Tell me about: Datsun 240z

[amotion578]

So a neighbor up the street from my parents has had a 240z sitting in the garage for the last ~7 years (since we moved to the neighborhood). I've driven by and rubbernecked into the garage anytime it's open to see it. It's owned by the neighbor's son, it was his first car (and I believe he bought it new, so one owner).

For the those last 7 years, I've always seen it with blankets draped over it and miscellaneous stuff piled up on top of it. I don't believe it's running and hasn't been. The neighbor's son apparently wants to fix it up, but according to the neighbor, it's been sitting for far longer than the 7 years I've known about it. The son may not want to sell it however, from the sentimental attachment. Nobody has ever worked on it as far as I'm aware.

It's definitely a 240z, it's that deep red, and I believe it's all stock. I'm under the assumption it's a manual (4-spd I think). I have never gotten to talk to the son directly because he works a ton, but I really wanna make an offer and take it off his hands to fix up and mess around with. I know basic engine crap and I know very little about carburetors. I can only hope that it's needing some new parts like battery, plugs, gas, etc to get running again. Not having an ECU and a ton of electrical stuff I'm sure is a plus.

So tell me TCL, what do you know about the 240z, the L24 motor, the trans, the interior, etc? And what would be a good number to offer him to take it off his hands? What would you offer if you were in my shoes?


(Not the car but visual aid):

[dyetrixy07]

Fantastic little cars. I had a 280z with the bored out L28 but also fuel injection. Not a difficult car to work on, mine was barely running when I got it. Did my own valve adjustments and adjusted the throttle as well as oil/cap, wires and plugs, and I got it to run like a champ. Unfortunately, these cars RUST! Mine wasn't beyond fixing but I had no where near the budget to do it properly so I sold it. I still kick myself in the head because I had a perfect running drive train, and someone on Long Island was selling a perfect 240 shell he redid with new brakes and coil overs, and interior, just missing engine/trans. I could've bought it and swapped mine in then just sold my 280 shell but my family at the time talked me out of it. Now they even say it was a stupid idea not to I think I want another one day, maybe with a nice powerful swap, but I love them. Look out for rust, the best of examples can have it, and go from there. Make sure the body is straight and I'd offer maybe $2000-3000 max if the body is decent and its not running.

[bificus99]

The biggest issue is everything has sat over 7 years. All fluids, belts, hoses need to be replaced. A lot of time and energy. The other bad stuff on these cars is rust, if its been rusting for over 7 years it may need significant body work. Parts, you will have to scavenge and hunt for some bits and pieces that no longer exist.
The good stuff, the 2.4L L24 is a fantastic six cylinder engine, makes good HP for the day and still peppy on the road. Transmissions are good, not like some of the new superstars of modern day but reliable. The the whole package is a well balanced nice sounding decently reliable car. Some people still daily these things, I don't daily my Z but I drive it as much as I can.
My dad had a 240 and 260. I had a 260 with a 2.4L and a 280 now.

[mk1vw]

no idea what to offer.
i looked at a 260 recenetly, guy wanted 10g's.

Re. the 240, very rare if it's rust free and worthwhile saving.

should be a 4spd.

[bificus99]

Fantastic little cars. I had a 280z with the bored out L28 but also fuel injection. Not a difficult car to work on, mine was barely running when I got it. Did my own valve adjustments and adjusted the throttle as well as oil/cap, wires and plugs, and I got it to run like a champ. Unfortunately, these cars RUST! Mine wasn't beyond fixing but I had no where near the budget to do it properly so I sold it. I still kick myself in the head because I had a perfect running drive train, and someone on Long Island was selling a perfect 240 shell he redid with new brakes and coil overs, and interior, just missing engine/trans. I could've bought it and swapped mine in then just sold my 280 shell but my family at the time talked me out of it. Now they even say it was a stupid idea not to I think I want another one day, maybe with a nice powerful swap, but I love them. Look out for rust, the best of examples can have it, and go from there. Make sure the body is straight and I'd offer $2-3 thousand to start at max, then go from there.

Thats what happened to my 260, family outvoted me and it had to go. I just bought one 2 years ago and rescued it from a guy doing it wrong.

[timmy222]

So a neighbor up the street from my parents has had a 240z sitting in the garage for the last ~7 years (since we moved to the neighborhood). I've driven by and rubbernecked into the garage anytime it's open to see it. It's owned by the neighbor's son, it was his first car (and I believe he bought it new, so one owner).

For the those last 7 years, I've always seen it with blankets draped over it and miscellaneous stuff piled up on top of it. I don't believe it's running and hasn't been. The neighbor's son apparently wants to fix it up, but according to the neighbor, it's been sitting for far longer than the 7 years I've known about it. The son may not want to sell it however, from the sentimental attachment. Nobody has ever worked on it as far as I'm aware.

It's definitely a 240z, it's that deep red, and I believe it's all stock. I'm under the assumption it's a manual (4-spd I think). I have never gotten to talk to the son directly because he works a ton, but I really wanna make an offer and take it off his hands to fix up and mess around with. I know basic engine crap and I know very little about carburetors. I can only hope that it's needing some new parts like battery, plugs, gas, etc to get running again. Not having an ECU and a ton of electrical stuff I'm sure is a plus.

So tell me TCL, what do you know about the 240z, the L24 motor, the trans, the interior, etc? And what would be a good number to offer him to take it off his hands? What would you offer if you were in my shoes?

I Wouldn't offer anything in this case

Just tell the Son your interested and that if he wants to sell how much to take it off his hands

If he wants it gone, you will get a steel. If he still has a attachment to the car he will over charge you. Also look to see how much 240z's (Non runners) are selling in the papers/net to get a proper ball park figure. Plus make sure you get a mobile mechanic to look it over before you decide to give him any green

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

Hi,

I'm new here, and wanted to help, considering I own 3 Datsun Z cars haha.

Price all depends on how much rust the car has. I restored my 1973 240z myself, and from my experience I would recommend inspecting the following areas for rust before you decide to buy.


-Floor Boards

-Rocker Panels (area just under the bottom of the door sill)

-Under the batter box

-Rear hatch Jam

-definitely inspect the frame rails as well, these rust through.

Datsun s30's are a unibody construction, meaning that their frame is permanently attached to the body, so as you can imagine, rust DESTROYS these cars quickly.

Aside from that, they are very simple cars to work on, and are only appreciating in value.

It's a solid investment.....if it is....well....solid.

Shoot me a PM if you want if you have any specific questions.

Here's a couple pictures of my 240.

Before I feel the flame...I know I know....It needs lower, and some poke on the wheels.

Since I do/build all the work to my car myself, it takes time...

But rest assured, coilovers and 17x9.5 -19 offset rotas will be going on after the winter.

[amotion578]

Good insight reading through these posts. I love the look of the Z cars personally which is why I want it. Some added info (because I've been up all night and I'm not thinking clearly):

Should I mention the son I speak of is in his late 30's, early 40's? I believe this family are the second owners of this car since the 80's.

I am honestly more concerned with mice/pest infestation more than I am rust. Not that I'm not concerned about rust, I just have a gut feeling this car hasn't been outside much for a long time. Yeah this is Oregon, it does rains a lot here.

The fact that the son apparently has marked interest to fix it up (sometime in his lifetime maybe?) indicates to me that there's nothing damning about the car (i.e. rust, hole in engine block, etc). I'm banking on (and hoping) that it just needs love and attention, and that the son will let someone else enjoy their 20's putzing around in that car and not letting it go to waste at the bottom of a to-do list.

[admiralbabar]

Just go talk to them, the worst they can say is no. Also, I would help to have a grand in your pocket just in case...cash money talks. Go do it now, and post back with results.

[Air and water do mix]

I'm going through something similar, as I'm dealing with a car that sat for 20 years. In my case, the car is pretty solid but will need a quarter panel and a complete interior re-do. I got it for a steal and it's worth it even though I ran into the problem that I'm about to let you in on. (the real reason for my post)

With a lot of time, condensation works it's way into the cylinders and starts to rust everything in place. I'm dealing with a frozen engine. I'm not in a hurry (and you shouldn't be either if you run into this problem) and about 2 weeks ago I pulled the plugs and put some Marvel's Mystery Oil into the cylinders. I checked it last week and it was still not free, so I'll be trying it again later today and adding more whether it's free or not.

This is important whether the Z is frozen or not. Once the motor moves even a tiny bit (don't move it far yet at all) dump the oil out, as it's full of acid and water and you don't want to start pumping that up to the rest of the engine. I won't move mine more than a few degrees once it comes loose. Let me repeat: Get that oil out of there before you pump it up by spinning the engine! The cooling system is probably dry, so that's no longer a concern. If you don't have a frozen engine, do the same thing. Put in fresh oil and a new filter right away. If it's free (or has been freed) then pull the plugs, disable the ignition and fuel pump (you don't want to move any water/rust/acid/gunk in there either) and spin it until the oil light goes out. Wait a bit to give the starter a break and do it again. If it goes right out, spin it again until the light is out for 30 seconds or so, as this will fill the oil galleys so that you don't have a dry start. Your cam and lifters will thank you.

Once that's done, then you can concentrate on the fuel system. If you have air, pull the rubber fuel lines off and blow out the main line, as it's full of rust. Pull the tank and inspect. If you're lucky, it has no holes. If it does, then you could possibly find someone like we have around here that does submerged welding to patch it up for you. (I don't know how much a new one would cost, so it may or may not be a big deal.) Rebuild the fuel pump (if possible) rebuild the carburetors and put in all new rubber hose, clamps and filter(s) as there may be a screen in the tank.

Cooling system is next. Flush it out with plain water, then maybe some flush after that. You may need to do that again after you get it running. I would probably bypass the heater core at this point just so that you can get your more important bits done first. If you have it in the budget, go ahead and put a nice quality water pump in there.

Check the ignition system. (It may need wires, probably needs points (you could file them and re-install for checking purposes, though) and if the spark is blue or white or even has a yellowish look to it, FIRE THAT THING! An orange spark is weak and either means a bad condenser (likely) or a bad coil (less likely).

Good luck and let us know if you can pick it up or not.

[emkaytree]

The only thing you need to know about a 240z, is that the 280z was better.

The 240 for some reason has a hardcore fanbase, based on purist. Whilst I say rip it out, and throw in a small v8. Great success.

/thread

[jsausley]

I bought a 1973 240 with 77k miles, non-running (no oil pressure) and only slight rust (rocker, hatch, battery tray, half dollar driver side floor) for $1500. It now has an L28 with triple Webers, stock tranny and late model R200 LSD rear end in it.

[iamnotemo]

Thanks to this thread I'm off to watch some Wangan Midnight.

[Air and water do mix]

The only thing you need to know about a 240z, is that the 280z was better.

The 240 for some reason has a hardcore fanbase, based on purist. Whilst I say rip it out, and throw in a small v8. Great success.

/thread

I'm sorry, exactly why is a 280 better than a 240?

It's certainly not weight, as the 240 weighed in at 2350 lb. whereas the 280 was 2800 lb.

I might use an L28 short block (NOT the head) and the 5-speed from a 280, but otherwise leave the 240 as-is. This isn't a purist's idea, it's the best of both worlds. 280s were heavier, laden with more emission controls, 5 mph bumpers (which stuck out a long way) and most consider the early 260/240 better looking.

[jrmcm]

The only thing you need to know about a 240z, is that the 280z was better.

Go find ONE person that agrees with you on that and bring them back here. We'll wait.

[amotion578]

and most consider the early 260/240 better looking.

^ I'm with you on the 240 aspect. I was never a fan of the styling of the Z cars except the Z32 300ZX and the 240z.

[Cousin Eddie]

Gotta go, but reserving a spot here (and reminder) for later when I have a spare minute to offer my thoughts.

I've owned my 260Z for about 5 years now.

[FuelInMyVeins]

[Cousin Eddie]

They are quite a fun car to own/drive. Insanely easy to work for, parts bin among other Nissan/Datsun cars at the time so parts are easy enough to get even at Napa if you know what's interchangeable with later cars. Most parts systems at NAPA etc. don't have the 70-78Z in the system but they have the 280ZX, so you can get parts if you know what will work.

Other than that there are a few suppliers that are easy to deal with (MSA in California has been good to me). They rust everywhere. Floor pans, dog legs, badly beneath the batter tray etc. It doesn't take much to make one of these cars scrap. So if you don't live in a favourable climate or own a garage I wouldn't bother personally. If you can keep it dry and clean it will be fine.

I have replaced all the bushings on my 74 with poly, replaced all the u-joints and added a custom diff mount to reduce wrap. These cars handle absolutely amazing with a good set of springs/shocks and some stiffening (strut braces).

This is one car i'm absolutely in love with. I have driven many sports cars, even many faster cars but this car is where my heart is as an enthusiast. It's the sound of the triple webers and cam, the smells of fuel/exhaust/old car, the pulse that the car seems to have. And it's a classy looking sexy car.

It isn't a high horsepower knock you back in your seat rocket. It CAN be if you want to build your L series or drop a V8 into it. I plan to build mine up a bit when I re-build the engine eventually but I have no interest in putting an RB26 or V8 into my car. When I bought it I had every intention of doing an RB turbo swap. One season of driving with the L series and webers and I just fell in love with it.

I have a 5 speed transmission and R200 rear diff out of a 280ZX in my car.

I honestly have zero complaints, it's nice to work on and unique. It's really quick on a winding road but it gives you that illusion of speed via the senses. It's a car that you can have fun in and not end up in jail in the first 5 minutes.

It gets decent gas mileage too if you're going on a long tour. I frequently take my car on 300 mile + trips in a weekend, it's nice and reliable. I have had some electrical gremlins and issues to sort out, the cars are bad for that. Weatherstripping also needs replacing on these old cars. Keep a fire extinguisher with you at all times.

If you have any other specific questions feel free to PM me to ask.

My car: