Hello!

R

riske

Active Forum User
Hi All,

I am looking at a new project to get stuck into and i'm going to look at a 76 260Z 2+2 tomorrow morning.

I have looked around but can't seem to find a buyers guide?
I know rust is an issue but where and what to look for?

Car has been sat for 5 years but has had new engine and clutch 3000 miles ago (9 years ago)

Thanks for the help in advance :cheers:
 
S

SKiddell

Well-Known Forum User
Thats because its in the members section...maybe not the best place ??

30 second guide to buying an S30

Structure, structure and then structure
Forget mechanicals and engine, they can easily be sorted, inner wings and rear quarters cannot.
Look closely at inner wings, chassis rails, floors, rear quarters, door pillars, sill returns and mid way down the bulkhead (where the wiper motor trough joins).

Oh and try and steer away from a car with a sunroof, over the years they tend to ingress water and the job of taking one out isnt for the faint hearted.

Warning

Be prepared to spend alot of money.....parts are difficult to come by and its not unusual to see people spending £10 -£15K on a full resto
 
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R

riske

Active Forum User
Thanks!

I also cant seem to find a list of what other parts fit an s30 from the nissan family. Usually they share parts like suspension etc. Any help?
 
Mr.F

Mr.F

Inactive
Only a small selection of parts cross over from other Nissans.
The L-series engine is common throughout the range.
Ball joints, wheel bearings (front) and track rod ends are common to other saloons of the period.
Other than that, just a few oddments of electrical equipment and then the list peters out.

Call me for requests on parts availability. Be warned that 260Z 2+2 specific panels are the hardest to find...
 
moggy240

moggy240

Insurance Valuations Officer
Staff member
Club Member
look for rust every where,under the carpets ,spare wheel ,wheel arches,engine bay, door bottoms,roof,tailgate,sills,chassis rails,footwells etc bascilly go round it with a magnet aswell to check for filler.do not forget the petrol tank aswell !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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samuri-240

Well-Known Forum User
A rust bucket is a no go area, never was but even more so now because the salvage cars have run out as have the genuine & remanufacture panels.

There was going to be a good supply of rust free cars & rust free panels at excellent prices but for some reason the guys who run this site put a stop to it, I think it was something to do with 15 quid. What a great shame.
 
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R

riske

Active Forum User
turns out that the car is fairly clean in the arches, boot etc and around the sunroof!!
Only place that rot has set in real bad is the passenger footwell and passenger chassis rail. the underside of the car apart from that is solid. Think its worth welding in a new rail and footwell?
There was also some water in the spare wheel space but only surface rust but means a seal is leaking.
Engine started but sounded like it was running on 5 and idled for a few minutes before we turned it back off. The engine isnt a major problem as can always throw another lump in there.

Is it worth getting if it was less than £2k?
 
richiep

richiep

Club Member
Not bad (it has the right number of seats and no hole in the roof!) - definitely sort the colour out!

I'd be highly attentive to that rust bubbling up on the door bottom too though...

And go over it again at point blank range looking for rust - these cars are well capable of looking superficially okay but rotten to the core once you really start digging around! :eek:
 
R

riske

Active Forum User
i have poked about with a screwdriver and found couple holes but not too bad.
Does anyone know if those alloys are worth anything? I have a turbo conversion too, how much?

It will defo need a new door and wiper motor is sheared off on drivers side...
 
R

riske

Active Forum User
After having to be recovered by the AA on the way home i finally have my Z on the drive!!

I think the Carbs need rebuilding as it looked like the float had stuck open. Also the tank and fuel lines will need to be cleaned with air compressor.

Apart from that its a nice solid project. Im going to go hunt for a 'how to guide' on rebuilding the carbs.
 
Mr.F

Mr.F

Inactive
I think the Carbs need rebuilding
Click to expand...

Original flat top carbs - don't waste your time would be most people's opinion...
However, if you do pursue this, rebuild kits will be next to impossible to obtain in the U.K.
I can obtain these kits from our USA suppliers and they come with a rebuild guide sheet.
 
richiep

richiep

Club Member
As Mike says, forget the 260z flat top carbs - they are generally regarded to be little more than scrap metal. Everyone, at very least, swaps them for the round topped 240z carbs, which are much, much better. A "wanted" ad in the classifieds should bring a few offers out of the woodwork I would've thought.
 
R

riske

Active Forum User
ok so basically your advice is get some performance carbs?

Webers / SU's or D'ellorto's??

I didnt really want to fork out on carbs without fully knowing the condition of the engine...
 
R

riske

Active Forum User
Bit of advice please. Would you suggest 45's or 40's on a street car? also will any DCOE fit?
 
richiep

richiep

Club Member
You don't need to go forking out for a triple setup with Webers/Dellortos etc. That doesn't achieve much anyway apart from enlarged fuel bills unless accompanied by associated head work, bigger cam etc. Basically, the twin Hitachi SU carb setup that was standard on the 240Zs is superior to the 260 carbs, which were compromised in design terms for various reasons (emissions for example). There are probably threads on this forum and other Z forums around the web underlining why. I'm sure someone on this site will have some round tops that you could buy (I actually have a set on a spare engine but I'm hoarding them just in case!). If you can get some 240 carbs on the manifolds, its a straight, easy bolt-on upgrade for a 260, and more cost effective than the large sums involved in a triple setup. Should you get the tuning bug down the line, the 240 carbs are quite capable of being optimised for more power (e.g. via performance needles).
 
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