Any one here know the car?? i have a chance to get one, less motor, from Kali, with no dents or rust for $1k. Needs restoration and I was thinking scarab. Maybe 283 al block.  comments???

I did a walk around it in the dark and it seams to be all there. many parts of the eng are in the hatchback. It seams as if the owner wanted to do a restoration but did not have the funds....pat

to the top... any one??

Not a big fan but a high school buddy was.  I remember him saying that 240 and 280 were the way to go.  Don't remember why he didn't like the 260.  If you are going to do a scarab conversion I don't think it would matter anyhow.  Good luck with it if you try it.  As a former victim of restoritis, just remember it is a very expensive disease to have. [:)]

Get it.You wont find another in midwest thats not a rusted out turd.The rest are original or restored .

I want to build a small  supper car. Is it cheaper to do a Kit like the ford gt-40??

Get an 86-88 Fiero GT fastback and drop a SBC into it.

No personal experiences, but my father had a restored 280zx turbo a few years ago.  He always said the 260's were POS's, and that is pretty much consistent with the articles I read in Z Car magazine while on the crapper in his house.  For him to call a 260 a POS must be saying alot, for although his 280 was beautiful cosmetically, it was pretty much a POS as well, mechanically.

Rocko

I owned a '74 260Z and a '76 280Z.  Both were great rides.  The big deal with the 74's was the excess emissions bullshit.  Must have been 300 feet of air pump tubing under the hood.  If you're looking to swap out the engine anyway this isn't a big deal.  I've seen them with a 350 chevy conversion.  They are insane.  So much power for such a light car.  The big thing to look for is frame rot.  They are unibody and the subframes would just fall apart.  Get underneath and check it out thoroughly.  Even if you decide to go with the original engine, get rid of the stock carbs and go for the triple Dellorto side drafts.  Get rid of all the emission stuff and make it a nice simple setup.  Brakes were fine, but rear drums are a bit expensive since they are aluminum with a steel lining.  Let me know if you want any more detailed info.  

thanks for the input , i am going later today to look at it in the daylight. and it is raining hard so crawling under it will be fun!

Wow!  Z cars are my other big interest.. If it really is rust free, JUMP ON IT!

I have a 260z. I have owned 2 240 2 260 and 3 280. I used to sell parts for extra money. A 1000 is too high unles it has a lot of nice parts. For that price the seats, dash and bumpers should be in great shape. If you are taking the car out of Ca. then you can do a lot motor wise.

Check the floor boards behind the seats, and the front of the rear wheel wells (outside) for rust. Poke the metal with a screw driver. Also check where the battery sits for rust. Doors should line up. Check the front frame rails. Tap with screw driver to make sure they were not repaired.

P.S. There are 2 different 1974 260zs. Early model. It shares parts with the 240 and a late model. It shares parts with the 280. The 240, 260 and 280 engines are interchangeable.

If you have any more questions email me.

Least desirable of the REAL Z car series in it's origional configuration, but this is easily corrected..(Emissions bullshit, tendency to vaporlock).

Otherwise, as the other posts have said you can drop in the big 2.8 litre six from the later 280..
Great car, not many others will even come close to it's handling. 4 wheel independent, heavy antisway bars, suprisingly strong diff, and a big engine compartment..

Yes, I too have seen 350SB chevys stuffed in em..Really pisses off the Camaro and Firebird crowd to see that little ricerocket howl past em, then stick in the turns..


As to your question, it had better be a COMPLETE 260 for that cash. You're looking at basically a full resto to get it right, cause even if it sat for a year, you still have no idea how old the brake lines, tranny and diff seals, and other rubber components are, or what condition the chassis wiring is in..

Check er out. If it's a good one, and you get it running, you won't ever forget it..

Good luck
Meplat-