Guest MKIII91t Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 i have a friend of mine that runs his own mechanic shop. he has had a lein on this guys car for over 4yrs on this Orange 1977 280z. the owner has no intention on getting his car back. my friend said if i want it come over and pick it up. *ENGINE & TRANNY* original motor is locked up. he claims drivetrain is good. manual tranny. *BODY* doors open and close really good, and windows roll up and down nicely as well. there are dents around the car so it would need some body work. it looks like these dents were created by people bumping into the car too much over time. doesn't look like it's been in an accident. where ever there's paint missing there's rust behind it. some trim pieces needs to be replaced, possibly including a right front fender and hood. side markers missing, and little stuff like that. *INTERIOR* shot. apparently he has had the driver window down for quite sometime now. seats need to go. they look moldy. floor carpet badly needs to be replaced. and i bet rust prolly ate through the floor board. dashboard is cracked all to hell. but the roof liner looks pretty good... but it's sagging in the back. just needs to be stripped and redone. *RUST* surface rust on body here and there. i haven't had the opportunity to get a good look underneath so i don't know how bad the frame is. i did pop the hood and saw where the motor mounts sit and all. surface rust all over it. don't know if it has eaten all the way through, but it's there. so i'm assuming the rest of the frame is the same way. although it sounds like this car need$ alot of work... it's free. i'm not sure how bad the frame is, if it's salvagable, and if this car is a decent candidate for a SBC swap. what would you guys do? pass it up, or try it on for size? P.S. i do have somewhat of an opportunity to nab a '71 240Z. no title, haven't seen it either. it's been sitting in someone's field for roughly 3yrs so i bet it isn't any better condition of the one i just saw. he wants some cash for it, but don't know how much yet. i just don't know how hard it is to get a title for that car. i'll let you guys know when i get more details about that car. *EDIT* Basically, is this car worth the trouble or should i keep looking and just buy one in better shape? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denny411 Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 Even if you can`t use it as your project, you could still take it and part it out. You might be able to make a few bucks to put towards another car. I`ve noticed that when i have a certain type of car at the house,other people with that same type of car comeout of the woodwork. It might open a few doors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 personally id never turn down a free car, if nothing else you could turn around and sell it or part it out. The problem with rust in the engine compartment is thats where the engine is mounted, if it was just in a couple other places on the car you might be ok, but with all the torque of a V8 it could rip right through the wheel wells. And there goes your free car. As far as the other car you could always file for a lost title which ive heard isnt too hard but i dont know much about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MKIII91t Posted August 5, 2003 Share Posted August 5, 2003 i just didn't want to start off with a rust bucket and spend tons just to get it up to par. if i could get my hands on a digital camera i could take and post pics to see what you guys think. maybe i'm exaggerating i bit much, but rust is alive and well with this Z. there's a small dealership that has a couple of first generation 280's that i might go down and take a look at. i've already called him and he said they were not for sale. he collects them. i just want to see if there's surface rust on those. i might just take up the car, and see what i can do for it. who knows, maybe it's not all that bad. i have another friend that is a fabricator here in town that could take a look at it and see if he could reinforce the frame if it needs it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sumo Posted August 5, 2003 Share Posted August 5, 2003 Try and poke around underneath with a screwdriver and see how bad the rust really is. As far as the no title car goes, you can file for lost title but it could turn out the car is also stolen and abandoned there. I'd go for the mechanics lien Z. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MKIII91t Posted August 8, 2003 Share Posted August 8, 2003 welp, after talking to a friend of mine and doing plenty of research on the rust topic i might not go for it. i'm not a welder, so the hidden cost behind just getting the chassis up to par for a V8 might be more than what i'm bargaining for. Sumo, i'm gonna go back and start jabbing at the frame with a screwdriver. i wanna see how bad it is. i'll give it another good look before i tell him i don't want it. wish me luck, i'll let you guys know how it is soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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