240z8 Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 OK, my first Z was a failure due to VINs not matching, so we(my dad and I) looked around for another Z. He was searching the internet, and he found an ad on zcars.com for a free 1973 240z. http://www.zcar.com/forums/read/8/2006939 We went another thousand miles round-trip to pick it up. In the end, it took around $150 in gas and half of a weekend. Tell me what you think of it: Here is the battery box =[ Here is the Driver Floor: The Passenger Floor: Here is the hood, it is pretty rusty, and the only big dent is at the front of the hump in the hood. It could be popped up, but i think switching the hood from the other Z would be easier. The car had 2 original 240z spare tires on when we got there because the 2 passenger side tires were flat. One tire came originally with z and the other came from another Z. The car also came with seats, the leather is pretty thrashed, they don't lock in position. There are already holes and screws for louvers on the hatch so there is no need to drill some. Also, for some more pictures go to my flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/32034229@N02/ Since it is 10:40 i can't really take any more pictures, so that can wait until tomorrow. =] Also, here is a link to my first thread about my other Z: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=143300 Tell me what you think! Thanks, Justin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rturbo 930 Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 I don't think you can really beat it for free. Looks like a pretty good car to start with. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 Consider yourself very lucky for you and your dad to be able to accomplish this. It looks like it'll be a fun project. You'll learn A LOT by having to essentially build the car up and work on all the car's systems. Good luck! I wish my dad and I had the resources and time to be able to do something like this when I was younger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue72 Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 Hopefully you can make one car from the two now. At least you'll have plenty of spare sheetmetal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeshow Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 Can't beat free! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skib Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 thats great for free dosent look to rotted out either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Almighty Wez Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 Can't beat free! +1 Free is the best starting point for a project, most times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240z8 Posted February 2, 2009 Author Share Posted February 2, 2009 Ok, i took some more pics right before it got dark, and then my camera started to hate me and wouldn't take pictures, so here is what i have for now. The front fender before sanding: The front fender after a little bit of sanding on the cracks: Everywhere there is cracking there is bondo, we guess it is to make it look smoother, but i still have a lot of sanding to do. Here is a picture that the guy that gave the car to us sent us: A rear shot: And here is a rear shot of both of the z's. A side shot at my house: I climbed on my roof to get a shot of the engine compartment. A shot of the roof: This can kind of relate to this car if i decide to switch the hood from the other car over. Here is a pic of the hood i sanded (mostly) a couple of weeks ago. There was some rust, but it was just surface rust. There are some tiny little holes at the very front that rusted through, but they are about an eighth of an inch in diameter. And finally, here is the picture of my VIN from inside the engine compartment: This vin matches the other 2 and the title. The one on a plate in the engine compartment isn't there. Once i do a little bit more work i will put some more pics up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horatio Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Great! Glad to see you ddin't let that creep discourage you from keeping up with your plans. I see you still have the other Z. Did he refund your money? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pharaohabq Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Hey Justin! That's awesome, a great find! I'm also here in NM, working on getting the NMZCC restarted... anyway, that looks like a great project. Little bit of rust there on the floors and in the engine compartment. Take a look in the front wheel wells just behind the wheels above the frame just back from the steering crossmember, how is the rust there? Take a little hammer and knock on it a little. that's one spot that rust likes to hide, and it important that it's not rusted through there, because it affects body rigidity and most importantly safety. If it's rusted through there, you'll be needing to do some work. Wow, yeah it's in a lot better shape than your black one. I got my first Z when I was 16. What are you going to do for engines? I'm super jealous of your bumpers. they look purty n shiney! if you want to sell/give them away, Could I be first in line?? hehe Keep them pictures coming. Phar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240z8 Posted February 4, 2009 Author Share Posted February 4, 2009 I think you guys deserve a little update. I sanded the front fender a little bit. Also, here are the seats from the 240z Passenger Seat: Driver seat: i have to pull up the top of the seat to take a picture of the bottom because on both of the seats, they dont lock in place like they are supposed to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240z8 Posted February 4, 2009 Author Share Posted February 4, 2009 Also, i have a question. has anyone ever bought any of the body parts from the site zccjdm.com? They have some cool looking kits for the fenders. I like the kit that is here http://www.zccjdm.com/catalog.php/azcarbum/dt73726/pd1865902/FULL__IMSA__G_NOSE__BODY_KIT__ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pharaohabq Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 G nose kit... yeah looks pretty nice! Gota let you know though, that the 2K that kit costs does not include paint, or any or the installation bodywork. they're not just an easy bolt on kit. in many cases they're hours upon hours of bodywork to smooth the lines out. I would recommend that you learn about your car, and get it all cleaned up and basically all the rust handled before you even start looking at body kits. You can find a lot of stuff on Ebay, MSA, BlackDragon, and Datsunrestore for parts for your car. If you're sure you're going to put on a Kit, you can do everything except for paint, then when you're ready, you can look into the Kits. Try not to take short cuts, they tend to bite you later. Also, you should establish a budget for your car. It's easy to spend a lot of $ on your car, and remember on a 30+ year old car it'll likely never be worth how much you put into it, except for what you get in personal enjoyment. Insurance, You might look into Antique/modified car insurance, it's generally a lot cheaper than standard insurance and will cover more of your car. You will have to pay for an appraisal of your car for it. Again good luck, and Ask all the questions you can think of, We love to talk about Z's! Phar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModernS30 Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 JUSTIN WHATS UP, thanks for the ignition outta the black one, not sure but mi mom said we might go get my 280z next weekend im down for being in the NMZCC, i live in portales as well Phar, ive got a running orange 280z, it came from a police lot for $500 edit: o yea far, im 16, its my first z that im getting, haha, and i got dibs if bumpers go cause i am putting work into these cars as well, we pulled the dash and tail lights from the black one thursday, JUSTIN im bored txt me haha, and you shoulda bought that brand new dash, to bad your phone was dead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse OBrien Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 That looks great for only having spent $150 and some time! Focus on the rust and getting an engine in there, and it really looks like a great place to start from. It actually looks as good (if not better) than the one I just bought (with cashy money) and spent a weekend checking out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240z8 Posted February 9, 2009 Author Share Posted February 9, 2009 That looks great for only having spent $150 and some time! Focus on the rust and getting an engine in there, and it really looks like a great place to start from. It actually looks as good (if not better) than the one I just bought (with cashy money) and spent a weekend checking out The rust is the 1st thing to deal with. After that we will be doing the body mods. maybe the full g-nose. Then we will be doing the v-8 swap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pharaohabq Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 read through the V8 forums on your V8 swap, they'll give you a lot of insight for engine choices. there's a ton. LS1+ would be nice, but not cheap. Just remember too, as Mr. Miyagi said. "license is not substitute for mind, for heart, or for body". Something like that. It's been years since I saw Karate Kid. Phar. N Hey that'd be cool if you guys want to Join the NMZCC, I'll let you know when we get things more put together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240z8 Posted February 10, 2009 Author Share Posted February 10, 2009 read through the V8 forums on your V8 swap, they'll give you a lot of insight for engine choices. there's a ton. LS1+ would be nice, but not cheap. Just remember too, as Mr. Miyagi said. "license is not substitute for mind, for heart, or for body". Something like that. It's been years since I saw Karate Kid. Phar. N Hey that'd be cool if you guys want to Join the NMZCC, I'll let you know when we get things more put together. You get the email from my Dad about NMZCC? Here is the link to the company for the motor. Just 100 miles from our house in Lubbock, Tx. http://www.sdparts.com/product/10067353KIT/350GMGoodwrenchEngineKitStage1.aspx Tranny will be 700r4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pharaohabq Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Oooh Whoa! that's a lot of $ for a heavy engine. You really should look into an aluminum LS Engine. they're light, Fuel injected and pretty easy to install. Tons of power. look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_LS_engine and read in the V8 forums on here. you'll find a ton of info. You might also look at some of the ford mustang engines an old 5.0L from like 94' also provides EFI and a good amount of power. Though a lot of these V8's will have trouble keeping up with a Nissan VQ35 engine. Read on some of those swaps, particularly 240Hoke's http://www.vq240z.com-a.googlepages.com/ 240Z. My 78' 280Z will be similar, though I'm using a VQ35HR engine, but these guys did amazing work and paved the road so to speak on this swap. 300HP in super light weight. good mileage based on the weight of your foot. In the end it's your choice what to put in, you can spend a little or a lot, just make sure you know a lot about what you're getting into before you start buying parts. You might also look at this guys' site on how a restore should really be done, if we all had the time and $... http://toni.dnsf.org/260Z. These guys have threads on here for thier builds, just use the search and READ a lot. I mean it, READ a lot, you'll learn sooo much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240z8 Posted February 16, 2009 Author Share Posted February 16, 2009 Ok, i didn't do anything for nearly a week on the car, but i finally got something done!!! Paint stripper does wonders! =] Here are some pic of what i got done. Lower part of fender: Headlight bucket: Front of fender: Middle of fender: Top of fender: I also did a little bit of work on the driver side rear quarter panel: I stuck the paint scraper in the crack on the fender and this is what i found: Then at 10 i did a little bit more: And i got the front bumper off: We even got the wiring harness out for the most part alond with 2 parts of the brake lines. Once i get some more things done, i'll post it. =] 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.