ryan.mac

Wow. First off, thanks for the forward. The pictures in the article look like an excellent key as to what I actually need to LOOK for when looking at a used car, and the diagram at the beginning is a good indication as to WHERE I need to look. That's exactly what I needed. Also, thanks for the advice on shopping around. I've got one I've been looking at, but from what I said before, it really is a fixer-upper, probably one of those 25k projects that's a little over my head right now. Thanks again for the advice!

Actually, I just found another thread that talked ad nauseum about rust in old Z's, so I guess I don't really need as much help with that now as I do the other stuff I mentioned earlier. The link to the article I found is below. However, I'd still like to know, out of the rust they talk about in this article, which of those would be the most difficult to have repaired, and which spots would more than likely be the most expensive to have replaced or patched up. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21927

Alright, so here's the deal: vintage Z-cars are quite simply a thing of beauty. I'm a college student at the University of Texas at Austin, and I saw my first one several years ago during my freshmen year on the bus route to campus. It looks like it's got patches and crap all over it, but just the shape of the body and the long, long front hood just drew me in. Having said all that, the car I drive now is anything BUT a Z-car. So, within the next year or two, I'm looking to purchase an old 240Z or 260Z, but I honestly don't know what to look for when buying one of these. I'm expecting to pay about 2 grand for a car like this, and expecting to be putting in a lot of hours of maintenance overhauling this thing. Is that the price range I should be looking for, what kind of work can I be expecting to do on this car when I get it, and (most importantly), what should I be looking for when purchasing the car? So, I've got an idea that the first thing I need to do is look for rust just about everywhere. I'd like to know, though, where I should be looking: I've got this crazy idea that the frame is kinda important, but besides that, what are the most prevalent places to find rust, how much rust is too much, what's the deal-breaker, etc. Second, it'd be nice if the car was still running, but if not, I don't think it'd be that big of a deal, as long as there's not a rod sticking out the side of the engine block or something. Should I have a mechanic come and look at the car before I buy it, if it isn't running, to tell me what all I would need to do to get it up and running? I mean, I've got a buddy of mine who's done just about anything and everything I can think of to his '04 GTO, so I could get him to come look at it, but I don't know if he'd be able to diagnose something as serious as the car not starting. Is there anything else I should be looking for besides this? I'm what you'd call an amateur at most of this, so I'm probably forgetting something fairly important in all this. Anyways, any help any of you could give would be much appreciated. Thanks!