my yellow Series 1 when I came across my red 240Z. Mine is not a Series 1, had 60k miles instead of 40k, and the paint is/was not as nice. But I made the decision to buy mine based on the fact that there was no way to make my yellow car as nice as the red car already was for anywhere close to the cost of buying the red car. And the car in that auction is even nicer in some ways than mine. Definitely better paint, and it doesn't have the sunroof that mine has. Mine is cleaner and nicer under the hood though, and that's harder to make right than the body is. At this age the difference between 40k and 60k documented original miles is insignificant. If I didn't have my red car yet, and knowing what I now know, I'd be seriously tempted by this car despite the fact it's on the far side of the continent. I'd buy it, maybe fix the paint and bumper, replace the carpet and enjoy it. Somebody should jump on this one.

Call Joe or Jordan at Lithia Nissan Parts in Eugene at 541-686-2211, tell 'em you're with the 240Z club. That's only 40 miles down the freeway from you, so no shipping costs.

Jim ordered them from his local Nissan dealer.

I'm sure there's a story here that you're not sharing...

Gary, I bought my first module from the guy in the link above. He rebuilds lots of other Z electricals, but the modules he simply cleans and tests. It came to me very clean...

When I did the transmission and engine swap from the parts car into my yellow car, I moved the one clip from the parts car into the yellow car. Oddly, my red car (with only 60k miles) had two of those clips, one on each of the two top bellhousing to engine bolts. One sure seems to be sufficient, though.

Using the forum's built-in search function is Faster than posting your question in a new thread, as you get to read the old replies immediately and don't have to wait for new answers. So being in a hurry is no excuse...

You may not like my thoughts, but here they are. 1.) If it is truly non-rusty, I can't see any reason why a straight and mostly unmolested Z of any year isn't worth at least $3250. Price out having rust repair done - I have recently and it's not pretty. 2.) Your interest is to flip it? That intent - by definition - means you think it has more value than the price you can buy it for. So if the guy won't budge, there you go. Maybe it's not the car for someone who's just trying to make a few bucks. But it sounds like it might be a great car for someone who wants a Z to drive.

PM sent.

Good to see that mine aren't the only red-spattered gearboxes here. I hadn't put any thought into the lower splotch being 'L' shaped, but that seems to be consistent so far. Don't know what that means, though. Another thought on the larger spot on the bell housing - I wonder if (since it is so visible from under the hood) some owners might have removed that one at some point in the past? Seems a bit unlikely that my two gearboxes have both red marks (or their remnants) but no one else's has the bell housing mark? I'd sure be interested in hearing from other Type A tranny owners on this. But if the lower 'L' mark is the common one, it'll almost need to be Type A owners whose transmissions are out of the car...

Cats for me (us). While Deanna and I have had as many as 5 at once in the past, we decided a few years back that the number of cats should be the same as the number of available human laps to sit on at night. So for the past several years we're at two cats while our son was off to college. (The son has returned, we hope only temporarily, so no cat for him.) The small (9 lb.) black and white cat is Patches (named for obvious reasons), who has selected my wife's lap as hers. She is pictured below perched on top of the drapery where she's not supposed to be, but she has the gift of levitation and can attain such lofty positions totally effortlessly. She also must have a Romulan cloaking device as she can sneak into and out of rooms and through doors without anyone noticing even if we're trying to pay attention. The much larger (15 lb.) gray cat is Tuvok, named so because as a kitten he seemed aloof and emotionless - a typical Vulcan, we thought. (Plus we just thought it was a cool name for a cat.) Turns out we were wrong, and he is the most laid-back, easy-going cat we have ever shared our house with. In the first picture below he is pretending to be Lord-of-all-he-surveys. In the second he reveals an oddity - he is a cat of good taste. He loves to hang out in the presence of Datsun parts, especially wiring. Here he is sleeping next to the dash out of the yellow 240Z in the spare bedroom. Despite all the obvious differences, the two are litter mates. Go figure.

They might make Stephen happy at first glance, since they ARE the style that Darb is after. But they are also the wrong bolt pattern and won't fit a Z. Unlike the early four-lug Mustangs and Falcons which used the same 4-4.5" pattern as our Zs, the later Pinto/Mustang II cars used a 4-4.25" pattern instead.Closer, but still no cigar!

Where in Oregon do you live, Dustin? There's lots of us Z owners here, but most of us are older than our cars.

The '71s came with two different styles, depending on when they were built. Most had a plastic tank, the very latest '71s had a metal tank. The tanks are interchangeable but the plastic trim panels that cover them are not. As it happens, I have a spare plastic vapor tank, should that be the style you need. Send me a PM about it. Replacement vent hoses are still available from the dealer. Check this tech article I wrote a few months back for details: http://classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25857

More details might help too, like what year and model Z you are working on?

My Nissan dealer gives a club discount, his prices are always less than eBay, MSA, and even (just barely) Courtesy and Nissanparts.cc. Never any shipping charges either. So give your dealer a shot. Don't be afraid to ask for Z club discounts.

1.) No. 2.) Maybe, if you can find a self-locking nut in this size, but it also needs to be fairly low profile, so probably not. 3.) 43262-21000 for 240/260/280Z. The 280ZX nut does not require staking down (normal self-locking) and is 43262-W1200

Dunno. I talked to them a few weeks back about smaller than 2.5" and they recommended I find a local muffler shop. Looks to me like the system for stock manifolds is the same as yours, with the addition of a downpipe. But it looks good, I may yet try it on the yellow car, if I find a stock manifold for it.

I certainly understand the desire for the increased creature comforts of the 280Z. I also understand the preference for the small 240Z bumpers. But I don't really like the idea of buying a 280Z and then trashing its bumpers to make it look like a 240Z. If the big bumpers bother you that much, either buy a 240Z or perhaps try to find a late '70s 260Z in Europe. Just my opinion, but why buy something you don't want?

I like the look of the new flanged system. I just wish they offered it in a smaller diameter as well. The 2.5" is a bit much for an L24, IMO. But if they made it in say, 2.0" or 2.25", with a round DynoMax 17-741 instead of the oval muffler, I'd be really interested.

The aftermarket wheels look to be a composite wheel - a cast aluminum center welded to a chrome-plated steel rim. That type of wheel is typically heavy, and can be prone to vibration problems. Probably 14x6 from the looks of them. I'd probably try to sell them for $100 or so, as a guess. The factory alloys are (to me) far more desirable. With caps and their special lug nuts they are worth far more than the others. Probably $250-300 as is, more if they are nicely polished. But if they are the ones the car came with, I'd keep them.

Not too impressed with most of his parts, and check out the shipping costs?

I've had the transmissions out of both my cars recently (more than once actually, really long story), and noticed something new to me. Big splotches of red paint. Both transmissions are Type A 4 speeds. The clean one is out of my low mileage red car (7/71). The grubby one has been (and soon will be again) in my yellow Series 1, but originally came from a 4/71 parts car. The big spot of red on the left top of the bellhousing was visible from under the hood. With the transmission out on the floor, I could see the similar sloppy paint splotch on the top right of the gear case. Interesting, but not notable -- until I looked closely at the other transmission. Because while the other transmission is dirty and corroded, it still has some red paint visible, in much the same spots. While the red paint is similar in color to the red car, the parts car was originally blue. So I figure that the red paint may be some sort of inspectors' mark. So should a properly "restored" '70-71 240Z have sloppy red paint applied to the transmission?

Front spoiler or air dam will help, too.

So Frank, I'm guessing your car must be a fairly low VIN, am I correct?