Z shop melbourne - help - transmission swap. Very happy customer.

[Fozzy]

Hi All,

I'm picking up and '82 280zx in Tas in the next week or 2. Great car but has a noisy transmission. I'll be driving it up to Sydney, and have arranged to have a reconditioned 5 speed fitted by the Z shop in melbourne on the way through. I've been speaking to Lindsay on the phone and he seems like a decent guy, assured me that it's not a 2nd hand box (impossible to find a good one) but fully reco - $750 fitted.

I've since done a search here and it seems the Z shop seems to have a less than ideal reputation and now I'm very nervous...  Should I be concerned or not? Can anyone suggest a better option in Melb or Syd if Z shop is to be avoided??

[pauly_adams]

truly i have had many dealing with him and he seems fine but i do know that he has a bad rap with the 300zx community mind you he refuses to touch them himself as hes old fashioned.

cheers pauly

[Zedman240]

I know he has a nice guy working there.. who I think does his mechanical work. From memory I think his name is Ted. Very knowledgeble as he used to work for Warren at Zworx before it was taken over by you know who.. i haven't been there for a while but should go there for a visit.

[Fozzy]

So no cause for concern then? Does the price seem fair?
What can people tell me about the Z Factory business? Are they ok?

[Huw]

Rob at Z Factory (prev. ZWorx moved to a couple of shops down) has a good contact for gearbox work.

Don't remember the details

[sexual_sushi]

Fully recon for $750 is a good price, but that does depend on what is done?

Does fully recon'd just mean new bearings? Or does it mean new synchros? New gears? etc etc

If it's new bearings and synchros I'd say it's a pretty good price for a shop, considering they have to charge for labour and parts.

Can't help you out with his reputation at all.

[620Z]

Thread read 73 times with a heading like that and only 6 reply's.  Hmmmmm.

[Lightmaster240z]

Biting my tongue

[Fozzy]

That's less than helpful...

[Lynton]

As the old saying goes, treat a person the same way you would like to be treated yourself, give the man your time and show some interest in his life also!!
I am sure the business will be done correctly and professionally and to my way of thinking $750 sounds a reasonable price (is that a changeover gearbox situation?)
When I was in Melbourne I had work done on two 280ZX's there a S1 & S2 he was thorough and willing, gave good diagnosis, knows his business Lynton

[Fozzy]

For sure, I'm planning to hang around while the work is done as I'll arrive there off the boat and head for Sydney once it's done. It is a changeover situation as you said.
Difficult with things like this as I guess people only rant about a bad experience rather than a good one. For every bad story there may well be 1000 good ones we never hear about...

[Lurch]

I'd be finding out EXACTLY what a 'reconditioned gearbox' is, prior to fitment.

Lindsey & the Z Shop have had a dubious reputation over the years - however you may find them OK in your situation.

[DAT392]

Being a bit old school ,maybe Im wrong, but going to a one stop shop for a specified problem doesn"t make sense.If the tranny has got issues go to a tranny person,electrical an auto electrician!But what do I know.Maybe get whats done to the gearbox in writing plus a warranty.Then theres no stress.

[mossy]

Being a bit old school ,maybe Im wrong, but going to a one stop shop for a specified problem doesn"t make sense.If the tranny has got issues go to a tranny person,electrical an auto electrician!But what do I know.Maybe get whats done to the gearbox in writing plus a warranty.Then theres no stress.

For me with the 240z I'd go to a zed specialist over some one who works on all kinds of cars all day. Take Daniel Moore for example, if I had an electrical problem he would be my first stop because from my experience he knows the zed like the back of his hand, but if I had a problem with say a commodore I'd just go to an auto elec, maybe its just having someone work on your car you can trust.

[260Coupe]

Hi All,

I'm picking up and '82 280zx in Tas in the next week or 2. Great car but has a noisy transmission. I'll be driving it up to Sydney, and have arranged to have a reconditioned 5 speed fitted by the Z shop in melbourne on the way through. I've been speaking to Lindsay on the phone and he seems like a decent guy, assured me that it's not a 2nd hand box (impossible to find a good one) but fully reco - $750 fitted.

I've since done a search here and it seems the Z shop seems to have a less than ideal reputation and now I'm very nervous...  Should I be concerned or not? Can anyone suggest a better option in Melb or Syd if Z shop is to be avoided??

I bought a reco'd 280 box from Lindsay 20 years ago for around $550 and it was fine (so $750 fitted change over now is damn cheap) .
The box shifted well did not jump out of gear and was quiet............I think Stan Holmes was doing his boxes back then.
Whilst I did get "bent over" a little 20 years back when I was nieve............of late I have found Lindsay to be very helpful with parts etc .

BTW

Lou Mondello is reco'ing 240/260 boxes now for Lindsay's Zeds he is restoring