Newbie 260z 2+2

[atticus]

Hi guys,

 

Well I've been looking at zeds for a couple of years now, and I've found one on the trading post that might be a light restoration project for me.  Just thought I'd get some opinions before I spend my hard earned cash!  Here goes:

 

The bonnet has a pretty bad crack across the nose

of it from a kangaroo accident.  Not sure, but it looks like its mostly

just the paint, except the left corner is pretty banged up.  Rest of

the body is very straight.

 

Rust: spots of surface rust on the doors, some existing patch work

around the wheel bays, some pretty nasty stuff along the very edge

below the doors. (looks like these panels are available as replacements.)  The rest pretty good.

 

Interior: both front seats split in centre leather (?) fabric panel (are

these repairable?), dash A1, rear A1, instruments A1, carpet average,

bits and pieces could be cleaned up/replaced eventually.

 

Seals: doors need replacing, some flexibility in rear window seals, is

this normal?

 

Mech: had a 280 engine put in about 10 years ago professionally.  new radiator (custom built) alternator and

distributor installed by current owner in the last few years.  So much

fun to drive!  Started fine, sounded fine, transmission feels good.

Brakes felt quite soft/delayed and i wasn't sure if this was normal?

 

He's asking $6700.  Is he dreaming?  Should I steer clear, or is it a

manageable project?    Apart from the rust the body is great, mech

seems good, all original bits are there. The other thing is the owner

hasn't got a RWC yet, i think it'll need a bit of work for that (the

left indicator isn't working either)

 

How much do you reckon it would cost to repair the bonnet, body rust

and respray black?  that would be my initial expense, the rest i can

fix up bit by bit later on.

 

I know i have so many questions but any help would be much

appreciated!  Photos below.  Cheers, Atticus.

 

[reverendzed]

Hi Atticus,

Looks like a pretty good proposition for a restoration but he's way over the money!  I would figure that 3 - 4,000 would be absolute tops.  There is another green 2+2 on Ebay at the moment that would be as good a proposition as the one you are now looking at.  Seats you don't repair you get the aftermarket recover kit from the states like I did landed in Oz for about $280.00.  Your auto repair will be a large part of your budget.  You may be better looking for a second hand bonnet but no matter which way you go, for a proper repair for rust (which means weld Vs bog) and a respray it's gonna set you back in the range of $3,000.  To do a black respray is a lot of work as it means repainting everything, the car really has to be stripped and motor out to do this properly.  To sum it all up,  the car you are looking at is overpriced which may see you blowing your budget once you get started and the trading post and ebay are full of unrealised Zed dreams.  Take your time and you will save thousands.

Best of luck.

Rev.

[FuzzyDropbear]

G'day mate,

 

I agree with the Rev. It would make a nice, tidy restoration project. But he's asking way to much money for the car in it's current condition. I don't think he'd be able to get a roadworthy with those rust spots in them. If you did buy it, you are still looking at a fair amount of money in terms of paying someone to cut and weld sections in, unless you do it yourself.

 

If you wait around with your eyes on ebay and here, you should be able to pick up a really nice looking Z for that price.

 

Good luck with the shopping, it's the most annoying part, but once you get a good one, the joy never stops! Until you sell it of course 

 

Cheers,

 

 

Rob

[chris240]

Atticus

I think you can do better...if you can take your respray budget & add it to the purchase price your getting close to $10k...why not look for a better car around the $10k mark..do the sums !

Also why black ...black is crap. Black will eventually de-value the car.

Chris

[620Z]

The car looks OK but if you are talking about re painting then I tend to agree with Gonzo. I reckon you will need a new bonnet looking at the damage. For 10K you will most likely get a nice body, paint, suspension and mags worth 10-15K alone.

[gav240z]

Hi Atticus,

As the others have said the vehicle is way over priced. For the same money you could get a much much cleaner example.

 

I had a look last night on carsales.com.au and saw a couple of beauties. There is a nice green 260z 2+2 I think it might be in tassie, however sometimes you need to look a bit harder and buy interstate if it means getting the right car.

 

In my experience you are much better investing 2-3 or even 4k more into the right car to start with than buying something a bit rougher and painting it etc.. You will save yourself alot of hassle and enjoy the ownership process a whole lot more. Not to mention less time off the road.

 

Do an aus wide search on carsales.com.au

[modular9]

gav240z has the rights of it. Australia wide is the way to go.

 

I bought my little lady interstate. The drive back was a bonding session between man and car. In fact there were some truckies who thought me a tad weird at some stops on the drive back.

 

Painting it black has another major problem. Your bodywork has to be exceptionally straight. That means no bad bogging no small pop dents which you could overlook in a light car. The silver you have there is class but it does seem to be a little too expensive.

 

Two last things.

 

1. I am a relatively new owner of a zed you must be absolutley sure that you want a 2+2 over a coupe. I did have a 6 minute 34 seconds " dammit i wish i had a coupe " period but without a rear bumper the 2+2 looks rather ferarri - ish so I am super happy.

 

2. The auto sucks in a datsun. The blasted thing shifts before it reaches that sweet spot in the rev range. Get a manual as soon as you possible can. Or beef up the auto and manualise it. Reverendzed is going through the whole conversion to manual so he is the bloke to ask there.

 

Oh an post here!

[FuzzyDropbear]

1. I am a relatively new owner of a zed you must be absolutley sure that you want a 2+2 over a coupe. I did have a 6 minute 34 seconds " dammit i wish i had a coupe " period but without a rear bumper the 2+2 looks rather ferarri - ish so I am super happy.

 

lol. I never thought of the 2+2 in that regards!  I'm not a fan of Z's without the rear bumper, unless you can cover up the mounting brackets, looks a little wierd to me... But that could just be me.

 

I agree with you, I've been having the "dammit I wish I had a coupe" thoughts a lot nowdays  But the 2+2 does have its advantages in some respects 

[620Z]

A 2+2 isn't as tweaky  in the corners as a coup. I am not so sure about the rear without a bumper either. But you can always do as I did and mold the bumper onto the body for a more modern look. I already had a fibreglass bumper so it made it relatively easy job before painting.

[atticus]

Wow guys - thanks so much for the responses.

 

If I had the cash, I'd buy it anyway - but judging from your advice it's just going to cost too much to get it up to scratch.  Nice to know that I should be able to get what I'm after within my budget though.

 

As for the black - I guessed it would be a bit more prep/coats of paint to get it to black, it's just a personal preference, i reckon it looks brilliant against the chrome detail!  i guess silver would be my second preference i terms of body/cost and it will probably look a bit more original too.

 

As for transmission, I'll only go for a manual, I've never driven anything else, and they're much more fun!  And I'd prefer a 2+2 for practicality's sake.

 

If anyone else is interested in this one, bargain hard, and be prepared for a road trip into the victorian countryside!  I've just spotted another one in broadford, I'll probably pop over there on the weekend.

 

Thanks again! Cheers, atticus

[FuzzyDropbear]

you can always do as I did and mold the bumper onto the body for a more modern look.

 

Wow, that bumper looks pretty cool, good job on that! think I'll stick with the stock chrome bumper though, old skool FTW! 

 

Atticus, have you offered the guy a lower price? It can't hurt to offer somewhere in the range that Rev said. The guy can only say no.  It's still a nice car if you could get it cheap.

 

I agree, silver does look on the Z's, however, sometimes silver can make the car lose the impact of the chrome highlights (my opinion). I've got to make the decision whether to keep my Z red or paint it yellow, silver or blue sometime soon. It's a damn hard decision!

 

Good luck with the next 2+2 mate! Hope it goes well 

[atticus]

yeah i know what you mean with the silver, that's why i like black! 

 

IMO any of those except yellow.  just doesn't look natural on that car to me 

[FuzzyDropbear]

IMO any of those except yellow.  just doesn't look natural on that car to me 

 

lol. Cheers mate! A few people have said that about yellow to me, though there is at least one nice yellow Z in the club. I think I'll keep it red (have to respray parts, now have to get some colour matching done), that way I can hide behind the million other red Z's and people hopefully won't notice my (most likely) dodgy attempt at painting as I haven't painted a car before 

 

Let us know how you get on with the Z this weekend.