calZ

I made a deal with the guy for $3500. Picking it up Saturday.

After driving the car, I've rethought the swap part of it. The car was much quicker on the street than I expected, so the engine is probably good for now at least. I guess I wasn't looking for advice on whether it fit my needs or not, since I'm the one that ultimately has to buy the car and do the work. I'm new to Z cars, so as I gain experience with it my plans might change quite a bit. I was just wondering if a car matching that description was fair market value at $4000. Thanks for your help.

Thanks dan. Anyone else have an opinion?

So I'm back. The owner of the original car I was looking at pulled the ad the day before I went to look at it. He told me he was tired of showing it and getting lowballed. I figured that's all I was going to do, so I didn't bother asking him to show it to me. I went to look at a different car today. 1972 240Z with an N42 and a 5-speed out of a 1979 280ZX. I crawled all over underneath the car and checked everything out. Frame rails had a bit of surface rust, but were solid. Had a few kinks from I assume jacks and bottoming out, but were pretty good shape. There is a dent in the hood where he bumped into something at low speed. Could fix or replace the hood. Wheel wells were really good, and I couldn't see any rust on the fenders or doglegs. The paint on it is not great, but I don't think it's recent enough to be hiding any sanded down rust. The one single spot of rust bubbles I found was an area the size of about two quarters next to each other on the lower deck where the hatch seals. I was able to get one thumb on each side of the metal and pushed very hard, but the metal didn't flex. I assume that means it's decent enough to sand off and seal. The engine starts right up when the key is touched. Almost unbelievable how well it ran. However, the transmission whines a bit and the owner admitted that it probably needs to be replaced in the near future. Bit of oil and gear lube on the engine and transmission. Hard to find leak-free 44-year-old cars though I suppose. The throttle is a bit sticky, but that's just a cleaning issue. The brakes are disc front and rear, but I'm not sure whoever put them on did the best job. They're definitely not great. Do 240s tend to have heavier brakes? This was the first one I've driven. The interior is not the best. Dash has a few cracks. Gauges look great. I think they're replacements. It has new carpet, new sound deadening, and the floor was cleaned and coated with POR15 because rust was forming at the firewall. Door cards are decent, but I would probably try to replace them. One bad part is that the Door handles don't work very well, so he installed remote solenoids with the intention of shaving the door handles. The doors popping open are pretty cool, but a dead battery would make things rough. The great thing about the interior is that he has two FIA-rated seats installed, which are ~$750 new. They're both in good shape, and I'm pretty confident I could sell them for $4-500 each to some of the other people in our racing organization. That would cut the cost of the car down a bit. So to recap the long post: Engine: fantastic running 2.8L Transmission: 5-spd swapped, but should be replaced Brakes: disc conversion done, but does not stop very well Body: Very little rust. Seems to be VERY solid and straight other than a tweaked hood Interior: Needs quite a bit of work, but has ~$1k worth of seats to help recoup costs So after reading all that, does this sound like an alright deal at $4000? I would haggle with him a bit if I can, but not banking on a huge discount.

I understood what you meant and appreciate the help. Rather it be assumed I know nothing and get good advice than assume I know everything and end up with a junker. I was just trying to get my point across that I wasn't wandering in the dark. As you said, probably motivated by pride.

I simply said "I know cars" because I didn't want to list my full lifetime resume of the cars I've worked on and the things I've done. I guess if you want the list, I can give it to you. Different cars have different quirks that only pop up when you own them or get really dug into working on them. Early Corvettes had leaky cowls that would rot out the birdcage structure. Only way to see it before you take the car apart is to jam your head up under the dash with a flashlight. Swapped Mk1 MR2s tend to crack the right side motor mount. 7.3L IDI diesels go through tach sensors quite often, causing people to think they need transmission work when really the computer is just trying to shift repeatedly because it doesn't know where the hell the RPMs are. Yes, all cars rust near the sills, the backs of quarters, back of the cab on pickups, spare wheel well, battery tray, etc. I was looking for something out of the ordinary specific to these cars. If there's nothing like that, you've given me everything I need. Miles, thanks for the tip. SF is a bit of a haul for me to run up and look at cars, but I'll keep an eye out for steals.

Also, if anyone has some links to these clean, unmolested 240Zs for $3-4k, I'm all ears. Everything I find, people want $5-6k for cars that need floorpans and doglegs replaced along with a new interior and paint. I'm far from in love with this car. I'm just going to look at it. I'm having a hard time finding these great deals in Southern California.

Believe me, it's not a pride thing. Like I said, I know cars, just not Zs. Maybe I worded something wrong and gave off the impression that I'm in over my head here, but I can assure you I'm not. That said, I had planned on taking a couple friends with who are part of the race team with me, so there will be more than one set of eyes. I was really just asking if there are any quirks or problem areas that need special attention, as many cars have common issues encountered by many different owners. Thanks again for your help.

I'm pretty familiar with older cars, just needed to know if there are any specific problem areas on Zs that I should pay special attention to. The great links you gave me should cover that. Good point on the parking brake. I hadn't thought of that. My intentions aren't to make a show car, but I want it to look respectable and last.

seattlejester, thanks for the links. I know cars, just not 240Zs. I have the swap (1UZ/W58) priced out for the most part, so I'm not worried about that getting out of hand. I'll check through all of them so I know the problem areas to look at. Here's the thing. I can handle mechanicals. Some friends and I race a V6 swapped Mk1 MR2 that we caged and built entirely by ourselves. Engine, transmission, brackets, etc don't scare me. What scares me is sheet metal. Despite doing a ton of work on cars, I've never ventured into the realm of bodywork. I'm trying to avoid a situation where I get a rusty shell and have to either weld a bunch of sheet metal or pay a shop to do it for me. All I want is a very straight, rust-free car that I can get to work on. Yep, that link is the car. Since everyone can look at it, let's talk about it a bit. I agree that a shell isn't worth 6k, but a full Stage 3 Wilwood setup, new stub axles, and a full interior adds up to north of $4k when you figure in tax and shipping. If those things all check out and are the real deal, then really I'm spending $1500-2000 on a supposedly straight and rust-free shell. To me, that seems reasonable. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

I'm sorry for asking this since I'm sure it's been answered before, but I couldn't find anything through the search function. I've recently found a 240Z in the Inland Empire that I'm interested in. Reportedly no rust and a bunch of new parts to go with it. No engine/trans, but I was planning on a swap anyway. I'll be looking at it this weekend. As this will (hopefully) be my first Z-car, I'm wondering what are specific things to look at on a Z when buying it? Thanks