The Datsun 240z is one of the most iconic classic Japanese sports cars. These cars offered great handling in an attractive, yet affordable package. Most of these cars were driven hard, put away wet, and suffered from sever rust issues. This 1972 Datsun 240z wasn’t one of those cars, instead it was stored by the West Seattle car dealer from new. The car only has seen 714 miles and has been stored indoors for the past 40 years. The car has been serviced and is now for sale. It can be found here on Craigslist Seattle, Washington for $25,000. Thanks to reader Andrew for sharing this find with us!
The interior doesn’t show any wear or tear, but does show its age. After a good cleaning and some vinyl treatment, this interior should look as good as new. The seller claims the car even smells like new. We love the red and black interior, but we wish this car had the manual transmission instead of the automatic.
The seller says the biggest problem with this car is that the paint was touched up at some point in the past 40 years and doesn’t look the best. Overall the car looks solid and should make for a great collectors piece or possibly a driver. Valuing this car is hard, as there aren’t any Zs with this low of mileage on the market. What do you think? Is $25,000 in the ball park or unrealistic? And is the automatic gearbox a deal breaker?
They’ll never get $25K for an automatic. Great patina though.
I Have To Say i love this car i love all Z type Cars, But There is No Way Will anyone Pay 25thousand For This car Maybe more like 5 to ten Thousand, But Not 25thousand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Too bad it’s an automatic. If it was a manual it might be worth 25 grand but not a slush box.
How much would it cost to convert to a manual trans?
$25K is a steep price to pay.
Auto trans is gonna ROB much of the power…
Should be easy to swap in a manual trans.
What would it cost to restore one to this level??
And buyer should realize that some items (rubber bits, seals, tires, fuel system items, etc.) will probably need to be replaced anyway before long as they don’t typically age well, even if “stored properly”.
It won’t bring that but needs to go to a museum. A/Ts just don’t do it for me. Great car though.
Oh! & 1972 was one of the better (& more desired) years for the 240z.
I agree w Pat.
This should probably be put in either a museum or the showroom of a large Nissan dealer.
This is a (the?) car that put Datsun on the map here in the US!! :-)
The price is way above market. Color, transmission, and year are all against it. It must be the lowest mileage first gen Z car in existence if that claim of 714 miles is true, which I greatly doubt. The car would need to be perfect in every way for that to be convincing, and we already know that the car has had paintwork. And if it really had 714 miles I would expect the interior to look new, which it doesnt. The pedal rubbers and the rubber insert in the floor carpet should be jet black, but they look like more than 714 miles from here.
These cars had a very simple screw-on coupler for the mechanical odometer drive from the transmission, which was easily disconnected with a twist of the wrist under the dash. And since some of the critical odometer drive parts were made of plastic they broke easily. There are a number of ways the car could end up showing low miles. The low miles *could* be true, but you would want clear documentation to back it up, especially at that above-market price..
From personal experience I would definitely prefer a first-year Z-car with manual transmission over this car. By 1971 they had already lost performance from the anti-pollution equipment the got after the first year, which could be seen in an engine bay photo, but unfortunately there isnt one.
Those aftermarket body side moldings are the worst, Holes were drilled and they riveted on, A door ding or two would be much easier to repair.
They’ll never get $25k for that car. The automatic itself reduces the desirability and to change to a manual is significant work, requires a new console and the car would then not be original. The color combo- white with red interior was not a popular one with Z enthusiasts. Moreover, I would sooner buy a car that has been restored than one that sat for 40 years. The rubber hoses, trim and weather stripping are probably all deteriorated.
I seriously doubt the mileage claim.
I would say this car might bring $15k. A few years ago the 100% restored early Z;s sold for $25k and those were in way better shape than this one. Good luck.
Seriously guys, low miles doesn’t equate to perfect condition. It could have been sat in a million times by the owner (insert imaginary Vroom! Vroom! sounds here), could have been kept in someone’s garage long before this was a collectible, and treated just like an old car. Unless it was stored in a bubble, 714 miles might as well be 71,400 miles. On the AT-MT debate, I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that eventually, this car will gain value because of the slushbox. When’s the last time you saw one from this era with an automatic?
Chris H:
You’re certainly right, low miles doesn’t necessarily equate to perfect condition, but he’s pricing it as if it did. I think that’s what the resistance to this car is about.
Seller’s head is in the clouds…
if it was great condition, and really low miles, and well kept…
there should be absolutely no wear on the car with that claimed mileage… I have a 1960 Buick with 60k original, and has never had paintwork, why would a car with 714! And he’s reduced the price to 25K… what a bargain!
I agree, those miles are WAY not accurate. Touched up paint? Doesn’t look it’s best? Sorry, but combined with the appearance of the interior my offer is an insulting $12,500, but there you have it. AND I’d start givin’ that pup some exercise.
No one has mentioned the fact that it can be converted very easily to manual trans. Can’t even tell it’s been done ! One bonus is the 3:54 diff already in place. The other big one is being an automatic we know the car is much more likely to have not been driven by an idiot regardless of mileage.