From unfortunate death to rebirth...2+2 content here!

[Jay_Z]

Greetings, I just joined to share the result of a 6 month search for a classic Z to return back to cruising the streets again.

This 1978 2+2 was kept sitting in a garage for the last year, the previous owner unfortunately left us due to cancer and his widow decided to sell rather than keep it in the family.

Shorty after it went up for sale locally on craigslist I was inspecting the car after a 3 hour one way drive. Everything looked to be in order that day and overall the Z was in great shape, engine compartment filmed over dirty, exterior unwashed and interior surprisingly clean. Upon inspection I noticed the entire Z had been serviced by Ziebart in the past including the doors, fenders, quarters, chassis and undercoated nicely! Other than a couple small paint bubbles on the front fenders and near the drivers rear wheel arches the exterior had been resprayed around 1991, I even have the original paint can which was left in the trunk among other spare parts and boxes of brand new parts.

The Z was in a drivable state, albeit not road safe, it was still taken for a test drive to evaluate since the seller had already had it on the road prior to us meeting. So engine was not seized after sitting a year, it ran rough and was eventually to the point of sputtering...so I took it very easy and brought it back to negotiate the sale. My biggest concern was the year it sat unused and now the old fuel had gone south and was now making its way through the entire system. So first and foremost that will get attention before anything else.

Fast forward...it's now sitting comfortably in my garage awaiting a complete sweep through every component...even though everything operates and shows strong both mechanically and electrically.

In the next couple months I'll begin to tear it down, replace worn components and rebuild her back to stardom!

Introducing ( )....haven't decided a name yet:classic:

Edited August 15, 2013 by AdreView

[EuroDat]

Welcome to the club. Nice clean original 2+2. Thats a good find.

IMO I would get her running again and drive her around a bit untill the winter then start on the resto. Its nice to get the before and after feel and then you know what you did all the work for.

Enjoy it and goodluck

Chas

[Mike]

Welcome to the club! Let us know if you have questions! I owned a few Z's and one of them was a 2+2, great car. Not much room in the back except if your a kid or a pet of some kind.

[Jay_Z]

Welcome to the club. Nice clean original 2+2. Thats a good find.

IMO I would get her running again and drive her around a bit untill the winter then start on the resto. Its nice to get the before and after feel and then you know what you did all the work for.

Enjoy it and goodluck

Chas

That's my plan, I'm looking forward to the basic maintenance and driving through October.

[Jay_Z]

Welcome to the club! Let us know if you have questions! I owned a few Z's and one of them was a 2+2, great car. Not much room in the back except if your a kid or a pet of some kind.

Thanks, my passion is installing old school car audio, I picked a 2+2 for that reason. The rear seats will be removed and in its place will be a nice integrated amp rack. Spare tire well will hold the suwoofer in a fiberglass enclosure.

[240260280z]

FYI some at DATSUN wanted to do a Z wagon like the P1800 Volvo.... it would be cool to see a 2+2 modified into a wagon.

[zKars]

Whatever you're drinkin' Blue, pour it down the drain. Now.....

[Virto]

I'm kind of with Blue, honestly. A Z car shooting brake could be really cool.

[240260280z]

Whatever you're drinkin' Blue, pour it down the drain. Now.....

I heard it from the source... nudge nudge wink wink

[Jay_Z]

FYI some at DATSUN wanted to do a Z wagon like the P1800 Volvo.... it would be cool to see a 2+2 modified into a wagon.

I'm all for the concept, just not crafty enough with the sheet metal. It would be a great project idea for one of the cable show restoration programs to pull off.

[Zedyone_kenobi]

Blue, get some clay and build you a model. THat is how Peter Brock would do it!

[Jay_Z]

Picked up some vintage wheels for cruising, the only info I have is they say PRO WHEEL on the inside and they are stamped 14x7, no center caps included. Maybe a Cragar, Centerline...any guesses?

I measured offset to be a +6, going to fit them up and see what tire size I can get away with. Seller said they came off a 240Z, as the 2+2 is a bit wider in the rear compared to a coupe, I may not see any potential rubbing issues on the fenders or struts...have to measure and go from there.

If they fit, I'll be polishing them to a shine!