Vneck Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 (edited) Hi, I'm looking to buy a Z for my first car, and I want some advice on what I should be looking for/what I can afford. I live in Florida, I have a ~$5000 budget, and the car will be a daily driver (I currently drive my dad's C3 Vette). I've been lurking at a few Z forums for the past few months and I think I'll take the plunge soon. I really don't want to have to do serious body work (Dad's a mechanic, and I don't really care about the interior being bad), but looking around craigslist all I see are huge discrepancies in prices. I see Z's in pretty awful condition with asking prices around 7500, or even 8000. So my question is, what do you think I can get for $5000, or is that price unrealistic for what I want? Thanks a lot. Edited January 28, 2012 by Vneck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
78zstyle Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 For 5000 you can get a pretty nice Z.. Anything you buy though, check the battery tray, the floor pans, and underneath the car for rust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miles Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 Take your time and shop around. Check all of the systems. A clean unmolested electrical system is a plus. Buy this book if you intend on owning a 240Z,260Z or 280Z: How to Restore your Datsun Z-Car by Wick Humble. It explains, in detail, how to completey take apart and re-assemble a 240Z etc. Available at Motor Sports Auto (MSA), Amazon (cheaper) or at Black Dragon. This book will save you hours of research. It will also give information on what to look for when buying a Z car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vneck Posted January 28, 2012 Author Share Posted January 28, 2012 Take your time and shop around. Check all of the systems. A clean unmolested electrical system is a plus. Buy this book if you intend on owning a 240Z,260Z or 280Z: How to Restore your Datsun Z-Car by Wick Humble. It explains, in detail, how to completey take apart and re-assemble a 240Z etc. Available at Motor Sports Auto (MSA), Amazon (cheaper) or at Black Dragon. This book will save you hours of research. It will also give information on what to look for when buying a Z car. Thanks, I'll buy it now actually Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluDestiny Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 Lol prices here in FL are sooooooo wrong. There are "restored" cars going to ludacris amounts of money. I bought my first Z when I was 17 for $5000 and I had no trouble with at all. IT was a perfect daily and even had AC. If you have the time, I would look for Z's in CA or AZ for $3-4k, then either pay to have it shipped or fly out there and drive it yourself. You can always ask a member on here to check out a Z for you. As for what to look for it is covered on this site. -no rust -completely working electrical -no overheating Someone told me once that if a Z will run and drive for 30min on the highway/street it will make it cross country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrCleburn Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 Someone told me once that if a Z will run and drive for 30min on the highway/street it will make it cross country. I recently bought an all original series one and drove it back from Kansas. I brought my truck and a friend just in case I needed to trailer it but like Blu said after I was about 30-40 miles down the road I didn't even think about it. Had an absolute BLAST coming back with that Z and it went 500 miles without a problem. -Pat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vneck Posted January 28, 2012 Author Share Posted January 28, 2012 Lol prices here in FL are sooooooo wrong. There are "restored" cars going to ludacris amounts of money. I bought my first Z when I was 17 for $5000 and I had no trouble with at all. IT was a perfect daily and even had AC. If you have the time, I would look for Z's in CA or AZ for $3-4k, then either pay to have it shipped or fly out there and drive it yourself. You can always ask a member on here to check out a Z for you. As for what to look for it is covered on this site. -no rust -completely working electrical -no overheating Someone told me once that if a Z will run and drive for 30min on the highway/street it will make it cross country. There are barely any down south for sale T_T, I'm doing a 750mi radius craigslist search but I might have to end up buying on the west coast. Prices are almost always way too high. I'll probably post some links when I find one I'm interested in and ask if it seems worth it, but from the sentiment in this thread it seems like I should be able to get what I'm looking for at the price I want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
78zstyle Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 http://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/cto/2796605739.html - boom 5 grand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heroez Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 (edited) Huh?. Im in Atlanta and I often see S30s for sale in all types of condition. What you dont see is any Datsun besides a Z. 510- impossible to find, 1 may be for sale at any given time and its likely highly modified and over 7k or its a corpse. A dork in northern suburbs would buy them up, cut them up, part them out, and send shells and half stripped drivers to the rust belt. Every time one showed up and I would have some money, he would buy it that day. It made me so mad! That was the death knell for the 510 market here. Datsun 210/310- 1 shows up about twice every 5 years. 710/810- once every 7-10 years. Datsun roadster- 2 can be found for sale most all the time. Datsun 240z- 3 or 5 available any given day. 260z- for every 8 240z cars there will be a 260z. 280z- 6 or 8 available any given day. 280zx- 5 or 10 any given day. That is my forcast for Atlanta area after watching the Datsun sales for many years. Its been ramping up, especially over the past 5 years. This is a trend that will continue. I would give you 2 of my average z cars with solid bodies and no rust running working z cars, for one similar condition 69-72 510 2 door coupe. Or even a 510 that needs floor pans, but mostly all parts still on it, and didnt run. I would trade you a car you could drive off in. My first Datto was a 280zx from Florida. Its hard to imagine that one state away it could be so dry for Datsun movement. Georgia hardly ever salts its roads. As a side effect it doesnt signifigantly add to the billions of dollars of damage to vehicles. Its not uncommon to find S30s with good or minimal damaged floor pans. The fenders always seem to be bad at the bottom because of debris in the cowl drain. Plastics hold up ok in the subtropical enviornment. Ive seen cars from texas where their wire looms crumble like saltine crackers in my hand, and electrical connectors as fragile as glass. The metal was ok, nothing to drool over. I have too little out of state experience to guide you or me about it. The less rust the better. Look it over good. If its too hard in Florida, try Atlanta. You should be able to find the right one in 6 months or less. I dont even want to think about all the z cars that were at Z Nationals you could have bought back in the fall, in Savannah. Good luck and I hope you spot a good one! Edited January 29, 2012 by Heroez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.