New member, just wanna say hi.

[Jumbo Jet]

Hi, just signed up and looks like I've found the site I've been looking for all along. I dont have a Z "yet", and I stress "yet". My dream project car is a 70' 240Z and I want to keep it as close to stock as I can, while also trying to make it showroom/car show worthy. My vision is silver with black interior, minor audio system upgrade, slot wheels and a little bit of lowering in the back to give it the aggressive stance.

My buddy in highschool had a 75' 280 and ever since that car I've had a fascination with Z's. He's on board with this dream project and I've got full support from the wife.

What is a realistic budget for building a car like that....... $10-$13k ? More.... less? I was kinda of thinking between 10-$15k, spread out over a couple years.

Anyway, glad to be here and look forward to getting all kinds of great info.

Thanks,

Mark

[Massimo]

Welcome this is an amazing fourm with a wealth of knowlege and the members are awesome. Pretty much anything you want to know about an early z car is on this fourm. I quickly found out that the search button is amazing for finding information. Good luck finding your dream car.

[Zak's Z]

As long as you have full spport from the wife....I guess it doesnt matter how much it costs!

I bought a '72 240z almost 4 years ago, doing a slow 'refresh' on it. Mine was in pretty bad condition, needed floors, rockers, some welding...etc. etc. I also bought a whole new garage ful of tools over these years Im not factoring into price. Mine is just about to leave the bodyshop with new paint and fresh body filler all around. I pretty much have everything I ned to put it back together, less about $1000.00 for rubber and carpets.

I'd say I have about 12k (Canadian funds) into it so far, but that will probably jump to 15-16k. And thats with me doingg most of the work myself, Taking the car down to bare metal for the body shop. Motor and carbs were done for the cost of parts also.

The only advice I have for you is to buy the best car you can afford out of the gate. The better the body is on the one you buy the less cost and aggravation your restoration will give you in the long run.

[Jumbo Jet]

Thanks Zak,

I plan on doing most if not all of the interior work myself. I'm decently handy with carpet and vinyl work and car audio. I dont have access to a paint booth, nor do I know how to paint......so that will be subbed out. The engine work will all be subbed out too.

When you say your car needed floors and welding, where do you go for things like that ....... a body shop? Or specifically a welder?

Looking for the best car I can afford is great advice.... thanks. That will save me a lot of headaches down the road. My father in law lives out in Roswell, NM and is a huge old car buff. We went out to see him last year and there are tons of junk yards full of old cars in fantastic shape out there. Because of the weather, hardly anything rusts. He's gonna keep an eye out for me for an old 240.

Thanks again,

Mark

[Zak's Z]

The floors, frame rails, and rockers are all still for sale, and they cost me about $1,200. I made a mistake of using the first welder at a bodyshop that I could find. It ended up with one floor pan higher than the other, and my current bodyshop had to fix the door gaps. So I then pay the guy to do the welding... and if I just paid a few grand more for a rust free body, I would have been ahead of the game. But I did what I could with the money I had.

[Jumbo Jet]

Yeah, I see what you mean. Sometimes a lower priced car seems cheaper at the time, but it always doesnt work out to save you much money in the end. I will keep a car with minimal rust on my priority list.

So for the most part, a good body shop can do most of the body repairs on site? What about sand blasting? Is that a body shop specialty or a whole separate company? And as far as body shops go, is it a good idea to ask them if they have ever prepped and painted a Z...... or is it safe to assume its the same as doing any other car? What are some questions I should be asking them?

I'm covered for engine work because we have 2 shops in town that specialize in Z's, but the body shop stuff is one I need to educate myself on.

Thanks again,

Mark

[d240zx2]

Your Z engine shops are in the biz of knowing a lot about Zs. I'd suggest you visit with them about the body work you're going to need done. I'd wager a sizeable jug of scotch that they'd be able to steer you in the right direction.

Frank

[Oiluj]

Welcome Jumbo Jet.

I'm in the process of restoring a 72' 240Z.

My advice is to buy the best condition car you can find / afford, (no rust or major body work, good engine, etc). It will cost more up-front, but will probably save you money, time and frustration.

Do a search on restoration costs in the archives. It will help you with planning. To give you an idea of my restoration cost experience:

Caveat 1: I'm on the left coast near San Francisco where labor prices are higher than some parts of the country.

Caveat 2: I'm adding a number of upgrades that would not be required for a "stock" restoration.

I spent $7.5K on paint and it looks good, but a show quality job would probably have cost $9K. I'm spending just over $4K on a Rebello Racing engine upgrade. My engine ran fine, I just wanted more power.

Spent $2K on suspension upgrades and another 1.5K on new wheels & tires. Interior uhpolstery, carpet and misc panels were about $1.5K total. (Changed the interior color & had to replace all vinyl and plastic panels).

I have also spent about $500 for incidental expenses & small items, (and also lost a couple hundred in "mistakes" along the way).

Hope this helps!

[tibZ]

Welcome to the club. Eastwood has a soda blaster for under $300 that they say works wonders on removing paint from panels, I am searching locally for someone with first hand experience to be sure. I guess you can switch it over for more aggresive blasting to remove rust and grime too.

[Zak's Z]

Paint removal ended up being a long process. I tried a few body shops and no one would touch it. I then tried a few media blasting companies. Most of them didnt do small vehicles, and the few that would do it charged a small fortune.

I bought a larger compressor and a small blasting pot and tried to do it myself. It didnt work well on my (3-4?) layers of paint, and it didnt work at all on body filler or undercoating.

I ended up renting a pot and a trailered compressor and doing it in my garage. That worked well, but I didnt want to warp or work harden the thin body panels, so I ended up doing alot of it with various paint removal disks/wheels on my hammer drill. The red fibre-bristle wheels work the best for me. I tried chemicals also but the paint stripper was messier and only really worked well on the roof.

Check out my gallery for some pics. All I can say is it was alot of work to do properly. I enjoyed most of it, seeing bare metal was quite rewarding.

[Jumbo Jet]

First off, I just wanna say thanks to everyone for the nice welcome....... its much appreciated.

Oiluj, thanks for the paint prices, thats gives me a good idea of what to expect and also a reality check on paint prices..... I was way off. But it sounds like a $12-$15k budget to complete the project isnt too far off target.

I randomly stumbled across an old 240 a few days ago sitting back in an industrial complex a few miles from the house. The bonnet is missing, as are all the windows, but it has the slot wheels, the dash is a train wreck and the interior is stripped. The engine isnt a 6, and I'm not sure of the year. I'm going back tomorrow when the lighting is better and I'll get some pics and put em up. It looks like at one point is was going to be someone's restoration project, but has since been put out to pasture. Its a real shame to see it just sitting outside in the harsh, wet Florida summer.

Thanks again for the great tips, you guys are gonna save me a ton of money in the end...... or help me spend it.

Mark

[Jumbo Jet]

Great pics in your gallery Zak. I plan on documenting every step I possibly can on mine too. My favorite You Tube clips are the famous Project Hugo Z in Sweden. I'd like to attempt to shoot something similar and take just as many pics.

How much father along is your project? Or are the pics pretty recent?

Mark