I just bought a 260Z

[thamlin000]

My first day and I got a wave from a guy in a 350Z. It has been months since another Porsche driver has waved when I'm in the '44. End rant.

Some of you might remember I almost bought a 240Z a few weeks back, but I decided against that particular car due to it's condition. An good, original condition, 3-owner 74 260Z poped up locally and I couldn't resist, its now it is mine. Not as fast as the 240 but still fun. The car in pretty nice overall. Garage kept, flawless interior, good mechanicals, paint shines, looks good from 20' but up close you can see it is cracking. It's a 4-speed and has records going back to 1986.

The 944 still gets the garage spot. I think it'll be good fun sharing daily driving duties between my 20 year old 944 and my near-30 year old Z. Still, all my friends and family think I'm crazy.

[thamlin000]

[ZAMIRZ]

time for a 350 swap.

[bell]

a good freind of mine (timmmmaaayyy) has a completely restored 70 240z.......does yours feel like an early ferrari? his does, it's absolutely amazing.
it looks like you found a nice solid rust free example, enjoy

[DonDavis]

I had a 260 way back in the day. I loved that car. It's also the car that fostered my love for coupes. Yours looks GREAT and congrats. If the carbs are original, you may want to think about replacing them with some Webers. The Solex ones on mine gave me fits. I ended up crashing it into a utility pole

BTW, did you know that even though the 260Z was only produced for 1974 there 2 versions? I believe they were referred to 'A' and 'B'. The A was early production had the same bumpers as the 240 but with impact shocks. This set them off the body a few inches to meet US regs.
The B was later production and is what you have. Larger bumpers that are just like the ones that were on the 75 280Z. Not sure of any other differences between A and B but I thought I heard that the B had the exact body as the 280.

Enjoy!

[Z-man]

Very, very nice!
-Z.

[thamlin000]

Thanks for the comments, everyone.

Zamirz- 350? If (when?) I blow the engine, I'll give it serious thought. Sure would be fun though.

Bell- Loan me an old Ferrari and I'll let you know how they compare.

Don- The carbs are Hitachi SU from a 240Z. I want to back date the bumpers to early style. These impact bumpers kill the look to the car.

This is where things get interesting. The car is currently registered as a 74 model. All the records going back to 1986 refer to the car as a 74. These records are from the second owner who owned the car from 1976-2001. However, the VIN number and build date (9/74) are that of a 75 model. In fact my Z is, according to the VIN number, the 36th Z made for the 1975 model year. 1975 260Z were made from 9/74-11/74. 12/74-on was the 75 280Z. Strange, huh? http://datsunzclub.com/serialnumber.html

[DonDavis]

That is weird. I've never heard of a 75 260Z. Maybe for the RoW?
Back dating: have you seen the 260Z I'm referring to? It has the same 240Z bumpers but with impact shocks. Which way would you go? Up against body ala 240, or off body ala 280?
I like flush to body. Cleaner lines but less body protection if you bump something. But how often does that happen?

[ZAMIRZ]

I've ridden in a 'vette with a supercharged LT4 corvette motor, that sucker would light 'em up at 40 mph. It was a beautiful machine, painted british racing green with HRE 545s and 300ZX seats and a booming system. Way cool car.

[Doug Zielke]

Years ago, I had a 240 and 260. Nice cars.
But both succumbed to the moisture of the Rainforest.

[thamlin000]

I want the 240Z look. Hopefully I can find an early 260Z and swap the bumpers. I'll feel kind of bad doing it since a previous owner paid $600 to get the front and rear impact bumpers re-chromed.

[Bill Douglas]

Good score. In NZ early Z cars are considered collectables and a lot of money is payed for a car like that.

[gearhead290]

I've always admired the old Zs, they're classics.