1971 Datsun Z-Series

HLS3010386

Clear

Hello Datsun Enthusiasts! I present to you an opportunity to bid to win a series 1, orange, numbers matching motor + performance built motor, 5 speed manual, no evidence of previous collision, dry, and crack free original dash, 240Z. Sounds good? Read on. Ask any questions BEFORE bidding. I have continuously owned early Z cars for nearly 25 years. I feel I know them pretty well. I will try to describe and show in pics what I would want to see and know.. but again.. please ask questions. I can photograph any area of the car you wish to see. I can/will accommodate you or third party to view the car. I've put a very fair reserve on this car. I do think it will sell the first time around.. So, do your due diligence.. and bid to own this rare example of an early 240z. This description is going to be long.. as I am making my best effort to tell you everything I know about the car that I feel is important. Read it twice. Then ask questions. The car came with aluminum 14" Enkie wheels. It currently has a set of 16" Panasports with fairly worn tires, from another car I own. If the Buy It Now is used, I will leave the Panasports on it if the buyer prefers them. If the reserve is met and the car sells for less than my BIN, I will give the buyer the choice of the old Enkie wheels or ZX 5 spoke wheels with some good used tires mounted on them. Known history: I found this beauty near Portland, just over the border in Washington state. The previous owner was a Z car enthusiast dating back into the 70's. After an accident with his first Z, he searched for a replacement. He specifically was in search for a series one car, as if he knew back then that these were the desirable cars to own. He found this car, built in 9/70, car number 10,386 off the line... Making it an early 71 model year. He drove this car quite a bit and kept a hand written maintenance note book in the glove box (still present). A friend of his who worked at a Nissan dealer helped him build a "performance" motor for it. They utilized the original E31, head and sourced an L26 block. Put a street-able cam in it.. and I don't know what else.. It was then mated up to a 5 speed out of a truck and installed in the car. He parked the car under his north facing carport in 1990 when he married and took on a new family. He loved the car and was proud of it... and the motor. Luckily, he kept the original numbers matching block in his basement all these years. The numbers matching block, is just that, a stripped down block (original pistons included too).. but as these cars continue to appreciate it is well worth having. He had the car re-painted around 1990 after someone backed into a fender in a parking lot. He replaced both fenders with new Nissan fenders and I believe new bumpers, then had it repainted in the factory #918 Datsun Orange. The odometer shows 18,000.. Likely at least 118K My short tenure with the car: More than 25 years went by and he finally decided to let the car go. I purchased the car in June of this year. I trailer'd it home and began the process of getting it ready for the road again. I had planned on keeping this one and got extensive with the suspension work etc.. but, I am short on garage space, already own an orange 240 that I'm deeply in love with, and with a new Adventure bike model coming out next year.. that I've got to have, I decided to sell this one and another one from my collection. I've got the car running excellent and driving pretty well. It is now time for the next owner to take over and put it on the road. Its close. I will outline the work I've completed and what is still needed. Motor/Transmission/Drivetrain: I started by pulling the plugs and pouring marvel mystery oil in each cylinder and renewing the oil. I let marvel oil soak in for a few days. Then, I hand turned the motor. With the plugs still out, I cranked the motor over until the motor was primed with oil again. I cleaned and disassembled the carbs. I then bottle fed it gas and it started right up. Once I verified the motor was running well, I started on everything else. The gas tank was dropped, cleaned professionally, all new vent hoses installed, pressure washed underneath it and re-installed. The radiator was rodded and cleaned. New hoses etc under the hood. I completely removed all four corners of the suspension. Cleaned and prepped them for POR15 paint. The front received new steering components, tie rod ends, ball joints, bushings, serviced the rack, new rotors, calipers, wheel bearings, pads, strut inserts and brake hoses. In the rear, new strut inserts, one NOS wheel cylinder, one rebuilt (oem), turned drums, new shoes, brake hoses, mustache bar bushings (differential carrier). Instead of replacing all the bolts with aftermarket bolts that have the wrong head size, and look, I had them all cleaned and replated with yellow cadmium chromate. A tedious process, but worth it. The car had lowering springs on it. I didn't want a harsh ride so, I installed factory springs I had from a 72 or 73 in the rear and factory springs from an early 74 that had a coil cut down.. I thought this would give it a good rake and have good ride quality. It feels and looks a little too "over-sprung", better than slamming every pot hole and man-hole cover in the road tho! I will include the lowering springs it had on it, should the new owner wish to go that route. Back under the hood.. I replaced the brake master cylinder with a NOS unit as well as the clutch master (exedy a Japanese manufacturer). The clutch slave and hose were also replaced. Basically, every component of the brake system was replaced with the exception of the power booster. I adjusted the valves, balanced the carbs, and the car is now running strong. It is still a motor to be proud of. It has headers, 2.5" exhaust.. It revs to the red line quick and pulls hard doing it. It is a little smoky, but every Z I own smokes a bit. If you've owned one, chances are you can relate. I consider it totally normal for a seasoned motor. Not blowing clouds. It will likely smoke less after some hours of run time on the motor. No odd noises or anything that seemed like a problem to me in regards to the motor. It's a screamer and seems very healthy. I've only driven the car around town, maybe 10 to 15 miles so far. I've let it idle for close to an hour.. everything seems fine.. Temperature is normal as is oil pressure. I found in the previous owners maintenance log book, notes of the transmission having been rebuilt. It seems to shift thru all the gears with no issues or noise. The shifter does move around a little like a pickup truck shifter does. Body/Paint: The body appears to have all its original panels with the exception of the front fenders mentioned earlier. All panel gaps look factory perfect to me. Hood, doors, hatch all open and close well. The roof is a very fragile and important body panel consideration with these cars.. this one is excellent. I see no dents at all.. rare. Overall the car is very straight. The unibody shows no signs of previous collision anywhere. The very forward inner fenders are clean and free of ripples or evidence of previous collision. The spare tire well is true and perfectly round as a car that has never been hit in the rear should be.. It is also very solid, as is the rear hatch body jam. The floors have no patches and appear to be excellent. Battery area is also solid. The car was repainted in or around 1990 and it looks like it was a pretty good driver quality repaint. It has now aged 25 years and has many issues. It does not look as good up close in person (0 to 5' away), but does still look good from 10' away or going down the road. The only significant body damage is on the lower rear valance.. looks like he backed over something.. Not horrible, Just a rumpled a bit. Bumpers are straight and look good. It appears the previous owner could not resist the temptation of the rattle can at some point.. there are some areas, mainly the rear hatch and drivers front fender, that he has touched up with color matched spray paint.. I don't know why he did this.. There is no sign of bondo or body work in these areas... It doesn't look like the paint had even come off before he did it.. He also painted some things under the hood, like the valve cover. It appears he also re-sprayed the interior of the floors in the front. That I don't have a problem with.. I am an advocate of POR15 and the protection it offers. I have used it in several applications in the past 10 years and am impressed with it. I have applied it on many of the body seams where rust starts, i.e, underside on the floor supports, bottoms of doors, etc. In summary, the body is a very straight, accident free, not a wavy bondo disaster.. but the paint is old and has issues. I have not spent any time trying to polish it. Interior: Inside looks good to excellent overall. The original dash is somehow still free of ANY cracks. A series one car with a crack free dash!? Rare indeed. The console looks great, and the original vinyl is very nice. Carpet kit is old but still presentable. Door panels look fine for a driver. Shifter and brake boots need replacement. All the gauges work with the exception of the clock. Doors operate well. Windows roll up and down, however the drivers window could benefit from an adjustment. Both door locks operate with the original key. Rear hatch lock feels like it will work.. but the original key is the only copy I have and I don't want to force it at all.. Original weatherstripping is in surprisingly good condition. What I've noticed will need attention. Emergency brake cable is seized.. replacement needed.Wipers inop.. haven't looked in to it.Turn signals are working, but a bit sporadic. I think they will get better with use. Drivers window needs slight adjustment. It is working.Windshield has a rock chip that has been repaired. There is also some hard water staining (visible in one pic)Brakes- nearly entirely new system.. but they are spongy. I believe they just need to be re-bled. I will try to do this and update the ad.Suspension feels good, but as I mentioned, it feels a little over sprung to me. There may be something I'm forgetting.. but that is quite a bit of info on the car. As long as your expectations are realistic of the car I have tried to describe here, I believe you will be very happy with this car. If you are a new ebay member or have less than 10 feedback score.. or if you are an International buyer, please contact me before placing a bid.. or I will likely retract your bid. Shipping is the buyers responsibility, so please don't ask me what it will cost to ship the vehicle to you. That is for you to figure out.. and pay for! Paypal deposit of $500 is due within 24hrs. Balance is due within 3 days, end of auction via bank wire or cash. The title is a clear Washington title that was issued somewhere around 1990 and is still in the previous owners name. There is no problem. Thanks for reading the entire ad! Now bid to own this awesome series one 240z!