Need Help......

[Nate SERE]

My father had a 72 240z. I do not know very much about the car. He had always talked about the 2 of us rebuilding it and teaching my 3 sons to race in it when they were old enough.

 

My father lived in Bland Missouri and I lived in Spokane Washington. We were not as close as we should have been, and we were making strides to fix that. He sold his home in Missouri and moved up to Spokane in January of this year.

 

My sons were very excited to get to start to spend time with their Papa V. My oldest son Cody, recently turned 16 and was very excited for the day when we got the Z up here, fixed it and were able to take it to the track. My dad and I were starting to look for a suitable garage to store the car where we could also work on it, as we both live in apts right now.

 

Last week I found my father dead in his apartment. Needless to say, my life has not been the same since.

 

Here is what I know about the Z. Its a 72, the transmission has been swapped to a 5 or 6 speed out of a later model Z car. 280 maybe? It has a light weight flywheel and driveline components? Weber sidedraft carbs? No major rust or dents. Butterscotch interior in like new condition. No cracks in the dash. Very fast and strong motor. Not sure about any mods that may have been made to the engine.

 

He was constantly having electrical issues with the car. Apparently it is a common issue? I believe that he has the dash torn out of the car right now and the wiring harness is out as well. I have no idea.

 

I really don't want to sell the car, but I have very limited funds right now as there wasn't much left besides the car. (long story..) I have toyed with the idea of selling it, and then buying one up here, but that just wouldnt be the same.

 

Here are my questions. How much is the car worth in its condition? How much work am I looking at to get it running and any ideas on how much $$$ I am looking at to get it up and running again. I know these are very vague questions, but I literally know nothing about this car, and what I'm getting into.

 

Here are some pics of it from a few years ago when he drove it across country, so it looks to me like its probably not too major of a project to get it back?????

[BluDestiny]

I"m sorry for your loss. Its hard I know. I woke up to my father passed away in his room.

 

What kind of electrical problems are you having? If its minor stuff like some gauges not working that's normal for a 40yr old car.

 

If its a good runner /driver it can be an easy $3k car.

Edited March 8, 2012 by BluDestiny

[Nate SERE]

I"m sorry for your loss. Its hard I know. I woke up to my father passed away in his room.

 

What kind of electrical problems are you having? If its minor stuff like some gauges not working that's normal for a 40yr old car.

 

If its a good runner /driver it can be an easy $3k car.

 

I am 2k miles away from the car and am not really sure what the issues are with it. I think its more than just some gauges not working. I thought he had said something about it melting some wires and had something to do the headlights? I know he talked about doing some kind of a modern 12v conversion? Once again, I am working with limited information here....

[Gollum]

First let me say im very sorry for your loss.

 

Its really tough to help without having more info though. A running, mostly rust free 240z can be worth over 5k eaily, even with minor cosmetic issues. Most aren't very rust free unfortunately.

 

What I'd recommend is finding a z guy in the area the car is and have them check it out for obvious issues. Though the z community can be a bit snooty at times, we're normally willing to help fellow z owners, especially true around hybridz. Some of my best car guy friends I've made on this very site. I put on a yearly meetup and I've had nothing but nice things to say about the people that show up. I hope you can find someone who can meet up with you.