darbbackwords Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 Well I grew up next to a hobbyist mechanic, and have for as long as I can remember admired all his cars. One of which is a 1972 240z, which has a nearly new sbc 327 crate motor, and a brand new turbo350 transmission. He is willing to sell it to me (and me only for now) for $3000. which I have the money to do, but no money to do anything else with the car for some time. He says before he sells it to me he will put it on the lift and make sure everything is tight and such, I know there is a little body rust, but I hope there is no floor or sub frame rust. They car needs a lot of finishing touches and such, none of the dash works, and most of the electrical is not the best, but the car is mechanically sound and runs beyond great. My plans when and if I buy it are : upgrade the dash to an all digital using stock gauge locations (because I want to not because they don’t work), and redo all of the electrical with something like a painless universal wiring harness ( I’m in school right now studying electrical engineering so I’m not to worried about the difficulty of this, and my neighbor while super good at engines and such, the electrical part is defiantly not his specialty), all while doing the finishing touches on the car… so I’m wondering, does this sound like a good project, and am I missing anything/ any ideas? P.S. This site is awesome, and has been tons of help and inspiration for me, I spend tons of time on here reading threads and such and lastly I apologize for this not being the most informative of posts, but I would really like some of your guys opinions on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LS1 240Z Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 i know that you couldnt build it for that much, if its fairly rust free id say its a good deal. depends on how much you trust your neighbor really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olie05 Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 well, if you are an EE you should definitely skip the painless kit and make your own harness. Other than that sounds like an easy car to have on the road in a couple of weeks. good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 280ZForce Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 sounds like a good deal to me even if there is a little rust, a basically new v8 crate motor makes it all worth the while pretty much especially if the rest of the car is in decent shape. I got a source for digital gauges for ya...just pm me if interested and I can get you the info. All my gauges are digital and they look bad a**! Everyone loves them and compliments them. you can click my cardomain link below my signature and there you can find some pics of my gauges. good luck w/ your decision, but it sounds like a great deal imho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buZy Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 3 g's for a 240z already V8 converted and runs it's a good deal. Even if there is some rust on it. It all depends on how it drives, very important that will tell you much about the car. If it goes down the road and doesn't shake to death or overheat instantly it's way worth it. In the end it matters if you really like that particular car..... Good luck and hope you end up buying it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EZ-E Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darbbackwords Posted September 8, 2006 Author Share Posted September 8, 2006 ok, well I do like the z very much, I have driven it once, and liked it very much, it does ned work, but that is part of the fun. im going to atach a picture of it. I have no picture if the engine and such, but this gives an idea. as you can see it needs a new front clip and such. I hope the atachment works...and thank for the help.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtmny1999 Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 Looks like it doesn't have the 240z tail lights or it’s not a 240z. Sounds like a good deal for a V-8 datsun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darbbackwords Posted September 8, 2006 Author Share Posted September 8, 2006 yes, it dosnt have the 240 tail lights, and im wondering, if any one wants to see a bigger picture, is there any way to put it up? the upload limits said it was only suposed to be 19.* kb.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtmny1999 Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 yes, it dosnt have the 240 tail lights, and im wondering, if any one wants to see a bigger picture, is there any way to put it up? the upload limits said it was only suposed to be 19.* kb.. You can host it in photobucket.com then link it with to show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darbbackwords Posted September 8, 2006 Author Share Posted September 8, 2006 Awsome, ok this is a slightly difrent picture but you will see. still no front clip, and I plan on getting a new rear bumper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m1noel Posted September 9, 2006 Share Posted September 9, 2006 Just from the pic's I'm guessing that is probably an early 280. You can check the build date on the driver's door jam. If its not there you can search from the VIN. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeMS Posted September 9, 2006 Share Posted September 9, 2006 Nice find Brad! Good to see another V8 Z in the Puget Sound area. Were you able to get on it? How did if feel at speed? I like the tire look filling the wheel wells. You might look into a front spoiler for the lower valance, cheaper than original steel I think and easy to install. Price sounds right, I have more than that in mine and not runing yet! Have you been able to figure what kit was used or was it all fabricated from scratch? More details.This site has all the info and help you'll need. Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buZy Posted September 9, 2006 Share Posted September 9, 2006 Wow it drives and only 3gs....I have that much in my trans alone....... It's Way Worth It! Nice Ride! Awesome, way better than I imagined! 240 or 280 who cares. Buy it for sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacob300zx Posted September 9, 2006 Share Posted September 9, 2006 Yes, thats sounds like a whole lot of fun for 3000. I can say from experience, buying a already running car and doing the small projects is a lot easier than building one from scratch. I love projects I can drive and work on. I say hurry up and buy it. Plus my guess is your nieghbor will always be there to help you tinker on it. Good find. Jake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darbbackwords Posted September 9, 2006 Author Share Posted September 9, 2006 Well I test drove it, and I was able to get on it, it runs really well, but was not able to get it up to speed, because it is not licensed and we where on the back road that we live on so there is not a ton of room, he says prior to the swap he had it up to 130 and it was smooth, it goes quite fast, could stand a tune up and the carburetor kind of needs to be rebuilt, its sat to long. This car technically is his wife’s car, but long story short, she is afraid to drive, so it has sat along time and very rarely started. He bought a brake biasing block (I’m sorry I cant think of what it is called) and we set to the fronts you can ride the breaks and do a burn out through all 3 gears, he says it will do that when driving as well, I did not get on it that much, but I do believe him. As for the swap, he did not know that there was as much out there for them as there is, and did it all himself, he says he put the engine as far back as possible without creating clearance isues Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darbbackwords Posted September 9, 2006 Author Share Posted September 9, 2006 the heating thing, he said that he has never seen it ove heat, however when he let it ile in the sun for a long time, he said it got cinda hot, one of the things he had recemned was to buy an electric fan to use whenever sitting in the sun/traffic for long periods of time. my plan is to talk to him this weekend, and tell him that I am ready when he is... hopefully it will be soon... I will post some better pictures of everything once I buy it. and it is possible that it might be a 260/ 280... but I will look it up, but i do think he put new tail lights in... but thanks for the info, you say look at the vin and search.. ok I will do that to get a better knowlage.... thanks hope to have some new picture's soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Challenger Posted September 9, 2006 Share Posted September 9, 2006 Looks like a nice project, its nice to have someone that you admire and are able to learn from. Some of the neatest people are people in their 60's or 70's that have worked on their cars for theyre entire life. Good Luck, so your gonna have in done in a month or so... jk Kim (owner) at Idaho Z car in Boise has a 280z with a nicely built V8 4bbl that runs 10's, pretty good considering a 1000 hp Hennessy Viper does it in high 9's. Yours might not be a ten second car but I bet it hauls and will beat nearly anything a ricer and there Hyndai can dish out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbk240z Posted September 9, 2006 Share Posted September 9, 2006 Offer him $2,500 and see if he bites. The Z looks/sounds like a good deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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