researching previous owners

[hr369]

Got an idea today to research previous owners of a 78z I bought about 3 years ago from a guy on Maui. He had worked at the lawrence livermore lab particle accelerator as as a technician. He shipped the car over here to hawaii and got a low tech job installing satellite dishes. He gave me a big bag of receipts and old registration cards. I went back as far as the early 80's and found what i think is the original owner now in his mid 60's on the internet. He probably doesn't want to be bothered.

The car sat for 12 years and a guy by the name of Daniel Magliari's bought it. Anyone

here know him? Anyways, I found him on facebook and sent him a message. He is friends with a guy named Dave Rebello. Yea the racing engines guy. I hope he replies to my message. I'de like to find out more history on the car.

In the early 90's I had access to the dmv computer in calif and looked up an old 78 i had in the early 80's.

It was last registered to a dismantler! I've always wondered if that front clip I had installed had come apart

Edited May 4, 2013 by hr369

[EhlersRS]

Greg,

It's fascinating to learn the history of your car and speak with the previous owners. It may not add value to the car, but there's something unique about sharing their memories of the car, as well as creating new ones as you restore the vehicle. One of the highlights from purchasing my car has been talking to the original owner who is 81 years old. I'm hoping he's around to see the finished project.

Thanks for sharing your story. I've found that most previous owners enjoy talking about their cars, even if it seems a bit strange to others.

Robert S.

[hr369]

Ok, I got a reply from the owner that bought it in 1999 and he confirms its the same car by the description he gives of the car. I'm very curious about the "slumber" he speaks about. From the documents the car slept from 1987-1999. I told him that the guy he sold it to dumped 20k into

it. Its not that there is 20k worth of new parts but the labor he paid along with the new parts

amounted to that sum. Some people should not own old cars and this guy was one of them.

In all he probably was into it 30k with the purchase price of the car.

"Hi Greg... could be, I resurrected a '78 some years ago from a long slumber. A nice car, but I ultimately wanted a '240z again, so I went back to that route. Might it be a Burgundy '78 with a 5 Speed & Louvers (when I parted company with the car)? Ping me back if it was. I hope it's still in as nice of condition as when I parted with it. All the best"

Picture taken in 2010 right after it got off the boat from maui. It was crusted with

salt spray from being on the barge that was tugged from maui to honolulu and back

over to the big island where it is today.

Edited May 5, 2013 by hr369

[siteunseen]

I googled the VIN# from mine and found a video telling all about the car and why he wanted to sale it, a retired Veteran that could hardly get in or out of it anymore much less work on it. Also a Photobucket account he created that had 40 pictures. I like the stories about these old cars.

[hr369]

I googled the VIN# from mine and found a video telling all about the car and why he wanted to sale it, a retired Veteran that could hardly get in or out of it anymore much less work on it. Also a Photobucket account he created that had 40 pictures. I like the stories about these old cars.

Hey thats a good idea googling the vin#. I think i'm going to try that

[hr369]

More archeology on my car from the previous owner......

Wow! He sank a lot into a car that was otherwise perfect.

Yes, this was my car, .... let me tell you a bit about it's tale.

The original owner worked for the GM Nummi (Car making plant) in Fremont. He drove it regularly from 1978 thru ~1982 when he got a job as a Union Shop Steward, at which point, he parked it in his mom's garage in San Leandro, covered it up with ~50K miles on it, and left it until ~1998 when he decided to dump it.

He had advertised it on a local Z Club newsletter, and I was the first person to find it. What a Gem for $2,800 (or so I thought). It was a time capsule. No kidding, paint perfect, chrome perfect, interior perfect, engine spotless. Cold Cold AC. I (Naively) thought... what could possible be wrong (Opp!).

Unfortunately, the car had not been prepared for long term storage, and when I returned the following Saturday thinking a little starting fluid would do the trick, I found the tires had fused to the garage floor, requiring a floor jack to free the vehicle (my friends and I still joke about the popping sounds the tires made as they popped free from the floor).

At that point, we realized all the brake cylinder seals had failed over the year, and all hydrolics (clutch & brake master cylinders, lines & brake calipers) required replacement.

Fuel Delivery... YIKES! Try and Try as we might, we just couldn't get the damn thing to start, and we used something like half a can of starting fluid trying to get the damn thing to start, when it backfired setting all of us ablaze in a soft blue flame of Either... Very Exciting, trust me, you don't want to try this stunt at home, or with any friends watching (Yes, several folks had a good laugh at our expense). After brushing off our burned hairs, we found that the full tank of gas it was parked with evaporated over the years, leaving a thorough coat of varnish over the fuel injectors, the fuel pump, the gas tank & line that required the replacement of everything. ($X@#$!!!!)

Tires and battery were replaced with (I don't remember), and at that point, I had a really really nice 1978 280Z. I changed out door & hatch seals, and I drove it around for about a year, but decided I was happier with a 240Z due to the power to weight ratio & the more spry performance of the 240Z, and went that route next (a copy my next Z is attached (I don't have any digital pictures of your car unfortunately).

I am amazed the guy I sold it to sunk that much into it, as quite honestly, with the exception of one paint chip on the hood when I closed the hood on a screwdriver (Sorry), the car was otherwise perfect. No Rust, good paint, perfect dash and interior, no electrical issues, just a happy '78Z. In total, Purchase + Repairs, I was into it for ~$8K, an sold it or $6.5K, as that was pretty much what I could sell it for at that time.

If he indeed sunk this much into it, you are likely the beneficiary of a very nice car. How many miles are on it now? and how is the condition now? I hope it is nice, as I did like the car. Unfortunately for me, it just wasn't the right fit.

Well, now my current '73 240z is sporting a 3 liter Rebello Race engine with 5 speed, LSD, 4 wheel disks, and lots of other goodies. I suspect this will keep me in happy Z land for a while.

P.S., I hope the car serves you well. As it has been in a dry climate in the SF Bay area, I find it unlikely you will have any rust issues for a while. Your climate will ultimately take it, but the base vehicle should be very robust by this point. Good luck to you.

Hi Daniel, wow I thought it had some kind of engine trouble and he parked it. So thats the original engine then. When I got the car his wife had kicked it out of the garage and it was sitting in the driveway in that hot sun. Sorry to say the dash had 2 cracks. One of the dog legs had rust bubbles so I cut it out and welded in new metal. He had a new 5k$ paint job done in 2001. All glass taken out to paint it. I have one receipt for 4200 alone in misc engine work. Replaced radiator 4 row, new afm, injectors and on and on. He did not do any labor himself so the 20k is probably 3/4 labor. I picked it up for 4800. He said he needed money for his daughters

college tuition. I asked him why did he put so much money into the car. He said "those were the go-go 90's and that was just a drop in the bucket for me. I was making tons of money then"

I have since put 2k into it myself. Tokiko struts, various rotted suspension rubber and new door panels, console, rear carpet, full dash cap and a hitachi factory radio. He had made a mess of the wiring on the alarm system and door locks you had put in. Took a while to sort that out. My god what a money pit that thing has been. He was so paranoid that i'de part it out. Actually my initial plan was to take parts off it and put them on mine and sell it but i've decided it should stay a museum piece thats glued to the floor once again.

Now it sits most of the time inside the garage. The climate here on the west side of the big island is very dry. I occasionally take it for a cruise down the kohala coast. A/c still works good btw. Kind of like phoenix with very little rain. It now has a little over 73,000 miles. Its almost a twin to my other 78z. Its from santa rosa and the vin's are very close.

Very nice orange 240 there. When i lived in santa rosa i wanted to make it up to the mt shasta meet but never made it. Thanks for the history on the car and for bringing it back from the dead.

Edited May 8, 2013 by hr369

[EhlersRS]

Greg,

Thanks for the update. That's a great story from the previous owner!

Robert S.

[hr369]

Greg,

Thanks for the update. That's a great story from the previous owner!

Robert S.

you think the reason he parked it was because of his new job? Driving an Import and working for GM

Was probably a big nono back then

[siteunseen]

My Dad worked at a Goodyear plant when those little Honda Civiccs first came out and if somebody drove one they would pick it up with a forklift and hide it, damage be damned. Now there's a Honda plant here that buys tires from that same Goodyear plant. He's retired long ago and drives an American made Toyota.

[Hardway]

Just have to say, great story and thank you for sharing! It has truly made my day.

I have had the pleasure of talking to long time previous owners of cars I bought, one being a 1989 Turbo Trans Am Pace Car with 189K miles on it, all put on by the second owner as he bought it with only like 10K miles. Despite the miles it was in really good shape when I bought and regret going down the road I did with it and selling it. Oh well, I have 2 Z's now and I am happy.