Thinking about buying a Z

[sxracerb25]

Hey guys, I love old Z's and I've always wanted to restore one/build one up but my DD which is a V6 firebird is starting to go out and I was wondering how many of you daily drive an old Z and how reliable one would be. I was looking and locally I found this one which I thought seemed to be a good deal for the mileage. Let me know what you guys think and if I was going to get one I'd like to stay from 70-78.

http://kansascity.craigslist.org/cto/2104516453.html

[ajmcforester]

Rust is bad they are reliable once you workout bugs that old car get

[d240zx2]

Hi, David.

There's a poster on this forum, Bonzi Lon, who lives in Kansas (has a real nice Z, too). Not sure where. Maybe you two could tie-up and go see the car.

[Bonzi Lon]

I'm 1/2 hour from sx, then another 3 1/2 to the car in question. This one is in Hutch, posted last month, but still up. http://wichita.craigslist.org/bar/2137268154.html

It must be understood I know nothing about EFI or wiring. I prefer the old school 240's. Shoot, I still run points & wheel covers! Lear 8-track if I could find one.

Bonzi Lon

[sxracerb25]

Appreciate the responses. I still have a while to shop around too so I'm not in a hurry. I'm just mainly wondering if its very practical to daily drive an s30 and what to look for. My main concern is their age obviously. I've worked on cars quite a bit but all newer. I have a 90 240sx that I swapped an rb25 in and a 2000 trans am that I put a 6.0L into. I'm sure I could learn about carbs and stuff just concerned about trying to learn while its my daily. From the little research I've done so far, rust seems to be the key issue with these. I haven't done much rust repair so I'm not sure about that but any advice would be appreciated

[steve91tt]

I daily drive my 240z. Great little car for commuting. The only time i leave the z in the garage is for longer trips or if i have more than 1 passenger. My last project was a 91 turbo 300zx. Compared to that These cars are a dream to work on and parts are super cheap. Sounds like you have more than enough mechanical skill to work on these simple little cars.

Good luck with the search!

[sxracerb25]

That is reassuring. I did some work on Z32's but the 2 that I had were too far gone to be restored and I ended up selling them. The majority of my car repairs have been on the S13. I've been working on it for over 5 years now. Main hold up is money so it's sitting for right now. I think the rust will be my main concern though. These motors look incredibly simple to work on compared to my 3.4L Firebird. Having to pull the intake manifold off to pull off either valve cover has never made sense to me...

[ajmcforester]

Your looking at car that are 35-40 years old. Are you going to have problems? Yes, the whole car wasn't designed to last this long. I might steer you away if you can't get a ride now and again to work when you need it. Also the first year you have it expect it to brake down they always seem to have something that needs working out when you first get the car. I'd tell you what to look for but just search this site it has been beaten like a dead horse. Look for what you are willing to have, don't get a rusty car because that's all you can find, and expect you might need to fly out to see a car don't trust a picture or their word.

Things that you might like, good on gas my 72 got 43mpg cross country. I find the SU carbs eat a lot of gas starting, so if you do a lot of little stops you might want fuel injection. Easy to work on, especially the early ones, very simple design and well thought out car. Great highway and turning car. I'm 6'4" most cars I'm only good for 200 between brakes, the Z I go tank to tank, over 400miles. Looks good. Strong engine. These car were very reliable for their day, just remember that was 35 years a go.

Neutral things about the car you need to work on it, it is not a90's car, twice a year you need a whole day to tune it up. You will get good at lashing and check valve clearance they need it every year, the point need to be cleaned four times a year if driving it every day, points should be taken off and check twice a year and replace once a year with daily driving. Regulator should be checked every year and adjusted, you need to add lead substitute to the fuel, keep away from hi ethanol fuels or convert all rubber fuel hoses to handle the ethanol. Just be glad it's not methanol that stuff is nasty. Their is more but I want to give you a start on what to expect.

[steve91tt]

Is a lead additive necessary? I've read mixed opinions on this. I don't use one.

[ajmcforester]

If you never had the engine rebuilt it will make parts last longer. If the engine was rebuilt usually you have it converted over will harden aluminum valve seats and guides making it not needed. You don't even need to add it every time you fill up. It just helps the valves on a street car. Racers will talk about chamber temps and proper combustion, but this isn't going to effect enough to notice especially street driving maybe on a drag strip or a long timed race. Wall-Mart sells the stuff it only cost 5-10 and treats 100s of gallons of fuel.

[Zs-ondabrain]

I've Daily Driven my 70' 240Z for over 8 years now. The car has been rebuilt, mostly suspension, some paint and body work, and a bunch of elbo grease into the Bling factor.

If it's not snowing or Icy outside, or am by myself or one other, I'm driving the Z.

With the typical Sport car maintenance, including oil changes every 5K mile, hoses, belts, coolant swap every 30K, air filter cleaning every 6K (K&N's) and all the usual Fluid upkeep and such, like Every car out there, this car has been the most dependable aotu I've ever owned. With 3 trips from Marysville, WA. to Anaheim, CA. (2400 mile round trip) and 6 more trips from here to Canby, OR, (450 mile RT) once a year, all the daily driving, grocery getting, apointments and plain old "Going for a drive" trips, I don't see her giving up the ghost anytime in the near future.

I've also owned 5 Z's in total but still have my first and the 5th is under a full Custom Resto-Mod in the garage. Both Cardomain Links in my Sig. below. There's an argument for every year S30, so I won't say only buy a 240Z or only buy a 280Z. It's totally up to you. Everything you need know, any questions you have, can and will be answered on this site. Just watch for rust, Listen to your Z, it'll tell you what it needs.

Dave

[torker]

Welcome to the site. I live about 30 mi. south in Udall. I wish we could have hooked up a few weeks ago. My son bought a 74 260 1 year ago for 650 dollars and we probably put 2500 or so in it. This included a 5 speed, paint , weatherstrip kit, "ALL" the hoses and a bunch of the susp. rubber. Basically all the rubber on the car needed replaced. Then we painted it ourselves and we just drove it to Sierra Vista Az. on the first. That car starts every time. Although I did wire in a remote start switch because the ign. switch is flaky and it still needs the headlight and turn sig. switch refurbed.

All I can say is they are damn tough little cars and super easy to work on. Check out the Classified link up top. There is a silver 240 in SoCal for 3500 I think that has a lot more money than that in it.

If I had the cash I would find one for myself.