After all these years of documenting historically interesting vehicles in the car graveyards of America (and Sweden), I still find plenty of discarded Datsun 280ZXs. I used to find the occasional 240Z, 260Z, and 280Z during my junkyard travels, too, but those days seemed to be long past—until I ran across a Series 1 240Z in a yard in Moss Landing, California, a few weeks back.
The first 240Zs arrived in the United States in late 1969, and most—but not all—of them were titled as 1970 models. Today's Junkyard Treasure was built in Kanagawa Prefecture in September of 1970. I've blurred out the final three digits of the VIN in this photo, but you can see that the five-digit serial number begins with 09. That seems to indicate this car would have been sold as a 1970 model, but it's possible that it was a 1971, legally speaking. Please argue your case for 1970 versus 1971 in excruciating detail in the comments, because we expect nothing less from Z fanatics.
This car appears to have been parked in a field distressingly close to the Pacific Ocean, probably something like 30 years ago, and left there to rot slowly. The rust-through is everywhere that water gathered during California's rainy winters, and the interior got thoroughly nuked by the summer sun.
While Series 1 240Zs are worth serious money in perfect condition and respectable money in solid restorable shape, this car is a basket case that would require an investment of $20,000 in order to make it worth $15,000. Still, I'm surprised it ended up in an ordinary Pick-n-Pull boneyard, instead of being snapped up by some Z fancier as a parts donor.
What sure looks like the original L24 straight-six engine, complete with Hitachi SU carburetors, was in the engine compartment when I arrived. By now, I'm sure that some junkyard shopper has yanked the engine and probably the transmission.
The interior doesn't have much to offer the parts shopper, but there are some bits and pieces worth grabbing for a 240Z project.
1970 Datsun 240Z in Northern California Junkyard
