new owner.....#387

[texas]

Hello all,

Just bought a 70 240 #387.

I know some of you on this board have seen the car on ebay several times. I was able to drive up to Dallas from Houston and get a good look at it, made the guy an offer and he accepted.

I've been wanting a 240 since I was 14 years old.......so now that I finally have the resources and time, I have the car!

The car looks and runs great. The speedometer/odometer was replaced at around 92000 miles so the engine has roughly 108,000 on it. Rust doesnt seem to be too much of an issue. The body is solid and has been well taken care of. I know alot of work has been done so Im looking forward to getting the car into someone who knows more than me to let me know what they think.

I was initially told the car was brought to Texas from Arizona (which was great) but searching through the previous sales receipts and titles I was disappointed to find out the car was originally titled in Michigan. It looks like it was bought in MI, but only driven 25000 miles over nineteen years. In 1989 it was moved to Arizona and then somewhere in the mid 90's was moved to Texas.

My plans are to restore the car to its original glory. The color (looks like OU red) has got to go. The original color was white, but Ive always loved the blue on the 240. I know that will be a major undertaking, but its something I really want to do.

The dash/console/steering wheel will be some of my first projects. Selling the current wheels is also at the top of my list.

That should keep me busy for a little while.

Its raining right now, but Ill get some pictures up by the end of the week.

couple of quick questions:

How do you know what month your vehicle was built in?

Are there any good Houston area Z restoration shops?

[sblake01]

First of all, welcome! As I recall, much had been changed on that car. Steering wheel, carpet, wheels, stereo, mirrors, and it had a front air dam, louvres, etc. and the color was not original. To 'restore the car to its original glory' as you say, would be a rather costly undertaking but probably what #387 would deserve. I bought one of the first Zs sold in my area back when they were new and mine was #488 (long gone but one of the reasons I stll love these cars). I'm not really that much into originality but if I had a low number car, I'd consider it. The date of manufacture is on the driver's side door jamb tag or at least it is on my 78.

[hls30.com]

Welcome! Congrats! post more pics!!!! Don't forget our classifieds area when it comes to getting parts, and dispensing with spares!

Will

[sblake01]

Thanks Will for merging the threads. I notice in the PO's pictures that the door jamb tag is missing.

[BRE-240Z]

Are there other photos? The only one I can see is the one that is in Stephen's post.

[sblake01]

These are from the pervious owner:

http://mcantu.fotki.com/misc_hosting_pics/ds-240/

[ggarrard]

From Carl Beck's ZHome site (www.zhome.com) he writes....

The Beginning...Oct. 1969.:

The first 534 Regular Production DATSUN 240Z's produced were built in Oct., Nov. and Dec. of 1969. These were all HLS30 series (Left Hand Drive) cars, with the possible exception of HS30 00003. Because of the need for a redesigned crankshaft, production of the DATSUN 240-Z's was slowed greatly in Dec. of 1969 with only 97 produced during that month.

Carl's information also indicates that the 500 series numbers were produced 11/69, so process of elimination would suggest #387 was build 10/69, but without the door jamb plate it would be difficult to be certain.

Good luck

GWGarrard

[Carl Beck]

I had Bob Smith in Golden, Co. as owning the car. He reported that it was originally white with a black interior, but had it painted Deep Red. At the time he reported the production date as 11/69. That would line up pretty well with the original engine serial number of L24-02746 as well.

Carl B.

[ggarrard]

Carl - Thanks for straightening me out...

GWGarrard

[beandip]

Hello all,

Just bought a 70 240 #387.

The car looks and runs great.

My plans are to restore the car to its original glory. The color (looks like OU red) has got to go. The original color was white, but Ive always loved the blue on the 240. I know that will be a major undertaking, but its something I really want to do.

The dash/console/steering wheel will be some of my first projects. Selling the current wheels is also at the top of my list.

First of all congrats on the Z , she really looks like a great car. After looking at most of the pictures that sblake01 posted, over 100 , she looks solid . With the small amount of rust coming though the paint on the door, repaired she is going to be a great car. Depending on your intentions for the Z. Just cleaning up on the engine Bay and treating some surface rust and doing some detailing you will have a great driver. If your intentions are to do a Restoration ... You will have a lot of good parts to sell. Removing the engine and running gear and putting her on a rotisserie and all is a vary costly thing even if you are doing most of the work your self. The sheet metal looks great as long as you don't find problems when you prep for paint. Your car is looks 90% better than mine did when I started. My Z is a 10 foot driver. Is this engine the original block? To do a complete color change to blue alone will be a big job , to do it right. But over all well worth it in my view. But I am a nut when it comes to having the engine bay the same color as the rest of the car and previous color paint showing around the window rubber. You have a great Z. Enjoy the ride a little before you start tearing into her. It will be a long time before you are driving her again. It was over 3 years for me. I agree on the wheels, especially with the red. With Blue or White they would look good. In my view. Gary

[texas]

thanks for the welcome. Ive already found a ton of useful information on this forum and know that Ill spend countless hours searching and learning.

Carl,

Thats interesting about Colorado. I bought the car from Bob Smith's son. The only titles I have indicate Bob Smith bought the car from Mark/Denise Salcido of Pheonix Arizona in 1990. I guess there was a short stay in Colorado before he came to Texas. I know that Bob is the one who did almost all of the "restoration" replacing the dash, wheels, carpeting, along with the paint.

Like I said earlier, my dream would be to do a complete restore over the next 3-5 years. It really depends on how much local support/help I can get. If I'm going to do it, I want to do it right. In the meantime, I will start working on some basic things.

I learned of a Z place in Houston called Awesome Z owned by Doug Bakke. Anyone know of this place?

[lonetreesteve]

Hello all,

Just bought a 70 240 #387.

I know some of you on this board have seen the car on ebay several times. I was able to drive up to Dallas from Houston and get a good look at it, made the guy an offer and he accepted.

I've been wanting a 240 since I was 14 years old.......so now that I finally have the resources and time, I have the car!

Welcome and congratulations on buying a '69 production 240Z!

Sounds like you have already read a couple of the threads about your car. Check out the #2 post by Zbane in the thread below that has a link to some pics of your car:

http://classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28077&highlight=387