Hello fellow Z'ers,

Long time no post...Z's was running fine. Until two weeks ago....Parked in

front of my house, sitting down resting from knee surgery (repaired torn meniscus) when I here "the noise" looked out the window to see my car rolling forward.. NOOOOOOO! I jump off couch, hop out door on good leg, realize I'm not going far, yell to kids "get my crutches and call the cops"

The goof-ball up the street taged the left rear corner, barely cracked the

tailite and crumpled the 1/4 panel. Could not of hit it in a better place to do maximum damage.I was so pissed my wife had to hold me back from beating this guy with my crutches! Then I realize who it is (family friend, NOT mine).

He wasn't going anywhere, and guy was in total shock.

Fast forward a week, adjuster comes out, takes pics and said we'll get back to you. Get a call and say, it's a total loss, we'll give you $2,400 for it. I say,

whats your fax number, your getting all my receipts (they total around $5k).

A few days later an appraiser calls and makes an appt. to see the car.

Yesterday I called insurance, to see whats up.....appraised at $7,792.00.

excellent. I asked If I wanted to keep the car, how much will I get? She says

$7,467.12. I said mail the check, I'm keep'in the car.

Now begins the soul search, Buy another Z, attach parts, keep the difference, or go another direction. I have a feeling I know what members here might think! There are two cars I'm considering, '72 BMW 3.0 CSi or 70's

Porsche targa, always wanted one of those!

Moral of story, Keep all receipts, take pictures during restoration, never ever take insurance companies first offer.

Dave

BMW's are expensive for parts and way over rated. Porche is nothing but a wound up VW. Keep the Z, buy a rolling chassis to transfer everything into or get replacement panels and straighten her out as much as possible. Check out Black Dragon Auto for replacement panels.

Fix the Z. It's a beautiful car, becoming even more noticeable, and it's still FUN to drive.

The BMW and the Porsche (Targa?, you mean the VW camouflaged as a Porsche?) are simply .... not worthy of much interest. You'll just be one more drop down the drain of old cars.

Then again, Hip Hugger Bell Bottoms are popular at Halloween parties.....

JMO

E

I thought about fixing it, I don't think you can get 1/4 panels anymore, and really don't want to saw and weld. I think a clean donor is in order.

I think you'd be surprised at what is STILL available, and how easy it would be to fix it.

For the amount of money you received you would still net a "profit" even if you took care of other problems not related to the damage.

Unless you are referring to frame damage, or serious alignment issues, changing everything over to a new body may prove to be more work than you're imagining.

Check with TABCO for replacement panels for starters.

E

On the other hand, the reputation for high parts prices for BMWs is bogus, at least for normal maintenance stuff for the older cars. I drove a graymarket '81 323i as my daily driver for 5 years - maintenance and normal repair parts were actually very affordable. (Trim and such is another story. Hold on to your wallet.)

In fact, my current family car is a '96 328i, and for the most part the affordability of parts is good there, too. I overhauled the entire cooling system (new water pump, radiator, hose, belts, t-stat and t-stat housing) for a total of $250. Try doing that on your Z.

But then again, neither of the cars you mention will drive like the Z does. The CS is a relaxed touring car, not a sports car. And while I love early 911's, I'm not certain it would be satisfying in the same way as the Z.

I'm with you on the BMW parts, the csi shares 90% drivetrain parts with the Bavaria....tons o-parts. So mechanicals are there, but as you say, try to find a chrome headlight surround, and your in trouble. And they also suffer from rust,as does the Porsche, as our cars do. I'll have to post some pics of the damage, so you can get an idea of what might be involved in a repair. Fact is we have lots of Z-cars out here, and if I'm patient, and willing to spend the $$ I should be able to find a decent shell. As for swaping parts over

that should give me time to detail everything, and make #2 better. I think I'm convincing myself allready.......

Now you're making sense..... not "loco en la cabeza" talk.....(crazy in the head)

Post the pics soon.

E

Just getting to the final body work stage on my 70. I believe the quote was "there was more metal in a cheese grater then the fire wall" . Pulled this one from the dead. So, a banged quarter should not slow you down too much.

I agree with E and your thoughts of looking for another shell.