At The Crossroads of Color - Paint or Sell?

[madkaw]

Pay it all up front now or slowly pay for what you want. Let's face it, to find the right color, and the paint to be nice, and nothing else to do to the car= $$$$$$ right now

Or, plug along and change the color to what you want as you fix up the car and KNOW what you have.

Done the color change thing myself(ironically I got rid of the silver-BUT I do love silver), it's a lot of work, but not much more than a quality paint job.

Those days you are waiting on parts or saving up for something, get some sandpaper(cheap) and start sanding those tough areas-door jambs and such. Primer bare spots and keep plugging along.Are you decent at body work? It's worth big bucks to yourself.

Hell. drive it and sand it too! Get all the bugs out before you spray some pretty color on there.

The other point of view is that you can take advantage of someones else's investment. Let you said, noone makes money on these deals, and you might be money ahead( not to speak of time) to spend the money up front and buy a real nice silver car. We all know what it's worth to have a solid body and good paint on a car.

[mjr45]

Keep the lime green Z and finish the work you've started, no you'll never get out of it what have in it, but you will have great satisfaction in completing the work. Mine was red with purple flames on the hood and fenders, I did a all of the work myself with little experience at welding and painting, but good experience with mechanical stuff. The car is now Daytona yellow and I have about 11K in it, but in the long run it was well worth the $ and effort to me. Drive it for while and then paint it the color you want then drive it some more.

[Hardway]

I appreciate the thoughts and comments guys. You are right, finding a really good silver car will cost really good money and chances of it being within driving distance is slim to none. I like MadKaw's suggestion of sanding and priming one area or panel at a time and still be able to drive it. That is very do-able and makes progress too. You guys are right, any buyer that came to look at it would beat me up on everything that was not done regardless of what I was asking for the car. For now I think my real issue is a lack of patience. I am ready to drive the car and ready for it to look good. I guess it will all come in due time.

[EuroDat]

After all the work you have done Id keep it. If you want to paint it silver, why not. Its your car and if you didnt do the work you have done, it would probably be in th junk yard by now. Once you finish the rear end, you can drive it a while and enjoy the results.

My car was originally light blue and the PO painted it red:cry: and not very good either. I like white but itsa big job stripping done to do a colour change. What ever I do, the red is going. If it doesnt flake off first:disappoin

[psdenno]

Sounds a little like "mid project remorse" that happens when you start to overthink the plan you started with and you see how far you still have to go. I'm with those who say finish it, have a little fun with it, get some positive feedback from friends, and then decide if you prefer a silver Z.

Dennis

[Oiluj]

My 2 cents, keep it original color and enjoy the car.

But it's your car, so do what you want. It's going to be a beauty either way!

[fuzze]

keep it and enjoy it . Dennis nailed it , '' mid project remorse '' happens because of the dreaded '' while I'm there scenario '' . Get a can of chalkboard paint and paint out a wall or cabinet and make a list of all you need to do and then prioritize what is really important to get done , do it and wipe your chalkboard clean . You will feel satisfaction watching the list grow smaller . I did a mostly complete rolling resto and was able to enjoy my z without feeling like I was getting lost in the project . I taught myself how to stitchweld from the miller site and body and paint were as well from online tutorials . As my dad says '' I didn't know much when I was young , but I sure learned a lot along the way . By the way I like the green , it stands out , as a z should !

Chris

[Oiluj]

fuzze,

I like the quote: "I didn't know much when I was young , but I sure learned a lot along the way". I've always felt it was good to try learning / doing things myself._ Those that "can do", will survive the coming zombie apocolypes...

I'm impressed! Stitch welding sheet metal well is an art. I suck at welding and wouldn't trust my welds for anything important... -Similar for bodywork. I'm slow, but I have done it before with acceptable results.

I'm a living example of the following statement: "Good Judgement comes from Experience, and Experience often comes from Bad Judgement" _

[fuzze]

Thank you Julio for the compliment . I have had the good fortune of having a few careers that have allowed me to be creative . I lived in Whistler 30 years ago where I worked as a Chef and I have done Industrial work in the Mills and refinery's which taught me about mechanics , I painted the old style satellite dishes with electro-static powder coating and my current creative flow is sculpting stone into fine works of art . My point is that in this one life that we have to live , we should at least give things a try . My neighbor paints cars for a living and he advised me throughout my project . My former co-worker is a incredible welder and he as well advised me when the going was a bit tough and of course this site for all the help and encouragement that it has to offer .

I hope that you are following your thread Hardway and you feel a little less stressed with the support that you have around you .

Z ya ltr

Chris

[Hardway]

I appreciate all the comments guys. The term "mid project remorse" hit the nail on the head. At this point I am going to keep it and press on. I have been following my thread and everyone's support of my project. On the Z, I just got in too deep off the bat but felt a lot of it was necessary since I seemed to uncover one safety hazard after another as I made repairs. This car has certainly proved to be a good learning platform as I have taught myself to weld on it. I have done big projects on other cars in the past, suspension rebuilds, engine swaps, interior restorations, but never cutting out metal and welding in new. As far as the paint goes, given my budget it will be sticking around for awhile. Once I reach the point where I want to paint it I will see if I can partner with a local body and paint shop to do as much work as I can based on their guidance that will help produce a high quality finished product.

[Gary in NJ]

{apologies in advance to those with silver 240Z}

A silver 240Z gets lost in a sea of silver cars. Everywhere you look...another silver friggin' car. While Lime Green my not be your style, it is an original color for a Z, screams early 70's, and gets noticed by those who love it and hate it alike. It's a polarizing and that's why I think it is cool on a Z.

Yeah, you could get out from under your project and buy a silver Z, but the reality is this; any 40 year old car is a project car. Stuff wears out, breaks, or simply starts misbehaving. You can deal with this crap in a car that you invested $10k into, or a car that you paid $10k for. There's no free lunch with a 40 year old car.

You have sweat equity in the Lime Green car and have real "ownership". That is something that just can't be purchased.

[Zedyone_kenobi]

Yeah, those silver cars... Geeze..