jcris22 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 Hey everyone, Trying to figure out whether or not I should buy a 1971 240z off of a neighbor. I don't know much about the cars but really dig the style. The car seems to be in pretty good condition as for body and rust, though the interior needs some cleaning up. Runs but definitely needs some work to be road worthy. The owner and the previous owner have screwed with the electrical system so blinkers and headlights don't work. The engine will run but when he started it up the engine started to leak and there was a bit of a rattle. I think the rattle is due to a loose part and I may need to pull apart the engine to fix it. He said there was something wrong with the transmission and he couldn't shift the car into gear... The heater for the car wasn't working, which can be a problem with the upcoming winter months. The battery needed to be recharged and wouldn't keep a charge once hooked up. I think the radiator might need to be fixed/replaced as well. He offered to sell it for $2,200 but he only knew about the transmission problem before he finally started it up for me so I might be able to buy it for less. I am pretty sure those are all the major issues but there may be a few small problems I am forgetting about. Seems like it might be a bit of a project car and wanted to know if it will be worth the trouble and money to fix up. I was also wondering about good engine swaps if I were to buy this 1971 240z. I was thinking it might be better to take out the original engine and swap it with either another Z engine or something else. Not too sure what is compatible, reliable and good priced. I don't have a very large budget so am looking for cheaper options. If anyone could help me out or have an Idea for what I should do, please let me know. It would be greatly appreciated, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironhead Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 (edited) The key thing IMHO boils down to rust and the general condition of the body. You cannot determine this through a casual inspection. Get a bright flashlight and plan to get dirty. Look underneath the car in the area below the driver and passenger floorboards. Evidence of severe corrosion and/or shoddy repair includes things like rivets, holes, tape (not kidding), extra layers of sheet metal, bondo or fiberglass. Also look carefully at the area in the engine bay below the battery. Check the rocker panels, particularly around the wheel wells, and look for holes, bubbling paint....or obvious rust. If you are looking at a neglected 1971 Z and are not seeing any rust, odds are huge that you don't know what to look for or are not looking closely enough in the right places. When I was in the market for a Z, I found a shell for sale (advertised as "99% rust free") that was a few hours from me. I had a relative near it and asked him to go "pre-screen" the car for me. He did, said it looked good, no rust, etc. So I drove down to look at it. Well, both the floor pans were completely rusted out...gone...and had been replaced with galvanized hardware store sheet metal that was pop-riveted over the holes. Same thing the rear spare tire well....completely rusted out and covered with riveted sheet metal. Also...the lower areas of the car were covered with pin holes and bubbled paint. My relative I sent to look at the car wasn't an idiot, but he failed to see any of this. These cars are very prone to rust, and the problem is that when it started to appear most of them were several years old and not very valuable. Properly repairing rust is so involved that very few of them had the cancer fixed and it has had years to continue to spread. I mention all this because unless you are handy, can weld and work sheet metal yourself, and want a long term project, significantly rusted cars are a deal breaker. Just getting the rust repaired properly involves so much labor that hiring a pro to do it would cost more than the car is worth. There are rust free and nearly rust free cars around, but in my case I looked at over a dozen and drove to a desert area before I found one. My advice? Find someone who really knows cars and is willing to get dirty to look it over with you. Edited October 14, 2018 by Ironhead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewZed Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 14 hours ago, jcris22 said: if it will be worth the trouble and money to fix up. It's an old car that looks cool. Some people buy them just to have them in the garage, and never actually drive them. If you're looking for a daily driver, read through the many threads on this site to see what's involved in keeping them running. Looks like you should plan on having two cars for a while. Ideally, the other will be a truck so that you can haul parts, like engines and transmission. And expect to spend some money. Nickels and dimes will add up quickly. If it didn't need time and money he probably wouldn't be selling it. Lastly - do you like your neighbor now? Because you're going to find all of the "previous owner" stuff he did. Or he might be hanging out all the time pining over his old car. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miles Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 Useful information Download a Factory Service Manual (FSM). Download electrical schematics for your car. PDFs are easier to read than those found in books. Some are in color. Buy the book How to Restore Your Datsun Z Car by Wick Humble. It will save you hours of searching for "how to" info. Focus on searching Hybridz as 99% of questions have already been addressed. Start bookmarking Z car parts suppliers - there are many! Remember these are 40 year old cars and will need restoration to be safe and drivable. Join ClassicZCars.com website and search there as well. Become well informed about modifications before asking questions. People will be more inclined to answer informed questions. Spend a lot of time planning and costing the project system by system before starting the build. Useful Links: https://www.datsun-240z-upgrades.net/ Recommend the headlight relay harness. The owner is a HybridZ member who provides electrical upgrades and repair services. http://zhome.com/ https://www.zcar.com/ http://www.classiczc...com/index.html/ http://www.zcarparts.com/ http://www.arizonazcar.com/ http://www.jagsthatrun.com/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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