10/4/11 New Shell!

This was a big weekend in the shop.

I have sort of reconnected with my local Z club recently. One benefit of this is that I have regained some friends that I hadn't seen in a long time. Another is that CB, the owner of the red/carbon 240z in the earlier post, seems  to be aware of every Z in existence on the east coast. More often than not, he buys the good examples that he finds. I believe he told me he has been through something like 28 cars in the past few years, between parts cars and cars he has driven.

This worked out well for me, because he had an early 240z shell that he found a few years back, and wanted to purchase a clean 260z that finally came down in price a bit, but didn't really have space for both. The Z that I picked up from him is one of the very first 240z's produced, the 1905th to be exact. It has the tell-tale hatch vents and dashboard, and is exceptionally clean. CB literally found this in a barn, and when he bought it, the last time it was on the road was 1976. There was minor rust in the rear quarter panels and rocker, which he had professionally repaired, and the car sat waiting for the turbo drivetrain he was building for it. Despite being partially dissasembled, the car is pretty much whole with the exception of the engine and transmission, and came with brand new nissan front fenders and a storage bin and hatch full of interior pieces.

Now it's mine.

The car is very clean, no rust, and has a perfect, crack free dash (covered in vaseline and dust to keep it from cracking)

 The engine bay has been coated with chassis undercoating to keep it rust free for a long time.

All the common rust areas on this car are rust free!

 All the wiring is unmolested and intact. Look at those floorboards. Clean with the factory insulation on them!

An odometer that hasn't rolled over yet.

Some of the interior panels still had the plastic that they were delivered from the factory with still on them!

I can't wait to get this car back on the road.

When I took delivery of the car on Sunday, we ended up having quite a group at the shop. CB came with his girlfriend and a couple of friends, AY and JB came with a couple of friends, and I brought AD. All told we had ten people in the shop, and we all went for dinner at the Brucker bar and grill. What a great way to spend a Sunday.

Stay tuned for fast progress on this Z.

-W.W. SBSS