mimregi

very helpful thank you =) Wish I had found that thread (searching "e-bay", which i did, return lots of posts as you may imagine). Much appreciated...

Has anyone here successfully sold a Z through e-bay? I'm trying to sell my '73 (long story, and yes if you recognize my handle, this is not the first time i have tried to sell it... it's hard to let go of), but having little luck on Craig's List, and the auto trader seems like a bad fit. I haven't posted it here (yet, this time) but I plan too as soon as the gas tank is finished (getting it cleaned and re-surfaced on the inside -- little bit of rust in the fuel filter and I really don't feel comfortable selling someone else a potential problem if I know about it). Anyway... was thinking of putting it up on e-bay but I've heard a lot of horror stories -- is it blown out of proportion or is selling a car on there a generally pleasant experience most of the time?

Just as a point of comparison, my car has been for sale on and off a few times for the last two years or so. My car is very different than yours, but the experience is similar, so I share to maybe make you feel better =) My car is a looker -- in great cosmetic shape (see my gallery), and runs really well, it is my very reliable daily driver, no real rust to speak of. However, it kind of falls in the cracks of being desirable -- it's a '73 which is later than most people want (and has a sub-par rep due to the fuel system flaws that year shipped with, even though all that stuff has been pulled out of my car), it has webers (DGV's -- I have some roundtops off of a '72 but they aren't installed)... my problem basically is that it is worth too much to sell it to someone looking for a restore candidate, but it isn't worth enough to sell as a restored car (it's not flawless). Like you, I have had a ton of interest every time I have put it out there (well, almost every time -- the first time I tried to sell it I was asking way too much, I have learned a lot since then), but no one really willing to seal the deal. I'll echo rdefabri that it would just take the right buyer. I think to the right person, it's easily worth the $8k or so that would make it worth it for me to sell, but that right person is pretty rare, if he even exists at all. On top of that, I'm not hugely motivated to sell it =) This gets to Carl's point of being a better salesman -- I absolutely love the car, but we've been stuck in an apartment far longer than we planned to, so I can't work on it the way that I intended to when I bought it (so I can justify selling it, I just don't really want to). Anyway, there's some shared experience in there, and fundamentally I agree with the consensus that selling one of these cars is all about finding the right buyer, which isn't always easy (or just having an unbelievably good deal to offer). Best of luck!

Looks like it was a '76 280z =) In a game from Midway called "280 ZZZAP" http://kotaku.com/gaming/advergames/early-advergames-part-ii-322391.php There's a link at the bottom of the article to an entry that has a screenshot of the game (I haven't been able to find any video), but suffice to say I don't believe the Z makes an actual appearance in the game.

the AC is actually a big concern. I would really like one in my current ride, but have almost given up on bothering with the trouble and expense for the stories I have heard =/ at the end of the, my gut tells me we will probably end up with a quest or a hyundai minivan and I'll keep my Z as is, but only need it on weekends instead of daily (which isn't a bad thing at all). That said, I am still scanning listings for a 2+2, I just have grown fond of the idea =) We'll see... Now that I have decided to keep the car forever and ever, I am getting a consult on the body and what I find out there could affect my decision one way or the other. Thanks for the comments all =)

-- nice advice =) Not sure what I would do with the old one. I have had a hankering for a while now to drop an L28DET in for a while... maybe build it up as a track car, not sure. Heck, if I could find a buyer for the shell it's in nice enough shape that it could pay for the whole project, who knows? Definitely a fun problem to solve though =)

Hey everyone, long time no post! (and for those who may remember my dilemma of several months ago... long story short: I had two potential buyers, couldn't sell the car, still have her, she's no longer for sale... been a VERY long 4 or so months for those and a few other reasons, but really glad I kept the car, so thanks to those who encouraged me to do so). Aaaaaaaanyway... looking ahead, I am starting a new list of projects for the car but it has been tough to prioritize as my wife and I are planning a family, and I am going to need to pick up a third car at some point, which affects some decisions. I was looking at maybe picking up a parts car when something occurred to me: Why not a 2+2? We have an SUV, so what we need is a second car that can run to day care or whatnot from time to time, not a primary family car. I have always had a hard time imagining how I would split my attention between two cars, so all of a sudden, a Z that can sometimes accommodate a baby seat sounds like a masterstroke (note that it is late and that I haven't run this past my wife yet, but that's neither here nor there right now ). I know that under normal circumstances, a 2+2 is not the most desirable, but given my situation, anything I should consider? Any major drawback to owning one that I may not be able to foresee? I have even heard that the ride is nice and stiff thanks to the frame design. Another thing to consider is that I may do a full transplant from my current car -- my '73 runs fabulously and getting a 2+2 that has been gutted could save me some serious cash. Am I wrong to assume that the majority of the parts are interchangeable? Thanks as always!

I very much appreciate all the kind words, heartfelt advice and well-intentioned posts (I really do appreciate people taking the time to write something), but as I alluded, there is a bit more going on, stuff that probably isn't really appropriate to get into here. It's been just about two weeks (since everything happened, not just since the original post), and I am selling the car. I'm a young guy, it won't be my last Z, and the next one will be at a time I can really pay the kind of attention it deserves =) Anyway, I am going to try a few local channels to see if I can find a buyer privately before going e-bay -- I am determined to do my best to make sure she ends up with someone that will take good care of her. But if it does end up on e-bay, I am leaning towards $7500 opening bid (no reserve), $8995 buy-it-now. If anyone feels strongly that the price is significantly too high or too low, I'd love the feedback before putting it up there. Thanks all!

Oh I very much appreciate the kind words of support. I am trying not to do anything too quickly, but I need something to talk about =) Besides, if I do decide to sell, there's no better place to assess a fair price (which is all I would want) for the car.

The strut tower speakers sound like a fantastic idea =) I definitely wasn't commenting on anyone else's application, just relating my unique experience -- I do not doubt you could fit speakers in there, I probably could have been more clear there, I just decided to go a different route after looking at it. And you're absolutely right, so long as you arent depending on them as your only sound source (the OP sounded like perhaps he was, I'm not sure), they should sound great for low and even midrange fill =)

It's a long story, and a very genuinely sad one, and you guys don't really know me so I won't go into all the details, but suffice to say that I lost a very dear friend over the weekend. My association between him and my Z is huge, and I don't think I can bear working on the car without him, I just want it to go to a good home where it will be loved. I am not going to do anything immediately, I may have a change of heart, but for the moment, I need a project and something else to talk about, so I thought I would hit you all up for some advice. I'll try to avoid a wall of text, so I'll list the vitals, there are pics in my gallery. The car is cosmetically outstanding. There is a very small chip on the hood, a couple of very small chips in the headlight cans, a small (less than one inch) scratch on the rear bumper (which is painted) and a couple of chips on the edge of the driver's side door -- no dents of major imperfections, all things I could (and may before putting it up for sale) get fixed in an afternoon at the body shop. The previous owner slightly lowered the car, and the bumpers are painted to match the exterior. Other than that, the look is very stock (and very nice imo - the painted bumpers were not something I initially liked, but they have grown on me a lot). All the work was done to a very high quality. Interior is also very good. There is a nice molded plastic cap on the dash (I actually didn't realize it wasn't stock until I had the car for a while, I just thought the seam in the dash was something I simply hadn't noticed on other cars). The car has a carpet kit -- a reasonably nice one and in good shape, but still a carpet kit. The center console and shock towers are carpeted and do not have the original diamond-pattern leather (again, I actually prefer the difference, but it is highly subjective; see pics in the gallery). No original steering wheel or shift knob (ignore the t-handle in the picture, it was finally replaced with a black, naugahyde Z-emblem shift knob from MSA; i know stock calls for wood, but I like the black, especially with the steering wheel). Seats are in great shape, as is the console and pretty much all of the other components. The glove box door is a bit warped, but nothing terrible. Oh and there is the roll bar, pictured prominently (it is bolted in and can be easily removed). There is no visible rust on the car. None. I have never had the car in pieces, so I cant and won't say it is rust free, but all the typical spots are clean. The floorpans were replaced at some point I am fairly certain, but they were done very well -- good, steel welding and painted black. The car runs extremely well. Even this morning, when it was 40 degrees, it started up almost immediately. She is my daily driver and has never left me stranded. There are twin weber DGVs (on canons with K&N's) in place of the SUs, but I recently acquired a set of round top SUs I will let go with the car (they appear to be in good shape with all the linkage in tact, but I have not had them apart or anything yet) -- the DGVs run great, but I am no master mechanic and wanted to benefit from all the shared knowledge available on the SUs. Tranny is a 5-speed, I believe out of a 77 or 78, but I honestly dont know for sure, it was on the car when I bought it. I recently dropped in a brand new alternator intended for a 280zx, so it is outputting a bit more juice. I still have the original alternator, which is in perfect working condition and has been chromed, so it looks great (I hung on to the voltage regulator as well, though the plug was snipped off so that I could do the diode and wiring mod for the alternator without hurting the wiring harness in the car - there is plenty of wire left on the VR to re-install easily). We also installed relays using Zs-ondabrain's plans posted on this site, and they work great. Water pump is brand new; as I posted at the time, one of the bolts snapped during reinstall, but that has not obviously impacted the seal or anything, it appears to be OK after several weeks of daily driving. Couple of small things: dash lights don't work (havent since I bought the car), left turn signal indicator on the dash doesn't work (both turn signals work great, just the in-dash light for left turn doesn't). there is a pioneer CD stereo in there, but it isn't hooked up, it probably works but I really have no way of knowing (I started a new stereo install, but only got as far as starting to make the speaker mounts in the rear light access panels) -- it is mounted well and looks nice in the car, not gaudy or anything. Parking break needs adjusting, but all the moving parts work (I recently replaced a piece under there that broke, but have not gotten around to actually adjusting the breaks). That's all I can think of at the moment... brain is a bit fuzzy. Anyone want to throw out a number what they think is a fair price for me to ask? Should I take her to my body and paint guy to get some of those chips cleaned up first (the ones on the door are the only ones even noticeable upon a cursory inspection)? Any other advice (besides "keep the car!", which honestly, I appreciate, but this decision really has very little to do with how much I love the car, which is quite a bit)? Thanks all, I know I haven't been a huge member of this community, but my Z ownership (past present and -- believe this -- future) would have been very different without all the knowledge here and the willingness to share it! -m

I looked into this myself, I'll share in case it helps... My first thought was to mount two speakers, one in the original location, and one opposite it, there are even some bolt-on brackets you can find if you search around the web (http://www.carspeakerbrackets.com/ for one, not sure if he is still selling them). However, I found a few issues with that plan. For one thing, the fuel hoses left very little room for a speaker there. For another, the speaker placement and direction is, at best, sub-optimal, especially if you dont have any 2-ways or high ends somewhere else in the car (the highs in your sound, where you get all your melody, are extremely directional, where lows can be facing and where and it wont adversely affect sound quality too greatly; those rear speakers face each other from behind the towers and I just wasnt confident it would sound good). I looked into the box from motorsport, and the near-identical one from z specialties, and they seemed a good route. Ultimately, I ended up pulling the headlight access panels off the rear panel, drilling holes and mounting speakers in there. Visibly, it is the least intrusive application in my opinion, but it isn't without its flaws. For one thing, it is destructive (those two panels are easily replaced, but still worth noting). For another, it is tough to find speakers that fit just so (I went with these: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8208361&type=product&productCategoryId=cat03078&id=1165610947779). Lastly, that back panel needs to really be mounted tightly to eliminate rattle -- can be tricky, but doable. Oh, and speaker baffles help loads with wound quality. Hope that helps, and best of luck to you!

Funny epilogue here: The car wasn't getting a charge at all. I almost jumped right to the boards, but decided to show a little self-reliance first and troubleshoot the damn thing myself =) It didn't take long looking at things to realize that one of the wires I jumped was connected to nothing (I had followed the directions at zcarcreations and worked exclusively with the plug I snipped, never really looked at the harness -- one of the wires I jumped was connected to the 6th, empty female on the harness). A bit more research (the post by Dave240z in this thread did the trick for me), a bit more jumpering and all appears to be a-ok now (my dash meter is showing at roughly +20 now -- I assume that is good, seems logical). I left the diode in just because and the belt still seems just a hair a bit on the loose side, but I need an extra pair of hands to get it any tighter. Thanks as always to all on these boards =) I always try to put a closing chapter on my stories.

Thanks all! Dave: We followed your plans for the harness (we being me and a friend of mine with a lot more knowledge about electrical stuff than me -- he did pretty much all the wiring while i did the alternator and water pump). We only did the headlight one so far, but got it working. We ended up doing it ourselves because someone has messed with the wiring in my car and, as expected, we had to go "off script" a few times. I'm afraid I cannot intelligently describe exactly what from your diagram/instructions we had to change, but if you are real curious, I can try to get him to jot down a quick explanation. Arne: Thanks =) Sounds like the first time I started up the car there was no recharging going on then (it wasnt on very long). I will definitely be leaving well enough alone. Adam: That sounds familiar... I'm pretty sure my belt is a bit loose right now, I'll have to get in there this weekend and tighten it up (pretty sure I am going to need to pull the water pump again anyway =/ ). Thanks. Today will be my first real driving day with her again, so fingers crossed, battery will stay charged, lights will all work as expected, temp will stay down and all will be happy. -m

Had a great break with the car -- installed headlight relays, tightened up my shifter, put on a new water pump (those issues documented elsewhere) and dropped in a new alternator. I started the process with the alternator and realized I had the wrong one (one I ordered from e-bay -- I hadn't done my homework properly and ended up getting what was basically the same alternator). I went to advance and ordered a reman from an '83 280zx. It bolted in (mostly) without issue (the mounting holes were slightly too small, but I suspect my car and not the alternator was to blame there, easily remedied in any case), and wiring was pretty straightforward. I pulled the VR, snipped the plug and made the terminal for where the VR had plugged into the harness. We were doing the relays at the same time, so after (finally) doing that, getting the water pump re-attached and whatnot, it had been hours before I started the car. It roared to life and all seemed well... until I found that I forgot to plug in the little terminal after the liquid electrical tape (my new favorite thing) dried. After having done the research I had done, I expected the car to not shut off, but it did. That all said, I have 3 questions: 1) Do I need the terminal? It is plugged in now, but I am kind of at a loss for what it is or should be doing. 2) Any guidelines for belt tension adjusting? I read somewhere about .5 inch of slack, but "slack' isn't an exact science, and that felt pretty tight to me, so I loosened it up a bit more. Any tips there? 3) I'm not an electrician -- is there anything I should be watching out for to make sure that the install went well (besides the obvious battery not recharging stuff)?