Guest Neil Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 I recently purchased a 74 260 Z at auction for a more than decent price. The orriginal intent for this purchase was to swap out parts from the 260 into my 76 280. The 260 is in pretty good shape. Most of the body is straight with little or no rust except for the right (passenger side) front fender and a small dent in the left (driver's side) rear from a minor accident. The car is complete and in excelent shape under the hood (including AC and 4 barrel carb) and inside (all interior pannels, seats, etc.) except for a cracked dash. Other problems include dead battery, passenger side door won't stay closed and driver's door glass is busted. With a little body work and some minor purchases, this car would be in great shape. Now what should I do? 1) Use car as orriginally intended for parts, either swaping them out to my 280 or selling what I don't need. This would really upgrade my 280 and save me $ in buying parts from others and catelogs in the future. 2) Restore the 260 and sell it for a pretty penny. I'm not sure how much classic Z drivers are willing to pay for a restored Z, but I'm guessing $2000 to $4000. My neighbor does body work so I could restore it for cheap. I could use the money from the sale, too. 3) Restore the 260 and keep it and sell my newly rebuilt (less that 1000 miles) L28 with tripple Webbers (new) out of my 280. I'm not sure how much this would fetch on the market. Maybe $1000 - $1500? This would also allow a future (year 2028, probably) V8 upgrade (which is my ultimate goal) in my 280. 4) Something else that I haven't thought of. My wife is not too keen on the idea of having two project Zs (we now have 4 cars for two drivers), so I need to consolodate somehow. Also, If I can make money, that would be great. Any, honest input that you all have would be great. I'm conflicted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 It depends how much stuff you need for the 280 from the 260. If you need a bunch of parts, you will need to add up how much it will cost you to buy it all seperately and the time it will take to find all the parts (JYs etc) to see if it's worth it. Plus, factor in the time the 260 work will take away from the 280. You could always rape the 260 for parts, then sell it as a 'rust free' rolling chassis. Those are getting hard to find, sdo I don't think you will have a problem selling it. Up to you....I've been there, done that. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted August 5, 2003 Share Posted August 5, 2003 Is it an early 260 with the 240 style bumpers or a later one with 280 style? If it is the early, small bumper 260 why not drop the L28 into the 260? Big bumper model than pick and match parts in whatever way gives you the cheapest final product. A somewhat "restored" 260 (but with decent carbs) could easily fetch 4 grand or even more. But then again a good paint job costs about the same. Don't bite off more than you can chew. Get one car that runs and unload the rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted August 5, 2003 Share Posted August 5, 2003 Restoring a 260Z won't bring in as much cash as you think--the 240Z is worth more. Like what was said above, if the 260Z is an early body style, you could drop the 280Z motor in it--but then you'd certainly have two non-working cars for a while. Hmmm; dilemma. Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Neil Posted August 5, 2003 Share Posted August 5, 2003 It is the early style 260 w/ the 240 bumpers. What is the big appeal? Is it just asthetics, or is there some performance advantage to droping the 280 engine in this style as opposed to the later style 260? When i bought my 280, it was exactly what I was looking for. It was basicly a rolling chassy. The interior was trashed, it looked like crap, it didn't run, but it had minimal rust on it. I fugured everthing would be replaced eventually, so I didn't really care. This 260, however, is nice. I'd feel bad raping it for parts. I'm starting to lean towards transfering things from my 280 (engine, MSD ignition and flowmaster 2.5 exhaust (spelling?)) to the 260 and using the 280 for a V8 conversion or maybe selling it. Although, If I'm going to swap an engine, I might as well put a V8 in. AHHHHHHHHHH! I'll have to wait until the end of summer regardless. Maybe I'll sort it out by then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted August 5, 2003 Share Posted August 5, 2003 Most people think the big bumpers are ugly, not to mention heavy. If it was a big bumpered 260, then it is basically indistinquishable from a 280 (IMO). In that case I would just fix up whichever one was less work. Look through some other current posts. Quite a few guys are trying to back fit their 280's with the early bumpers. With the 260 you are one step ahead. But like I said, unless you have the space and an understanding wife, pick one or the other and get on with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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