What should I do with this 260z?

Here is my most recent automotive purchase.  A fine example of a 1974 Datsun 260z. The car is a 2 seater with a manual transmission. Originally from California, this car ran when parked in 2009.  This car is a bit of a departure for me, but after years of my wife, and daughter talking trash about my crapcans I want a car they will think is cool too. 

So here are my goals with the car.

Get it running, and driving.

Get the brakes, and suspension replaced with fresh stuff.

Autocross it.

Is there a class that this car can run in, and be somewhat competitive? I would like to keep it mostly stock. 

What should I look out for when going over this car, and buying parts?

Are there any good online retailers who sell a "car has been sitting for 15 years" tune up kit?

The car will tell you what it needs as you start driving it.  Then you'll go to your first autocross and discover how much more it needs.

Is it cheap enough for the Challenge?

Don't stress over classing, it'll be a while before you get it up to speed (we have one locally, the manual steering rack is slowww but the car is respectably quick).  Get good tires on it, that is 90% of the battle.

Nice find! A good rule of thumb if the car has sat a long time is to be especially suspicious of anything that's made from rubber. Fuel lines, carburetor internal parts, brake components.

That car is hopeless, totally a lost cause. I'd hate to see you suffer, my GRM brother, so I'll haul it away for you, free of charge!

Srsly though, that looks like a great starting point. I need a small-bumper Z. It is one of the very few cars about which my wife has said "what's that? And why don't we have one?"

while the document was written for an mgb, it applies to any car coming out of long term storage

https://www.mgexp.com/article/awakening-a-sleeping-mg.360

neat car , clean it up and put some Panasports on it.......

as said above replace rubber hoses with new modern hoses  etc that will work with 10-15% ethanol  fuel and just drive it......

Does it still have the stock carbs ?

From memory they tun in FSP with the Rabbits etc.  Very cool cars.  Check out the high compression version you can build on the cheap with various OEM parts ala mix-N-match.

I had a 260Z, it was the first car I bought after I moved to Texas.  It was in terrible shape, barely even a parts car, but I loved it so much.

Look really closely at the front subframe for rust/rot then tend to go from the inside out.  I looked at a bunch of these years ago and this was an extremely common problem.

What's your budget?

Nice. 
 

Early Z-cars look good from any angle. There's no bad lines on them. 
 

In reply to Woody (Forum Supportum) :

...as long as it's not a 2+2.  
 

I've wanted one of those since I was a teenager.  I would definitely change the wheels and get rid of the rubber pads on the bumpers.  

What does the interior look like?

Do with it whatever strikes your fancy, but for one thing-  If you say that you intend to drill holes in the front fenders to mount jdm mirrors over the front tires, I will come to your home, knock you out, tie you up and remove the car from danger.

Other than that, change all the old rock hard fuel hoses, find a set of early SU carbs and use the Hitachis for batting practice if they are still there, and enjoy. There is a healthy selection of hoses to be found behind the upholstery panels back by the hatch.  They will make much gas smell if they are old.

Then, drive and fix it as required.

Which carbs does it have, the flat or round tops? I did a round top SU swap on my 280zx and it was super easy to rebuild and tune. Anecdotally, I've heard the flat top emissions carbs are harder to get/keep running well.

We got our carb rebuild kit from Z therapy if I remember correctly.

I only autocrossed my Z once (it was a LeMons build), and it was a different chassis so your mileage will vary... But it was alot of fun but not as fast as my stock 1st gen mr2.  On track, it was surprisingly great - we were consistently running top 10-15 in between the usual lemons mishaps.

The biggest issues for us was the open differential and chronically crunchy second gear synchros. I happen to have the stub axles to swap in an STI R180 limited slip if you're interested.

Thank you all for the help, that MG checklist is exactly what I was looking for. It looks like FSP is what I will keep in mind when I start replacing parts.  This is my first car from the 1970's, and also my first car with a carb.  Here are some shots of the engine area.

I was also thinking about having it wrapped, unless there is a reason not to. The interior has some mold on the door cards, but otherwise it's in good condition.

Those are the good carbs.

It looks like this car would be in BSP, and would be competing with e36 m3s, and s2000's.

Yup, thems the good carbs.

BSP sounds like a terrible place for that car if you're competing for class wins. 30 years ago, sure.  20 years ago, maybe. But now? It's a pool noodle in a gun fight!

This seems like a car that's not good for auto crossing without a ton of work.  Just fix it up, paint it and enjoy it as a classic.

You guys dismissing it as an autocross car have probably never autocrossed one.  Put tires that are modern and in a competitive size, you might be shocked.

Work on your upper body strength, though.  Sticky tires and no power steering makes for a workout.

Nice find.  One of my favorites.

Didn't those wheels have a fake wire wheel basket that got removed for easier cleaning?  

Man I hate fake wire wheels.