abqz

There used to be a place here in Albuquerque called "Mr Z" who specialized in the z-cars but that business hasn't been around for a while. I've been trying to find somewhere here that knows something about these cars to help me assess my body rust issues, but so far no luck. Just recently I was involved in a fender-bender with an uninsured motorist while in my Ranger. The way it worked with my insurance company was that they have an adjuster look at the damage, figure out what it would cost to get fixed (parts and labor), and give you the estimate. At that point, you can opt to take it to a shop, who then will work directly with the insurance to settle on payment, or you can get a check cut to you for the original estimate (or argue for a higher payment). If you get the check cut to yourself, then that settles the claim with the insurance company and you can do the repair yourself however you wish. However, I do know if you have your car financed and still under loan, you are obliged to get it fixed, and not just pocket the money because the bank has a vested interest in you keeping up the value of the car. Not sure if this applies to your insurance company, so I'd check with them directly.

The funny thing is that you never know where you'll get hit at. I was living in an upscale apartment complex with gated access, and 24-hour security patrols, in an expensive part of town last time I got broken into. They messed up my Mitsubishi's dash pretty good and I had to go to the dealer for replacement parts ($$$).

Sorry to hear about that. Crime is just getting worse in SF IMO. Albuquerque is really bad too; my cars have been broken into many times over the years. Cops here could care less. Removable faceplate stereos are pretty good for security (I like the Pioneers).

Thanks everyone for your advice and comments. I made the huge mistake already of rushing into things and now I'll have to be patient and take some time to decide what to do. I'll likely see if I can sell this one at a loss to someone who may want to deal with its problems. To me it would be a tough sell, but someone with the equipment, skills and the inclination to fix the frame problems might be interested. It would be dishonest at this point to sell the car as anything other than a parts car or with a major disclaimer about the rust issues. Would you say this car (a "solid highway machine", as described by the seller) is safe to drive? My other option is to use this car as a parts car for another one I might buy sometime down the line. Just thinking "out loud" a bit thanks again guys.

So, I recently purchased a 1978 280z here in Albuquerque. The car has 189,000 miles on it. The owner told me the car had only minor problems, but now that I've been looking at it closer I'm realizing the problems it has are huge! Was hoping to get a little advice from this forum to help me decide what to do with the car. THe Good things this car has going for it are a very nice interior with freshly-done seats, new carpet, dash cover, etc. The exterior of the car is nice, with decent paint (1992 re-do but garage kept) nice wheels and tires. The owner recently installed some new injectors and had the clutch and brakes re-done. All electricals, switches, and gages work fine. All good stuff, right? Here's where it goes downhill. The Bad things with the car include problems the owner had described previously. No working A/C, which is a killer here in Albuquerque for about half the year, but I can deal. More serious is a major engine oil leak, and a minor transmission (5-speed) leak, both of which will need to be fixed sooner or later. I have the infamous and annoying rear-end-on-acceletration clunk which is probably the differential mount needing replacement. Additionally, I get an unnerving fuel vapor smell (very minor) coming from the right rear wheel area of the car. It's annoying though because now I can't garage the car like I previously hoped till it's resolved. Now, the Ugly. What serously concerns me the most with this car are the rust problems I am just now discovering. Floor pans look like they *may* be able to be salvaged, I mean fixed somehow and not have to have new ones put in. Most of the underside of the car is covered in (what looks to be) 30-year-old undercoating material of some sort, but on the passengers side there is enough exposed to see what looks to be serious rust issues affecting the frame rail. So, I need help figuring out what to do here. I paid quite a bit of money for this car, WAY too much obviously now looking back at it. I'll admit that. And I absolutely love early z-cars and would love to make this one right BUT am I better off in the long run finding a better (less rusty) example? This car unfortunately spent most of its life in Virginia which is probably how it got so rusty. I could cut my losses right now (sunk costs) and just plan on parting out the car, and start my search for a local less-rusty 280z or I could try and fix these problems. I'm mechanically-abled and not afraid of doing the mechanical work myself for the most part, but rust I have no idea. Or welding, or bodywork or anything like that. Questions: 1. Should I remove the old undercoating material to really see what it looks like under there? Could I just scrape it off or is there some chemical to use? 2. Anyone have any ballpark estimate, from worst-case (need new floor pans, both sides, and frame rails, both sides) to best case (can repair floor pans and frame rails) on how much fixing rust issues would cost, having the work done professionally? 3. If you had to, could you come up with a ballpark, totally-crazy guestimate on total cost to fix all problems listed above, with me doing as much work as possible and having specialized tasks performed professionally (such as rust issues, engine/transmission rebuild, etc). 4. Is it totally crazy to think somehow the car could be transferred to another 280z "shell" that is rust-free? What would you do? Try and fix this one up (bottomless money pit?) or just find something else all together? Sadly, I think I know the answer already. I wanted one of these cars so badly for so long that I rushed into the purchase and got seriously burned. Thanks for reading all this and for any comments or advice!