My first Z

[OutlawDrifter89]

I recently bought a 1971 240Z off of craiglist for $400. It needs rockers, front floorboards and frame rails, but the rest of the car is solid and original. Most of all, the car is all there, down to the original spare tire still holding air. The original dash is even still intact and crack free.Minus the mentioned areas and the typical battery box area, its solid. I'll post pictures once I get a chance to take some, but my plans are for mild resto-mod: wheels, upgrade suspension and brakes, probably a modern V8 swap for reliability sake. I've heard Z owners have a very tight knit community that I hope to become a part of here. Wish me luck on my build, its going to be a labor of love, sweat and busted knuckles.

[d240zx2]

Get your rust fixed first. Second, get your rust fixed. Completely.

We can argue about a V8 vs L2x reliability, but you've got a lot of work to do first....

[OutlawDrifter89]

I know that. Body work is my first priority. I have the original L24 in it with less than 70k on it, but it hasn't been run in over 2 decades (newest registration was 1986), so if it isn't siezed up and can be saved I will keep it as my power plant for the time being. I've done a bit of research on rust repair on these cars, so I'm pretty sure I haven't bitten off more than I can chew. The price was right on the car, so even if I sink over a grand into new sheet metal (doing the work myself and with a friend), I'm still not destroying my budget.

As far as the engine swap goes, that's a maybe. I don't mind keeping the original straight 6 by any means, and I know the swap would annoy some purists. The thing is, I grew up in an old school american car family. My dad has a 79 Z28 Camaro he bought new that still has less than 30k on it, his brother has a restored 57 Bel Air, 57 Chevy street rodded pick up, 69 Camaro convertible and a 38 Chevy 2 door sedan. The friend who's shop I'm using is an old Mopar nut with a 69 Roadrunner and 72 Duster... I love all genres of cars from old school muscle, to fwd imports, stanced out cruisers, drag cars and lowriders. This car when its finished will be an extension of myself, and because of that I want to include elements from all the custom trends that shaped my love of cars. Hardest one I'm trying to figure out how I might incorporate is dirt track stock car racing (ran during the summer when I was in high school).

I live in the midwest, so rust was going to be an issue no matter what kind of car I built. The good news is, my Z is a bit of a barn find, so that damage is less than what it could be.

[psdenno]

Welcome to the group! As you get into your project, you might discover that the stock engine can enable you to accrue attention and tickets almost as well as the V8 you contemplate. Enjoy your '71.

Dennis

[signal34]

I know that. Body work is my first priority. I have the original L24 in it with less than 70k on it, but it hasn't been run in over 2 decades (newest registration was 1986), so if it isn't siezed up and can be saved I will keep it as my power plant for the time being. QUOTE]

You would be amazed at how long these engines can sit around unused and not seize up. I'm betting you will pleasantly suprised that it will turn over.

[OutlawDrifter89]

Thanks for the encouragement. The transmission was out of the car when I bought it, quite literally sitting on the ground next to it. I'm not sure if there's an issue with it as well or if a previous owner started a clutch job and got frustrated. Like I said before, the car is all there. I have some wiring gremlins to address though as someone added some really gaudy fog lights in the late 70s and tried wiring in some bigger house speakers to the stereo...there's a hole melted over one spot in the fuse panel cover and I found several boxes of spare fuses while cleaning out the car .