Back again looking for advice on another 280z

[ksechler]

I think the car could have some potential, but I'd be concerned about the lack of pictures from the trouble areas.  You need to see under the battery, passenger fire wall, passenger floor and frame rail, doglegs, etc.  The two under car pictures are poor and the first one shows some trouble signs.  I would not buy the car sight unseen.  

On a side note, people crack me up when they say "surface rust".  Yeah right.  

[wheee!]

8 minutes ago, ksechler said:

I think the car could have some potential, but I'd be concerned about the lack of pictures from the trouble areas.  You need to see under the battery, passenger fire wall, passenger floor and frame rail, doglegs, etc.  The two under car pictures are poor and the first one shows some trouble signs.  I would not buy the car sight unseen.  

On a side note, people crack me up when they say "surface rust".  Yeah right.  

I think we both know, there is always more work than there appears to be! Even if the trouble areas require new floor pans and rails, new metal around the battery tray (mine was good, no damage at all!) Trying to convince yourself that you have found a true "survivor" won't help when reality pulls back the floor mats...

Find a car with all the parts or as many as possible, pay a price that is reasonable for the condition and consider that a deposit on it's future restoration. I paid $100 for my 76 280 3 years ago and I am in to it for just under $8000 now and it is just a shell on a rotisserie at the moment. It will be around $35,000 when I'm done.... hopefully.

Bottom line is always going to be: What am I looking for? A car to drive and enjoy? Or a car to restore and treasure.... prices vary accordingly.

[siteunseen]

13 hours ago, beefpatty said:

Yeah, maybe waiting for a 240z is best. I looked at one today that is single owner, rebuilt floor and rocker panels and looked very good rust wise. Only problem was it wouldn't start. The engine would turn over, and for a second sounded like it would start with starter fluid (tank was empty), but no dice. I'd feel better about it if it ran out the gate but that, combined with his $9,500 OBO asking price has me thinking it might be too risky as a first time owner.

You can make a ridiculously low ball offer if you can't drive it, like $5,000?  That's how a got a super good deal on mine.  The motor could be bad, transmission etc..  Make the offer and tell him when he gets it running so you can drive it you may come up to his asking price.  Worth a try if you like the car.  My guy wouldn't let me leave without making a deal, he was tired of moving it around with a lawnmower and ski rope. 

[beefpatty]

8 hours ago, siteunseen said:

You can make a ridiculously low ball offer if you can't drive it, like $5,000?  That's how a got a super good deal on mine.  The motor could be bad, transmission etc..  Make the offer and tell him when he gets it running so you can drive it you may come up to his asking price.  Worth a try if you like the car.  My guy wouldn't let me leave without making a deal, he was tired of moving it around with a lawnmower and ski rope. 

The guy texted me today if I had an offer, so I took your advice and offered $5k. I honestly thought he'd tell me to take a hike, but he countered with an offer of $6,500, so now I'm in a pickle. I didn't expect him to come that far off his asking price of $9,500. As I said before, when I checked it out we almost got it to run on starter fluid. Other than that the body looks really nice. Here are some pictures I took. Unfortunately, I didn't take as many as I should have, but the rocker panels and floor panels looked great. It's an original single-owner 1972 240z, even comes with the (albeit beatup) original manual. The stock radio is out because he was trying to install a bluetooth radio.

I told him I'd like to sleep on it and think some more, to which he said no problem. Then he sent me this, not sure if that's a red flag. The context is that earlier before I made my offer I expressed hesitation at trying to get a motor to run as a newbie owner. Not sure if it matters, but the garage they had it stored was attached to a huge mansion with a big yard. So, I doubt the guy is strapped for cash. He said they want to make room for more projects, especially for his son.

What should I do?

Try to talk him down to $6k? Pay to have it towed to a mechanic specializing in vintage cars to give it a once over and see what they think it needs to start? Or just walk away?

Edited March 7, 2017 by beefpatty

[Patcon]

240z's are pretty simple...if the body is good, straight with no rust issues, it's worth $6,500. The timing components are cheap, fuel tank probably needs cleaning. If it almost started I wouldn't be terrified of it but I can also do my own work...

[siteunseen]

Just my quick thoughts, if he came down that much for a $70 part he knows there more to it than just the pump.  Would you loose $3,000 over that?  I believe the tank is full of crud that got sucked throughout the whole fuel system. You/ he could buy a $20 pump and run the fuel rail out of a gas can and it should crank.  $6,000 is what I recently sold a '72 for.  Great runner but had rust.

It should have a mechanical pump running off the cam anyway.  I wonder why hes saying it needs the electric pump?

Edited March 7, 2017 by siteunseen

[Captain Obvious]

That body is not clean and straight. It's had a crap-ton of work done to it! You can even see the rivet heads poking through the incredibly thick runny paint. There is no body crease remaining due to the thick bondo on that thing.

I may be imagining the worst, but I wouldn't touch that thing with a ten foot pole.

Original owner, huh? Ask him if the bodywork is due to rust or and accident.

[charliekwin]

The job on the left rear quarter is really bad. Looks like the right may have had some work done too, but it's hard to tell from the picture. Overspray all over the muffler and maybe the engine bay as well (if I wanted to be generous, it could just be the camera having trouble) makes me think the car got a cheap, full respray. My spidey sense is that the car is worse than the seller is letting on and he sent it off to a place Earl Scheib to put lipstick on the proverbial pig hoping to make a few bucks off a sucker. Think of it this way: the difference between a running car and a non-running one is probably a few thousand dollars. If a $70 fuel pump and two hours of effort would get the car to run, why hasn't the seller done it?

[Captain Obvious]

I can guarantee that the right has had extensive work as well.

 

Look at the bad body filler outline at the front of the bumper tip.

Look at the horizontal sheet metal line above that.

The center side crease line is completely smoothed out with filler.

The gas filler door won't close.

Uneven body filler door gap.

Body filler filled rocker seam.

 

Ten foot pole, I tell ya... I know it's somebody's baby, but I can't help imagining what that thing looks like with the paint and filler removed.

[beefpatty]

What would I do without you guys... 

Alright, looks like I'm passing on this one. Not all bad, though, as it was a great opportunity to learn some things.

[Captain Obvious]

Well let me add a little clarity to my seemingly harsh review above...

If you know what it is you're getting yourself into and your plan is to buy it cheap, cut the whole rear end off, and weld on a good one from a car that had been wrecked in the front, then this might be the perfect candidate.

Or if you just want to drive one, and don't really care that it has had extensive poorly done body work done in the past, then this might be the perfect candidate.

If this thing is being presented as "in good condition", or "restored", or "a survivor", then I protest. I'm out of touch with Z prices, and all I know is they are going up. But I sure hope you could do better for that money.

[TheErictag]

I just bought mine last weekend 9/71 240 completely rust free. Close ratio transmission. Arizona zcar intake and a Holley 4barrel.. eibach on the corners with 4 piston calipers.. I think I found a gem but it goes to show they are out there.. I paid $6k


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