Jakk24a Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 Hi guys! Hoping to round up whomever I can find from the UK for this one. I'm still looking to purchase a Z I've had my eye on for a month or so (a 260z 2+2), and as such have been hurriedly doing a crap load of homework/research on rust etc. However, despite looking through the FSM, the Haynes service manual, the 'How to Restore Your Z Car' book in addition to this forums (which is bloody awesome by the way guys!) I haven't been able to find anyone mentioning what rust has been like for them in the UK. Plenty from peeps living in the US but as it's more humid out there (least I found it was in Florida on a holiday) rust is evidently more of a problem, but with the colder temps and much lower humidity in the UK I was wondering if anyone could shed light on their experiences. Many apologies for rambling! It's been slightly hectic since I haven't thought of much else other than the Z, I guess you could say it was love at first sight! xD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pac_Man Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 (edited) Depends on where you're living, really. A big factor isn't just humidity, but also distance from large bodies of salt water. If you live somewhere that tends to get a lot of salt spray, you can bet that rust would be worse there. Of course that's not to say that anywhere near the ocean will have cars that rust out after driving to work. If luck is on your side, you'll find a car that's been garaged most of its life while not being driven. EDIT: And yes I know I'm not from the UK (though I probably wouldn't mind it), but hopefully you'll find my information helpful in some way. Edited December 24, 2012 by Pac_Man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 And where / on what you park! Evaporation from the ground coats the undersides of bonnets and wings just as effectively as a run through a puddle. I have seen (in SoCal Deserts no less!) bonnets which have perforated from the bottom to the top from years of sitting and undergoing this process. These early cars have very poor anti-rust treatments, and thin metal compared to most domestic vehicles. As a result, they perforate easier. In the same places, regardless where you are! Center-panel perforation is usually prevalent in "coastal cars" -- that is, vehicles exposed o salt-air environment within a few km of the shore. With the fog, precipitation, and general diurnal variation promoting condensation within panel areas exposed o moist air, the UK is a "Z-Killer"! Inspect closely the areas you see o be troublesome elsewhere, and you will know if it's worth bothering with... You can always source a desert car from SoCal as a chassis donor, and RoRo it... 260 2+2's aren't plentiful here, but they are cheap enough o justify the expenditure compared to 400 hours of restoration work at current labor rates for good panelbeaters! Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EF Ian Posted December 25, 2012 Share Posted December 25, 2012 Not owned mine long enouth to really comment. But if you can start with a rust free car (either bought that way or restored) then it shouldn't be too hard to keep it that way, I don't drive mine in the wet which helps and I make sure my paint is in good order and that the wheelarches and underneath are well coated, I also make sure that its cleaned everywhere so that dirt can't gather and trap moisture. When I'm not using my car for longer periods its stored in an Airchamber in a garage. Hopefully with my carefull looking after it will stay rust free for a very very long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakk24a Posted December 25, 2012 Author Share Posted December 25, 2012 (edited) Just come back and read the replies so far (at 02:45 no less - what can I say? I'm mad about this car!) and thanks for the great advice you guys have given. Tony - you explained the relation between condensation and panels quite nicely there! Guess now it's just a case of trying to scratch up a list of places to look for integrity and rust, this'll be the first time I've bought a car so yeah, to say I'm slightly paranoid would probably be a gross understatement. xD Trying to convince my parents also doesn't help... I keep explaining I'd so much rather have an S30 for a DD than something boring like a Saxo or Fiesta etc. To hell with the costs! This is deviating a little from the topic title (kind of) but would anyone have any tips on how to quickly access prime rust areas (such as the floor panels) in a few minutes without damaging anything. Thing is, because of the fact the Z I have my eye on is about 3 hours away I'm going to give the seller a call to arrange a viewing but what I'll do is agree on a price for the car *before* leaving here so that I can get the money together as I'm having to pull a few favours to get it all. Basically, (I rambled once more) so; TL:DR, I need ways to get to any possible/prime rust areas quickly in a non-damaging manner whilst viewing the car. Sorry for the mini essay and thanks guys! Time to get some sleep and return to reading the manual! xD Edited December 25, 2012 by Jakk24a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snailed Posted December 25, 2012 Share Posted December 25, 2012 It's not rare for people selling older cars to peel up the carpet for a potential buyer. Ask them to do this for you. You should really poke all over any suspect areas with something hard but if there is bad rust you might put a big hole right through an area that looked perfectly fine. It could be awkward if that happens so you probably want to mention that you need to litterally poke around the car. Every car will be a little different as to which areas are rusty so I wouldn't rely only on what people suggest here. Look over the whole car. I'm sure you can search for the word "rust" on here and find a million pictures to help you see where they tend to get rusty. The UK is very moist so I would bet there will be some, somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakk24a Posted December 25, 2012 Author Share Posted December 25, 2012 (edited) It's not rare for people selling older cars to peel up the carpet for a potential buyer. Ask them to do this for you. You should really poke all over any suspect areas with something hard but if there is bad rust you might put a big hole right through an area that looked perfectly fine. It could be awkward if that happens so you probably want to mention that you need to litterally poke around the car. Every car will be a little different as to which areas are rusty so I wouldn't rely only on what people suggest here. Look over the whole car. I'm sure you can search for the word "rust" on here and find a million pictures to help you see where they tend to get rusty. The UK is very moist so I would bet there will be some, somewhere. Thanks, that helps a lot with deciding exactly how I should go about this, I was just worried about how hard/long it may be/take with checking out some areas of the car. I'm hoping there isn't going to be too much since it's up near the middle of the UK though it is still close to water kinda on the left so... Good point about checking it over, that'll be something I raise with the guy when I arrange a viewing if the car along with asking him if he's willing to post some more photos ahead of time and pulling the carpets up close to when I might get up there (since it's a 3 hour trip). EDIT: I grabbed all the photos from the guy that I had already and stuck them in a folder for everyone to see if they wish. Outer body looks fairly good but underneath not much clue, hatch might have a little rust around the catch and the engine/engine bay looks a slight bit iffy but not undoable. http://db.tt/Lvad5e2X Edited December 25, 2012 by Jakk24a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazeum Posted December 25, 2012 Share Posted December 25, 2012 Where ever the Z might have stayed, I believe the rust spots are always the same. Cars in the middle east (rust belt) might not look any better than a car in the UK. You can check the usual spots: fenders, doors, frame rails, trunk lid area, etc. I've seen how a modern car would behave in UK such as a Nissan Silvia (not known for its good rust protection, I admit - it is a Nissan ), I can't imagine how badly your Z could look like if do not protect it properly. Luckily, you've got good stuffs in UK for cars (it is not the case in France ) See the link below for info. They can remove any dirts, rust & whatever sticks to the chassis to get it back to baremetal with no effort & e-coat it afterwards. http://www.surfaceprocessing.co.uk/restoration-guide.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakk24a Posted December 26, 2012 Author Share Posted December 26, 2012 (edited) Looks awesome that link Laz! Many thanks for that. One question though, I know how to get to most every area easily enough but how would I go about getting to the frame rails easily? Would it be as simple as removing the interior carpet? If so, that's great news because I already decided to ask the guy to do so, so as to enable me to check the floor pans from the inside. Edited December 26, 2012 by Jakk24a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pac_Man Posted December 26, 2012 Share Posted December 26, 2012 That 260 looks like it's in pretty good shape visually. As for the frame rails, if you can see them through the floor pan inside the car you'll know something's wrong. You'll have to jack the car up and look underneath it as far as I know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
24OZ Posted December 26, 2012 Share Posted December 26, 2012 (edited) Why not come over to the UK Zclub forum and introduce yourself, hopefully an experienced member could come with you to view and perhaps someone has already viewed it and can comment on condition. These cars are very rare over here and in most cases the club/club members ay knowof the car. They rust everywhere, but pay special attention to chassis rails, floor pans, inner wing flitches, inner rear arches, rad support panel and bonnet support panels. As long as the repairs have been done well don't be too alarmed ie have new panels been used or just patched over? Edited December 26, 2012 by 24OZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakk24a Posted December 26, 2012 Author Share Posted December 26, 2012 (edited) Why not come over to the UK Zclub forum and introduce yourself, hopefully an experienced member could come with you to view and perhaps someone has already viewed it and can comment on condition. These cars are very rare over here and in most cases the club/club members ay knowof the car. They rust everywhere, but pay special attention to chassis rails, floor pans, inner wing flitches, inner rear arches, rad support panel and bonnet support panels. As long as the repairs have been done well don't be too alarmed ie have new panels been used or just patched over? Wow, thanks. Yeah I guess I should. I guess I got hooked on the sheer amount of information here! Making an account soon as I post this reply! About the rarity comment, my friend actually showed me a page that tracked the records for registered vehicles in the UK and to be honest, it we slightly alarming seeing that there's less than 40 260z's in total iirc in the UK... Would love to grab this Z for sure if it proved to be as good 'under the hood' as it appears on the exterior so to speak. EDIT: Would this be the correct forums? http://www.theminiforum.co.uk/forums/forum/88-the-z-cars-garage/ Slightly confusing as it says The Mini Forums... Scratch that, it was my stupidity mistaking 'zclub' for 'zcars'. Edited December 26, 2012 by Jakk24a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camerashy Posted December 26, 2012 Share Posted December 26, 2012 Correct forum you want is http://www.zclub.net chap. There are been numerous threads of horror stories (my first UK car an example before I emigrated) if you have your heart set on a Z, DON'T rush into it. Trust me on that, they are more common that you think especially if you're happy with a good, near mint import. For goodness sake be patient and see if you can get one of those guys to go with you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
900ss Posted December 26, 2012 Share Posted December 26, 2012 They rust everywhere If it's a uk car that's about as close as it gets over here ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakk24a Posted December 26, 2012 Author Share Posted December 26, 2012 @camerashy: Registered on zclub.net now so I'm doing some poking around there and will introduce myself. Thanks for the help so far! Same for everyone who has contributed, I appreciate the advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
az240z Posted December 27, 2012 Share Posted December 27, 2012 Take a flashlight with you and check door hinge area,where the bonnet hinge attaches to body,inner fenders especially the battery tray and underneath it. If the owner will let you, jack up the car and check the frame rails,mounting and attach points of front and rear suspension, crossmember etc. See if he will send you pics of the areas that I mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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