Pete84

The reason why I am reasonably excited about it is because it is a "turd" with apparently good condition body panels and is claimed to have minor rust. Major pain avoided in my book. Plus, it has a a good set of rims, another expense avoided. Most of the items you listed I would have had to replace anyhow to get the level of quality that I am wanting to get from this project, so if my under-the-car inspection is negative on rust it should be a good way for me to spend my free time on what ever day I'm not working.

Thanks for the link to the rust site, I am going to try and set up a time to take a look at the interior of the car and under the hood for rust etc, as it is locked. Will crawl under and see what can be seen, try and get a camera to take some shots. BUT Any price estimates for an engine, clutch, and transmission? I could hit the local pick and pull and get to rebuild it all, but if there is a price "estimate" for what reburbished parts will run or even how much it would cost to rebuild an engine on my own I would be _extremely_ thankful. I want this to be a great deal of fun and learning, not a massive budget burden. BTW I am living in Northern California, just outside of Redding. ~2-2.5 hours north of Sacramento. EDIT I would like to stick to a I6 like there was in the 240/260/280Z just to keep the "flavor" of the car close to what it is, but if a small block V8 etc is cheaper and doesn't ruin the car I would be very much into that. Fuel injection would a big plus if it isn't A) cost inflation to a level so much greater the n/a that it wouldn't be a very good economic-to-perfomance choice and something that I could install myself with a helping hand from my brother. Thanks so much for the advice!!

Thanks for the responses, I have seen some pretty nasty rust on cars up in Oregon so I was pretty aprehensive when I saw the price - it is rare that it is too good to believe I had my "good" clothing on, so I didn't climb under the body. There wasn't any bubbling or the like that I noticed on the paint. I am going to stop by and crawl under it tomorrow, have to take some clothing so that I am not covered in mud at work, but I'll see what all I can get at. Dollar wise, how much might I be looking at? EDIT Since I'll be putting a whole engine / transmision set in, what all could be put in? Fuel injection, as I remember that the 280Z had that[??], 5 speed manual . . . what will work?

I was driving to school today and saw a red 240Z for sale on a parcel off to the side of the road. Once I got out of class I went back and took a closer look. The body is in quite good condition, the paint is not of the hightest quality, but the exterior is otherwise in good condition for its age. Phoned the guy who was selling it, and got a good deal of information from him about the car. -1973 -"Superficial" rust, needs some work, but has not rusted through the floorpans etc. -No engine or transmission -Springs taken out, in the back of the car. Original springs, so even if they were installed I would be getting new ones. -Original rims in the back, but with some attractive aftermaket rims available. -No interior seats, dash has some pretty bad cracks accross it. The owner has already gotten an offer of $350, and so I could probably get it for $400. How much might I expect to pay for the I6 engine, Carb, and transmission? I could pick and pull seats until I have money for better ones, but I don't know what the local yard exactly. How should I look for rust? Climb under the car with a flashlight and look everywhere I can? Pull up the carpet / flooring and see what it looks like? How bad is bad and what can be fixed? Lots of questions, but I don't really want to go to a big effort for nothing. BTW my current car is a '85 Prelude Si with an auto 4 speed. Any comments and information are greatly appreciated, am going to start hunting for parts. Pretty urgent as I would need to raise the full amount. Thanks !!