This 240Z has just gone up on craigslist in Kent, Washington at a very decent price. It has been in storage for at least 3 years and needs more work than appears at first glance, but it does look like a decent deal at the $8,750 asking price.
The seller has written an honest description and there are many large, clear photos in the CL ad and on the web, plus a number of videos of the car running and driving, so you will know what you are getting for your money. The car has had a quickie paint job that has lots of orange peel and overspray, so factor in a redo of the paint along with replacement of the passenger floor and stiffener, and other metalwork on the underside. This is all mentioned in the description and shown in the photos.
The upside is that the car runs and drives and is complete and unmolested, which many early 240Zs are not. Just a couple of years ago this would have been no more than a $4,000 car, but with the general appreciation of vintage Japanese sports cars this early 240Z is worth the $8,750 asking price. The 10/70 build date is another plus since the early cars command a premium over the later ones. They run better too, although I would want to give the mildly modified engine a thorough check and tune.
I’m guessing that any effort and money put into the car will be more than recovered if and when the buyer sells it down the road. These are still affordable cars that have become scarce as original cars in excellent condition. In another year or two the asking price for this car is likely to look pretty cheap.
I agree. Put this in the camp of vehicles that have been too cheap for too long.
Is it just me or are all the links provided in this post showing other areas of the car the same link as the post ? I think given this is a unibody vehicle photos of that are most important for an interested buyer. I don’t think I would even consider a vehicle with out viewing the underside first, especially a unibody. A poorly painted paint job depicts a potential amateur cover up for a vehicle that warrants a quality paint job. I would say beware and bring a small magnet to check for body fill. Just my thoughts of course .
Not much interest hear
In high school this car was bad ass
Japanese cars hadn’t caught on yet
The 260 wasn’t as impressive
At some point in the 80s I had the chance to buy Jim Hickman’s 240, it had the 280 engine with webbers. It still had the red,white and blue paint from its racing days.
They say Jim won, broke or crashed.
Almost ALL of these had stress issues with the frame,,Its SORT of a unibody. Just like the chevy 2 or early Novas. Almost always when you look under them its on the passenger side and right about just fwd of the front passenger seat. Ive welded in braces on several Z cars for people. I believe there are frame kits out now to fix the issues. Hard to say when looking at one thas been braced if its been done right or cobbled together. But its not a big deal. These were great cars when they came out and still hold their own today. A passionate enthusiast base, and a good parts availability. There are a lot of forums for any information or tech help you may ever desire. I would strongly recomend one of these for someone who wants to enjoy a sporty little import car. This one is missing the bumpers and I would very carefully inspect it for other issues but they in general are good value for the Money. Ive owned several Z cars myself and currently have a 1974 260Z with V8 conversion with a alternate body kit.
When I was in high school, there was 2 guys whose parents had high income and these guys both drove amazing cars. There was a local company called ROKSTOK and did conversions and performance builds. Some race car stuff too. The oldest brother had an early Datsun z car. It was Green just like this. Had a whale tail on the back, side skirts, air dam and i think the hood had mods, might have been some NACA ducts too. Fully upgrade performance suspension, wheels etc. The engine was turbo charged and seriously upgraded. In the hills above the columbia river gorge (Corbett Oregon) that car was a race car on wheels. The younger brother had a German Capri painted Orange again with the whale tail, side skirts, air dam, wheels, tires and full suspension upgrade. The motor was breathed on but i dont recall a turbo on that one. It was seriously fast as well. I have tried finding information on ROKSTOK over the years. Found some old ads in motor trend and some of the other magazines but not a lot of info and very few pictures. No lack of pix of Z cars on a lot of forums but that IMSA road race styling always did it for me.
Well looks like theres more info since I last looked, just found several Ads, Appears Keiths Orange pumpkin Capri probably WAS Turbo,
See period ads : http://www.jerryolsondesigns.com/fordorphans/images-Capri/RokstockAd-Qtr-CDBrGd78-w.jpg
Google search on ROKSTOK Capri has a number of posts including period advertising. ROKSTOK was based in Tigard Oregon.
See: https://www.google.com/search?q=rokstock+capri&rlz=1C1CHNY_enUS450US525&espv=2&biw=1280&bih=677&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjExY6i853LAhUI1mMKHfY7DagQsAQIGw#imgdii=mDNRMU4SXA_aHM%3A%3BmDNRMU4SXA_aHM%3A%3BQmTRlYq5OskigM%3A&imgrc=mDNRMU4SXA_aHM%3A
———————————————————-
I still dont see a lot of information about ROKSTOK doing Z cars, perhaps it was a one off. But some time ago i found several online articles on this Datsun Z, and IMHO this is the NICEST custom Z car you will ever see. This is a rolling piece of artwork. The builder is apparently very involved with the Z car community and hosts a get together at his house with a Z car club. I have a whole file of pictures of this car and the build as well as tech specs. Not restored by any means, but damn! this is the nicest Z car I think the world will ever see. See this link:
http://www.modifiedcars.com/uploads/2010/01/50849.jpg
or heres an article on this car:
http://assets.blog.hemmings.com/wp-content/uploads//2009/12/Bill-Coffey-Garage-Party-15-2.jpg
I you want to go to extreme Z car building something like this is the far end of the envelope:
http://freaktuner.blogspot.com/2015/02/1972-datsun-240z-650hp-lt1-v8-power.html
Theres a website called Hybrid Z that has a lot of really good custom builds of Z cars and a load of tech. See: http://forums.hybridz.org/