DougN

Phil, I have a colleage at work looking for a '68 Roadster. If you're interesting in selling yours, send me a PM or an email (doug240Z*at*charter*dot*net) with the details, asking price and some photos and I'd be glad to forward it on to him!

I think you are correct about it being on eBay a while back. From the description, it sounds like the current owner bought it on eBay and now wants to sell it. Car looks pretty solid from the few photos provided. To get the BIN $$$ the seller is asking, I would like to see more detailed photos and verify in person if possible.

From what I can see, some early cars (maybe up to early 72) have a wider upper lip on the center valance piece, compared to late 72 and 73 cars. Anyone else notice this?

Carl, If I recall correctly, didn't you sell/trade your Porsche to get your first 240Z? :classic:

My '73 (126840) is a 10/72 build, and has the green hazard switch.

I too know the seller, I would agree with Will and Chris that he is a stand up, good, guy. He is definately extremely knowledgeable about Z's and I would trust his representation of the car. He is a guy that I would buy a car site-unseen from without reservation.

Good call, congrats on your new additions to your Z family!

Sure, if you have a Yellow Zed, you can be in the Yellow Z-Car Club :classic:

They look ok, but I need to paint my doors this spring as I am going to put different mirrors on the car (the guy that put these on put them waaay forward since they suck to see anything out of). While I am going to have a set of the standard inspection door covers painted at the same time. I have the standard ones on the Lime Z, and just prefer the look of them to these :classic: If I ever want to go back to these, I'll still have them in the parts pile!

Here ya go! I am actually going to take these off this spring and replace them with standard ones...

With the new feedback system supposedly going in effect on Feb 20th, feedback should get more accurate. Sellers will have the option of leaving a buyer positive or no feedback, they will not be able to leave negative feedback (however, there is nothing to stop them from leaving negative feedback with a positive indicator). Buyers will now be able to leave accurate feedback without fear of negative retaliation from the seller. eBay claims they will also start tossing sellers who get consistant ratings of 1 or 2 on the star scale rating sellers can leave. They also say that those who do not get top marks will be "less visible" on the site. Overall, sounds like they are trying to address some of the issues and make feedback more meaningful. In the long run, good sellers like Arne should rise to the top of the pile, and get more bids because of it. However, as you can imagine, those who aren't the best sellers are very unhappy about these changes!

Question -- the ad states original keys, and the photo shows 3 round head keys. Are these correct - did the 280's have the square head keys originally? Or were the square head keys only on replacement keys? I don't know where I came to that conclusion, but am curious nonetheless!

Hey Bob! Not a big fan of the Libres, they look to small to me. If it were me, I'd go with the slots on the Green Z (like Randy's automatic), and stick with the caps on the Red Z :classic:

With 71 degrees, why weren't you driving the TR-6 Randy? :classic: I drove Lime Z in the AM and then took "The B" out for a spin with the Mrs. in the afternoon. Yellow Z is at the Dr. at the moment, or I would of took it out too! Being orginally from Minnesota, I had enough cold weather growing up there to last a lifetime! Can't beat the warm weather down here in the South!! Nice new avatar photo Randy!

Actually, now that you mention it, that does look like Carl in the last photo of the car :classic:

Another vote for Hagerty! Good prices, excellent customer service and no issues or mileage limitiations on "pleasure driving"...

Of interest to me is the position that some feel that anyone who pays to have their car worked on is going to claim credit for the completed project. I can assure you that not everyone who pays for a restoration is going to claim "they" did it. There is a guy that lives near here that has many beautifully restored Z cars. He never claims to have restored them, however, he can, and does, take credit for keeping them detailed and hunting down missing parts, etc for them. He gives full credit to his mechanic for the work that he has done to the cars. I also support my local Z-car mechanic. I do work that I can, and pay to have the rest done. Anyone who knows me can attest that I have never claimed credit for any work I did not do myself. However, even if I pay my mechanic to do some work on the car, there are still a lot of thing I do as well, such as troubleshooting to determine what needs to be done, creating a "punch list" to make sure it is all done as I want it to be; hunting down, sourcing and securing parts for the cars; following up to make sure the work was done correctly; spending hours researching to determine the original configuration, placement, style, color, etc of some part or work. So while I may not turn the actual wrench, I do have significant involvment in where the wrench is to be turned and why. Like many "checkbook restorers", I am very actively involved in all aspects of retoration and maintenance of my cars. I agree there is satsifaction to doing work yourself as well, and even more with friends. One of my fondest memories of my Lime Z is when the battery bracket bolt (that goes to the firewall) sheered off on the way to a meeting with a few Z enthusiast friends. We spent several hours that night in the driveway of a friends house with a screwdriver, chisel, hammer and old electric drill trying to get the bolt out to replace it (Remember that night Carl :classic:). However, there is a different satisfaction in getting the car back from the mechanic and enjoying the results of the work done -- kind of like when you get a new car and drive it for the first time. So the point of my long rambling is this -- to me, there is a place for those that do all their work themselves alongside those who pay others to have work done. Yes, there may be a few jerks that try to claim they did work they did not do. However, those people would be jerks regardless of whether they did the work themselves or payed for it, not because they paid someone else to do work on their car. In the end, regardless of how it got there, I think we can all agree that there is significant pleasure in driving a well restored and maintained classic Z :classic:

Where can I get SEM paint? Do any of the major auto supplier chains (AutoZone, PepBoys, etc) carry it?

Welcome Jason, I see you made it over from Jalopnik! :classic: I may be wrong, but it appears your car may be a '71 model. The only thing the VIN really tells you is that it is a US 240Z, 15369th car produced. The door jab plate tells you when the car was produced, and there is a plate on the passenger side engine bay that tells you the engine number as well. I'll let others more knowledgeable chime in to confirm or deny if your car is a '71.

Unfortunately, you've put too many variables to give any reasonable chance of an accurate estimate. You best bet is to take your car to a few specialists in your area to see what they would charge for what you want done. What is considered a "good restoration" by one, is likely different for another. For my personal standards, a "good" full restoration will cost $20K+ depending on the condition of the car I would be starting with. For me, to do the same car to a "good" driver restoration will cost $10K+. Both assume that I would be farming out at least 95% of the work.

This site has a classified section that you can post it in for sale. As for the price, of course that is up to you. You can search eBay for completed sales for a 280ZX to get a feel for what cars are and are not selling for. Of course, you'll need to compare the condiditon of your car to the cars that sold and adjust accordingly.

I have some period ads for both the Z and MGB which are framed (and usually hanging on the wall) that I'll take along and display with the cars for local shows. I also have a framed copy of a magazine article done on one of the Z's I sometimes display as well. Most people I talk to say they really like seeing (and reading) the ads, as it adds some additional nostalgia to the car. :classic:

Saw this car last night in person, what a beauty! Car is every bit as nice as described in the ad. Definately a unique car with only 1400 miles!

Too funny Arne! :classic:

Interesting "spook" on the car in the photo. Do you have any other photos of it from the front? Anyone know where it came from?