Brace Yourselves: A Restored `70 240Z Just Sold for $124,240.

For most any type of car, super nice restored examples with some history or heritage will demand a lot of money, but I don't think it necessarily affects the price of average ones.

We are seeing this a little in the FWD mopar community, E36 M3 boxes are still worth sub 1k, and the ultra low mile factory ones are going up in value. 

5-letter and early RX7s have been creeping up in value as well. I'm seeing nice ones get into the 5-digit range now.

There is hope.

I'm kind of curious to see what happens next: do more low-mile restored examples go up for sale and go for similar, or does this remain a one-time deal?

I remember the first time an R107 went for good money a million more kind of came out of the woodwork, so to speak. 

Z’s get crazy money.  I’ve always wanted one but settled on a Datsun Roadster.  

I can’t believe the price on that car.   I have the FM model at home - I’ll probably move on and forget the Z.   Maybe.  

I tried to buy a car just like this one from the original owner several years ago.  She declined to sell to me, but the car disappeared several months later.  

This happens to me every time I get rid of a car. My s30’s, 510, ae86, s13’s, third gen camaro, I’m holding onto my miata until it rusts to crap or is worth five digits. 

In reply to _ :

3rd gens are still cheap unless you get an old guy thinking his 25th anniversary '92 RS with a tbi 305 is rare.

In reply to Daylan C :

I KNOW WHAT I HAVE

Yep, that’s about Hakasuka money for a Z–but, yes, a Z with a story.  It's been interesting watching these Japanese classics pick up steam. Prices on the Toyota 2000GT and Mazda Cosmo have cooled a bit, yet Z-cars seem to be doing well. 

I have a feeling that a lot of eyes will be on the next S30 that goes up for auction. 

Daylan C said:

In reply to _ :

3rd gens are still cheap unless you get an old guy thinking his 25th anniversary '92 RS with a tbi 305 is rare.

Yeah, that’s typically what I encounter. It’s either that, or it is completely rotted out

Datsun310Guy said:

Z’s get crazy money.  I’ve always wanted one but settled on a Datsun Roadster.  

240 Z's are special cars with classic styling.  What surprises me is the folks restoring the 810/910s....ones like the Maxima station wagon I got the drivetrain from for my Type 12 replica.  It is an L24e engine, but we took the injection off and put on a Z intake with the side draft carbs

Meh I don't see this changing the price of normal Zs that much. I am glad I ripped the inteior and engine out of my 260 and threw in a cage and V8 so it will never hit these numbers and I won't be tempted to sell it for major profit..... :(

In reply to _ :

I got a straight rust free '87 GTA with clean interior for $1500 and proceeded to let it sit for 2 years. Still not sure what I'm doing with it but it's waiting it's turn behind other projects at the moment. 

Yep things are getting a little crazy. How about the VW bus that sold for $302K at BJ auctions? Or the older Ford Broncos and Chevy C10s/Blazers.  It's the auctions that turn the big numbers.  If more than one person wants something, the price goes up.

Break it down for me, what makes this car special? I don’t find it in the text of the article. 

The side effects is that those of us who have collectables who are similar to the Z- we also have to consider what to do with the car.

For me, it's actually pretty easy- I modified my car to be an autocrosser, but every mod can be easily undone, and the car can be restored.  Mine isn't a desirable color, but that's fine with me.  New paint, new dash, new door cards, and restored wheels, and it will be pretty much stock.

Anyone who has a car that is in a good state like that needs to really think about it.  Especially if the car is really fun to drive totally stock.

johnnie said:

Break it down for me, what makes this car special? I don’t find it in the text of the article. 

Short history with the former head Nissan USA and being the car they copied to make a Franklin Mint model.

Mine must be worth at least 40k then

Patrick said:

Mine must be worth at least 40k then

I would be much more willing to buy your Z than the one we're talking about. Not that I could afford either.

Daylan C said:

Patrick said:

Mine must be worth at least 40k then

I would be much more willing to buy your Z than the one we're talking about. Not that I could afford either.

I have a bunch of people on the “if you ever decide to sell please contact me” list.  I’m not bored yet.

In reply to Patrick :

There's a lot to not be bored with there.

As far as the new owner of this $100+ 240Z, he is a genuine Z car enthusiast, owns numerous nice collectible classics and has the funds to buy these kinds of cars. It'll be fine.

Sales like this one and others on Bring A Trailer have raised the value of the Z car and you're no longer going to get nice ones for $5000 like not too long ago.

Just read Tim's column in the July 2019 issue of GRM and I could say "I Sold Too Soon" about the yellow 1970 240Z I sold to Tim that graced the covers of GRM and CMS. I sold it to Tim for a fair price because it had needs (new engine), but it is the kind of 240Z that would go for fairly big money these days because of how original it was. In the end, I just didn't enjoy driving it all that much and let it go. I now have a basically street legal ex-Solo I/Solo II 260Z race car that can never be returned to stock and it is more my style. It's value has increased, but it'll never bring big money like a stock car will.

That 240Z I used to own is now in great hands and gets driven.

@BobPink I think I drove that car at a GRM test day where they were doing some sort of shoot out. What a nice ride! It was my first time driving anything earlier than the 300zx and I was really impressed. This was something like 15 years ago?

Guess it's a good thing that I never had the desire to own one of these.

That really isn't that much, $125k for a stock classic.  Heck to totally restore any car can cost that much if you do all the nitty details.

  If it was $1.25M that would be big news.

nimblemotorsports said:

That really isn't that much, $125k for a stock classic.  Heck to totally restore any car can cost that much if you do all the nitty details.

  If it was $1.25M that would be big news.

What it costs to do something to a car and what it's worth after the fact are two very different things, and until you get into the millions of dollars category, it's always a losing proposition.

Notice that restoration specialists don't buy up cars and sell them for profit.  They restore other peoples' cars.  If they restore a car for themselves, it's a demonstration of skills.

There's a pretty clean 73 at  the midwest car exchange in Alsip IL right now for 35,900.  does have 90k on it though.  They aren't THAT expensive.

People line up to have Jags and Healeys  and E-types restored for that kind of money, same thing as "Buying it" as far as I am concerned.

The 240z is a car who's time has come for a generation of people who wanted them when new but could not afford them. As a bonus, unlike the Healeys and Jags, you can actually drive a 240z as if it were a real car. I do think this one was an anomaly much like the P1800 ES that sold for near 100k. I would think  sweet spot for a  really nice 240z  that you could keep forever, is in the low ot mid 30's right now.

Modified cars will be much lower even if well done.

Pete