Hi everyone,

New member here, I just bought my first Z off eBay.




Not sure how long this will remain available to read but here's the auction page,

1974 Datsun 260 Z Calif. car No Rust 63K Orig Miles


I have always loved the Z line of cars and as fate would have it, now I'm an owner. I've never purchased a car of eBay before, the description for the car reads really well so I hope when I pick it up there will be no disappointments.

I'm hoping to pick it up this Sunday, it's 500+ miles from Apple Valley, CA so I'm planning on taking a Bus and then driving it home.

I would like to find some aluminum slotted mags just in case anyone knows where I can find some.

Comments?

 

Looks pretty good mate, hope that you are happy.

I picked up my Zed 2 months ago after driving it once and drove about 700 miles home with absolutely no issues...hope you get the same goodness...Its a beautiful drive...

One thing for a first time zed driver...hope your ready with the big muscles matey that steering is heavy...I love it though

 

Hooray, the Z bug gets another one! Congratulations on your purchase and your excellent taste in cars! And welcome to ZDriver, too. Hope the car meets expectations, with no bad surprises.
Motorsport Auto (link below) has the aluminum slot mags you're looking for. They're brand new, come in 15" or 17", and are very nice, but not too cheap (like $900 something for all 4, I think). I haven't found any other *new* slot mags that are direct bolt-ons (i.e. no adapters or anything). Some people have good luck finding great condition used mags, so keep your eyes open on eBay. For parts and upgrades, here are some of your new best friends:
Motorsport Auto: http://www.zcarparts.com/
Black Dragon / Victoria British: http://www.blackdragonauto.com/
Arizona Z Car: http://www.arizonazcar.com/
Too Intense Restoration: http://www.datsunrestore.com/
Modern Motorsports: http://www.modern-motorsports.com/catalog/default.php
Z Specialities: http://www.zspecialties.com/
Pallnet: http://www.freewebs.com/pallnet/index.htm

Again, congratulations and welcome!
Dave

 

yeah nice....you mutch did you steal her for off E-gay.....jk i like e-bay....

 

Cool!! Welcome to the site and nice Z! Looks like you got a good deal.

 

those wheels look good on her--nice effect--beautiful car.... why do guys always wanna change the wheels first off????? shiny new ones would just look funny--she is perfect!

 

Welcome, Mike! Wow, she's a beauty! $5,219.00 was practically a steal with 63K original miles and a $4-5K paint job. Hmmm, I wonder why the engine and tranny were rebuilt since the mileage was so low to begin with. Anyway, nice find! I'm not one to replace stock wheels, but I'd agree that she'd look much better with some mags that aren't the same color as the car. Please tell us more about her when you get her home.

 

You know, I like the style of the wheels, but the insert colour sucks...maybe you could strip them back to bare metal...that would look very cool

 

Congratulations! Looks like the same color as myne! I kinda like the rims the way they are. I am also looking for some rims... I have the origional hub caps, I really like them, but they are very squeeky!

 

You have squeaky hub caps? how do you know? are you hanging out the window while you drive? Thats not safe driving heehee

 

***Update***

I flew up to Sacramento and picked the car up to drive home, about 500 miles.

170 miles away the aftermarket el cheapo fuel pump gave up in the middle of nowhere. With a few wrenches and some kindness from some store employees, I got a ride to the only parts store around which was 15 miles away and purchased and installed the only generic aftermarket fuel pump in the store.

Took about 3 hours to process, could have been worse...

 

hey Mike....thats one of the reason we love these old Zs...never a dull moment!! My 240 has already left me stranded once (ignition wire)....anyway, glad you made it back OK.

 

Oh yeah...

Who's the Z Carburator Guru in Southern California?

This car's running kind of rich.

For what it's worth, I'm in Apple Valley, California

Thanks!

 

I'm glad you made it back home in her, Mike. Good thing it was just the fuel pump and not something major. So, how do you like her so far, besides the carb problem?

 

It's fun to drive. The lack of power steering takes a little getting used to and it starts kind of hard.




Lots of people make comments about how nice a shape it's in and how they haven't seen one for ages... It didn't come with a radio so that's on the to-do list, right after I get the exhaust-coming-into-the-cabin problem fixed.

 

I probably won't get to swapping out the wheels right away as I have two other project cars that I'm working on...

1959 2 Door Cadillac Coupe Deville


This is my 4th or 5th 1959 Cadillac and the first one I've put a 462 Big Block Chevy into..




1973 2-Wheel Drive Full Convertible Blazer
I just crunched the front of this truck and this is kind of the reason I bought the Z-car, I needed a gas mileage car that I liked to drive while I rebuild the front clip and then I'm going to paint it black and upgrade the engine.

They only built 3,345 2-wheel drive Blazers in 1973 so it's pretty rare and a lot of fun to drive.

 

glad you made it home mate, fuel pump isnt so bad mate

Does it have the original carbs or SU's? if you get the manual for it youll be able to do it on your own for sure. I tuned the SU carbs on my 260 month ago with the vacuum hose in the ear method and its running beautiful now.

BTW SU type carbs (including Hitachi copies) get better performance when they are a little rich...

 

I hope the pictures I sent you on e-mail reached you okay? I'm sure you will enjoy the Z as much as I have over the last (oh!) 30 years. I bought my first Z off the showroom floor in late 76. What a beauty. 1977 280Z. Paid the dealer $1,200.00 extra just to drive it out of the showroom myself. Helped to know him. I have had 1-240Z, 1-260Z, and 2-280Z's.

Great car and I hope you enjoy yours as much as I have mine. Let me know if you recieved the pictures of the black 280Z I sent to you. Not sure if your box could recieve as many as I sent.

Bud Martin