How did I do? I'm a little scared...

[sloppyRyRy]

Ok, so I just recently purchased my first Z. It's a 1977 280z (and what is believed to be a "ZAP" edition) I paid $800 for her, she runs fairly well for a '77 and drives OK. The issues: She is rusted.. roof has spots all over, rust along the top of the hatch glass, large rust spot behind the passenger side "little glass" , rear passenger fender, and worst of all the frame, which is pretty bad.. the floor pans, engine bay, spare tire area, wheel wells, and battery spot all seem to be ok from what I've seen. The motor is great I've already replaced some vacuum lines and re-did the fusible wires because the kid that owned it before me had it wired up all sketchy with some speaker wire that kept shorting out, and would allow the car to either die or not start at all but now it starts every time! I have a new exhaust for it already since the one on it now is all rusted out and falling apart, I have a new brake master cylinder, and ordered the Bad Dog frame rails. I'm also going to have a valve adjustment done. The interior is pretty nice with everything intact all the way down to the cigarette lighter which actually works! I just wanted to know what you guys thought as I am completely new to the forums as well as the "Z" world. With all the parts purchased including the car itself I'm in it $1400 (so far ). I have a buddy that welds for a living who's willing to do the frame for free and another buddy that's a mechanic that is giving me really good rates to do some of the work. I'll try and attach a few photos (sorry for the poor quality). Let me know what you think! And think you so much for taking your time to read this!!

[Jeff G 78]

Welcome! Rust is always the enemy. Many of us started out with Z cars like yours and eventually learned to buy rust-free cars instead. You can't go wrong for $800 and it will be a great learning experience, but I don't think I would consider dumping huge money into this particular car. Fix it up cheap and learn everything you can about Z cars from this one. Then, when you are ready, go find a rust free car or a good shell and use all the mechanical parts from this car.

Rust is a pain to deal with. You will break bolts off constantly, so get good at extracting the twisted-off remains. Soak everything in a good penetrating oil first and use a lot of heat. They will all come 1/2 way out and then snap when you try to pull the rusty exposed bolt threads through the nuts. Trust me, I've been there and have broken more Z bolts than I can count over the past 30 years.

Edited January 24, 2014 by Jeff G 78
typo

[FastWoman]

I agree with Jeff. I'd enjoy driving it, but I definitely wouldn't put any money into body work. It would be far cheaper to buy a very nice Z than to fix that one up. But have fun with it! When you find a better one, consider buying it, and sell that one for what you paid.

[sloppyRyRy]

Thank you so much! I've already fallen in love with this car (which might be a bad thing haha) but now I can really see why you guys love yours. I think what I'll do is what I've already started and that is to make it dailyable. The BIGGEST issue as you can see is going to be the body. I think I'm going to try and get as much rust out as I can myself or at least try to stop the spreading if I can?? Idk. I just have this overwhelming feeling that I am obligated to fix it. Like I owe the car something because it is just so awesome! haha! What do you think? Do you think it is a true "ZAP"? I mean the paint in the engine bay and trunk, ect. all match what the zaps look like but I'm not entirely sure? Vin check possibly? And if it really is a true "ZAP" is it worth the time, money, and effort? Again, Thank you so much!

-Ryan

[Jeff G 78]

A rusty Zap is worth no more than any other rusty Z. The only Zap that might be worth more is one with all the decals and factory Zap parts. Even then, I doubt it would be worth much more than a regular '77.

[sloppyRyRy]

What a shame.. I would just hate to see this car rot before my eyes. Well, any Z really. I've been reading a lot about these cars and kind of lurking around your forums for about a year now, just seeing how much you care for them and checking out all of the awesome rides! And then I just had to have one! But I do see that realistically I'll probably own several more in the future since I'm only 20 but I think I'm just going to enjoy driving this thing a lot! Any way to STOP the spread of rust, or cover it so it doesnt look so god aweful at least? I don't know.. something?

[FastWoman]

OK, well, first off, CONGRATULATIONS! I mean that, because you love your car, and that's what counts. I'm a bit weird, in that I can look at a heap of rust and appreciate the lovely machine underneath. However, really, DON'T go throwing money at the body. You'll just be wasting it. The car is already rotted. You could easily spend twice what a nice Z is worth to restore it. Don't! You don't owe the car anything. I'm just being honest with you.

If you want to make it look less rotted, give it a bath, scuff sand it, mask it off, pick up a bunch of Rustoleum at Home Depot, and spray away. The rust will reappear, and the car will keep rotting, slowly. However, it might look a bit more decent. I might suggest a semigloss or satin black which might give it a bit of a "rat rod" look and hide the rust patina. And it's easy to match black to black. Most of all, just have fun.

Oh, and don't worry about the ZZZAP! Any ZZZAP value, if it was ever a ZZZAP, is gone.

[FastWoman]

Oh, and there's a product called Ospho that will neutralize the rust and slow it down a bit. Use it to "convert" the rust before you paint. And don't go crazy sanding away rust, because you might end up sanding holes into your car.

[sloppyRyRy]

Awesome! Thank you both so so much! I really do love the "Rat Rod" idea and I think that'll only cost MAYBE $100 total But again, Thanks guys! I'll be sure to post pictures in the future and if I have any other issues I'll come running;) Have a good night!

[FastWoman]

$100 for rattle-can beautification sounds like a good plan! G'nite, and pleasant dreams!

[bartsscooterservice]

It doesn't have to be really expensive to be a fun driver and still look nice. There's alot of rust on the back as far as I can see on the pictures. If one of your buddies is a welder, he could fix that maybe, don't know his skills.

I see people do alot of DIY paintjobs in the USA, so maybe that's a cheap option for you ?

Also I would rent a sand blaster, and just blast the entire car ( really you don't want to go wire brushing or rust converter just doesn't work ), repair the bad spots, and then DIY paintjob... doesn't have to be expensive and will look pretty good.

But like others members above say, don't spend to much money on this one.

[FastWoman]

Well... maaaaaaybe! But if you do repair some of the metal and slather it with a bit of Bondo, you can also take it to the cheapest paint shop (Earl Scheib, Maaco) and have them hose it down with whatever color you like (suggest yellow to match the engine bay) for a few hundred dollars. Or maybe they're more expensive now. Of course you get what you pay for, but for this car, it might be the ticket.

Sloppy, don't be distracted by that HLS0019 (another thread) that has only half the remaining metal that yours does. That car is special historically, because it was the 19th Z off the assembly line. If it didn't have an extremely early number, it would be pretty worthless, except for parts, of course.