I have always been a fan of the first-gen Zs and I will be attending an auction soon where a 71 will be up for sale. Given the auction environment, I will be somewhat limited in how completely I can check out the car, and I was hoping that I could pick the brain of the collective consciousness here as to what to look for as far as problem areas go. Of course I am sure that rust is an issue on these cars, but where are the most likely areas to look? Are there any other issues which are common and easily recognizeable. Are there any serious issues which would make a car that looked like a good buy a potential money pit? Thanks in advance for any and all input you all can provide.

As Micheal says above....

but I'd also like to add... wear your worst T Shirt and jeans on the day you view the car, take a good torch with you and get under that beast... A large cardboard box flattened comes in useful if you dont want to get too dirty...

Just check everyhwere for rust, also look-out for repairs or newly layed undercoat, which may have not been repaired properly. Don't be afraid to get under the car, if the owner has nothing to hide he wont have a problem. The longer you take inspecting it from below, the more you know what your'e buying and what your'e letting yourself in for.

Good luck

Originally posted by 24OZ

wear your worst T Shirt and jeans on the day you view the car, take a good torch with you and get under that beast...

For the benefit of everyone on the west side of the Atlantic ocean, a torch is really just a flashlight. At first I was thinking he wanted you to burn off some undercoating or something like that ...

Carl Beck wrote a Buyer's Guide,

http://www.zhome.com/Buying/1stGenWhatToWatch.html

Yeah don't use a blow torch, the seller won't be too happy...

it sounded like he wanted to start welding the frame rails right off the bat!