echutton Posted June 22, 2016 Share Posted June 22, 2016 (edited) Hey all, I'd like to introduce myself to the forums to start out with. I am seeking out a S30 project car to work on, and although I don't need help finding one, I could use the expertise of people smarter than me to help me find the right project. This is not my first Z, I owned a Z32TT as my first car. I am great at working on cars, and I have people, and hopefully you all as a resource to help me in my journey. Swapping it up, found something better thanks to "NewZed" I searched and found a eventual friend with a 280z for sale with much more info and pictures. Okay about the car: It's complete, it comes with the bumpers its missing. Has an aftermarket sun roof (I know), title is good, hes owned it for 17 years and it was last running 2 years ago. He wants to sell it to make room for his other projects. Tires all have pretty good tread. Original L28, 158k miles, standard 4 speed. Body is solid and has surface rust, but no more than that. Motor has no problems other than just sitting. Asking price is the same as the last, $1200. Hopefully this is a little better than the last. Although it doesn't run its pretty close and it looks like a decent starting project. A lot less work than the first I originally saw. Please, let me know if you guys think its worth it and what I should be cautious about. Or anything else you want to tell me. Thanks Edited June 24, 2016 by echutton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewZed Posted June 22, 2016 Share Posted June 22, 2016 Can't you look a little bit longer, and further afield? $1200 doesn't seem like a great deal, the 260's are the odd ball Z's. Not too exciting. You could probably find a 280Z that runs, out there somewhere, for $1200. The clutch system is hydraulic and there's no way it's going to work. After 10 years,outside, most Z's will have the rear brakes locked. A couple of cylinders will have valves open, and outside, there will be some small surface rust, probably stopping the engine from spinning. Best to squirt a bunch of oil in the plug holes before trying, just to reduce damage from scraping over rust. Condensation cycles over many years can actually fill a crankcase with water. Best check oil level first. If it's high, there's probably water at the bottom, lifting the oil. Under the battery, and the floors are the most common rust spots. Check the gray car's rear suspension. I'd say that one's definitely not going to roll. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
echutton Posted June 22, 2016 Author Share Posted June 22, 2016 Can't you look a little bit longer, and further afield? $1200 doesn't seem like a great deal, the 260's are the odd ball Z's. Not too exciting. You could probably find a 280Z that runs, out there somewhere, for $1200. The clutch system is hydraulic and there's no way it's going to work. After 10 years,outside, most Z's will have the rear brakes locked. A couple of cylinders will have valves open, and outside, there will be some small surface rust, probably stopping the engine from spinning. Best to squirt a bunch of oil in the plug holes before trying, just to reduce damage from scraping over rust. Condensation cycles over many years can actually fill a crankcase with water. Best check oil level first. If it's high, there's probably water at the bottom, lifting the oil. Under the battery, and the floors are the most common rust spots. Check the gray car's rear suspension. I'd say that one's definitely not going to roll. I definitely can continue to search. This is one of the few "project" Z's I've actually found while searching. I want an S30, rather than a S130 or Z31 and that really narrows my searching. I'm not sure the Z has sat outside all 10 years. I can always replace the clutch, that shouldn't be an expense that would break my bank. I'm going to look at some more opinions I hopefully get before I make up my mind, but if i go see the car ill be mindful of what you said. I'll continue searching around though. Thanks for the input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewZed Posted June 22, 2016 Share Posted June 22, 2016 You wouldn't replace the clutch necessarily, just the actuating cylinders. Inexpensive. Get more specific than "United States" and somebody might be able to point you somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
echutton Posted June 22, 2016 Author Share Posted June 22, 2016 You wouldn't replace the clutch necessarily, just the actuating cylinders. Inexpensive. Get more specific than "United States" and somebody might be able to point you somewhere. Haha of course! I'm use to Aus300zx and they wouldn't have a clue if I had put a state on there. I didn't do much site research before I made the account. Just searched up some general topics before posting. As for the car, I'll try to look everything through and check the brakes, try to roll it, look at the rust situation and try to roll the engine over if I go look at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
echutton Posted June 24, 2016 Author Share Posted June 24, 2016 Hey all, I'd like to introduce myself to the forums to start out with. I am seeking out a S30 project car to work on, and although I don't need help finding one, I could use the expertise of people smarter than me to help me find the right project. This is not my first Z, I owned a Z32TT as my first car. I am great at working on cars, and I have people, and hopefully you all as a resource to help me in my journey. Swapping it up, found something better thanks to "NewZed" I searched and found a eventual friend with a 280z for sale with much more info and pictures. Okay about the car: It's complete, it comes with the bumpers its missing. Has an aftermarket sun roof (I know), title is good, hes owned it for 17 years and it was last running 2 years ago. He wants to sell it to make room for his other projects. Tires all have pretty good tread. Original L28, 158k miles, standard 4 speed. Body is solid and has surface rust, but no more than that. Motor has no problems other than just sitting. Asking price is the same as the last, $1200. Hopefully this is a little better than the last. Although it doesn't run its pretty close and it looks like a decent starting project. A lot less work than the first I originally saw. Please, let me know if you guys think its worth it and what I should be cautious about. Or anything else you want to tell me. Thanks Can't change the title, but inserted an entirely new car. Hopefully this is a little better than the last. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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