What if... A radical idea in restoring Z cars

[wheee!]

Bear with me, this could get interesting!

 

I had an idea last night while watching the news. Some poor soul had lost everything in a fire and was being supported by a crowd funding page to help them restart heir lives.

 

Then it hit me! What if we were to treat the Z community like a family? What if we, as Z owners and caretakers treated every Z project as one of our own? We already are there for the owners, restorers with helpful tips and hints, even physical assistance when possible.

 

If each member of the Z community (classicZcar forum members especially) were to support the restoration project of other (vetted) members, we could potentially make it possible for a lot more Z's to be back on the road in good or better than new shape!

 

Think about it. We each donate a small amount, say $10 to the project fund for a calssic Z car restoration. the receiving member posts a full blog with pictures, intentions, projected costs and a solemn promise to finish the project with the funds raised. Any projects that fall apart or do not get finished would require the member to "pay it forward" with the balance of funds to another members project or multiple members projects.

 

I have learned so much from other peoples projects and posts this would be a great way to repay the Z community at the same time as making it possible for people to get their Z's restored! More Z cars saved from the scrap heap!

 

I know this will meet a lot of skeptisicm from some people, and no, I am not looking for handouts. I just think that money is the biggest obstacle for some people to get a project going or finished. With the added responsibility of having people invest in your project, you would be motivated to finish it!

 

I personally would be on board with sending $10 to at least five different projects on this forum as a way of morally and financially supporting other members. How do YOU feel about this??

 

Flame suit on, do your worst,

[Redwing]

Ultimate Z Junkie,

Personally, I like the idea. Sounds like a real good way to motivate some others, especially if funding their project to start, is more than their pockets have available. I bet a lot of folks are in that pickle.

Naturally, like you, I am not looking to receive any of this. Plus, I would need to space my $10 payments.

Count me in! I love community action making it a win-win. This group is great, by doing this it can only gain more respect from others.

Jai

[psdenno]

You can crowd fund the dollars, but, unfortunately, not the motivation, mechanical skill, enthusiasm, and determination. Many, maybe most, of us are dreamers. We readily envision the finished project, but not what it takes to get there. That's probably the biggest reason that there aren't more fully restored Zs roaming the highways. Folks have a dream, buy the needy Z, get started, and experience the cathartic reality check. Some see the dream through to completion while most find contentment, or abandonment, at a point somewhere along the way and never get there. The money it takes to get there is just one small piece of the puzzle and not necessarily the piece that solves the puzzle. Yes, I'm one of those who sees the glass as half empty.

Dennis

[wheee!]

I don't disagree completely. There are a lot of dreamers for every true restorer.... That's why we would need to "vet" them through the forum. See their plans, assess their reality check (Stealth240Z is a good example) and maybe decide as a group if they are eligible for the "forum resto-fund".

[Red7]

I'm a member of a Z4 forum in the UK and we had a member who fell on hard times whilst heavily modifying a Z4, a member set up a donating page, he was going to put the names of everyone who donated custom painted on the underside of the hood, many members donated, me included, however the Z4 is now for sale on EBay UK, unfinished and currently the max bid is £3100, item number 231762844874 if anyone's interested, I'd suggest he has much more than that in donations, he's not been on the site for a long time which is a shame, there's a thread now about if the forum should receive a % of the sale price, I don't suppose they will as he's not in touch anymore, shame really, all monies were given in good faith for the project to be finished.

[psdenno]

And who would "vet" the vetters and the Keeper of the Coin?  The Federal government with all of its three letter agencies can't effectively vet people, so what's the chance of this group being capable of managing a multinational adventure of the scope proposed?  Put me somewhere on the scale between "The Voice of Reason" and "The Voice of Doom".  

 

A kind and thoughtful proposal, however, just not practical IMHO.

Dennis

 

 

Dennis

[wheee!]

That's why a limit of about $10 or $20 would limit each members exposure, based on whether he or she feels that the receiving member genuinely will do their utmost to complete the build, regardless of the funding received.

No one should donate to a person that is looking for total restoration funding. Everyone should have a plan and a budget in place. A member that wants to restore a car on someone elses dime is not getting my dollars. Funding would only speed the build or kickstart a slow one.

Again, I'm not saying this is the answer, more of a suggestion to get a conversation going about how I personally see a benefit in saving Z's...

[siteunseen]

To save Zs the folks that have lost interest should sale. They're sitting on them for "some day" that'll never come.

I think crowd sourcing should be left out of hobbies. If you can't afford a hobby find one you can.

[Patcon]

I find that time not money is the bigger challenge for me completing my car projects. Now don't get me wrong we live very modestly on a very tight budget but I go months between episodes in the shop working on the Z. That being said there are several projects that I can think of I would donate to. Blue has a very low number car that is on his project list and the super low number car on the forum that looks like swiss cheese is another. Another way to invest in the projects would be to help with parts. I have quite a number of parts laying around and would gladly help these projects that are very rare cars. I suspect that between the entire forum we could cobble together a lot of the parts necessary for some of these low number cars.

[wheee!]

That's the spirit Pat!

[siteunseen]

Giving parts to someone that needs them is what I prefer.  That way I know they know and will use them to remedy a problem.  Donating money is a slippery slope, someone could buy nicer stuff than I have. 

[wheee!]

We have a Freebies thread over on the370Z.com and people post any items not in use they would like to donate. The first perosn that asks for it, gets it basically and the receiver pays the shipping. It works great and a lot of people have used it over the last year or so. We could do that for sure. Heck, I have a 4 spd transmission and R200 3.54 non lsd to whoever wants to pay a fortune in shipping! Local pick ups work best of course...

 

I guess my point was to find a way to save more Zeds. I know the plan would never be perfect and there would be fails along the way. I just thought that at $10, I wouldn't care too much about the final balance sheet. I would just feel like in a small way I might help a few guys get their cars done or started.