Juarez88 Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 Hi, so i bought my very first Z car for $700 and it's actually my very first car. so i had been searching for a 240z for a few weeks and luckily i stumbled across an ad that was near my location. the car isn't in the best cosmetic condition and needs a new hatch, interior, some break thing (not exactly sure, but it slowly leaks break fluid) and some engine maintance. other than the old rough suspension this the car runs fine. i decided to buy the car after seeing good sites that gave good feedback and of course really fun looking movies of zdrivers showing what their cars can do. im a high school grad, just finished vacation and decided to take on a new hobby and an amazing car and thats what led to to where i am at now. here are a couple of photos of the cars exterior i removed the bumper for now, it was rusty and not in the best condition and in my opinion made the car look a litle worse off. right side rear you can see the dent behind the front wheel and the nasty cancer on the hatch (seller told me to trash it and replace it) rear bumper appears to be in okay condition, it is a little bent but nothing too bad. theres another dent behind the rear weel and is looks a little rusty, aside front the hatch all other rust areas are fairly solid and wont crumble i dont know too much about these cars yet, and have tried finding out as much information as possible withen the past weeks. car appears to be running fine, we drove it about 30 miles home, however the fuel gauge goes up and down from time to time and the meter slowly goes down but the car does not leak fuel whatsoever, only break fluid. given the condition of the exterior of the car, dents, rust areas. what would you guys suggest i do to repair the rust? and are there any hidden or special areas i should look at that i probably havent been able to find? i'm looking forward to all the sweat, time and money i will be spending on this car. any feedback and suggestions are more than appreciated. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewperez_tx Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 well i dont know to much about z's eather but i am taking my z all the way down to the metal (custum body kit process) and i found the big spots for rust are lower rear corner panels and lower half of he doors also when i come across rust if it is althe way through i cut and wld a new piece of metal there but if it just on the suface i grind past the rust and cover w/fiberglass if nessery i am not a big fan of "bondo" hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotSuperBbutZ Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 by the looks of the hatch, if you EVER want a nice car, all new interior, a new hatch, and loooooooooots of sheet metal and a big a$$ roll of MIG welder rod. Also look other places for typical rot (i.e. floor pans, under the spare tire, TC rod mounts. Well at LEAST you didnt pay big time for it, but you can find much better my friend for the ame price. i suggest if your going anywhere with it other than a crude commuter you get it media blasted/stripped, its the onl yway to find all the rot, these are FAMOUS cars for rot problems, but I and im sure everyone else wishes ya the best of luck on your new project, and first car, welcome to Hybrid Z. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sumo Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 Most of the time when i go to the local Pick n' Pull, the headlight buckets, fenders, doors, badges and hood are gone. The hatch is always there 75% of the time so i think you would be able to get the hatch with little problems. Good Luck and Welcome to HybridZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ON3GO Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 Battery Tray, rear lower quarter panels, front lower fenders, around the wheel wells, Hatch, rear inner hatch area, lower doors, floor panels, frame rails, fuel door area, quarter windows, cowl area, hood, headlight buckets, top of front fenders, door still areas. pretty much "Z car"... thats what rusts. check those areas, more so the frame rails and floor panels. the big spot i see 240Z's rusting on the frame rails is just before the floor pan and right where the tension rod goes to the rail... good luck and not bad at all for $700 bucks, even with some rust. mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.INSANE Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 Congrats, My Z was my first car it was quite easily the most horrible experience ive ever had with cars becuase i had to swap the entire motor. Hopefully youll have better luck than me good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GLOCK23 Posted July 4, 2006 Share Posted July 4, 2006 I don't know much about S30s either but I do know that Motorsport Auto (MSA) is a great source for Z parts. They are located in Orange so you can probably drive down there and check it out. Their website is: http://www.thezstore.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millsan1 Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 I had a Z as my first car. It looked about as rough as that one. Fix the safety stuff you need to make it safe, and just drive the thing. If you have the cash it would take to fix that one, you would be better off buying another Z in better shape. It would save a lot of time and money in the long run. But enjoy your Z. I have missed mine for over 20 years and finally bought another this month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juarez88 Posted July 5, 2006 Author Share Posted July 5, 2006 i've located most of the rust, and the only area that seems to be unsalvagable is the hatch, other than that i've poked at other areas and the area was rusty, but did not break away. i plan on using sanding away the paint, and using rust bullet and black shell to help with the rust issue. then replace the hatch, and put in interior. then work on whats under the hood. car does run well, we drove it on the freeway at around 70-80mph, ran good, it just slowly drips break fluid. other than that it's safe, we had no problems with the car on the drive home. i don't really think buying another Z would make me better off, most of them have rust in one area or another and easily go for twice the price i got this one. doing some repairs would only help me know the car better and help me make a better car out of it. thats the way i like looking at it. with around $400, i can do the exterior work ad rear view lights, and do the interior myself with a little instruction. the only issue is if i should wait and repair the 4 small dents before adding any rust bullet or black shell. im not trying to make this car into a show car, and have every little detail fixed and sparkling. i want it to run well, and have its potential to become a show car shown, ill worry about that stuff later on when i know what i can do with the car. but until than, its time to fix her up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrandonsZ Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 Buy another one, that has good parts where yours were bad and make one really solid car out of the two. Probably your cheapest option. Otherwise enjoy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike kZ Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 If the hatch is the only major rust, you did good! Please reduce the size of your pics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Okimoto Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 get this one and put the carbs, etc from yours into it and make a really nice car.: http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/car/177742179.html I was going to buy it so i didnt post it here, but it has no visible rust issues. It's SUPER cherry from what i see of the pictures. And it's 800 bucks. And he's going to take a hacksaw to it if you dont buy it. It appears to be local too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shift Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 haha. took a hacksaw to mine already. Got mine free since the front was totaled. "we can rebuild her, we have the technology" haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Shasteen Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 Your brake fluid leak is most likely rear wheel cylinders. In an attempt to diagnose this leak - next time you have to drive the car dont just hop in and drive away. Instead go to each rear tire and check out the tire's sidewall (on the inside of your tires where it touches the ground) as this is the location where your wheel cylinders will leak & the drip falls on the tire sidewall. If the tire's sidewall is wet (like a dog had pee'd on your sidewall) then you have found your brake fluid leak. If your tires are dry then you dont have a rear wheel cylinder leak. The next easiest place to inspect would be your Brake Master Cylinder. The Brake Master Cylinder usually leaks at the seal. This is the location where it mates to the Brake Booster. If you see a color distortion on the bottom of the Brake Booster - like something acidic has been leaking on the Booster and discolored it or caused the paint to flake off then you have a leaky Brake Master Cylinder. Sometimes the Brake Master Cylinder will not leak on the booster - instead the leak will find its way into your driver's side fire wall and on to your driver's side floorboard. This too is an easy inspection - all you have to do is look for brake fluid on the firewall in the pedal location where your brake pedal resides. Also look under your carpet where it is tucked in in the brake pedal area. If your rear wheel cyl's check out fine and your Brake Master Cylinder is not leaking - you may have one of or a combination of the four "Rubber" brake lines leaking. You will find one rubber brake line at each wheel location. The two front rubber brake lines run from the callipers to the metal brake line and the two rear rubber brake lines hook up to the outer connection of the wheel cylinder which is mounted on the inside of your rear wheel hub. A rubber brake line is not always easy to find. Since this is a safety item - you'ld be better off to simply buy 4 brake lines from Nissan. As for your rust - you probably wont find a rust free 240Z unless you pay for a fully restored or low mileage always garaged Z which most of us cant afford. So your money spent for a good running Z was a good find for only $700....as long as you are good a paint/body - which I'm not. FWIW: what a few other posters were hinting at is that any first generation Z will have rust on it. For a Z that is heavily rusted - it is often "Cheaper" in the long run to pay a little more for a Z less rusted and use the rusted Z as a parts car. Of course this is a relative issue and relies on your paint/body skills. Kevin, Yea,Still an Inliner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flames_187 Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 knock on the body to see if its metal or bondo....some people that sell Zs just put bondo over bad spots to cover them up....good find thou.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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