Looking at a zed tomorrow

[Gav240z]

IMHO if he wants more than $2000 don't even bother.

The rust is fairly good considering what I've seen but honestly it's just another 2+2 not like there's a shortage of them going around. good ones yes but pay around $6k and you have yourself a great car.

Depends if ur gonna race the car or not I guess. If so then it's not bad but if u want a clean street machine you'll be spending a bit of money tidying her up.

The bog in the rear 1/4's is scary and you'd probably need to weld in new 1/4 panels as it's most like the result of an accident rather than rust.

How is under the car the end of the chassis rails? infront of the rear wheels at the sill area have a poke around there they all get it there.

The spare tyre area is another good 1 for rust causing fumes to get in.

THe motor has the $^!# carbs but they there stock on a L26 in a 2+2 so can't really cry about that.

At least it's fairly original that's a good thing you won't be hunting for too many spares.

The bonnet don't look so bad so if you buy it and you want the vented bonnet maybe we can make a deal ;-).

[Alfadog]

Hrm, looks to be a fairly OK, but like your friend said, you have a much higher budget... so to be honest, in my opinion, you're best to wait for something better.

2+2's dont get very expensive, so if you spend another grand or two, you should be able to find one in very good nick.

Just my opinion..

[Murph]

It idled rough until it was warm when it smoothed out quite a lot.

Mine does this... I'd assume it's sorta normal.

We took it for a drive (3 in the car, ouch that backseat is squeezy!) without the owner and while the car ran alright it had really heavy steering. The owner said the tires were flat and that is why, but they weren't that bad, so i doubt pumping up the tires would do that much.

They do have very direct steering, so it is fairly heavy when your going slowly. I was somewhat supprised by this when i first drove my zed. Mind you it is nice and light when your up and moving and I don't really notice the weight when parking anymore.

it also had a blood curlding grind when shifting into second, so i think the gearbox is in need of some work. Although no other gears seemed that bad. hmmm, to be honest, i doubt we would have gone past 3rd, i dont even know if its a 5 speed, whoops.

Sounds a lot like my box (not an original zed box). It often gives a bit of a grind on the upshift to second if you don't give it some time, especially when cold. It takes a good shove to get back down to second too. If mine is anything to go by, it'll get better when it warms up and also with more use.

(oh, i'm 19 and was wondering if anyone can comment on insurance rates or ocmpanies to use in australia, thanks)

I'm with Shannons and I'm paying $350 a year, full comp for an agreed value of $4900. The only catch is you need an almost spotless driving record and be at least 20 (i think).

As for the rust, it looks like a fair bit to me (I'm no zed expert though). I'd be making sure you have a really good poke around the chassis rails though.

Edit: I agree with the others, hold out and buy something better since you have the money.

[Alan Pugh]

Hi David,

I agree with Gavin on the bog in the rear quarters and what looks to be a crease up the top on the left hand side at the top of the hatch area.

The bonnet leading edge looks the same as mine did and i think you will find that when you try to get the rust out you will end up with a lot of small holes, I did.

The rust in the dogleg just behind the door will be the tip of the iceberg I think.

The door requires a new lower skin repair section.

Everything in the pictures is repairable and even the rust you can't see is repairable rust wise, but it all costs dollars.

Far be it from me to discourage anyone from buying a Z but I think $2700 is too much for this car. Having said that I don't realy know what your plans are or what you want to end up with.

I paid $500 for mine and it had less visible rust.

If I can help in any way with sourcing parts or rust repair sections and panels let me know as i'm sure all the Aus members will.

Good luck with this one or the next one you look at but don't give up. Z cars are infectious.

Alan.

[Gee]

I'd be walking the other way. The tip with these old cars is to buy the BEST car you car for your money as the repairs really start to add up. He's got some motors there but seeing as you can get these from pick-a-part for next to nothing it doesn't really add a heap of value to the purchase price. The tip with these cars is to go for the best body/interior you can. The rest is all (fairly) easy + cheap in comparison. Have a look in my photo album at the 2+2 my brother bought for similar money. True, it's an auto - but the bodywork is immaculate and the box can be changed for far less than rust repairs and a respray... good luck looking for one!

Thought about trying the Nissan Datsun Sports Owners Club seeing as you are in Melbourne?

[Zedrally]

Whilst everyone is telling you to stay clear of this car, I feel that this is premature.

Firstly, [i may have missed this] but is this a complete package?

Secondly, As a seller you always ask for a high price, the story is that you can never up the price so as a seller you start high, obviously there may be a LOT of negotiation here.

After all if you manage to secure the lot for $500 then consider this a good deal. [hope you have a big garage]! REmember it is rapidly approaching Xmas and the seller may have to part with this, irrespective of realising his high price.

By all means look at other cars, once you've looked at a few you will have a better understanding of Zeds and relative prices.

Be ruled by your head and not your heart and lastly remember

everyone has an opinion , some good, some not so good.

Good luck and good searching.

[Gav240z]

I had neglected to read the previous post before the pics and the details you mentioned.

The gbox sounds like a second gear synchro to me very common as second get's the biggest workout. You could use GM Lube sold by holden for the box apparently it's good for the synchro's but to rebuild your looking at $600 - $2000 depending on how much detail you'd like to go into.

The steering is very heavy in these cars but if it seems excessive I think replacing the ball joints and tie rod ends could help immensely. It could also be a stuffed steering rack ~$400 to replace that if you do it yourself.

Those carbs will probably be the main reason for the car taking a while to warm up and run decently.

At your age you do not wanna be fixing it every 10 mins especially if you are still studying or planning to.

While the owner has a good set of parts to accompany the car you should be looking at the car more than it's sum of parts.

Another thing I have to ask is do you really want a 2+2?

Have you seen a 2 seater in person?

I only ask because until I'd seen a 2 seater I had wanted a 2+2 I bought a 240z originally that required a bit of rust repair and while I regret selling it the reason for me doing so was $$$ I was trying to study and restore a car on a shoe string budget. Now I could have given it a half arse job on the paint but if your anything like I am and I believe do it once do it properly then your gonna spend big $$$ on fixing things.

Anyway i have another 240z which i paid a decent amount of money for but I'd rather not disclose because I feel the car is worth alot more than I paid for it.

This one however was a 2 owner car and I am the 3rd. It's been very well maintained and I can tell you it's a blast to drive. I have enjoyed it more than any other car I have owned to date.

So my round about point is get something that costs a bit more but is in very good condition. For 6K you should be able to find a 2+2 that is in absolutely immaculate condition with no rust you will end up saving alot of money that way.

As one of the others mentioned engines and gbox's go fairly cheap so mechanical things are cheap and easy.

:classic:

[ZmeFly]

Though the parts that come with the car look good it isnt worth it in the end as you look at the car as a whole.

With the repairs needed and seemingly repairs that will be in the very near future I would look for something else thats in better shape.

Unless you can get this car for a song I would bother.

[Mr Volvo]

Thanks for all your replies everyone (keep them comming!) but after reading this and trusting my mates I doubt I will be buying the car. I was wondering though, if I did get it for like 500 bucks, could I fix it up to a good quality (daily driver, not necessarily show car, but nice enough looking) with my 4 grand left over? Or would I still end up with a better quality car if I payed $4.5k to start with. I would think that because people always end up selling their cars for less than they spent on them I would be better off buying a better car. But if the owner did just want to get rid of it for that much would I be getting it for cheap enough to overcome that, and end up ahead.

But that is very hypothetical and it would involve me offering 500 bucks for his car. I have this fear it would break his heart, I mean the guy wasn't a zed fanatic but if I had worked on a car and wanted 5 times what the buyer was offering I might feel a triffle hurt. (*cough* soft *cough*)

Gav, I dont really have any great affection for the 2+2 and after spending 10 minutes in the back seat I know none of my friends will ever be sitting in it. But it seems 260 2 seaters are as rare as hens teeth, and from what I've seen I doubt I could afford a 240 in the kind of condition I could get a 2+2 in. So they seem the most economical entry into the zed car realms, even if it's not as shapely.

Well I guess the longer I hold out the more I can save, so with every fortnight my budget grows slightly. (might as well keep at for a decade or so and buy a 350:D )

Oh and if anyone out there sees (or owns)a zed, any really, that they believe is nice, below the five grand mark and is somewhere in victoria please drop me a line. I know I need to see more quality cars to get some first hand knowledge, so any suggestions would be greatly appreiciated.

thanks again for all your time.

-David

[Murph]

For $500 it probably wouldn't be a bad parts car.

[280zx Fever]

Ok when u changed into 2nd was your foot flat too the floor on the clutch ?

Did it have much free travel ?

And if the owner didnt go with you i hope you thrashed the $^!# out of it.. least i would off

If YOU think its a good deal then get it

[Mr Volvo]

It did it every change into second, foot flat to the floor for 3 different drivers. The owner had also just installed a new clutch.

And yeah we thrashed it pretty good, but every corner we had to slow down so we could turn it otherwise there would have been a whole lot of damage done.

Im thinking I will offer a small amount probably 500, and as Datto Zed said it would be a pretty good parts car with everyhting being original. But I doubt the owner will accept that.

It makes sense that I should buy the best I can afford, the only problem is taking the time to find one and doing all the running around.

It was in the area that had all that flood damage in melbourne last night, who knows maybe it got washed away?