where to start?

[Slight]

hehe yeah definitely space is the biggest factor. we'll see, i just like the idea of learning how to refresh the motor and aesthetics..

-progress on the red 260! my cousin's going to check it for me soon, if all is well i'll fly down (fingers crossed)

on another note, how does the whole choke/warming up stuff.. apply to z's? i don't totally understand..

but essentially is it,

initiate the fuel pump, let it run to get all the fluids going? warm it up; and she's good to go?

the fellow said if i'd be using it as a daily i'd be in for some longer mornings..

[Slight]

well the fellow in B.C. backed out of selling the car, he managed to convince his wife. so that door was closed on me.

thus, my mind shifts back to that z that has been sitting for 25 years.

so my thoughts are; this could be a great car to learn on. i wouldn't have to fret over messing something up, and i could really get a grasp on all the parts of the vehicle.

especially getting it for say.. $600..

my apprehension lies mostly with the rust.

so i guess in order of importance things that would need to be addressed:

1. mechanical. getting that engine back to life, just as Chris was mentioning, getting it turned over.

2. fixing that rust! ( I would like to get it painted silver... from the orange it has now)

3. exterior damage, i guess i should see how badly rusted the underside is also, and if the body is straight.

what things should I be looking for?

would this be a worthy investment of my time? to learn? i just don't want to jump into something that will be more than i can handle. I'd like to do what i can, but i'm sure there will be things out of my ability.

on another note, my dad likes this idea more. probably because if i end up $600 out.. its not nearly that big a deal.

[newtonhubcap]

First off, you have made the first step and that is ask questions and personally you will find no better information than those who use this forum. Everyone in here is great at relaying not only their experience but knowledge too.

I agree there is nothing better than to knowing you Z intimately inside and out. One thing that I fell back on was the concept of "Foundation", the better your base is the better the refresh or restore will be. All the other parts of the car will follow but the everything will be based on what is the core body condition.

I lucked out, I stumbled into a buy 2 for the price of one deal. Both cars were southern tier cars (AZ and CA.) with no rust period. Everything with them all I had to do was get them from Texas to Wisconsin. After two trips this summer both cars are now comfortably tucked into their respective spots. Oddly, my 11 yr old daughter has taken claim of the yellow one

So, like I did I put the word out that I was looking for just a car as most of us are but the lucky Z-goddess (I guess) tapped me on the shoulder. Maybe if you ask and talk you to will come across a barn find? I wish you the best of luck as you start your hunt for the your Z.

[Threehz]

From those pictures it doesn't look too bad at all, seats look thrashed but that's not a big deal, the dash looks surprisingly nice and uncracked. The only thing concerning me is all the dirt, and the dirt concerns me because dirt traps water and trapped water on metal is rusts playground...

Anyhow you really need to look under the car, check the frame rails!

Overall I say it looks like a great find though. If it has bad rust somewhere important then it's up to if you want a parts car or not. I'll tell you this, if that dash is truly uncracked and in good condition that alone is worth far more then 600.

If you got more questions or see something on the car you aren't sure about put up some more photos or just ask here, but I think rust is your only concern now.

[Slight]

sweet, thanks guys

so the most important thing is to check the rust; primarily on the crucial parts being : the frame rails and underneath?

then of course checking to see that the body is straight..

i think i'll check into this one more =)

[Zed Head]

Just browsed through your thread. I think that questions you should ask and answer, considered all together, are -

How soon do you want to be driving the car, how fast can you spend money, and how much can you (or do you want to) spend?

The seemingly small pieces, like wheel cylinders for the brakes (probably corroded beyond rebuilding), flexible brake hoses (probably rotted), brake shoes, brake pads, master cylinder, clutch master cylinder, slave cylinder, suspension bushings, wheel bearings, carb rebuild kits, fuel lines (rotted), water heater lines, radiator hoses, headlights, bulbs, tires, and on and on, will add up to thousands of dollars. If the car has sat for 25 years, they all will probably need replacing. The cost will creep up on you as you work on it, you'll fix one thing, then realize the next needs work. Some of the parts, like 240Z wheel cylinders are pretty spendy.

I think you could add up the cost of every part I listed above and add that to the cost of car, plus another 20 - 30% for machining work (exhaust manifolds, rebuilding heads, etc) to get close to what you'll really spend before it's even drivable. That's just from sitting, not including any existing damage or things you break while working on it (you will definitely break some of the old rusted pieces). Don't forget towing and licensing fees. If you don't have high cash flow, it could sit for a long while more before it's back on the road.

Just another perspective. My one thousand dollar car has piece-mealed up to over four thousand spent just to get it to daily driver level. But it's a second car, bought mainly as a hobby.

[Slight]

very good point, at this point.. I'd have all winter to work on it, although i have some apprehension about things I don't know how to do myself. I have about 5grand at the moment.. and a fairly limited flow as I do have to pay for school.

My thinking is this: I can wait it out, save another 2 thousand or so and find that z that's clean. and I probably wouldn't learn near as much.

+ costs of changing it to the way Id like,

or: spend 650 to get the car to my house. clean it up, do the body work, and pay for the things I want..

so I guess I'll start looking up prices to the parts you generalized there.

what I'm wondering is. can I get a car in rough shape going do 4 grand?

[Zed Head]

Forgot to add clutch, pressure plate (clutch kit) and flywheel turning if it's a manual. (See, that's how it goes...)

[Slight]

a few questions:

where should i start to look for those parts?

and as a ballpark figure, what do you think i could be looking at spending on parts + labour?

[Threehz]

Many parts are available at local auto parts stores, Motorsport Auto is probably the best place to look for Z specific parts, IMHO. http://www.zcarparts.com

I made a spreadsheet to list all the parts I needed and wanted for my Z, searched around for the best pricing and listed the pricing for each part from each vendor and had a total at the bottom to see how much it would all add up to be. It would be a wise choice to go check and see what parts on the Z look like they are still in working condition (maybe bring someone along who is very mechanically knowledgeable.)

I like the idea of starting from a "scratch" car because you know every part and what is new and what could cause a problem. It's also completely yours and you get the satisfaction of the end result. To me, why spend five grand on a running car with possibly any number of problems that you will never find until you own it for a while, or spend five grand to build a car that is your car exactly how you want it and you know exactly what's inside and out.

Just my 2 cents!

[Slight]

cool! i'll check that out, yeah i know a few mechanics =) i'll ask around

how far do you think $5,000 could take this car? but you're right, doing it yourself is much more rewarding although more work!

[Threehz]

Yeah I meant to add in there that even though its all yours and you have that satisfaction and knowledge it is very much about how much time you want to invest into it.

It really depends a lot of the shape of the body, body work can become very expensive very fast, a paint job as talked about can also have a pretty steep price-tag.

Replacing all the hoses and rubber lines in the car won't add up to too much if you shop wisely. Spark plugs, wires, distributor cap, rotor, water pump, thermostat, gaskets will all come out to under a hundred (I can vouch since I recently bought all this). You will definitely need to have the radiator boiled out, heater core may very well need it too and I imagine that is actually pretty essential up in Canada. Gas tank will need cleaning one way or another. Fan rotor might have given out, or not. I'd say all this shouldn't be more then 200, maybe a lot less depending on how cheap you can have the radiators and gas tank boiled out for. A clutch kit runs around 130. I don't believe carb rebuilding kits are very much at all.

With the above done, fresh fluids, filters and a battery you could try starting her up. However you CANNOT even think about driving her until you have the brakes and suspension in good working order. I can't say much about the brakes or suspension as I don't know a whole lot about those systems entirely yet, but you can look up all the related parts and get an estimate. I would highly suggest talking to your mechanics and definitely bringing one along to view the car.

Hope that helps, and btw, you know what year it is? Also if you go check it out again write down the VIN, low number production Z's do have a little more value.