CB30

Couple of things... Would you believe I found out that a local lady who owned one of those volvos, one I eyeballed jealously for years, dumped it for $500.00 US? I of course only found out about it months after the fact. Damn... and on to the VIN. My 78 2+2 vin starts with GHLS30

Wanted: inexpensive 2+2 (the only place I don't take my kids is to work) in nearly perfect condition. According to a recent census, I live in the second poorest county in the USA (aka average wage here isn't the equivalent of say...anywhere else) so I'm really looking for charity here... SOMEONE THROW ME A BONE!

It's just... Sitting in a Z with the wheel in my hands, even if stationary, makes me feel like Superman.

LMAO... Wouldn't he just sh*t if I (oops... excuse my French, I mean Freedom) if I handed him a bill for $3500.

I guess it's back to the drawing board. I pulled as much info off the net as I could about market value on the Z and he's still thinking he's sitting on a gold mine. Should've gotten all the financial/title/receipt business out of the way the day we "shook hands." At least he's willing to reimburse me for the repairs and parts. How much should I charge him for labor?:devious:

I voted SAAB just because there 80's era cars were so damn ugly they were cool. Does any other manufacturer have the ignition under the e-brake?

Sorry if this doesn't seem to quite fit anyone's idea of an emergency, but my purchase of a Z is falling through. The guy who agreed to sell me the 78 280z 2+2 for $600 was told by a gentleman in the next town who is selling his restored 73 for $8000 that the car I'm trying to purchase may be special. So, what I'd like all you Z buffs to do is refer to the pictures I posted on another thread (http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6739)and reply as to whether or not the car is worth thousands more. I need as many replies as possible by tomorrow. I'm not a rich man but have elbow grease to spare and want something that I can eventually be proud of. Thanks.

Thinking about purchasing new springs. I notice a lot of the performance springs lower the vehicle. How will this affect suspension geometry? Wheels/tires? Steering geometry?

What about this angle... Choose the Z and everytime Rosie and her sisters get anxious put them to work on the car. Soon the car will be so beautiful that you can take a drive down the strip and Rosie Inc. can take a vacation. That's what I'm shooting for. I live in redneck heaven, divorced, two kids, no pickup truck. You know how hard it is to satiate our biological needs driving a Subaru? When was the last time you heard a woman say "Wow! Nice DL."? On top of that, I don't think I've ever crouched in front of my Subaru and said "I just love this view. Looks like a jet intake." Nuff said.

Well... I did it. It was scarey. Some of the posts on the other thread I posted on this car made me a little timid about the car, but... I spent about half an hour pulling plugs, pre-lubing the cylinders, checking the fluids, installed new battery. It started after only two seconds of cranking. WOW! Tried to put it in gear so I could pull it onto the lift... NO CLUTCH. Tried to tow it to the top of the sloped driveway so I could coast it to the lift... REAR BRAKES FROZEN. Freed the rear brakes, towed it to the slope, put it on the lift. Clutch master cylinder seals shot, slave frozen. Bought rebuild kit for master (bye bye 16 bucks) freed the slave (all rubber was good) got the clutch working. Dropped the car and tried to back out of the garag... CLUTCH PLATE FROZEN. Pushed it to the top of the other slope, coasted, started it in gear... SHIFTS LIKE A DREAM. Pulled onto the freeway to head to the nearest gas station (five miles) and panics when I realized I was doing 85 in a 65. These cars are SMOOTH. But on to the mystery. I talked to the owner (who happens to have bought it off the lot - now I know all about the cars history) and he says that the engine dying/not starting when at operating temperature, then starting when left to cool, just started happening before he parked it. He said it sounded like it was flooded or something when he would try to start it. Said it gets spark and the whole nine, but just wont fire. I've run it up to operating temperature a few times, even ran the AC to get it a little warmer than normal, but it's started right up afterward every time. It never stuttered when driving. Not anything at all that I can notice. As this is my first ever project car, and a car I may have to rely on here shortly (CV's and lifter work on the family car about due) I would like to know what's going on or get some tips on diagnostic procedures. I appreciate all the help. Oh... BTW... For those that posted concerns about the rust on my last thread http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=41949#post41949 I've check the car thoroughly. The gas tank, floorpan, the whole works are fine. It's just the fender area.

What if I've got him talked down to $500 - $600? Should I or shouldn't I ? I've checked the floor pans from underneath the car and they seem solid. Haven't pulled the carpet up, but will do that before I lay down the cash. There's only one minor crease in the roof, the rest looks nice and rounded and should pop right out. Rust behind the wheels, though. Any more ideas on the engine enigma?

Thank goodness I'm divorced. If I were still married and the unit read these posts she'd castrate me for even considering it.

As best I can tell, this is the worst of the rust.

OK... low res dig pics of the car. If you think it's shiney, I would like to inform you that it was raining this morning.

I think I'll keep an eye on your posts, 2. You seem to be full of all the tidbits I'm going to be looking for. Thanks

Thanks for the tip, 2. Gives me somewhere to start. In the beginning... I'm getting more fired up about this every day. But I have a new problem. As I mentioned, many of the roads around here are gravelled year round (gravelled heavily in winter and too small of a highway deparment to get it all cleaned up before winter hits and they're putting more down. So I will be getting a body kit of some sort to keep the rocks off the metal. I've seen this kit on several different cars and I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction.

Anyone have any idea as to why the car wont start after it reaches operating temperature? As I said before, starts fine/runs fine/wont start when it's run long enough to get warm. I'm no expert, so anything I think is just speculation. Hot intake manifold causing problems (this is what I think is least likely)? I'm leaning more toward the injectors or a bad sensor. Help please. I love the car, but really need to know what I'm getting into. Rust is not the problem (I'm planning on becoming an autobody expert this summer ). It's faded, is going to get work anyway, and the floor pans look fine to me. Our roads here get heavily graveled in the winter and all the rust I can find on the car appears to have been caused by driving on these roads. Also, are there any on-line stores that carry a wide array of Z parts? Everything i've looked at so far has been less than inclusive of the older Z's.

I don't think the rust is a major problem with this car, the only visible rust is directly behind the tires, about a foot long patch on each fender (the passenger front being the worst), but I intend to install a body kit on any car I buy to help defend against the ravages fo the road (mudflaps would be a sin). And the roof caved just last winter (according to my employer whos house it's currently located) so there's no rust damage in that area, though I've heard that the roof is the hardest thing to get right (I assume that's because it's a large "flat" area without body lines interupting different planes, therefore not obscuring imperfections). I forgot to mention that the hood bears evidence of a very small fire along the raised portion's driver side egedge about two thirds the way toward the front. ... I don't want to make it sound as if the car's a lost cause. Other than the roof, oxidized paint, and the rust behind the wheels, the body is in superb condition. I'm mostly curious about the apparent problem of starting when the engine is at operating temperature. I'm the farthest thing from a super mechanic, but I'm no idiot either (who the hell thought it would be a good idea to design the Subaru so that you had to remove everything but the transmission to change the clutch anyway?). I've just never heard of a similar situation in any other vehicles.

I've been looking for a Z for about five years now. I was half an hour too late to meet a guy who was dumping a beautiful 79 (wife was pregnant, it was hot and she passed out) for $1500. It was obvious he had no clue what he was selling. But I was late and somebody else wasn't. I live in Idaho so anything over ten years old that isn't a pickup is mostly held together with bailing wire, but I may have found another Z. Near as I can tell, it's a 77 (just guessing based on body lines, bumper trim, hubcaps, and steering wheel. It's got some rust along the bottom, the top's been caved some (snow) and the paint used to shine. I asked why it was sitting and a friend of the owner gave me this story: Apparently, it ran beautifully but wouldn't start when hot. They assumed it was something to do with a sensor, but never attempted to remedy the situation. The owner just parked it and bought a new, you guessed it, pickup truck. The car's been sitting a few years now. So, finally getting to the question, I'm not the richest man in the world (now divorced, paying child support for two children, and supporting my half looney brother) and this car is in my price range. Any ideas on what could've been wrong, how easily it could be fixed and for how much, and should I jump or run the other way? Oops... That was four questions, wasn't it? Oh crap! I just asked a fifth. Sorry about that.