Hi to all

[997TT]

hello to everyone. I am new to the z car scene. I recently acquired a 1974 260z vin rls30-029845. The car came to my family 15 years ago when the owner was killed in a car wreck in another car. It has been sitting ever since.
I am on the fence as to whether to sell it or build it to what I want. It has the tripple weber setup on it now. Also it appears to have a L-28 installed according to the stamp on the block. It has a five speed with and a/c. Upon
initial inspection I found that mice have apparently found the car to be a safe
haven to live in. I removed all the carpet and insulation. The passenger floor
pan is rotted through and the frame rail is bent under the floor pan. I am not
afraid to do this but am unsure about if it is worth all the cost. I would want to do brake and suspension upgrades and rebuild the interior back to better than new. The dash already has a half cap on it. The car runs and moves but
I would like some input from people who know these cars as to whether or not
its worth it. All i've heard about is how well these cars perform. sorry for the long intro post.

[Dtsnlvrs]

Not a problem. As far as worth goes...it is matter of what is it worth to you. Having said that...I have seen some basket cases brought back from the dead, and it being a 260....1 year prod run for the US market..makes it a little rare. If floors and floor rails are all it needs rust wide, i say go for it.

[997TT]

thanks for the input. glad someone is writing on this forum. sent you a pm for
a little more info

[beandip]

Welcome to the club . Sounds like a good potential car for a great driver. As to the rust , there is a place Zedd Findings that has floor pans and rocker for that Z , if needed . If you weld sheet metal or know some one that does , this will save you some big bucks . Rust repair is spendy to have done. Being that the car runs . My advice to you is to thoroughly check out the brakes , first thing . Change the fuel filters and fluids. I would replace the hoses and V belt. Be sure the car is safe and roadworthy tires and all. Then drive her , see how you like the car and how it handles . If you can, drive it all summer before you start taking her apart on any major project. You will get infected with the Z virus by then and there is no cure ! This way when you start on a major project like suspension or what ever you will be able to keep your eye on the prise. My Z was down for almost 3 years , and believe me , sometimes my motivation faltered some. But I reduced my 240 to a rolling shell . I am 99% done now and I am happy with the result. I have seen a hundred well meaning Z buyers , start right away and dive into God knows what only to sell a formally nice car as a basket case for pennies on the dollar 1 or 2 years later. My friend has 2 he bought recently . One for $500. and the other $700. One was a 2nd owner car with vary low mileage . Both are running and drivable now . One only took a part of a day to reassemble the front end and get the engine running. We are here to help so ask any questions . Gary

[v12horse]

To answer your question about fixing the car and whether it is worth the money and effort required, it is hard to assess. Do you mean worth it as fun for you, or do you mean will the car make you a profit when sold? The classic Z community (at least in the states) has not fully accepted the 260. I have seen beautiful original condition 260z's sell for less than 10k. If the same condition 240z were to sell, it would be in the mid to high teens. There is nothing wrong with a 260z. I own a 260z and I feel that it is a great car. It drives excellent, looks great, its reliable, the mileage is good (20-23mpg... This is a bonus as the mpg is not that important to me.), and it is just an all around super classic car. I could not be happier as far as owning a classic car. Like Gary said, the Z bug bites mighty hard, even if you drive a bad-ass Porsche. With enough work, these cars can perform competitively with new Porsches'. Probably close to a 997 Turbo, but definately with 996 Carrera's. Mind you, I am talking serious engine and suspension work, but it has been done.

The fact of the matter is, if you are going to go ahead and restore this car, do it for you and not the resale value. You have a nice start with the motor that you have and it sounds like the car is in decent shape. Rust is normal on these cars. We all want rust free Z's to start with, but most of us are not that lucky. When I restore my car there is going to be a lot of cutting rusted metal and replacing with new sheet metal. It is just the nature of the beast.

Good luck with this and keep us posted.

-Ben

p.s. Welcome to the club.

[997TT]

thanks for the input. I'm up to the welding so I'm pretty sure I can do the floor pans myself. I'm sorry if my post seemed like a sale add but I was trying to get some input to see what you guys thought on the car. That is why I joined the forum. My wife wants to drive the car eventually so I think I will take the advise and make it a driver for now. Does anyone know where I can get the linkages for the chokes on the tripple setup. Mine is not there and the stock cables are cut off at the firewall.

[Dtsnlvrs]

As far as the webers go...cold start enrichment is really not needed. Just floor the throttle 2-3 times (depending on temp), then start the car and blip the throttle while warming it up until it runs on it own.

[997TT]

I don't think the accelerator pumps are working because you can slowly raise the rpm but can't stab it or it will fall on its face. Is there diaphrams or plungers I should be checking and where do you look to see if they are squirting.