There’s a street nearby the palatial Hooniverse HQ that people have been using as a de facto used car lot. They park their cars on the side of the road with for sale signs in the windows, with the hope of catching a buyer’s eye as they speed past at or above the posted 45 mph speed limit. One such car that happened to be there this weekend, is a 1971 Datsun 240z in deep teal. We don’t know what crime it committed, but the license plate indicates that it is guilty. As the For Sale sign says the asking price of $7,000, we’ll guess the crime was extortion.
The 1971 240z differs from the previous year through the move of the cabin ventilation extractors from the hatch to the c-pillar badge, but continues the 151-bhp L24 straight six engine. This car is one of the more common three-pedal models, which is a good thing because the auto box saps the fun faster than a highway patrol car stuck to the tail.
This car has seen some better days, and the heavy window tint prevents a good look at the interior, so who knows what the milage is, but the seller does claim that a 280 motor has been dropped in. Does that mean it’s still rocking the SU-mimicking twin Hitachis, or FI? Who knows? But, if it was a clean upgrade, and there’s nothing else major wrong with the car, that $7,000 might be reasonable after all.
What do you think?!
Streetwalker: 1971 Datsun 240Z
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While the price does seem steep, it could be worth it to someone if done correctly and cleanly. Either way, it sure would be fun to hoon it around town.
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Crackpipe. Wait, what? I’ll give them $4k, if they still have the 2.4 and it isn’t asploded.
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This guy seems overly optimistic in his asking price. The body looks solid, but the paint has some issues, and since the paint isn’t original, one must be wary of possible body work. The engine swap begs several questions, and hurts originality more than the slotmags, but saves some points by still being a Datsun. $7k is restored (but not show quality), or nice original 240 kind of money for something that falls well short of that mark.
The 2.8 helps desirability for a hoon such as myself, but hurts value to a collector, and this guy is asking collector kind of money for his frankenZ.
Mike’s proposed $4k price is more realistic. -
A former co-worker had one quite similar, the main differences being the very faded paint and copious rust spots that tend to accompany 3 decades of outdoor Eastern Seaboard life. Still ran like hell, though.
He traded it for an Escort ZX2. I haven’t spoken to him in years. Coincidence? You be the judge. -
After sitting dormant for a week, the engineerd Fair Market Value (eFMV™) WOPR-like computer was powered up and found some interesting information.
The average price for 1971/72 Datsun 240Zs on Autotrader’s Classics site was $14,280. Really. $5000 was added for this being a true classic, $1500 for mods, and $1500 for general awesomeness. Come on, teal is awesome people! That brings the fair market value up to $22,280, or roughly the price of a new V6 Mustang. Keep in mind though, that unlike a 2010 Mustang this baby won’t coddle you to death.
I say buy it if you’re brave enough, and then let me know about all the cougars you get with it.-
Are the good cougars going to go after something with rough paint?
Love the car and always will, but ask for 50% off. Questionable mechanics and bad paint suggest that the car may have been rode hard and put away wet.
Great car, Crack price.-
I purposely left out the “good” adjective on cougars. I’m imagining something more like Patty from “My Name is Earl”.
The thing is, though, considering every other 240Z on AC was going for over $10k, and some even going over $20k, this could make a decent starting point. Sort out the mechanicals, if they are shoddy, and fix up the paint and you could have a nice little runner.-
Yeah, with a 280 motor putting out ~150 hp, most any Cougar would have to be in pretty rough shape to get dusted by this.
Wait, what were we talking about?
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I can’t tell you how happy I am to see eFMV™ again. I have had such a hard time with all of my car purchasing decisions without it!
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I wholeheartedly second that. So glad to have you here, Mr. Neerd!
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Yep! Now we just have to wait for the first run of engineerd’s Hooniversal Brefass Scotch, infused with whatever his greatness desires.
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Awwww…shucks. I’m blushing.
Now, I just need to go work on some Hoontastic brefass scotch.-
Careful not spill any ‘shine on your rotary-dial phones.
You know, the ones you use to access your WOPR-like eFMV.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO PLAY A GAME?
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For about the same price, one of my friends now owns this spectacular ’72 240Z:
It’s not a concours restoration, nor does it have the 280 motor swap, but it’s a really, really nice Z for the same price as this thing. -
Seven grand is a little much for this, but it’s still a helluva nice car. I remember screaming around Utah’s west desert with a buddy who had a 240 Z years ago, but the Z car he had was a poisonous beater. I could feel the body flexing because of all the rust, as we hooned it down long dirt roads. Of course the guy had tweaked the engine to death, and had to sync the carburetors every time we stopped for gas (he carried a little flowmeter in the glove compartment). Yeah, I’d like a nice Z car and this one looks good. These just bring out the sadist in me, I’d wail on this thing like you’d never believe.
Hey, how come nobody ever promotes my comments here like they do on (REDAC…
Oh. Now I remember. Nevermind.-
superbadd75, enriched with vitamins has promoted this comment.
There, hope that makes you feel better. It does me, I was never able to promote anything at [REDACTED].
It’s kind of nice being able to see everyone’s take on things without having to do the whole “show all comments” thing, huh? And makes it feel much more friendly. Like we’re all on the same level. I hated feeling like a second class citizen.-
Thankfully the ‘verse hasn’t been invaded by facebook trolls yet, and everyone ’round here seems to have a pretty firm grasp on spelling and grammar.
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Don’t forget etiquette. That’s a huge problem when those guys enter the room.
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Yeah, I know. It’s like the old days at (REDACTED) when we were all equally in the black. I’m liking this place a lot, so far. Good Job, Dearthair. This is great fun.
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The price seems steep at first glance, but the fact that it is such an early (albeit altered) example means its probably as good a deal as ‘neerd reckons it is.
Also: Never really considered the corner of San Gabriel and Huntington to be a used car haven, but a) I’ve never really been looking and b) I seldom go past there on weekends. -
Any Z without rust looks good to me.
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$7k is crazy talk.
Get down under $5 and you’ve got something worth considering. -
"CptSevere:
I remember screaming around Utah's west desert with a buddy who had a 240 Z years ago, but the Z car he had was a poisonous beater. I could feel the body flexing because of all the rust, as we hooned it down long dirt roads. Of course the guy had tweaked the engine to death, and had to sync the carburetors every time we stopped for gas (he carried a little flowmeter in the glove compartment)."
Oh good grief that had to be me. CptSevere, '73/2-2 barrel Webers/lime-green and primer before the dark metallic blue/analog clock replaced with digital from Radio Shack/flowmeter – in one of the little compartments behind the seats(bong was in the glovebox), does any of this sound familiar? -
This Friday I will be the proud owner of a '73 240Z, for just hair over $1000. It's ugly, but it's mine. Someone painted it with latex house paint at some point. It looks like a pile of crap but runs soooo nice. Obligatory (smallish) rust hole in floor pan by clutch. I just wanted to share. I'm totally thrilled!
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I never would have thought how much stuff there was online about this! Thank you for making this all easy to get the picture
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can u send me more pic by email plz
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yes see my Facebook posts. https://www.facebook.com/david.kvisler.5
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Nice Car !
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