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Is this worth purchasing?


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For 800 how can you go wrong though?

 

It being a major basket case. Where the PO has screwed everything up, cut wires, removed relays and other such stuff. Not saying its a bad deal. But I already have a major project with my 280z and at this point I feel skeptical about a car that the PO knows nothing about. Might mean he has done some of the mentioned things above. Also I continued to contact this guy and asked if he had the PO's info so I could get any information at all and he stated that even the PO to him knows nothing.

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Don't give up hope looking in the Northeast. Perhaps I am the exception to the rule but I was able to find a '71 in Upstate NY for $2000 that was in very good condition. Upon soda blasting the entire car I found only the rocker panel dog legs on both sides and one small area on the passenger side fender to contain rust that required attention. Two patch panels and a small home cut patch and it is as good as new. I would say I lucked into this one by word of mouth but it was out there waiting for a new owner. Your time searching the internet and spreading the word is cheaper than the cost to ship a car across the United States. Give that a shot first. My $.02. Or have Clive do the searching. He found three good candidates in short order.

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I bought mine from a junkyard in 06' for 150 bones. I then let it sit in my yard for a few years while I built up "funds" to build it.

I finally started stripping it about 2 years ago which lead me all the way to the rotisserie stages. Rusty floors, doglegs, rear hatch area, wheel archs, and battery trays are the norm.

 

I have cut out most of that stuff and replaced it with new metal...I didn't know how to really weld when I bought the car and its been a learning experience ever since.

Don't worry so much about whether you can do something now, all that matters is that you find out how to do it right before ya take it for a test drive! ;)

 

And as far as budget...geez....Lets just say I wake up EVERY day searching craigslist and here on the classifieds looking for "parts"...yep thats right, I've got most of the stuff to keep me busy for quite sometime now

but ya never know when you'll stumble upon that deal of the century kinda thing and its for a part your nowhere close to needing but you'll want it on the car before your driving it around town! haha

 

I think I did a rough estimate the other day and I've wrapped up about 5k in this car and its STILL on the rotisserie and does not look like a show car chassis or anything remotely close to a barret jackson auction car in the making.

 

But you know what, it sure is fun to go piddle in the garage with it every now and then to break the day to day routine!!!

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I bought mine from a junkyard in 06' for 150 bones. I then let it sit in my yard for a few years while I built up "funds" to build it.

I finally started stripping it about 2 years ago which lead me all the way to the rotisserie stages. Rusty floors, doglegs, rear hatch area, wheel archs, and battery trays are the norm.

 

I have cut out most of that stuff and replaced it with new metal...I didn't know how to really weld when I bought the car and its been a learning experience ever since.

Don't worry so much about whether you can do something now, all that matters is that you find out how to do it right before ya take it for a test drive! ;)

 

And as far as budget...geez....Lets just say I wake up EVERY day searching craigslist and here on the classifieds looking for "parts"...yep thats right, I've got most of the stuff to keep me busy for quite sometime now

but ya never know when you'll stumble upon that deal of the century kinda thing and its for a part your nowhere close to needing but you'll want it on the car before your driving it around town! haha

 

I think I did a rough estimate the other day and I've wrapped up about 5k in this car and its STILL on the rotisserie and does not look like a show car chassis or anything remotely close to a barret jackson auction car in the making.

 

But you know what, it sure is fun to go piddle in the garage with it every now and then to break the day to day routine!!!

 

 

Well, i'm in no rush so lets see what happens!

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Honestly, buying a Z car for 2k without it needing a bunch of work is highly unlikely. Have you thought about a 280zx? They have far less rust problems than the early Z's. Not as cool, but pretty similar... And since they aren't a classic, people aren't as interested in them, so you can get a nice one for cheap! Z cars are really one of those things where you either gotta spend $10K+ on one, or you're faced with a lot of work ahead of you. If you're stuck on a 240z (haha as I was), it'd be best to buy a little mig/wire feed welder and some scrap metal and just practice a little, welding isn't hard and you can pick it up pretty quickly. I had been welding for about 3 or 4 months, and I felt comfortable enough to weld my sectioned struts together. I think you're either just going to have to get a 280 z(x), or live with the fact that you'll have to weld and do some work to it before it'll really be roadworthy. Then again, you may get lucky and find one for 2k that doesn't need anything. It's certainley possible, but I'm pretty sure it won't happen. Anyways I wish you the best with finding one, they are great cars. And very very fun to drive... or so I've heard haha I've never driven one :o

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News: Old Car and Collector Car guides have pegged the price of complete "Condition 7" cars at $2500 for the 240's.

Some discount for the later models, but not a lot.

 

The days of a running driving car for under even 2000 are numbered.

 

If you can find three-digit sales, and like a particular aspect (you mentioned white interior) then buy it, strip it for the parts, and sell the remains for what you have in the car. This is becoming more and more possible.

 

Eventually you find something you can install the distinctive parts into, and have a minimum of major rework.

 

But the idea that paying 2k for an East Coast car, being comparable to a 2000 West Coast car, plus shipping is unlikely unless as stated you can do all the work yourself.

 

I know people in Michigan that put 1200 into rust repair on late model Corvairs, when unbeknownst to me the price for pristine CA cars was under 500!!! Swap interiors and you would have had a far more complete, solid car.

 

Auto transport is the same as welding--you can do it yourself and save a LOT on the costs.

 

I know where there are around 15-20 documented, complete, and rust free early Z's but the owner is in ABSOLUTELY no rush to sell. In fact he take pains to keep it under cover so he doesn't have to turn anybody away yet. As he said: "Ain't making these anymore, tinworks eating em up back east, in a few years when the economy comes back there's gonna be some MMTS Easterner who will pay far more than my cost for storage and Non-Op!" From what I can tell by the tags, he's sat on most of these cars since the Nissan Resto-Program, and has watched their value increase by a factor of 10 since then! I think that was his point to start unloading them, but he hasn't said anything to me yet. Said since I know so many people, I'd bs one of the first to know when he starts to sell.

 

He'll, I got cars out back at my place that if prices keep escalating I might clear out! He'll of a markup on "free!" LOL

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It was from the Gold Book for Collector Cars (I believe...)

I don't know if it's online or not.

This is a link to NADA Collectible showing a running 71 240Z at low pricing of $7K:

Shocking Pricing

 

This is not the place though, mine was a dead trees edition, and was specifically for collector cars, giving a condition from 1-7, with 7 being considered "a complete, running or non-running parts car incapable of moving under it's own power and needing trailering to recover"

 

I was shocked as the pricing of the cars in conditions 1-4 roughly coincided with the NADA Guides for Collectible Cars, but NADA does not valuate non-running vehicles, whereas this one did. At that time, the low price for a 71 240Z was $2500 as a "parts car"

 

It differentiated condition 6 and condition 7 as basically the ability to move under it's own power to it's next place of storage in a reasonable distance, but requiring a complete cosmetic, mechanical, and electrical restoration to bring it to saleable condition.

 

i came to the conclusion everything I own is either condition 5, 6 or 7. My daily driver is a 5.... :P

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It was from the Gold Book for Collector Cars (I believe...)

I don't know if it's online or not.

This is a link to NADA Collectible showing a running 71 240Z at low pricing of $7K:

Shocking Pricing

 

This is not the place though, mine was a dead trees edition, and was specifically for collector cars, giving a condition from 1-7, with 7 being considered "a complete, running or non-running parts car incapable of moving under it's own power and needing trailering to recover"

 

I was shocked as the pricing of the cars in conditions 1-4 roughly coincided with the NADA Guides for Collectible Cars, but NADA does not valuate non-running vehicles, whereas this one did. At that time, the low price for a 71 240Z was $2500 as a "parts car"

 

It differentiated condition 6 and condition 7 as basically the ability to move under it's own power to it's next place of storage in a reasonable distance, but requiring a complete cosmetic, mechanical, and electrical restoration to bring it to saleable condition.

 

i came to the conclusion everything I own is either condition 5, 6 or 7. My daily driver is a 5.... :P

 

Thanks Tony.

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