hello, Would like your opinion on this Z

[batou]

Hi, first time poster.

Been lurking on various z sites for a while.

I have also been looking for a Z I could afford in my area for a few years now.

Found this 74 260z and I wouldn't mind your opinion about how much I should

offer and if it would be worth it. The asking price is 500 obo.

As you can see in the pictures it is in pretty rough shape.

Decent amount of rust and some dints and dings.

The current owner says the clutch is frozen (4spd) a freeze plug is gone from

the block and cab forward needs to be rewired.

That stuff I don't mind, I actually enjoy wrenching.

I'm not looking to have a Z to restore to pristine condition,

I'm more looking for a project that I can play around with my new welder

doing minor patch panels, learn how to use body filler and

do a little paint work.

My final goal would be something like a rat-rod (ie ugly )

I do see that the engine has the holley intake on it.

I have read mixed reviews on it.

Plus side would be it would be easier to tune.

Looks like it has headers on it too.

Mainly I guess I am asking is what should I ask the seller to make sure this

will not be a death trap for me after I fix up the engine and trans and do

a bit of body work? I know to check the frame rails but other than that

I have had no real hands on with a Z. This would be my first and a learning experience.

In the local junk yard there are a few 280zx's but no first gen Z's. So I cant really pull much from them other than drive train pieces.

Thanks in advance.

[Walter Moore]

I hate to break you heart, but what you have there is a $200 parts car.

It doesn't run, and hasn't run in some time. Meaning: the engine needs work.

It has rust in all the usual places, and fixing it even half way right will take lots of time and/or money.

Since it doesn't run, you can't drive it to discover all the other things that are wrong with it. (There will be more than you want to imagine...)

I took a $200 parts car and made a running car out of it. It can be done. On the other hand, it took me five years to get it minimally operational. Now, coming up on year six, I have at this point spent over $8000, and I have what you describe as a "rat rod". It looks good from a distance, and runs sort of, but I am not yet happy with it, and it still needs work.

If I had to do it over, I would buy a running car, even if I had to go to Arizona or California to get it. (Actually at this point I wouldn't do it over...)

I didn't want to hear that when I started. But it was the truth.

[beandip]

Thomas, You have set the bar rather low with the rat rod scenario. First off If you have about 3K for a budget to start with. This should be enough to have the car safe , figuring you payed $300.00 for he car, and then repairs on the engine. The wiring in the engine bay. Just find a whole harness from a 260Z . the '73s and '75s are different. Personally I recommend finding a better candidate that at least has a running engine to begin with.

I have never heard of a seller guaranteeing the car is safe or not. You buy he Z and it's yours , good or Bad. If all you have ended up with is a parts car , you may be able to retrieve your money back selling the parts. Good luck with this project. Gary

[Jackhammer]

I suggest you walk from this one. Spend $2500.00 on one that is running and driveable... you will still have plenty of work left to do. Take it from the voice of experience.

[Arne]

I agree with the above. Here on the West coast, people have problems GIVING away a Z in that condition. No way I'd pay much at all for a car like that unless it had something in particular I wanted - like a nice clean set of vintage wheels, or something.

[batou]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Walter, The engine isnt that big a deal to me as there are 3 or 4 zx's at the

local pull-a-part that I could get the engine/harness and maybe even transmission from for about 500$ or less.

The rust is a bit of a worry for me as I have very little body work experience, but I plan to learn,

I also have one of the cheaper gasless wire feed welders

from sears that I would trust on regular body work.

BeanDip, my bar is pretty low I dont have that much cash and I would

spend much more time than money on this project. such that I would

probably just buy some multicolored wire from the hardware store and rewire

the harness myself . 300 was what I was considering offering the seller.

My budget for this car would probably be about 1 grand a year at most.

The seller is not guaranteeing the roadworthyness of the car, I was asking

what should I ask the seller so I could determine if the car would be road

worthy once I got it drivable (engine and tranny in working condition.)

Something like "Make sure you check the frame rails so you don't fold in half

when you hit your first pothole"

About selling the parts, would the holley intake and carb bring much?

Currently in this area I could just bring it to the metal scrap and get about 200-300

for it if it came to that. (dollar per 10lbs)

:edit Arne, I'm in the southeast and this is the best Z at this price that I have found in a while, I have been looking for a few years now.

I see this as a learning experience that I can have some fun with on my off time.

Thanks

[xray]

Thanks for the replies guys.

The rust is a bit of a worry for me as I have very little body work experience, but I plan to learn,

I also have one of the cheaper gasless wire feed welders

from sears that I would trust on regular body work.

I see this as a learning experience that I can have some fun with on my off time.

Thanks

If that's your goal then your choice here is a good candidate for learning. Can't do much harm to the car, and you didn't pay that much to get into it (under $500, hopefully). Most of us come from the perspective of "I'm gonna make this a show car" mentality--but yours is more like "I want a cheap project and I don't care if it looks super shiny etc." If I'm interpreting you correctly, that is....

As per roadworthiness, once you get it driveable, unless the floors and frame are rusted out you shouldn't fold in two after hitting a pothole. It's always nice to be able to stop, so be sure brakes have been tended to. I'd check closely the firewall near the battery, as that looks suspicious on the pics and tends to be an important area for structural rigidity. But, you wanted to learn to weld, right?

Search for Mull's prject car on the forum. Great detailed photos of his shop's resto with lots of welding panels etc.

Good luck,

[mriz]

I would take a magnet to it to see where any filler or hidden rust is in the lower rear quarters / doglegs / rockers. Check the inside structure of the lower doors to see if there is enough metal to weld a patch panel to. How bad is the rust on the firewall ? Check where the tension rods connect to the frame. You want to make sure you have somthing that can at least be road worthy on your budget . A least know where your starting point is . That was my mistake . You want a learning experience not a Phd so at least you can have fun with it . Jim

[Zedyone_kenobi]

The most realistic thing everybody here is alluding to is to be honest with yourself. Make realistic goals and have realistic expectations. Know how much time you have on your hands and be somewhat aware of the work you can do, the work you want to learn to do, and the work you will need help with.

Projects often fail or be left to die because of the owner is not honest with him/herself. Just take a few hours to gather your thoughts on your budget, both in time and in dollars of what you will want to put toward the restoration of the Z.

These are the steps I went through. I know my limitations, and body work is one of them. I also know that with a new 4 month old baby, I do not have any time to learn. So any car I get would have to be free of body work. I am not scared of any mechanical or interior work so I could be more forgiving in those categories, but again my 4 month old takes a lot of my time. And early on I decided I wanted a project car that I could enjoy from day one, not three years from now. So my decision was to buy a well kept and well maintained nearly original car. I will pay more for it up front, but the aggravation of having a car sit in my garage for untold months as the repairs bills keep growing and growing is worth the up front expense. Plus you almost always come out ahead buying a near restored example.

[batou]

Thanks guys, I offered the guy ~250 or 300 depending on the condition of the frame rails, if he takes my offer I just may get it.

The final cost to me would probably be 100 more than that for fuel and trailer rental costs.

Funny thing is I found another 1977 280Z in my area for less but with no engine or seats and it has an auto .

I'm waiting on a response from that guy. If its body is in better shape rust wise I just may get it instead.

One thing I'm not sure you guys have gathered from my posts,

I'm about 3-4 hours away from these cars so I haven't actually seen them in person yet.

Thats the main reason why I am asking so many questions .

I would be much better off if they were only a casual drive away.

Xray- I followed mulls blog/work log for a while, he had a ton! of rust still remember the picture of the swiss cheese after he sandblasted it.

Mriz- Magnet idea is a good one! i will have to remember that.

Zedyone- I'm lucky enough to be single with few bills, even though I am not paid much, so I have some spending money, as I see it though I wouldn't want to put more than 5K into one of these cars total over a period of a few years. It also wouldn't hurt my feelings too much if early on (ie a few hundred in) I realized that the car was a lost cause. If that was the case I would probably part it out and take the leftovers to the metal scrap for a dollar per 10lbs.

Thanks again.

[bigoak]

If the 280Z is solid, go for it. They were slightly better from a rust standpoint (still not great) and drivetrains can be found relatively cheap (a lot of guys putting in swaps on hybridz.com are often off-selling original stuff).

Really make sure whatever you buy is properly assessed before you start putting money in (worse comes to worse, sell off parts to recoup your money, you'll learn plenty just by disassembling...).

Welcome to the club and have fun.

Cheers,

[bigoak]

As an example...

http://www.classiczcars.com/classifieds/showproduct.php?product=2980&cat=4