rturbo 930

IMO both those cars are good project candidates. Pick your favorite and sell the other to fund the project. If it were me, I'd keep the 240z.

I bought a ZX parts car that had been sitting outside in the rust belt since 1990. Got it started easily enough, runs fine. I'd go for it if the price is right.

Lol. It doesn't normally rain this much, don't worry.

Wow. That looks great! Nicely done.

Yeah, only 240Zs. Here's what I'm after: And yeah, the one I posted pics of was pretty rusty by CA standards, but still better than what I have, and what I've seen for sale around here. And just for the record, I only have about 2500 right now. I only made the thread because I saw what looked like a pretty solid and original Z for $2500. It sold in a few days though. Once I liquidate some of the crap I have laying around here, I should have closer to 7-8k, hopefully. Right now, I'm really just trying to see what a nice Z goes for, as I'm not familiar with the Z market.

This is true, so let me give a few examples of what I would consider 'ruined' -Any kind of custom body work (fender flares, side skirts, spoilers, hood vents or scoops, etc). Caked on bondo... -Hacked up wiring. I have two spare wiring harnesses, but I'm not really looking to use them... -Poorly installed stereo, IE, huge holes in the door and door panel and/or what would be the tool compartment behind the seats on later 240Zs. -Pretty much any kind of cutting or welding on the chassis. I want a stock body. Even though I'll be modifying (or ruining - your call) the car, I want a clean slate. I don't want to be fixing other people's "repairs" or "improvements." Hope that clears that up.

Yeah, I'm expecting to pay around the 5-7k range, plus shipping or gas to drive it back. I'm gonna sell off some parts I don't need, and probably my BMW too, and that should give me enough to work with. I have too many cars anyway, and my BMW needs more doors. Mostly just getting a feel for the market right now, but I've seen a few that are within my current budget...but they never last long. Here's a few that most most/all of my req's: http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/cto/3809379761.html http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/cto/3826826498.html http://sacramento.craigslist.org/cto/3834643089.html And yeah, that Z I posted pics of was a bit too rusty, haha. I'm okay with a little rust, but only very, very little.

Good point. I guess it's just gonna be a matter of timing, luck, and a cooperative seller. I'm looking specifically for a lighter, series one chassis, that has never been hit, has little to no rust, is fairly complete/original, and hasn't been ruined by incompetent owners. I've been looking in basically the left half of the US where the climate is drier, and there's about 3-4 cars for sale in that entire region. Lining up 3-4 cars in an area isn't possible, because there aren't 3-4 cars for sale. Not to mention, I'd have to count on each of those sellers not to sell out from under me while arranging plane tickets, etc. I can't fly off to the other side of the country on a moment's notice. That's just not realistic. I'm just going to have to be patient.

That's what I've done it in the past. But if I find a good car, I want to be able to do it much more quickly than that. And put an emphasis on 'refundable'. The deposit is mostly so that I can buy some time to actually check out the car which will probably involve getting a member here to do it. But I have time to figure it out. The two I had my eye on aren't turning out well. One sold (or something), the other car is a little odd. It's been stolen (but wasn't reported), the dash and door jamb VIN tags are missing (assuming when it was stolen), and although he has a clear title for it, it's titled as a 1971. Thing is, it's an early '70 car (019xx). And while those issues don't bother me too much, it has a bit more rust than I'd like. I can't tell if the pass. frame rail has rust on it, but it doesn't look like paint on it. See pics.

So, not recommended? My thinking was that if he decided to sell out from under me, I could go through paypal to get a refund. I've never had to do it, but apparently they're pretty good about that, or so I've heard. If anyone has any better ideas to send a deposit quickly, I'm all ears. It would make this whole process so much easier.

Bump! Found two more cars in Socal, and I've got a quick question. Is there any reason I shouldn't use paypal to send a (refundable) deposit to have the seller hold the car for me? I can't think of any, but I'm also not an expert - actually pretty inexperienced in these matters, so is there any reason that would be a bad idea? At the same time, I can't think of a faster way to quickly send money to someone on the other side of the country. But I could be wrong. I've never had to buy a car that I couldn't drive to so I don't really know what I'm doing.

They're asking 24k, and it has a dash cap? Seriously?

I'm not against flying out to drive it back, but I won't fly out to look at cars. Why? Because the car I was interested in is gone already. No way I could've gotten there before it sold. Not worth my time/money either to get there only to find out it's a POS, or that he's sold it between the time I left and when I got there. Yeah, I might consider it if there were tons of cars available, but there's really only one or two every other week that I'm interested in.

Yeah, close enough, haha.

+1. An L28 swap will keep things simple, and you'll be able to learn about working on cars without getting in over your head (which is easy to do - trust me). Keep the car driving as much as you can. It's easy to lose motivation when you can't even drive it. If you stick to an L28 swap, you can have your car fixed in a weekend with the help of a couple friends, and you'll be back to enjoying your Z Don't agree with this advice at all, sorry. You're pretty much telling him to give up because... he's young? He doesn't have much money? What's so bad about facing a challenge? It's not even a difficult fix.

Yeah, I've got family in Seattle and Portland, but neither place is quite the rust-free-car Mecca that California is, and they're not car people anyway. I've never heard of the truck driver doing the transaction, but that would definitely make the process easier. I may look into that if I can strike a deal with this guy.

Yeah, I was thinking of finding someone on here that I recognized from the area, but the closest person that I know of is still an hour+ away, and I don't even know if they'd do it. I saw someone mention contacting a local Z car club too, but a ) there isn't one in the area that I can see and b ) I don't know/trust those people... as trustworthy as they may be, I can't be sure. And then of course, there's the issue of time, and other buyers... I'll PM you the ad.

Hey guys, Currently eyeing a car located in middle-of-nowhere, CA. He wants a cash transaction, doesn't seem to be willing to ship (I haven't heard back since mentioning shipping). I obviously have no way of doing this in person from NJ. So I'm wondering if anyone here has bought a car from another state, using a third person to basically look at the car, 'buy' the car from the seller, take it home, and then ship it to the buyer? I would arrange shipping of course, and pay the person a bit for their time. And if I do this, what can I do to make sure I don't get screwed? Thanks.

That's absolutely horrible. Thoughts with you and your family.

Sounds like I need to talk to Tony when I'm ready to buy my next Z, lol. My chassis has been destroyed by the tin worm.

I'm gonna be needing new tires soon for my 15x6 snowflakes. It looks like the tire size with the most selection is 205/50/15, but I'm worried they'll be too short at just 23" tall, so let's see what they look like! Shots from the side preferred. Thanks!

What does it look like now?

Well I put on a few trim pieces and took some pics. Should be fine. Still have to get the title in my name (although I bought the car nearly 4 years ago, oops), and then I'll need insurance and registration. Tie up some loose ends, get some new tires, and I'll be on the road! Hopefully, anyway. Where are you? Traffic isn't that bad where I'm at. I used to do 35 miles each way going to school, and never had much issue with traffic. I'm not commuting in the Z anyway, so I'm not worried.

I figured as much. I just finished painting it w/ primer (lol), but it looks way better than before. Looks like they only care if it's complete and "original." I've got most, if not all the parts to make it look right, so I'll throw em on, snap some pics, and file for plates. Can't wait to actually drive a Z. I've had a Z since 2007, still haven't driven one on the road.

Bumping this. Looking to finally get my Z on the road, which, of course, means plates. The dilemma? Historic tags, or regular tags. I don't want regular tags as I really doubt my Z will pass with my modified L28, which leaves historic tags. I would think there would be standards for what condition the car is in, but are there? My Z looks kinda like... well, total shit lol. The interior is completely gutted, and it's a few different colors, although I'm gonna paint the doors, which are currently black primer, so that they don't stick out as much. This is more or less what it looks like, but I'm gonna get some silver spray paint to make it look a bit less a piece of shit. The other side isn't as bad. (BTW - since when can't I use photobucket/img tags to post pics on here? wtf?) Anyway, think I'll be able to get historic tags for my Z, or will they shoot me down? Maybe I'm overthinking this?