new to forum...

[Brando]

hey im new here...wanted to introduce myself. been into mostly rx-7's and such, but right now im kinda hurting financially. i always wanted a z, and have been searching for them on and off now and then.

i recently passed a lot i drive by everyday and noticed a 72' z there the other day. i went by today and this place is kinda...ya know the typical shaddy lots. but the guy was really nice, and honest about his work etc.

he gave me the keys and we started it up. its been repainted red, but it used to be orange as noted in the engine bay. it started up immediatlely and idle perfect. the only thing is there seems to be a constant tapping coming from under the valve cover...which increased in speed when revved up. other than that, the car was sound. of course minor defects here and there. no overall body damage. i drove it and not sure how the cars are supposed to drive to be honest, it felt kinda sluggish up the rpm band. and the brakes were really mushy as well. the dash was really good condition, and of course minor cosmetics here and there, but overall it was nice. also had the aftermarket headlight covers.

anyways, the odometer says 15k...its obviously rolled over, and the seller at the lot says hes not sure and will have to look. he wanted 2500 for it. and i really need a car bad. do you think this is a good buy?

he told me i could pay 1k now, and 1500 in the next 6 months due to the fact i dont have all the money now. what do you guys think?

thanks,

brandon

[Ed]

You said that you are hurting for money. From personal experiance whenever you buy a used car no matter what kind you allways end up paying for repairs here and there. The Z is no exception. Most parts for the Z are still available and if you do the work yourself it shouldn't hurt your wallet too bad. Once you get all the bugs worked out then your Z will take you a long way!

[kmack]

Well, you certainly came to the right website for information on the early Z cars. And we're pretty nice, too!:classic:

Anyway, the car sounds like a pretty good deal. But I'd go back and check out the body a little closer before plunking your money down.

The tapping under the valve cover could be one of two things:

1) loose adjustment on the valves (most likely)

2) the spring retainers starting to fail. It's not hard to fix and doesn't happen very often, but I have seen it.

At 15k (most likely 115k) miles, it probaly only needs a valve adjustment. That only takes about hour or so (depending on how quick you are).

The sluggish revs up in the power band tend to suggest that the vaccum advance on the distributer is not working right or not at all. That's no more than about a $10 fix.

The brakes could probably use new rubber lines and fresh fluid, about $60-80 if you include new pads.

As for what to look for rust wise on the body, do a search on the forums here and you'll find a wealth of info. But basically, check the lower rockers, front and rear; under the battery and lower firewall area; and on the rear hatch sill.

Check the car out thoroughly, and make sure you find as much out about the car as you can. You might also see if you're close to someone here on the site that would go check out the car with you. It never hurts to have an extra pair of eyes spotting things you can't see.....

Good luck and enjoy the ride...

[Brando]

thanks guys....yea then again i dont know if sluggish was because im used to faster cars...hehe. anyways thats not the reason im buying it.

i would like it alot if someone was close by, just need to search around for members i guess. ya obviously its 115k, it also had an aftermarket steering wheel on it. and when i turned sometimes it would click?...i thought it was coming from the aftermarket steering wheel though.

the good thing is he said i could pay 1k now, and 1500 over the next 6 months interest free. he was honest a good guy, meaning he knew the car wasnt perfect and didnt lie about anything.

so i will go by there again tomorrow and look at it again and report back to you guys. i dont know what all to look for, because i havent researched as much as i liked too. not many z's are here for sale in oregon, so its a great opporutunity.

thanks again

brandon

[kmack]

Mike, our selfless website creator/adminstrator is in Albany, OR I believe. I don't know how close that is to you but might be worth looking into. Send him a PM (private message) and ask.

[Brando]

im in clackamas, oregon...basically portland.

[Alfadog]

You'll have to wait till he comes home from Australia though...

What series RX7s were/are you into ?

[Brando]

i own a series 4 rx7 turbo.

[Alfadog]

Now that would be quick 180 horses or something similar?

My mate's about to buy a series 1 RX7 - not quick, but they're still a rotary 8)

Contact me on msn dude im : superalgae1@hotmail.com

[Brando]

ok i added you to my contact list, im brandon@hyperrev.com

[St.stephen]

Welcome to the forum and into the world of the Z! everyone else gave great advice and I would say the same about the tap being valve noise. LIterally crawl underneath that thing and check the floors and frame rails. really give that battery tray a once over and inside the inner fender wells. That is going to give you a good view of whether this is an resto project or a major structural rebuild.

Any advice I can give I will, that is however if you wish to put a V8 or make it convertible :classic:

[Brando]

ok,

i couldnt really get access to looking under the car, but from what i could tell, no holes or stuff that looked out of order.

i looked around the hatch area, and only found a few tiny spots of rust. looked underneath the carpet of the spare tire and paint was still there, looked great.

looked as much as under the fenders as i could, and didnt see any holes or major rust....if any.

looked at the driver side frame rail, and none that i could see. just some surface rust nothing major. then i got to the pass side. the firewall was fine, the battery tray was surface rust, and below on the rail had some surface rust, no holes anywhere. i hit them really hard and it seemed rock solid...no soft spots, or no damage of the body.

the only other body thing i noticed is the pass side door, where the gap is on where it opens. the door isnt really flush to the rear quarter panel....probably an easy fix.

again the original paint was orange, their is fricken house carpet of somewhat in the rear hatch area, and there is crappy seat covers on it.

so is this worth 2500? along with what you read above?

thanks guys

brandon