New Adelaide member with some questions - is this a good buy?

[DanSA]

Hi All.

 

Little bit about myself, I usually frequent the French pursuation over at OZRS, current drive is a RenaultSport Megane 225 Cup, and previously 2 RS Clio 172's.

But many moons ago as a poor Tafe student, I had a daily 260Z 2+2 and a project car, a tired, but very special, 1970 240Z.  (Will try and find a pic)

 

Selling her is still my single biggest car regret ..  :'(

 

Anyways, we move on, and I saw this today while trawling with my morning coffee here in Adelaide:

http://www.carpoint.com.au/all-cars/private/details.aspx?R=SSE-AD-925793&Cr=6

 

Just wondering what the gurus thoughts are on it from a first pass?  Looks in good original condition and money spent in the costly areas.  Can't see much of the interior of the sills tho..

 

Thoughts?

 

This would be a weekend car, a long term project, and a keeper..

 

Cheers all for any wise words.

 

Dan

 

[Roberto]

This one has been for sale for quite a while.  It's not unreasonable, but the sunroof may turn some people off. 

[DanSA]

Thanks Roberto.

Yeah, haven't seen many with an original sunroof.  Apart from potential leaks, does it effect the structural integrity much?

 

Any places in Adelaide that would be worth taking it too for a pre purchase once over?

 

 

[thriller]

It looks okay from pics. As Roberto said been for sale for a good few months now, which may mean all the genuine buyers are dodging it for a reason... Sunroof is certainly not factory either (they never came with them off the boat, don't care what anyone says!). Not really a structural thing as the roof is a very flexy bit of sheet anyways.

 

If you want an extra set of eyes I'm happy to tag along & point out some common body issues, just send me a PM if keen.

[DanSA]

Thanks for the offer mate    May try and take a look this week and see whats putting people off.  Not the best colour, but very similar to my old 2+2.

 

Any links to your build thread? Looks great.

 

 

[Zedman240®]

Welcome Dan,

My manager used to sprint a Megane 225 Cup, but it now sits and collects dust while he now runs a Fiat 500 Arbath Essess..

With that 260, I'd say its the sunroof that takes a fair bit off the value as to replace a roof may cost quite a few thousand dollars to remove. And yes, NO zed ever came with a "factory" sunroof. Many were either fitted by a dealership or by the owner. Best sunroof I've seen are the ones that look like nothing is there until the roof is opened. Since there is a hole in the roof already, might as well fill it with a decent one!

[d3c0y]

It's been run into something in the front obviously and that has bent the front of the bonnet. Also with a sunroof like that im betting the floor is definitely rusty or replaced.

[CooperJS]

what about this one?

 

http://www.viczcar.com/forum/index.php/topic,12540.0.html

 

Cooper

[chris240]

Dan, personally I dont mind the brown one. For the price , its pretty much all there. Regarding the dealer sunroof,  I must be the only turkey that likes the ol 70s slidebacks !

One of the canberra zedders has an identical zed ......the colour slowly grows on you.......slooooowly.

[DanSA]

Thanks for the feedback  guys.

 

@ Cooper - Had a 2+2, much prefer the shape of the 2 seater, that rear curve is a work of art.  Car looks a good one tho agreed.

 

@ d3coy - Will definitely check out the accident history.  Have asked him, but the proof will be the inspection.  I hadn't noticed any panels out of alignment, you have a better eye than me..

 

@ chris240 - The colour isn't the best, but it sort of fits with the whole period retro thing, plus that tan interior   Can always be changed later on i guess, this is a long term proposition.

[d3c0y]

Just whatever you do make sure you check the chassis rails in the engine bay!!

[Ben]

Welcome,

My 2IC at work has recently offloaded his '03 Clio Sport and bought a black '10 Megane RS from Victoria. It's just been remapped with his RS-Tuner and it goes like stink...

 

I too offer my services to evaluate any potential purchases. I've had my 240Z completely apart and back together again, and am in the process of doing some parts of it a second time (upgrades to upgrades). They don't come up all that often here, so you might have to accept something of a low-ish standard if you're determined to get a foot in the door.

[DanSA]

Thanks very much Ben. 

Would love to take a look at your 240, whereabouts are you, maybe shoot me a PM?

 

Your 2IC has good taste.. Those RS250's are a weapon indeed.

[DanSA]

So I went to take a look at the Z yesterday 

 

Nice guy who has definitely taken care of it and kept it super original.  He has another 260Z auto that he uses as his daily driver, so this one resides in the shed most of the time.

 

Have to say that for a 39 yr old car it was in pretty good nik.  The interior still has the original carpet and stereo.  General condition was one that needs lots of TLC and the odd thing repair, but not one thats been messed with or 'upgraded'.  Would make a good resto job as a long term keeper, but perfectly drivable in the meantime.  Started first time instantly, and no smoke out the back.  No leaks that i could see and coolant was nice a green.

Could not see any damage or repair in the chassis rails, in fact all the panels seemed in very good condition for age, with no major rust visible and no bubbling of paint suggesting bad things underneath.

Sunroof looked in very good nik, with no signs of leakage or rust, made it nice and airy too when open.

 

Took it for a drive.. 

 

Its been a long time since I have driven a car with no P/S and OMG! Heavy as fark at low speeds.  Tires looked tired and pressure a bit low, plus being fairly wide probably didn't help.  Also noticed a fair bit of play around center, so rack may need some work.  Slight knock on initial acceleration in driveline, put it down to a worn Uni joint in the rear, which he mentioned too and offered to take a look over his pit in the shed. (not hiding stuff imo)

Went well, stopped well and bags of character for sure.

 

Bad things:

 

Interior:

- Dash has a big crack and would need re-skinning or replacing.  Any idea what they are worth?

- Drivers seat has a tear

- Carpets are pretty filthy and would need replacing

- Seat belts are all original , meaning no inertia reels.  Any idea if newer inertia style can be retrofitted for better safety? cost?

- Steering wheel isn't original.

- Dash needs attention, mostly just cleaning, rebuilding, TLC. Speedo was a bit intermittent at low speeds. driver cable worn?

- fuel smell while driving.  I know its an old car, but could this be something more serious? He suggested the breather pipe on the fuel filler may have perished.

 

Exterior/Drivetrain:

- Paint is good for age but really could do with a big cut and polish or respray, not urgent tho, superficial only

- Tires on the way out, not really an issue as I always put new rubber on any car I buy.  Wheels are OEM 14's may be replaced with something a little bigger but in keeping , in time.

- Engine seemed healthy, maybe a bit low on power, but not surprising given age.  Tune up and new fluids etc and a good service may breathe some life back in

- gearbox and clutch seemed good, no slip or crunching

- small knock on taking up drive may be a work propshaft spline or uni joints?

- Small bit of surface rust under carpet in some areas, most looked fine.

 

So, whats it worth?

 

Still deliberating on the whole thing, its still a fair bit of coin which I should really be using to do mundane things like pay more of the house off or finish some of the jobs on the never ending list, but she does tempt me...

 

If I don't grab it, someone should, as its a very original car which I imagine is fairly rare these days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DanSA]

Some more pics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

 

[zzzzed]

I actually like that sunroof.  it doesn't cheapen it like the glass ones do

[DanSA]

Yeah I recon it fits with the period well.

Good locking mechanism too.

[G]

Be careful with the Webasto style material sunroofs. My mate has one (albeit his car would be another 10-15 years older than the z you're looking at) and the corners of the cutout hole can tear as the body flexes. It's worth really checking around the sunroof!

 

Additionally, the material can stretch and leak as a result.

 

I kinda like the look of them, however he's always worried that someone could slash the roof and this plays on his mind every time it's parked somewhere and he can't see the car.

[DanSA]

Good points G. 

Material was tear free and seemed fairly supple still, would still probably benefit from some treatment tho.

 

re the security thing, i guess its lasted 39 yrs, so that bodes well Worse case , insurance will cover anything else.  Not going to be a daily driver so its not so much of an issue and its secure at home, we have a fierce Cocker Spaniel that will lick anyone to death..

 

[thriller]

roosterer Spaniel

 

love the auto correction on this here.

 

The car looks pretty tidy. It's local, mooostly stock, unmolested (save the gaping hole in the roof), reasonably priced. As you say, looks like a pretty good candidate for a 'fix-as-you-go' kinda thing, not requiring a ground up resto or any super serious off-the-road time.

 

If it ticks all those boxes for you I'd say go for it.

 

Out of interest, did he have many other people keen? It seems to have been for sale forever..?

[DanSA]

Cocker Spaniel;... damm that autocorrect!

 

Didn't ask re interest, prolly should have, can wait for next time if i decide to pursue it.  He's a pretty eccentric guy, fit the car perfectly , old skool..

[chris240]

Its well priced @ $13750... Hmmmmm offer him $12 k and see what he counter offers.

It looks like a good unmoleted zed.

In the scheme of things $1000 up or down makes bugger all difference in the end.