1972 Datsun Z-Series

Coupe

2.4L

Manual

HLS3082309

Clear

Gasoline

I'm putting up for auction - very sadly - Billie Jean's pride and joy, a 1972 Datsun 240Z, orange exterior with black interior. You can use your cliche of choice here - cream puff, survivor, time warp - you could even use the "little old lady only drove it to church on Sunday" line. This really is an amazing car, but unfortunately after putting lots of time, effort, and money getting it out of mothballs and ready for use I've been asked to relocate to another state. I won't be able to bring all my cars and I need a down payment for a house so it has to go. I'm fully aware that I will regret this. This will be a long ad. I like to include as much honest info as I can so you can feel good about bidding. Please note: there is no reserve, no Buy-it-now, and I will not end the auction early. High bidder wins! History:1972 Datsun 240Z, VIN HLS3082309, purchased new at Gowan Motors in Tacoma Washington by Duane and Billie Jean. Duane's name is on the title, but the little orange car was Billie Jean's baby. It came with an automatic transmission - more on this later - and the dealer installed air conditioning, Appliance brand slotted chrome steel wheels (NOT aluminum mags), and rustproofed the undercarriage. And the underside of the hood for some reason. The car remained in Tacoma throughout most of its life. Paperwork with the car includes a letter from Duane and Billie Jean's son Sam stating that she was by far the main driver of the car, and that he and his father were only rarely allowed to drive it. The service booklet has entries from Gowin Motors through May of 1979 at 55813 miles, meaning the odometer has flipped at least (and most likely only) once. In April of 1996 the car was painted due to age related wear and tear. Sometime around this time the seats were supposedly reupholstered as well, but I only have the invoice for the paint job. Apparently $1810.33 could still buy a pretty nice paint job back in 1996. Unfortunately in 1997 Billie Jean was diagnosed with cancer at which point the car went into storage. The Washington license plates on the car expired in April 1997, and since then the car has been garaged and driven very little. Billie Jean passed away around 2003. Sometime after that the car was trailered from Tacoma to Sam's place in Iowa, where he says he "had the car gone through and put in good working order" and put it back in storage. In 2008, Sam sold the car to a gentleman in St. George, Utah, who kept it in storage and had a mechanic work on it occasionally. There are plenty of receipts from this period. In November of 2013 I bought the car and moved it to my garage in Pleasant Grove, Utah. My plan was to do a 5-speed swap as a winter project, then start driving it in the spring. Since then it's been busy taking up all my extra time and money. Mechanical Condition:The car needed a bit more work than I thought. The tires were 20+ years old, I could barely get it to start in the cold, the suspension was completely shot, and there was a bad fuel leak when the tank was filled all the way up. In retrospect all fairly normal stuff for a car that's been in storage for a long time. Receipts from the previous owner for mechanical items include: Reconditioned fuel tank, new fuel sending unit, new battery, belts and hoses, brake master cylinder, points, temp sending unit, R134a A/C retrofit kit, and OEM style A/C compressor. There was also some cosmetic stuff like door seals and bumper rubber. Since I bought the car in November I've done the following myself:- Engine (original numbers matching L24): Adjusted valve lash, set ignition timing and dwell, cleaned spark plugs, verified cam timing, and checked compression. Compression ranged from 145 to 152 PSI. My garage is at 5000' above sea level, at sea level that's a healthy 170-175 PSI or so. - Fuel system: Adjusted choke cables, set balance, adjusted mixture, replaced fuel pump and filter, replaced fuel filler hose with new OEM Nissan part, dropped fuel tank and replaced all vent hoses. The car now starts easily hot or cold, runs well, and the fuel tank can be filled all the way up without leaking. - Transmission swap: Installed rebuilt 280Z 5-speed with 240mm 280ZX 2+2 flywheel and clutch. All parts in the swap were either new, rebuilt, or good OEM used, besides the clutch hard line which I bent and flared using my neighbor's manual 280z as a pattern. The clutch is nice and smooth and the car shifts into all 5 gears plus reverse without grinding or popping out of gear. Unless you really know what you're looking for you would never know the car started life as an automatic. All the original automatic parts are available if the buyer wants them. - Suspension rebuild: New KYB struts with urethane bumpstops and the original uncut springs. New front ball joints and outer tie rod ends. Replaced all four rubber brake lines. Replaced all front and rear suspension bushings with factory Nissan rubber bushings, including the front and rear control arm bushings. Yes, I had to R&R the rear spindle pins. No, it wasn't fun. Alignment done by local tire shop. The car drives very nicely now, handles bumps well, and is stable at freeway speeds up to 80+ MPH. - New tires and wheels: New Konig Rewind 15x7" 8-spoke wheels with new 195/65/VR15 Goodyear Eagle Sport tires, installed in January. There are about 60 miles on them. The original but ratty looking Appliance slotted steelies are included if you want them. I've finally been able to drive the car around the last few days and it starts, stops, and drives very well. Exterior Condition:Please look through the pictures. All I've really done is rinse off the dust from the garage and it looks great already. A good detail and wax job would make it look spectacular. Probably the most remarkable thing is what the car has managed to avoid in 42 years. It's never been in an accident, never had ugly side moldings installed, never had the roof cut open for a sunroof, never had a spoiler or body kit installed, never had holes cut in the front of the tool compartments to install a pair of Audiovox 6x9s. (I was 17, OK?) This is a really nice, stock, unmolested example. Not too many of these cars have managed to avoid the damage caused by the "upgrades" of youthful owners. The paint job done in 1997 was well done, and is still in great shape. If you're expecting to win at Pebble Beach you'll be disappointed but overall it looks great. There is some overspray on the undercarriage, and one spot about the size of a quarter where the paint didn't adhere well in a crease - look through the pics and you'll see what I mean. There are also some very minor scratches on the left rear quarter panel likely from the gas cap, though these are harder to see. That's pretty much it. The sides are laser straight and the paint is even and shiny. There are no dings or dents, other than a small ding in the rear bumper that has caused the chrome to fail in that spot. Now the big question: rust. There isn't anything significant that I've found, and I've had it on my 4-post lift working underneath it all winter. The heavy rubber undercoating did its job. You can see the frame rails, rocker seams, and the undersides of the floors in the pictures and they're all rock solid. In fact, it still has the OEM exhaust system, with no rust holes or cracks. I removed the original mats from the front floors and carefully scraped off the gummed up jute matting so I could get some good pictures. The floors usually rust from the inside out, starting with the drain holes. I removed the rubber plugs and you can see from the pictures that all 4 drain holes are nice and round, with a bit of surface rust but absolutely no rust through. If I were keeping the car I'd probably remove the painted factory coating from the inside floors, then wire wheel off any surface rust and use a rustproofing paint to prevent any future issues. If you're looking for a more rust-free Z I suggest you go to your friendly neighborhood Nissan dealer. I'm sure they'll cut you a deal on a new 370. Interior Condition:The dash and console are absolutely pristine. There are no cracks in the dash or breaks around the choke handle. The seat upholstery is very nice with the exception of two small fixable tears on the back of the passenger seat. Carpets are original and in good usable shape, besides the driver's side carpet. It is included and would be good for a pattern but has a hole worn in the middle.The cardboard backing of the driver's side door panel has fallen apart in the lower front corner. The vinyl is still good so it should be an easy fix. Electrical / Other:Heat and defrost work well. Air conditioning compressor clutch engages when turned on and there's refrigerant in the system. It's a bit too cold still to judge how well it's working.All interior and exterior lights and signals work.Original Hitachi radio is in place and working, including automatic antenna.All gauges work, other than the clock.The windshield washer pump is not installed, I assume it needs to be replaced. Wipers work fine.All original manuals are in excellent shape and are included, along with a big stack of receipts and other paperwork.The original jack and tools are all included. The toolkit is still in the factory plastic bag!The spare is an ancient Bridgestone, possibly original. I wouldn't plan on driving on it too far. I have the original Washington state title in hand with Duane's signature on the title release. Buyer is responsible for transport. I'm willing to assist by dropping it off at a transporter in the Salt Lake City / Provo area, or by picking up the buyer at the Salt Lake airport if you want to try driving it home. After the work I've done I have no reason to think it wouldn't make it, but it is a 42 year old car that has been driven maybe 60 miles in the last 17 years. Stuff happens. If you have any questions please drop me a note through eBay and I'll send you my cell number so we can talk. The high bidder is going to get a great little car. Bid early, bid often. Good luck!On Mar-18-14 at 10:02:08 PDT, seller added the following information: Update: 3/18/2014 I've had a number of requests for more / better pics, so I've uploaded some more to a Google Drive folder: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B7mJtLjNtGWWYnhyWjBjZnNzWkU&usp=sharing I also have had questions about the condition of the battery support, so I pulled the battery and took some pictures. The battery support and the body underneath are nice and solid.