New 77 280z owner in Florida

[FlyingScot]

Shipping set, being picked up Monday.  Dusty, buddy just pulled out of garage and is cleaning.  Will get a few more pics tomorrow.  

 

 

[Captain Obvious]

Beautiful. I love that color combo.

How's the underside look?

[FlyingScot]

I'm doing this remote with the seller - but he tells me the underside is perfect. I know his dad put on undercoating and was very aggressive at staying ahead of rust - we talked about that multiple times. The pics he sent are as you'd expect - a dirty dark underside . Was always a south Florida car and garage kept - so gutters and hatch tray as well as Around the windshield were my areas of concern - but as you can seen no bubbling in original paint. Better (cleaned) pics coming today.

I'm getting this for roughly half or more of what they could get in the market (given shape of car) so can afford some blemishes. But really the car is as you see - I'll be able to confirm Better when I put on lift and inspect.

I'm really torn about how much I change this - it is original and think I want to keep most of that / nothing irreversible. When I did my MGB I did it to SCCA race spec of the day with 1.75" SUs and updated springs and Armstrong lever arm shocks. Not sure what I want - original has its own attraction.


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[Dave WM]

if its largely original, I would say keep it that way at least for a while. In stock trim they are fine for daily around town driving. Things to watch for besides rust

Fuel tank rust

electrical connection in the EFI (corrosion on plug in connectors and grounds)

Oil leaks (engine rear main, stuts if original)

normal stuff like belts and hoses

water pump (see if its noisy and or loose in the bearing). This is very important, I have owned 2 Z cars both had issues with pump breaking or leaking. I would go out on the limb here and just say replace it and the fan clutch ASAP.

Broken bolts (see water pump). beware the bolts on the engine can break when trying to remove. Best bet here is find someone that is good at working on old cars and has a "feel" for how to do remove (that is unless you feel comfortable on this subject).

 

 

 

 

 

[Dave WM]

I think one of those expensive induction heaters may pay for itself on a 40+ year old car. Good for heating up bolts before removing.

[FlyingScot]

Thanks!  Yeah I've been making my list.  Step 1 is make sure it runs well - distributor, thermostat, fluids,  plug wires, EFI wires and connection, hoses, belts, fuel, etc.  Top to bottom.  Then make sure it stops - brakes.  Other than fluid change, check pads and shoes, drum wear and make sure lines aren't bulged or leaking I'll leave that alone for now - Toyota calipers and booster when / if needed.  Then suspension - Tokico Illumina all around, urethane bump stops, eibach springs, urethane bushings.  I really went back and forth on that but in the end I like a firm ride and roads are good.  I'm leaving radiator alone for now (will flush and fill), but new pump and fan clutch.  Punting on AC until another day.  All of this gets me a car that looks the same but updated for fun and safety.

Now, for appearances...the paint needs a claybar and detail and should look 95% I'm told, pics agree.  The interior carpet kit was roughly done by my buddies dad and needs to be replaced.  I have new door cards that come with car.  Seats, headliner and dash are good.  Front bumper is ugly as sin and showing age, rear is OK.  I've decided to pull both and go with MSA 240z carbon fiber front and rear.  Wheels will be Konig Satin black rewinds 16x7 with 205/55.  I went back and forth and frankly prefer 15 but that size is a pain to get tires for.  205/55 is same diameter almost as stock and seems no rubbing and no mods needed.  The black on blue theme is classy and simple and will go nicely with those white seats.  May do a black carpet kit...don't know going to wait and think on that.  Still classic with light updates but nothing that takes away or couldn't be put back. - and still unique.

There is no visible rust but driver side wing bottom by rocker has a quarter sized spot of paint that needs some attention.  May do a fuel filter off of tank - will check for rust, really tanks are a wear item.  An induction tool would be awesome but $450 is a bit steep - my MAP torch has helped me with 71 MGB rust bomb, 67 Camaro, multiple boat trailers.  That and big arse breaker with cheater does wonders...though I do need to be careful about those water pump studs.  All the above puts me $3K in the hole, with AC my next wallet black hole.  No air dam, but if I do carbon fiber BRE spook to keep it period looking.  Yep, feels familiar- this is what it is like to own and old car again 

 

Great site - wealth of information.

 

 

Edited April 22, 2017 by FlyingScot

[FlyingScot]

New pics and an update - AC confirmed to be dead, compressor is supposedly the issue.  Would like to keep stock setup for AC but dont know what is involved.  Another topic to research.  Pics below...overall looks great but need to decide on interior.  Yellowed plastics you see not sure I can get replacements in original colors - think you can still get black?  Depending on how vinyl cleanups and what is available...will see.  If  cannot get the right color trim may match interior to trim.  Down the road.  

 

Carpetkit was replaced - badly - long ago.  Door cars ...overal pretty darn original with only some spots of surface rust to address.  Look at that paint shine...interior...we will see.

 

 

[JSM]

Very nice. Yeah white is a bear to keep nice. That is original paint or respray?

Might be cheaper to go look at this and see how the interior is compared to yours. Sell the rest and keep the best for yourself. 

https://tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/ctd/6088203449.html

Edited April 22, 2017 by JSM

[siteunseen]

Looks nice and original. I had a red 240 with white interior that had been redone with an SEM interior paint. That's some good stuff.

You're gonna have fun with that Z.  A little money but mostly elbow grease and you should have one to show off. 8^)

[FlyingScot]

50,858 original miles. Respray ? paint. Lived a 1/2 mile from Biscayne Bay in a garage most of its life - survived Hurricane Andrew with out a scratch. Anyone have suggestions for where to get good interior materials - carpet kit, padding, door cards? Still thinking on interior. Will attack the few areas of surface rust and prime..then touch up.

 

Mostly elbow grease which I don't mind. Very pleased

 

 

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[Dave WM]

on the AC, you would prob be better off going with a new stuff in the engine bay, compressor/drier/condenser. IIRC there is a kit for this about 400$. Hopefully the evap/exp valve will be ok.

Or, baseline what you have, confirm the compressor is locked up. If it is before you do anything pressurize it with nitrogen and look for leaks (soapy  water spray all around under hood connections and condenser.

IF no leaks you may get a way with a new OE style compressor and drier. Stay with R12 (find someone that will do this for you), and call it a day. likely you will have leaks at the condenser, I did. If you see leaks there and the compressor is locked up, then you may go with the new stuff I listed 1st.

I would stay away from a  complete system like vintage air inside unit (evap and blower) I don't like all the duct work and loss of vent air with those systems.

The good thing is these are very basic AC units that use flare fittings and very simple controls. the flare fittings are pretty much bullet proof (no o rings to rot out). Biggest prob could be the TVX, or leak in the evap coil. You are going to need a GOOD ac guy that will do it right. I have seen NEW evaps with modern style exp valves for about 300$ that say they will fit like OE so that plus the 400$ for the under hood stuff plus about 700$ labor should get it going. 1500$ seems about right for a complete redo, and no body will get rich off that.

If you can do the labor yourself all the better, just pay for the parts and the Freon charging.

On the OE evap TVX, if the system has been open to air for a long time, its possible there will be rust in there. They can disassembled, let is soak in rust dissolving solutions, test, and re install. I have some videos on all this stuff btw, look for them on Dave WM youtube.

 

 

Edited April 22, 2017 by Dave WM

[siteunseen]

SEM also makes a rust primer/etcher, it has acid in with it and kills the rust turning it black.

The best deal I found on carpet was through ACC on ebay. If you go to their website and get a carpet kit number for what you need, google that number. They make kits for classic cars and most all you'll find originates from them.

There was recently a thread on here about replacement door cards, try searching that, hopefully you'll see something.