Looking for months at dozens of 240s, I went to see four in person. By the end, each seller said maybe I'll keep it afterall. Fistful of cash and me pleading take my money! Nope.

The worst was this series 1, safari gold, serial# 7898, Bob Sharp California Package -G nose, headlight covers, rockers and whale tail. L28, triple weber carbs, 5 speed with dual pop-up sun roof and custom black interior, fine. $22k. Oil was black sludge, no seat belts, a single rust hole in each frame rail... It was non-op so we only took it around the block, but wow. Talk about Roar. My neighbors would have hated me. But oh, the pain. It still hurts.



Friends linked me 280s and ZXs, saying it's all the same. Well, we all likely know the answer to that around here. It's those 240 lines. For me, 280's have the stats, but it's the 240 that's got da looks.

Me, I figured if I were getting the inconvenience of an emissions model, I may as well get the modern conveniences and safety of air bags while at it. 1980s. 1990s. Nothing. They've got their fans, but the design became almost foreign to those original lines.

Finally looking into the 2000s I was initially unimpressed with the 350. A buddy had an '03 convertible and never once in a dozen years did I ever look at it and think 'Z'. (Never saw a coupe until recently). While the 370 is a dash closer to original lines, the insurance rate was too much and the '09-'11 are the only ones I could afford. And those I would not touch with a 10ft stick for their unique problems.

That pushed me back into the 350s which are close to the 370s. but different enough. I certainly can't afford even newer. But 350 is growing on me.

I found two yellow 35th anniversary's. A single owner, automatic @ 69k miles for $14k only a 50 mile drive away from me. And a two-owner, manual @ 111k miles for $12k with a 120 mile trip between us. Which to choose? Flashback to...

Sixteen+ years ago I walked on to a hyundai lot expecting to get a new manual sonata, elantra, whatever their cheap- model was. For the same money I saw a used Tiburon. Even though an automatic, I figured if I was to be stuck in L.A. traffic, the Tib was the car for me. Never thought she'd last this long, but gremlins in the electrics had become unbearable the past year . As of this moment she's in a friend's driveway ready to have her bones picked before a final tow into the sunset.

Consequently, I've been dying for a manual for 20yrs now. So, San Diego bound I was. Paid ~$1 per odo mile + title and bullpucky on top. Drove her home while having the Tib towed. Not sixty miles off the lot, the Z's engine light flickers to life and now solid. A little sour, but I expected repairs, potentially distinct. Once the error codes are dealt with I'll feel better I'm sure. Mechanic says one code is for misfiring cylinders. Hopefully I haven't melted the cats -if that wasn't the reason the last owner (I'm #3) sold it in the first place.

At 2.7l, ~180hp, automatic, I used to think my '03 TIb was something of a sports car (best year of the line). It's widely known as the Korean Mustang though I only ever saw the lines of a Z (long nose, small cabin, tight a$$). Well, with about 3hrs and 170 miles of driving on my new-old Z, all I can say is 'wwwwhoahhhh'. This is a level of rarr-rarr beyond previous imaginings. Goldie above was my first inkling but never expected I'd have a car 'like that'.

Regrettably in my case, I wanted a 240 for the lower HP and the fact the stock nose would lift above certain speeds. I needed those limiting factors to shackle my aggressive style. The 350 is candy to a kid, beer to an alcoholic, chips to a gambler. I'm hoping I can commune with this demon and come to peace with it. I fear the speeding tickets I'm likely to invoke and the increased insurance resulting. lolz. My wife's Honda Fit is 1.5l 5spd and what she's doing in 3rd/4th, the Z is yawning in 2nd. Ho-hum 70mph in mid-4th? The Fit is starting to scream at 70 in 5th.

Once back from the mechanic, first up re-paint is in order. I haven't priced the yellow metallic yet, but the '70 safari gold was $1,200/gallon. Ouch. Hopefully the new color is half that or better. Right now the car is several tones of yellow all over the body with minor clear coat bubbling. Blends at a distance, but is unfortunate any closer.

Being the anniversary edition, I'm hoping it will hold more resale over other editions up to that point. I'm not looking to flip it, but keep an eye on future prospects. Consequently, the intent is to keep this as near-pristine stock as possible. My first rule already made is that I will never eat in this car. We'll see how long all this lasts. haha.

I only do 5k miles/year so that will go easy on the engine going forward. That's what it averaged between the two previous owners so the car won't know much difference. Compression tests this morning were three 170s with a 172, a 160 on #1 and 164 on #5. This seems to contradict the (misfire) error #0300 Iirc) The leak test was still pending. Spark plugs looked recent. He's looking at coil packs as a potential cause now.

Here she is. You can likely see my attraction given the 240 above.


The car is dead. Long live the car!

 

Two weeks tomorrow and I've learned a lot. One thing learned is that I overpaid the dealer maybe ~25%. Rather than pumping my blood pressure over being ripped off, I'm trying to see it as paying a gratuity for holding the car for me. As said previous, they had me by the ***** no matter. With so few Annie's made, how many can possibly be left these days? Half? Less?

Of the shy $6k in maintenance I put in over two trips and 3 full days at the shop, ~$3k< was voluntary to baseline the system so I know what I've got; flushes for everything, new plugs, packs and tune up, replace this, disassemble that, etc.

Replacing the shocks and struts for $2k. Well, those do fail and with no mention in the carfax, I inherited deferred maintenance on that point and should have had a lower lot-price as their mechanic full-well knew what he was looking at. I guess they're called stealerships for something. The actual danger they knowingly put me in was at least one cracked control arm bearing against a 120 mile ride home they knew I was taking. That was $900 repair.

Additionally, car was billed as a Black and Tan. It's just black -or graphite perhaps. I'm still learning the terms. Luckily, I found a pair of reputedly B&T seats on ebay <$600 shipped. Not too bad. So whether she was a real B&T or not, she will be now. lolz. Also found decent Annie rims for $600. I get to take a road trip for those -which will give me some time to learn the car.

Lots of misgivings, but my wife is helping me see the bright side. I am glad I got it and have the budget to treat it right. I will be more glad when I've got it looking good and proper again. With the cash sunk in, she runs well. Still catch her smoking a few cigs for the morning start-up, but that should temper with time as I re-burn the engine in again. She's 112k, but I'm thinking of it as a newborn 12k and follow the scheduled maintenance routine from there. With a new and pending E33.tri-coat, newly-polished rims and a stripped-down-to-the-exposed-metal-and-cleaned-up-from-there interior, well, she's already turned heads at every light and parking lot, so will be more magnificent by end of year. The car will be a happy new car again with a happy new owner.

 

Lots of lolz today. The seats arrived as stated. They need some deep stain cleaning, but are in solid condition considering the age.

Arriving about an hour later was a bit of research ordered off ebay -an original dealer's brochure. In this brochure it clearly states 35th Annie black and silverstone have the black and tan seat option, but yellow is restricted to graphite. hahaha. Another bit of minor sales fraud on the dealer's part.

So I have two options. Either works for me.
1. Pass the seats on at cost to a local.
2. Store the graphite seats and become the sole-existing yellow Annie with B&T leather.

(Another thing I'll be storing is all the 35th specific features -mats, emblems, etc. Don't want to lose or have them stolen 20yrs into the game.)

First up, getting those rims tomorrow.

Whether I time traveled to the old west this past weekend or the Z flew us off-planet, it's nice having such a place relatively nearby for visits.


(Yeah, those wheels are shiiiiite on this car.)

 

For reference, here was my daily flyer of 16yrs, 2003 Hyundai Tiburon. I made a few special modifications myself. She made point five past light speed and may not look like much, but had it where it counts.

 

But could it do the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs?

 

The more I read, the more questions I had - then once I finished....it all makes sense.

 

For the 80,000 space miles I drove her, we never made the Kessel Run. I'm part of a sci-fi movie car group and there are plans for a cross-country US perimeter 'kessel' run of national parks, NASA facilities, tourist spots and so on..

As seen in the photo is how the Tib rode for 30k miles. She sported at least a paint job for another ~30k of her life. I went on to the Hyundai lot and wound up with an Incom T-65.

The ferryman carried her away yesterday morning. I kept the droid, dozen star wars peep signatures around the body, the backseat hyperdrive unit, the wings, cowl and the scissor door hinges.

I have highly similar yet different plans for my new Annie. Hint: I'm going to try spinning as that always works.

Fun Z fact: Around 1976, the draftsman who turned the X-Wing drawings into construction plans was a Z fan. Now, look at the X-Wing and see the 240Z. Long, aggressive nose, set-back cabin, tight end. Mmm-mmm. Also his son is/was a nissan designer. If you ever saw a yellow R2 dome associated with the Rogue a few years back, "Lemons" was my original droid on the Tiburon before Apples (pictured) took over.

Nissan painted their droid the same as mine and even made the same technical errors I had painted. I know this as the draftsman signed my car in 2015, told me about his son's work, sending a photo of my car to him on the spot. A year or so later at the Rogue One red carpet and SW Celebration cons, there's a yellow droid on a Nissan named Lemons (L3M0N, iirc as opposed to my LMN). A very bizarre coincidence. lolz.

 

I tend to string many strands and sometimes manage to pull them together in the end.