Bought a replacement daily driver now what to do with my 240Z?

[silverz]

Hi,

I have been using my 240z as a daily driver for the last six years. I have been increasingly concerned that this meant it was out driving around in all weather and the wear and tear is really showing particularly on the steering and suspension, as well as paintwork deterioration etc.

 

For the last two and a half years I have been splitting my time between working mainly in the Wodonga area and visiting my family in Townsville when I can. This has obviously made me a little time poor and I must be honest there are other reasons,  mainly motivation and perhaps lack of confidence in my ability.  Anyway I have found I am not getting the work done on the car that I would like to. 

 

As all of this has been playing on my mind I decided to get another car and leave the 240Z in the garage and think about plans for it for a while. Yesterday I put down the deposit on a 2004 Nissan Pulsar sedan, it is very plain and ordinary but will do me for a while and I am sure it will be a better daily driver proposition particularly as we head into winter.

 

I now need to decide what to do with the 240Z. These are my options as I see them:

 

1.  Keep the 240Z in the garage in Wodonga and do some work on it on the weekends I am in Victoria. At least this way I can pull it apart slowly and see what needs to be done, order the parts and get it back together.

Disadvantages to this plan as I see it are I won't have long periods available to work on it, long weekends, annual holidays etc I spend in Townsville. The other disadvantage is I won't be doing a complete rebuild - for a 40 year old car to do it properly it really would need ground up rebuild. Also my old person Pulsar will be out in the cold - but I have a car cover.

 

2.  Give the car a complete check over and drive it back to Townsville and put it in the garage at the family home, de-register it and leave it until retirement - 5 plus years away. Then I will have time to play with the car and do a better job.

Disadvantages, hopefully my wife will be able to join me in a year or so once the youngest is settled, when this happens will rent home in Townsville and can't keep 240Z there anymore. Other disadvantage is that this will push my sons car outside and I will need a shade sail at least for him to park his car under.

 

3.  Option three, bite the bullet and admit it is currently beyond me and sell the car on to someone that can do more with it. Although I have come close to doing this before it pains me to think of this and I will leave it in the garage and think long and hard before I decide on it. My two sons would be disappointed as well.

 

I am sure others have been faced with similar concerns and it will be interesting to hear other perspectives on this situation, maybe I am too close to the situation and am losing sight of the obvious solutions?

 

Regards

Peter

[Retro Z]

Try transfer to club rego (90 day) to save some money and the savings can go to a carport or shade sail for your sons car. That way while you are in Townsville with family you can also work on your car. 2 birds 1 stone.

[silverz]

Hi Retro Z,

Thanks for the suggestion, another option to consider.

I don't know much about club rego. Do I get it in Victoria then take it to QLD?

Trouble is as I get to Townsville infrequently I am really busy when I am there trying to catch up on house maintenance, getting the youngests learner drivers hours up etc. Chances are car won't get too much attention while I am there.

 

Regards

Peter

[Lynton]

Just my opinion, I divided my car (in mind) into rear/middle/front/interior/underneath I then took a note pad and spent some time inspecting the cars deterioration and/or required repairs areas needing immediate attention. I then tinkered away at each part of the car until completed, then crossing off those items completed, that gave me the encouragement to continue on at my own pace and the satisfaction of progress. I don't regret it but keeping a classic is like painting a house once you have finished you tend to start from the beginning again. Lynton

[luvemfast]

Put it on club reg. Use the money saved to pay someone to fix it, bit by bit over time.

That way you can still enjoy it.

[silverz]

Thanks all,

I am really glad I made this post this morning, there are some very good ideas already.

I like the club rego idea, maybe do that and leave the car here in Victoria for now. What is the process to get it on club rego however? and how hard is it to do?

Lynton's suggestion to look at the car in areas also makes sense. Now I don't need the car to get to work etc I can take my time to pull each area apart one at a time, thoroughly inspect it and make the necesary repairs/improvements.

I am starting to feel better about this.

Thanks again for the advice.

Regards

Peter

[Scoota G]

What is the process to get it on club rego however? and how hard is it to do?

 

You'll need to join a club, they all have different requirements for membership. Find one with like minded people or a variety of vehicles.. I would take it off the road until you retire and spend your saved bucks on all the parts you need to restore.

[Retro Z]

CSA (classic skylines australia) are good and will welcome you with open arms. And apparently very easy to get plates

[Gordo]

That's a fare assessment of what's ahead for all of us, what ever age you are. I must admit I spend to much time in the shed. Life is to short!

[Scoota G]

That's a fare assessment of what's ahead for all of us, what ever age you are. I must admit I spend to much time in the shed. Life is to short!

I spend nearly ALL my time in the shed! I love to rework a classic!

[Zedman240®]

Not sure about selling now... You don't know what these things will be worth in the future; I'm hoping the zeds head into the GTHO price range (yeah I know but nobody can say for sure). One thing I do know is everytine you sell a zed, regret is the next phase. Keep it until you know what's going to happen. Once your zed has sold, it's gone!

[PB260Z]

Hi,

 

Some very good points have been raised, my two cents worth are.

 

Do you need the money you would get from selling ?

Could you replace it if you decide it is what you want ?

Don't pull it apart unless you are 100% sure you have the time, inclination etc to put it back together properly, the last thing you want is an "unfinished" project.

 

Why not park it up for a while and just see how you feel.

 

 

Cheers

 

PB

[silverz]

Thanks everyone for all of the good suggestions. I am starting to think about what really needs to be done, maybe it is not as much as I think.

 

The good

Motor, gearbox, diff, cooling system all fine, rear wheel bearings, clutch slave cylinder and radiator were replaced not so long ago, ignition system was upgraded to 280ZX distributor & coil (with new distributor carrier bearings & vacuum advance unit) The car body is really quite good, no rust I am aware of - however paint clear coat on roof is going patchy. The diff has been rebuilt in my time and the diff mounts replaced, also replaced rear gearbox mount.

Work I need to do that I am already aware of

I know it needs new struts and springs, I have the springs and just need the struts.

I suspect when I check out the front end it will need new bushes throughout the only bushes I have replaced in my time were the steering rack bushes about six years ago. Most probably needs tie rod ends etc. Would like to change the front wheel bearings - no idea how long these have been in there. Need to check out brakes, been a while since I checked disk pads & rear linings.

I reckon the uni joints on the half shafts need changing I think that is the whirring sound when moving really slowly (parking the car etc)

The interior needs a tidy up, though the seats were recovered not long after I bought it and are still good. Need new door seals, rear window needs resealing - though I have a new seal. The door windows need new channel rubbers and felt etc. The bulb holders for the dash lights keep falling out - may need to be replaced. Need to make the interior light work again. Also reckon I need a new speedo cable.

 

Hey,  The more I look at it maybe not so bad, just needs to be off the road for a well earned refresh!

 

This has been a good exercise. I think I will get the struts/springs done first as the ride is awful with stuffed struts and sagging springs. I will see how big an improvement this makes then re assess.

 

Thanks all

Regards

Peter

[Scoota G]

2+ years on my V8 zed rebuild which was ready for the tip. Nothing that 1000+  hours wouldn't fix but after spending some time and doing 400+ kays the car is sooo tight, can say i have never been in a better driving Zed. The time spent reflects and for sure yours sounds like it needs some love. I do not think retirement would sound out as i am ready to move to the Sunshine Coast and see out the rest of my days. Cars get in your blood and stay there, forever.

[silverz]

Hi,

 

Some very good points have been raised, my two cents worth are.

 

Do you need the money you would get from selling ?

Could you replace it if you decide it is what you want ?

Don't pull it apart unless you are 100% sure you have the time, inclination etc to put it back together properly, the last thing you want is an "unfinished" project.

 

Why not park it up for a while and just see how you feel.

 

 

Cheers

 

PB

To answer these questions - like I suspect most of us I always need more money! however my family won't starve or be on the street if I don't sell so no the money is not an urgent concern.

 

The thought of not being able to replace the car is what has prevented me from parting with it all along. Trouble is lately I have been looking at it and seeing not a really pretty timeless classic that is a lot of fun. I have instead been seeing a car I have been reying on as a daily driver that is not the most convienient, comfortable or efficient with lots of things that need to be fixed and not much time to achieve it.

 

Good point about not pulling it apart too much and not being able to get it back together. I will be honest,  I have done a fair bit of work on this car myself but I am not the most competent mechanic in the world and this has always held me back a little, the fact is that I needed the car to keep going so I could drive it to work. Couldn't afford to stuff it up and have it off the road for too long.

 

Regards

Peter

[chris240]

Peter, having see the zed at Bright, and knowing its been your relaible daily for so long, perhaps the old girl deserves a spruce up.

IMHO start with that "not so common" red interior , and bring it back to as-new.

[gav240z]

I love contributing to threads like this because I often struggle with the same thought process and do you know what? It doesn't really help you sleep at night. So first things first. You're not going to sell it, you still love it and it's special to you, the problem is, that you have been using it as a daily hack and you're not able to enjoy the satisfaction that comes with fixing / restoring something and making it better than it was. Instead you've had to watch it deteriorate which has depressed you...fair to say right?

 

Ok so....you don't need to do a full restoration to enjoy this again. In fact it's all how you view things you need to change the mindset. You see a nice new paint job is awesome and I love a clean looking car, however the disadvantage of this is you need to be more careful around it when working on it. Scratches, dings, paint chips. It's enough to put you off attempting anything.

 

So I don't recommend a paint job yet!

 

What I do recommend is tackling 1 area at a time as Linton already suggested. This is what I have been doing with my FD RX-7 restoration. If you look at all the things that need doing pretty soon it just gets depressing.

 

I would start with mechanical work, don't worry about your skill level. This will just serve to hold you back - trust me I should know. Having the car off the road will ive you time to do things at your own pace. It's not fun rushing to get a car back on the road and having to skip / not do things exactly how you would like.

 

Tie rods, ball joints, bushes are all pretty straight forward things to do. Bushes can be a pain, but if you don't have the right tools just take the part to a local workshop and get their help pressing it out etc.. That's what I do, I have limited tools so I work to the best of my ability and anything that requires more than that I get help with. It's not to be viewed as a failure - rather you just can't do everything - unless you have a community of Z car nutters who can help with tools etc..

 

For example with my FD rx-7 I didn't do the paint work because I didn't have the time, space, tools, expertise or patience. Instead I got all the parts together and pretty much put the car back together for the paint shop. They didn't have to do anything other than paint it. Even the paint shop got windscreen guys in to replace the front and rear windows and seals (so they don't do every job!).

 

Personally interior restoration is 1 of my favourite parts of working on cars. You spend most of your time in the car, so it's good to have everything neat, tidy and clean. Replace all that broken plastic etc... Plus you don't get nearly as dirty as doing the engine work (engine oil = yuk! - I hate the shit).

 

If you want to make the exterior nicer focus on the chrome trim, wheels (these can make a huge difference) and bumpers etc.. As I say paint is your last stop, once you've done all the dirty work and maybe in a few years? To be honest we fix these cars to drive them and enjoy them. So don't go nuts with a full tear down.

 

Just remember nothing will be done overnight and it's a long process this restoration business. Try to enjoy it.

 

Do yourself a favour and buy this book.

http://www.amazon.com/How-Restore-Your-Datsun-Z-Car/dp/1931128022

 

 

It will give you tips on what to do and how to go about it. Good book.

 

Don't be afraid to give things a go... you'll just regret it later if you sell the car.

[imackz]

Try transfer to club rego (90 day) to save some money and the savings can go to a carport or shade sail for your sons car. That way while you are in Townsville with family you can also work on your car. 2 birds 1 stone.

 

Brilliant suggestion...

[silverz]

Thanks all for the suggestions I do have the "How to restore your Datsun  Z car book' and a workshop manual. I will be away most of this week and will give it plenty of thought while I am away.

Regards

Peter