To restore or not to restore?

[malder]

I am new to the old car thing, but I have wanted to fix up an old fast car since high school. I am not really interested in restoring the car to original, but more making it my own creation - with taste. I am very machanically inclined, but have limited experience fixing cars. My father-in-law is a very experienced machanic.

That said - would it be wise for me to try to strip my Z of everything and make it "like new"? Is there any way that I could keep driving it while this is going on:stupid:? If no, how long am I looking at not being able to drive it? Any idea of how much money I am going to spend while doing everything myself?

Thanks for all the input!

Matt

[Nigel Mulvey]

I guess you need to make a decision based on the condition of your car and the gap between where it is now and where you want it to be. My 240 is very stock but needs a bit of work such as on the suspension, a couple of minor rust holes, cracked dash etc. I want to keep it stock and it is my daily driver so I am working on it while keeping it on the road.

On the other hand my 260 is a project that I started for much the same motivation as yours (always wanted to have a go). It is in a hundred pieces in my garage at the moment while my wife's car stands outside.

Do you have the room for a complete tear down? Do you have the patience to rebuild? (I'm allowing myself up to four years for my 260 project - unless my wife demands some shelter for her car ).

Whichever choose, you are looking at many $'s (hence my four year target) and a lot of frustration, but you will always find the help, expertise and support from within the club.

[beandip]

Where are you ? The cost of a redo will be greatly altered by your location , Greenland vs Los Angeles. What is "the old car thing" is it a '82 or a '72 . In any case if you can do all the work your self the savings will be great, but depending on your ability the finish my SUFFER. Parts for the 1st. gen. cars are getting harder to fine and are there fore higher in price, I am referring to trim and finishing items. To do as you said strip everything and redo, you are talking a lot of time and work and at best a lot of $$ also the car will be undrivable while the interior and dash and engine is out .

[malder]

My car is a '72 240Z

All body panels/bumpers are near perfect. Some tiny dents and only one very small area of rust on one rocker panel.

I live in the LA area.

Another question - Would it be worth it to do something less intense than a full tear down? Say redoing the interior, putting some decent paint and freshen up the engine?

Thanks for the input.

[lance75_280z]

I'm in the same boat. I'm not trying to put a whole lot of money in my 75 but I do have plans for it over the long haul...Right now I want to tag it up & start movin. The car is very drivable but I want my Z to look like the ones I see in the various websites & forums.....

[XYZ]

I think a lot of us struggle with this question. As Nigel said, it depends on the condition of your car. My car is very clean and has relatively low miles (79K original) and I have no appreciable rust or problems. I bought a car that didn't need a lot of work but I could have. That said, I have decided to 'Refresh' my car. I have rebuilt most of the suspension, redone the brakes and fixed some minor interior problems. I love driving my car and have decided any repairs will by as short as possible and I have never had my car down for more than a weekend. I don't need to do engine work so no need to rebuild. If I did I would by a different engine and rebuild it while I left my car running. Get as many parts together as possible and then try and dis-assemble and re-assemble as quickly as possible. I should probably reserve judgement though, until I'm in a situation where I have a more serious problem to correct.

At some point I will get me car repainted and that will be tough giving it up for multiple weeks instead of days. I guess the short of it is, if your car is in good shape why not keep it running and work on short projects. If it really needs some work maybe you go for it and realize your won't drive for a while and it will cost a lot more in cash. Personally, I think I would get drepressed if I walk into my garage day in and day out and just saw it all over the place in pieces and parts. Especially if I had to leave it that way for an extended period. If I could work on it daily and make progress things would probably be okay.

FWIW, for those of you that don't have cars and are looking, unless the 'project' is the fun for you (shopping parts, tear down, repair, fixing rust issues, etc) I would find a car as complete and trouble free as possible (I know, they're far and few between) and enjoy driving the car rather than having an on-going project. I think a lot of people fail to consider the value of their time when they take on a project. I'd rather pay a couple hundred or thousand more for a car that works than save a few hundred or thousand to work on the car.

Good luck. I'm sure it's not and easy choice.

[Victor Laury]

Malder,

Are you happy with the existing paint? Rust? It's a major commitment doing the "real deal". Look at what your starting with and decide if you'll be happy with the rolling refresh job. Come over and take a look at mine. It hasn't stoped rolling and gets better every day - BUT - I bought the car specificly for this purpose. Sure, it would be a show stooper with the total restore. But, I got just what I wanted., a car I could drive and get all the "Hey! That's a nice Z!" rewards.

If I started with a car that really needed paint, I'd would have needed to go the "Whole Enchalada". I'll never win any shows as it's still a "10 footer" (looks great at 10 feet). No matter which way you choose, it still cost lots. I know I spent a few "pretty pennies" . This is evident to anyone that reads my journal:classic: