Not Model Aviation but TOTAL INSANITY

[Robert Zambelli]

Look what someone paid for a Datsun 240 Z.
One of only around a zillion made!

More than the price of a BRAND NEW Ferrari!!!

Crazy or what?

Bob Z.

[Avaiojet]

Look what someone paid for a Datsun 240 Z.
One of only around a zillion made!

More than the price of a BRAND NEW Ferrari!!!

Crazy or what?

Bob Z.

I had a 240Z many years ago. The car was stuck in the road holding up traffic with a dash fire, firetrucks, police and all. Night time, it was late.

I pulled over, parked the car, I was driving a 1952 MG TD, then walked over to the owner siting on the curb. He said the car gave him a ton of trouble and he was getting rid of it!

A flatbed had just pulled up. I offered the guy $300.00 and he took it. I had the car sent to a friend's body shop. I did what I had to to bring it back to life, including a change of color. I sold that 240Z for $5K. Probably 1982 or there about.

The 240Z was a fast and fun car. Mine was a 6 cylinder and a standard. I've had a life long history with sports cars. I can understand a pristine 240Z selling for really high dollars. A wealthy collector.

[Elwyn Aud]

I saw a never worn Rolex watch from the early 70's with all the paperwork and packaging get an appraisal of 600-700 thousand dollars. Can't imagine a wristwatch worth that much unless it had some major historical significance. At least the car looks like it would be more useful if you dared to drive it.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/season/24/fargo-nd/appraisals/rolex-oyster-cosmograph-documentation-ca-1971--201904A23/

[frank mccune]

         Hi:

         I have an 83 that I will let go for only half of that price! Lol

                                                                    Frank McCunek

[Dwayne]

Absurd.   

[M Spencer]

Turned down a slightly bent late 280 , which is a 240 reintroduced , jap export , for 300 , corner knocked in & split inner wing as he'd still drove it with bent strut & bent wheel . A winker along the road wants 22.000 plus . Falcon ute round the corner went for $ 300 .  Better Car .



Sort of a cheap Japanese Austin Healy 3000 / porshe . Which is a Tarted up V W built to Tatra Patents ! . 


Other Drivle . P- 38s float , a good advantage . https://www.motoring.com.au/motorsport-p76-delivers-87-year-old-triple-crown-119375/

[Chris McMillin]

I know, Bob. I just wanted the XK-SS recreation and even it was too much for me.
My brother is going the same direction with my mother’s sport car collection sales. Go outrageous, someone is gonna want it.
Chris...

[BillP]

Wow, that is crazy.  I bought a new one in 1974 and think it was about $3500...4 speed and no ac. Good runner but ran out of pep at 100 or so. I think it sold for $2400 a couple yrs later. Also bought a 76 260z 2+2 and paid/sold for about the same. It had problems with vapor lock. Otherwise both were fun drivers and easy to DIY. I have a 350z roadster now and gotta say the early Z cars were more fun than the modern version.

[Brian Hampton]

Had to do a search to find out the price so US$310,000...crazy!
The series 1 was the replacement for the Datsun 2000 Sport (Fairlady in America) and used the same front suspension/disc brakes as the 2000. The disc brakes were the same as used on the ~4000 pound Mk1 Jensen Interceptor so not exactly underbraked . I had a '68 2000 sport which, in Australia, came only with the 150HP competition engine which was an option in America for the standard 125HP engine.

The only other Japanese sports car that could beat that crazy 240Z price would be the Toyota 2000GT where one was sold at auction for over a million dollars. Remember Sean Connery driving the convertible 2000GT? Toyota only made a couple of them for the movie because Connery was too tall to fit in the hardtop .

[Tom Vieira]

I love Datsuns, phenomenal little vehicles!  I restored a 280Z when I was in high school with my dad.

This one does have a bit of special circumstance surrounding it, such as it is the original family: father was a datsun dealer, bought it to put it in the showroom.  They were selling so fast, he couldn't keep one in the lot long enough to use for demo's and window shoppers.  Father gave it to his son in the early 80's as a graduation present from Dentistry school.  It's also had the same mechanic since it was new., and of course window sticker, all receipts, etc etc.  Really, Nissan should buy it and put it in a museum...

But, 310 is nuts.  now enter a world where rot boxes are 10K....  insane....

[GERALD WIMMER]

Other Drivle . P- 38s float , a good advantage . https://www.motoring.com.au/motorsport-p76-delivers-87-year-old-triple-crown-119375/

Thanks Matt for the link, nice to have a positive story of an older person in a interesting classic car competing and doing well in a difficult competition.
Winning 13,695km Peking-to-Paris rally ahead of a 240Z and 911. Very inspiring!
Better get back to model planes and sand my Thunderbird today or it will never get finished...
Regards Gerald

[Robert Zambelli]

Sorry for the delay in responding to my own post!!

We had the first 240Z in upstate NY  (Rochester). The dealer got two of them, both orange, one four speed, one automatic. We got the four speed.
My friend and I bought it together and he drove it most of the time (winter) since I was a ski instructor and I drove my van for the most part. In the summer, I drove my Porsche 356 and ALFA 1600 Spider.
The 240 was a blast to drive but couldn't compare to my two beauties!
So, after about a year, Don bought me out and continued driving the Z, his only car.
Being such an early car, it had ZERO rustproofing - there was actually bare metal in the fender wells.
After two and a half years, the car was rusted so badly that it was and embarrassment to drive.   
It made it another year and a half but was so badly rusted that it would not pass NY inspection.
A local foreign car scrapyard bought it and we never saw it again.     
We did find out that the engine and transmission were swapped into an Austin Heally!!   
More to come.

Bob Z.

[Fredvon4]

Wife n I bought a used '77 280Z 2+2.......11.5 inch longer wheelbase and back seat only suitable for tiny people

I later bought a new foreign military sale Nissan 300ZX

we were very fond of our Z cars