barn find...1970 Datsun 240z

[upbeatppl]

Hi everyone,

Thank you for looking at this post. Well just a little background about the car...my dad and I we spot this 1st Series when we were working (remodeling the Z neighbor's house) we spot the car but didn't get a chance to take a closer look at the car, just before to complete the project we went over take a peek inside...what do you know(everything is still intact and everything looks original on the car) as we were looking the owner came back from work...we started talking for a while, he said he Wants the car to be Gone...Bingo!! but what do you know he isn't willing to let it go for cheap...at first he wants 2200 but after a long talk and pointed out all the rust (lots of it) he's able to go down to 1800 but at that price is it still too high for the car...i offered him 1k of course i know he's going to resisted the offer so we meet in the middle hahaha not really i told him 1200 and that's all i can offer. after a long though he than accepted the offer. I than told myself am i in a big money pit and worse is i have to part the car out :?

[conedodger]

Excellence Magazine which is of course, a Porsche magazine did an article where they took an abused and rusted beyond belief 356 that was found in some woods and restored it. They proved that with insane effort, you can make a concours car out of a POS. My grandparents generation used to call that making a silk purse out of a sow's ear. I say this because you can fix that car. It might take 'insane' effort though, meaning you will spend much more in money, blood, sweat, tears than you can ever hope to get out of it.

There are some exceptions. Did the car belong to some famous person? Is there documented evidence that this car has very low mileage? Is it one of the first 100 cars made?

A little introspection will tell you if you have the time, money, skills, patience to take on such a project.

If you find you don't, $1000 might be even a bit high...

[psdenno]

Excellence Magazine which is of course, a Porsche magazine did an article where they took an abused and rusted beyond belief 356 that was found in some woods and restored it. They proved that with insane effort, you can make a concours car out of a POS.

A little introspection will tell you if you have the time, money, skills, patience to take on such a project. If you find you don't, $1000 might be even a bit high...

The only difference being a return of 50 cents on the dollar invested in the finished Porsche 356 as opposed to a possible return of 20-30 cents on the dollar for the Z.

If you buy the Z, think of it as challenge or a project, not an addition to your retirement portfolio. Let us know what you do.

Dennis

[pwd]

What's the VIN? If it's early enough, it could help justify the expenditure.

[kjohnson2444]

OK. Maybe a dumb question here... What is the red rocker switch next to the rear defroster switch at the bottom of the center console? My '70 does not have that.

[cozye]

Looks like quite a bit of rust in area's that are easy to see. What about the area's that aren't easy to see? Like frame rails, wheel wells, tc rod mounts etc ?

My 280 has a LOT less rust than that, and I've spent several months already cutting it out and repairing. Just what you are showing I would estimate an easy 300 hours of DIY repair work.

[26th-Z]

I don't know what the red thing rocker switch is in the console. No big deal. Nor do I think the rust pictures are a big deal. The floor picture looks pretty bad, but I have seen much, much worse. Hell. I OWN much, much worse. This whole rust thing is overrated to me. Just fix it.

[Unkle]

If you try and revive it , it may take some effort in the biblical proportion range.

To me , it's already gone through it's first rebirth with the white paint.

It's a ( minimum ) 2 lifer already , and the showing rust is proof !

Good luck !

[conedodger]

I don't know what the red thing rocker switch is in the console. No big deal. Nor do I think the rust pictures are a big deal. The floor picture looks pretty bad, but I have seen much, much worse. Hell. I OWN much, much worse. This whole rust thing is overrated to me. Just fix it.

I agree and that is all true enough unless he is needing to write checks for 300 hours of rust repair.:classic:

[26th-Z]

Oh, you guys... that car needs thousands for all sorts of other things. It's a "barn find"! I just don't see the rust as a deal-breaker for a restoration.

[gogriz91]

If the VIN is an early one it might be worth doing. If you're asking, it's probably out of your price or patience range.

[kjohnson2444]

Upbeatppl... I've been thinking about this car. Like everyone is saying, it will cost more than it is worth to restore it. If you try to make it perfect, you will end up wishing you simply bought a better car. However, yesterday on my way to lunch I passed a 280z on the highway. It was the first time I've seen an S30 car on the road in Columbus, Ohio in many months. This car was a complete basket case. I could not even tell what color it was originally. It had lots of bondo, about 6 different colors of paint on it, and maybe even some undercoating on the outside of the body panels. But... it was purring along magnificently and the guy driving it had a big smile on his face. I slowed as I passed him to give him a thumbs-up, but he never looked over. He was too busy enjoying himself. You can be that guy. Get your 240z running, make sure that it is safe to drive (frame rails repaired, new brakes, tires, etc) then get out there and drive it. Enjoy it. Welcome to the club. You will be hooked.