miss_d

I am not a current owner, but have been offered a '73 240 Z by a friend at no cost to me. I recently conveyed my desire to restore a car myself to a customer at work, who in turn asked me to research the 240 Z and get back to him. The car has been sitting for 10 years and needs a lot of work. He acquired the car with the intentions of working on it himself, but got lost in the rebuilding of a Harley and simply lost focus of it altogether. The car is mine, if I want it, for free. I've joined this forum in hopes of getting an idea of the difficulty, cost and knowledge requirements, and parts availability for the 240 Z. Here's the fun part: I'm a 26 year old female with NO knowledge whatsoever on the workings of an engine. Yea, I've helped replaced belts, tires, alternators, brakes...but that's the extent of my experience - and then I was simply either handing tools to my father or being told what to do w/ no real understanding of how it all works. For years, I've day-dreamed of opening my own restoration shop (after years of auto-mechanic school of course) and simply restoring old, beat-up classics to their original, and rightful, state. My father and boyfriend are willing to help, both with good amounts of knowledge of the inner-workings of an engine. I understand this will be a lengthy, and probably costly project - but that's what I want (well, maybe not so much the costly part). I'm looking forward to getting hands-on experience and the pride when it's all over and done with to be able to say, "I did that." I have not gone to look at the car yet, and plan on doing so before any decisions are made, with my father in tow. But here is a list of a few things I already know need to be done: - carburetors rebuilt - all window rubber gaskets replaced - rust-spots removed - distributor cap replaced - points and condensor replaced - possibly wiring replaced - wheels replaced Obviously, since the car has been sitting for 10 years, it's going to need a lot of work....I guess my question is, is it worth it? And at what cost to me? (financially, and mentally - will I be pulling my hair out before it's all over and done with?) Thanks for your time, to anyone that took that the time to read this. -- Jessi