New Brisbane member - researching Z's before taking the plunge

[duanemc]

Hi all,

 

I'm a JDM enthusiast and have been interested in Z cars for a long time, but until recently always thought it would be a car I'd get when I was a bit older. I guess time snuck up on me, because I've been thinking more and more about getting a 240z lately

 

I'm joining the forums in the hope of researching more about what I'm getting myself into. I've never owned an old car before, but do understand the importance of regular maintenance and TLC (my current ride is an Evo VII and most of the work on it has been done by myself).

 

Realising that Z cars often have a lot of rust and need a fair bit of love in the restoration process, I guess I'm trying to get an idea of what sort of monetary investment I'll need to prepare for. I don't mind spending money on cars - they are my passion - but I don't want to bite off more than I can chew and be forced to do things in a dodgy manner because I hit money problems.

 

So please welcome me to your community, I really hope to be a Z owner sometime in the near future

 

[dat2kman]

Welcome!

What do you want to do with the car, after you get it?

 

You are spit on re getting a rust removed or minimal rust car, dont worry about mechanicals though, plenty of stuff around.

What high/low budget you talking?

[duanemc]

Cheers

 

The end result won't be a daily driver (I only really get to drive on the weekends) but I certainly do intend to drive it and have fun! Luckily I'm in a position where I don't require a daily, and as such if the car doesn't move from the garage for a few weeks while things are worked on that is ok.

 

In terms of budget, to be honest I really am still trying to figure that out. I honestly don't know how much to expect body work to come to. I guess I'd be looking at somewhere between $10-20k for the actual car, and maybe another $10-20k for body work? Does that sound reasonable or am I way, way off? I'm excluding mechanical work as ideally I'd be doing all of that myself - I like to get my hands dirty.

[thriller]

Welcome! You'll get a very tidy car for the money. There's a fairly nice red 240z for 30k on carsales right now. If you do get something that has been 'restored', make sure to get some pictures from before the primer went on.

 

Tailgate area, windscreen corners, under the windscreen cowl, frame rails all along, floors, doors, doglegss, where the 1/4 meets the roof, radiator support panel, where the fender bolts to the sills, under the headlight buckets ..... I'd try to have a look at a car with the fenders off if you're spending some good money like that (unless theres some good documentation). If it's totally clean with the fenders off, there's a good chance the rest of the car is pretty clean.

 

 

What kind of car are you looking to buy/build? L series or RB or something else? Stock body or flares?

[duanemc]

Thank you

 

I would like to modify the car while keeping true to the time period it is from. As such, sticking with the L series for sure - though I wouldn't mind hitting somewhere between 2-300hp as I've seen similar figures from an L series in a Hakosuka down Sydney way

 

I would most likely go flares, I really think they suit the classic Z lines.

 

Thanks for all the pointers on common rust spots - I know it will be a huge undertaking and not for the weary, but the more I think about it the more I can't resist doing it.

[Patch]

Welcome duanemc, may I suggest you have a look at my package could end up a very cheap zd. I am just down the road from you.

http://www.viczcar.com/forum/index.php/topic,13093.msg136404/topicseen.html#msg136404