hints on finding a Z?

[JacktheRiffer]

I can not seem to find a good z in my area (OKC)... any hints?

[esmit208]

A GOOD Z?

GOOD as in hop in and drive or GOOD as in needs some work that won't bankrupt you? In Texas and OK if you do a search online you can find many cars in various stages of their 40 plus years of life. The main goal would be to establish a price that you are comfortable with and then decide how much (if any) time and resources you want to put into getting it the way you want it. A HOP IN AND DRIVE CAR will probably cost you more than you want to spend. A NEEDS SOME WORK CAR can mean working on it for several years. An owner of a flawless car will not part with it cheaply if at all. My suggestion is to first and foremost get a complete car. Complete meaning it has not been parted out although it may need a reasonable amount of refurbishment. If it is complete but does not work you can replace. If it is not complete you may not even realize it. STAY AWAY FROM SOMEONE ELSE'S PROJECT. If they gave up on it there is no telling how big that pink elephant will grow to be. I personally don't care for heavily modified cars so approach those with caution. If you have limited mechanical expertise those can be a PITA. If you drive around out in the rural areas with small little towns like McAllester, Shawnee etc you might find a keeper on the back lot of an auto repair garage. You know the kind of place with the old style gas pumps that haven't been used for over 50 years. You would be surprised by what you can find driving around on country roads. Take a look at the classified section on this site also.Good Luck

[gnosez]

Expand your search since it's possible to have a car inspected and then shipped. I helped a club member pick out a nice 240 that ended up coming out of California and was shipped to Boston, MA. That particular 240 sold for $6,500. and shipping was $1,200. The car came with over $2,000 in new parts. It was pre-inspected at a local shop specializing in Zs. That cost under $200.

[JacktheRiffer]

Expand your search since it's possible to have a car inspected and then shipped. I helped a club member pick out a nice 240 that ended up coming out of California and was shipped to Boston, MA. That particular 240 sold for $6,500. and shipping was $1,200. The car came with over $2,000 in new parts. It was pre-inspected at a local shop specializing in Zs. That cost under $200.

How would I go about having a car shipped and inspected?

[Jarvo2]

I used Dependable Auto Shippers (DAS) to get an eBay find from Texas to Chicago back in May. Horrible communication, but they were spot on with their 2 week delivery date. I've never heard of anyone with a good experience with a shipping company. If I had to do it again, I'd fly out to where the car was & trailer it back with a rental truck. Probably would be quicker & cheaper (it was ~$800 to ship with DAS).

[bquiggle]

I bought a z in Indiana and had it shipped to Colorado, using usship.com, I found a independent guy who had the z here in less than 48 hrs in an inclosed car trailer.

Rick Clifton Contracting from Muncie In, he got it here after the big companies kept saying they would do it but really couldn't get it any closer than 300 miles to me, I kinda live in the boondocks.

Anyway usship lets you post what and where you want, and lets contractors bid on your load......I recommend that site.

Good luck

[gnosez]

To get a Z inspected far from home, I'd suggest that once you found a good prospect, that you would contact the nearest Z club (www.zzca.org) and ask who they would take the car to. You can also ask for assistance here once you find one to have a site member go over and look at it for you.

[esmit208]

My AVATAR was shipped from Los Angeles to Largo Florida(Tampa St. petersburg) for $700.00. I did have the benefit of living in one place and knowing a guy in Largo (D'Elegance Auto Jack and Ralph Ransky) to ship it to. If you have to make a trip to inspect it yourself it may be in good enough shape to drive it back. It's not about the destination, it's about the journey!

[BTF/PTM]

Based on experience, focus your search on finding a car with an accident-free chassis, as little rust as possible, a complete interior and all of its body trim. It's relatively easy and cheap to find a rebuild kit for the engine/carburetors, or to rebuild the brakes or suspension. But repairing collision damage, welding in new sheetmetal and/or hunting down 35 year-old body/interior trim parts gets very pricey very quickly. As is already well covered here, vehicle transportation is also relatively cheap.