Are 73 auto 240z worth it?

[aceofspades]

SO I know of a local pretty clean 73 auto for sale
but I dunno its an auto car are they rare or just on common because no one wants them?

[MikeW]

They are rare because not as many were made to begin with. Some people have claimed they have the advantage of not having been driven as hard as manual transmission cars. Many people have swapped the automatic for a manual. If it's clean, i.e., rust free, it might well be a good buy. Do you have any pictures?

[bigoak]

Both...

Good news is the auto's tend to have been thrashed a little less...and you can swap in a manual if you want to...

As always, rust is the key...if the body is good the Z is your oyster...


EDIT...Turns out I agree with MikeW...great post MikeW...

[SportBikeMike]

I agree with the others. You lose a little straight line performance and thats about it. She's worth a look.

(I was actually thinking about going to look at an automatic 280ZX tomorrow.)

[wavemux]

I share the same sentiment regarding autos (possibly because I happen to own one). Stepping on the gas pedal of an auto 240Z is just as much fun as stepping on the pedal of a 4 or 5 speed....well, maybe a 5 speed is a little more fun. It's a Z after all. You do loose that off-the-line pull but once you get going it accelerates nicely. Plus I have the added benefit of my wife being able to drive it. The only problem I have with it is the "Nancy Boy" taunting I have to put up with from the guys in my Z club. If it's rust free (or nearly rust free) don't let the fact that it's an auto dissuade you from giving it consideration.

[Arne]

And should you decide to do so, converting to a 4 or 5 speed later is relatively easy.

Series 1 240Z auto to 4 speed swap

[aceofspades]

its ok car its 73 repainted in white so it hides the body work bit but i can still see it!
I drove it around needs trans fluid which worries what shape the trans is in!
but I dunno about the car needs more work then the 6 grand the owner wants for it I have 2 photos of me dirving it and one side profile i took with my phone!

Also there is mice poop all over the car and smells pretty strong !
The owner already had the wiring fixed due to mice eating some of the starter lines

he wants 6 grand for it no less!

Also has some after market carbs that starts with an C

[bigoak]

Umm...pass on it...more because of the mice poop (and the lack of care that indicates) than the tranny (automatics and 4 speeds are a dime a dozen as people usually have them lying around after the 5 speed upgrade...).

The hunt continues...

[1973Z]

As others have said, move along and get a much better car.

[wavemux]

Mice Poop = Gut entire car. Pass on this one unless the owner is willing to come way way down on price

[Montezuma]

Mice poop also equals mice piss which means a complete interior gutting. Who knows what other wires they have chewed. I also think mice poop equals a $4K reduction in the price of the car. I own a 73 automatic Blue with off-white interior, the car was unmolested when I bought it and I will never take out the Automatic, I want to keep it original. Keep you eye on Craigslist San Diego, Orange County, Oregon, Azrizona and New Mexico I am sure you will find a nice mice poopless Z there if you are serious. Sometimes members here on the board sell real nice cars too. Good luck in your search....Mice Poop yuck.

[Ttiger]

$6K is pretty high, even for a clean Z.

I bought a '73 auto two years ago. It needed fluid because the shift modulator was bad and was allowing the motor to suck trans fluid up through the vacuum tube. It was about $12 at Kragen and that solved the problem. It was not bad to drive. It's 3rd gear is a 1:1 ratio so it's the same a 4th gear in a manual trans car. I drove it LA for the Z-Car Nationals in 2008 and it ran fine.

After about 8 months, I replaced the auto with a rebuilt 260Z motor with 240Z intake and a 280Z 5-speed. I had to enlarge the trans tunnel cut out (outline is there from the factory) and bypass the neutral safety switch. Other than that, it was plug-and-play

[cunniwj]

Kevin,
I own a 72 with A/T in great condition basically stock except for stereo, electronic dizzy and polution control removed. I have often thought about the AT- Manuel swap but I would like to keep it the way it was it was delivered from the factory. I know some say it takes away the value of the car but I'm sure there's not to many 72's left basically stock with an AT. I do get some grief occasionaly from other's about a AT in it but I enjoy driving it the way it is since I'm not into auto cross and performance driving besides if I want to get racey I'll jump into my 82ZXT 5 speed.

The question I have for the experts out there is, if I decide to do the convert it to manuel can I use my current console or does it need a different one?

[Ttiger]

The console should work, but you'll have to take off the auto shift trim piece which may leave exposed holes. I ended up finding a manual console

[beandip]

My 240 has a auto. I was going to change it out for a 5 speed when I bought the car. Overall the body was rough , lots of dents and dings and it was all in primer. ugly. I only paid $500.00 for the Z and was able to barely drive it home. About 40 miles. Found next to a barn. I first made it safe by going over the brakes and related hoses and a set of tires. A good tune up and the old dog ran smooth. So I drove it for a couple of years and actually liked the auto , because I use the car for pleasure driving . I live where access to mountain roads are near. I am with a Z club and we have cruises each month. Any way on mountain roads now that the car has all been redone and runs strong with a ZX engine. On mountain twisty I keep up with the 300ZXs , as long as there are few long straightaways.
My point being don't discount a good 240 with a automatic. The trannys are bullet proof. And are much nicer to drive in traffic if this is in the picture. I will not go back to a 5 speed . I have had one . But I am old!

[Weasel73240Z]

Plus I have the added benefit of my wife being able to drive it.

How the hell is that a plus?????

I told my wife she'd never be comfortable with the vacuum-assisted brakes and lack of power steering, so she shouldn't drive my Z. Sure, its BS, but why would I want my wife driving my car?

I don't ask to use her blow dryer, do I?

[richard1]

In my eyes they have more value because they were added option and even with A/C, they were fully loaded cars with all the comfort.

The A/T is bullet proof and it is true. Mine has been rebuilt last year at 110K without any problem.

Parts are available without any issue and cheap to rebuild by local trans shop. How many clutch and trans service do you have to do on a stick shift in 100K?

As far as I am concerned, it is as peepy as a stick shift if the engine kept in tune.

[DaveBonds]

Monetary value is worthless if your plans are steady ownership. Who cares if it's worth $5 or $50G if it's going to stay with you? So long as you enjoy it, it's up to you.

The only way that this car is worth $6k on an open market is if it is a complete and total restoration that was left in a mice infested storage facility of some sort. And it had better be perfect other than the damage from the mice. Something to the tune of a $10-$12k car, but with the damage as stated.

The problem with mice is that they don't just damage wiring. They destroy insulation and use any part of the car that they deem worthy for their nesting and toilet. They carry disease and anything that has seen damage should either get a biological cleaning bacteria steam cleaning or removed and replaced entirely.

If you can see bad body work under the paint, that alone would nix the six grand figure that he's asking.

If you don't mind dealing with the transmission leak and the rodents, see if he would take $2-3k.

Quite honestly, I would opt for another car, strictly based on the fact that the owner has his head in the clouds. Which would lead me to believe that he had the same means of quality when it came to doing whatever work he did (and didn't do) on that car... which in a lot of ways is already painfully obvious.

[conedodger]

I'm not sure I totally agree with much of what has been posted. I owned an automatic 280Z and I autocrossed the crap out of it. The automatic was a great advantage on an autocross course. No third peddle to work, one click to stay in the torque... I stomped the piss out of that car and trophied every event I attended for years.

Other than the generalization that they were "treated better", I agree...

[fuzze]

Morning all , where I live here in British Columbia , Canada we have what are known as deer mice and the typical field mice as well . The feces that they leave can have a fungus bacteria that grows that has deadly consequences on your lungs . In the past couple years there have been fatalities that have occurred In the Whistler area and elsewhere in the province . This has happened mostly in recreational cabins where the environment allows the fungus to grow . My friends who own Cabins up at Pitt lake go to the extreme of wiping down all the counter tops, etc with bleach to offset any potential problems that could occur when they arrive for the weekend . I know this sounds extreme , but it would be my biggest consideration about this car .
good luck to you in your search for a Z , hopefully a poop free car that you can enjoy .
z you all later
chris

[aceofspades]

well thanks all I'm still looking at a member's car on here for sale claims its till an factory body!

[=Enigma=]

Factory body? I think most of us have factory bodies here. Care to elaborate on that some more?

[aceofspades]

the car still looks to have stock body meaning factory paint and metal no fixes yet

its in the for sale section I have posted about it before but it seems an ok deal!
5 grand some with spare parts
but has the start of rust in dog legs and right above the tail lights

[Carl Beck]

I'm beginning to believe that all 240-Z's have "the start of rust in the doglegs".... They rust from the inside out and it starts at the Factory as soon as they were built. Right above the tail lights is another area... but sometimes it isn't so much "rust" as it is the acid from the exhaust pipe gases that eats the metal from the underside. There usually isn't any visible "red" iron oxide there on otherwise rust free cars - what is there under the paint is metal that crumbles when you probe it with a screwdriver..

All things considered - given the initial price of the car and the exceptionally thin sheet metal - it is actually amazing they have held up so well for 36 to 40 years.

The dog legs and threshold plate for the rear deck lid are usually pretty easy to fix - "easy" as far as metal patching is concerned. Serious rust under the battery tray, in the wheel arches, rocker panels, frame rails and floorboards - can and usually does lead to the crusher...

FWIW,
Carl B.