This rather sad looking Datsun 240Z is listed for sale here on eBay. It is offered with a clear title, and the seller has listed it with a starting bid of $5,500, but at this stage, there are no bids. By the way, it is located in the sunny city of Cairns in Queensland, Australia.
Oh, this one isn’t pretty, and that is no real surprise to me. Cairns is a coastal city in tropical Queensland, so the weather can be quite humid during part of the year with salt air thrown into the mix. Add the fact that this poor old Datsun has been stored in an open shed since 1991 and the rust is having a field day. At least the seller leaves nothing on the table here. He shows you rust and plenty of it. So far things don’t look great.
It seems that with this 240Z each picture just reveals more tales of woe. These ones aren’t likely to improve your desire to outlay your cash on it. So is there light at the end of the tunnel? Well perhaps there just might be. The seller provides a number of quite clear shots of the underside of this Datsun and while there appears to be some rust in the floor pans, it actually looks as though it might be structurally sound. If it turns out that it is, then the majority of what you see can be repaired.
This is the original engine out of this little car. The seller claims that the engine was rebuilt some years ago and that this also involved the engine being blueprinted and balanced. The head and camshaft were “breathed-on” by an Australian company called Waggot’s, who are specialists in this area. Certainly, that inlet manifold and brace of Weber DCOE carburetors isn’t anything standard. Maybe you might want to use this engine, but maybe there is another alternative.
This is what currently resides in the engine bay. What you are looking at there is an all-alloy 4.4 liter Leyland V8 engine. This is backed by a 5-speed manual transmission. Apparently, the car never received engineering approval for this modification, but it drove around with this set-up for quite a while. The engine was actually an Australian developed version of the Leyland V8, and the engine in this guise would have been lighter than the 6-cylinder that it replaced. I have also heard of these engines squeezing out 400hp, so if this car can be made whole again, it would certainly get your attention if you were to plant your foot on the gas.
Unfortunately, there are no interior shots of this car, but the seller doesn’t hold back. The seats could be used, but the seller states that it would probably be in the new owner’s best interests to source a complete interior kit. Judging by the information in the ad, it looks like the seller may have already made inquiries about this.
This is a monster project to even think of taking on. Logic dictates that there are really only two viable options for this car. The first is to strip it to a bare shell and start a full restoration from scratch. The other would be to scrap the whole project and part this one out to get what you can for it. Common sense tells me that the second option would be the way that any sane, rational individual would go. But the thought of a 240Z with an alloy V8 sounds like a really attractive proposition.
Sad to say, Adam, it looks like a parts car, unless someone wants to virtually rebuild the entire shell. Queensland’s climate hasn’t been to kind to this Z-Car.
I’m digging the P-76 engine swap. I was told that these were also the basis of the Brabham 5 Litre mill that saw duty in Formula Tasman.
Back in the 1970s, a buddy of mine was serving in the US Navy. I suggested that the time that he make some contacts in Sydney through my hot rodding mates there to score a P76 engine for his car, a surprisingly quick ’71 Vega hatchback with a slightly-warmed-up 215 Buick under the hood and trick suspension. I thought punching a 4.4 Leyland out to 5 litres would have really blown a few minds in SoCal. Sadly, he never bothered to do so.
Yeah Beatnik, an open shed, a coastal location and a humid climate are all going to work against this one for sure. The 4.4 Leyland engine was enlarged to 5 liters, developed and used by John McCormack here in Australia for Formula 5000. It suffered some initial teething problems, and by the time these were sorted Australia had moved to Formula Pacific as our premier open-wheel formula. The car never got to show its true potential. The engine was actually fitted into a McLaren M23 chassis that was eventually bought off John by Ron Dennis, and it now resides in the McLaren museum.
Perhaps parts. $5,500? I do not see it happening. I have been wrong before. Two months ago I bought a 2000 Z3 BMW for 7K. 60,000 miles. Almost perfect. I gotta side with Howard when he chimes in. I hope he says to much also. Like his truck, better buys are out there. Always liked the 240Z though.
As long as I am on the web, anybody know what happened to that Rube Goldberg dude? I miss his comments. I hope he did not check out, maybe he moved to another forum? Old Motor?
One of my favorite cars ever. Breaks my heart to see them neglected like this.
I’ve always wondered – in front of the cowl, what is the purpose of the little panel between the fender and hood? Fairlady Z experts?
On one side that lifted up to give access to the battery.
I can’t remember what was there on the other side.
Here in Australia 240Zs are highly sought after and easily bring double the prices of their north American counterparts, this car will be restored without a doubt and most likely with the original six. ScottyMac, under the little panel there is the battery on one side and the brake master cylinder on the other.