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Do you think this car is worth the money?


Guest dwrecckk

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Guest dwrecckk

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/car/271118627.html

 

Whatsup, this is my first post. I'm just about to sell my 99 Impreza 2.5rs and looking for a nice Z to drive and possibly make a project out of. I would rather but a car thats already fairly reliable and good for a higher premium then really start from nothing so I have a 4k budget. I found this car here, it looks absolutely great.

 

Talked to the owner, this is what he had to say about it:

 

"lower block has about 70k l28 2.8 litre engine 4 speed manual trans. interior needs carpet. door panels cracking on top. standard cracks in dash.. gas gauge,tach,signals,speedo,heater all work. reliable transpo.. il try to get some interior shots as soon as possible and send them thanks.."

 

I'm not the most mechanically inclined guy so I was trying to decipher what that all ment. I assume the 2.8l engine is the 280z engine, any benifits to this motor vs the original? I wish it came with a 280z 5 speed as well but it definately looks very nice and was exactly what I was shooting for in the look department.

What do you guys think? Eventaully I'm looking to run a 240z with a few light suspension mods and hoping to make around..200-240hp? Should I hold out and shop for something with a little more work done for the money or does this look like a good deal?

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Guest dwrecckk

Yeah i'll definately check it out, im just wondering if I should wait to see if any swapped ones w/ 280zxt motors would fall into my price range or perhaps even a v8, that'd be perfect.

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Welcome aboard to this awesome site!

A nice car indeed. DavyZ nailed it.... Rust. If possible check the rear hatch opening, battery tray and rockers. Also look for collision repairs. For 3500 it looks like a sweet Z. Every Z has rust in reality but a little is ok as not to compromise structure.

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Good places to check for collision repairs are, the headlight bucket area inside the engine compartment, rear qtr panels and rear corners.

 

I usually check by placing a weak magnet on and around those sections. more bondo, less magnetism. Obviously won't work with fiberglass parts.

 

For rust, also check the foor planels. might be hidden under the under-coating. Also check for hacked wiring jobs.

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if it runs good and body is strait and rust free chassis, no leaks etc. its hard to get one at a lower price. If I were you, best bet would be to have a Hybridz member in the area check it out for you. Buy him lunch for some advice.

You said you were 'not mechanical'. You will have to learn or it will cost plenty just cause its 30+ years old. The good news is that it is probably one of the easiest cars to work on and lots of folks do, so you can get help.

Hope this helps

Ferd

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Take it for a test drive and feel out the drivetrain, suspension, listen for the normal ticks and rattles throughout the car. Check the differential to see if maybe they swapped in a r200. If your not really mechanically inclined, you might want to pay 50 to have a mechanic look through the engine if your planning on keeping the l28.

 

Put some nice wheels on and it's a sharp ride.

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http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/car/271118627.html

 

Whatsup, this is my first post. I'm just about to sell my 99 Impreza 2.5rs and looking for a nice Z to drive and possibly make a project out of. I would rather but a car thats already fairly reliable and good for a higher premium then really start from nothing so I have a 4k budget. I found this car here, it looks absolutely great.

 

Talked to the owner, this is what he had to say about it:

 

"lower block has about 70k l28 2.8 litre engine 4 speed manual trans. interior needs carpet. door panels cracking on top. standard cracks in dash.. gas gauge,tach,signals,speedo,heater all work. reliable transpo.. il try to get some interior shots as soon as possible and send them thanks.."

 

I'm not the most mechanically inclined guy so I was trying to decipher what that all ment. I assume the 2.8l engine is the 280z engine, any benifits to this motor vs the original? I wish it came with a 280z 5 speed as well but it definately looks very nice and was exactly what I was shooting for in the look department.

What do you guys think? Eventaully I'm looking to run a 240z with a few light suspension mods and hoping to make around..200-240hp? Should I hold out and shop for something with a little more work done for the money or does this look like a good deal?

 

 

That's a nice car... but have you ever considered the DIY route?

 

You know the song... "Do it youself.. DA DA... Do it for less.. DA DA... Do it yourself do it yourself, do it for less."

 

You take this: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/pts/271574450.html

And put it in here: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/car/271587659.html

 

And in a week you have a turbo Z for 700 bucks and would have saved a car from the crusher.

 

Whaddaya think? :)

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Guest dwrecckk

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I'm considering getting into Z's but I'm not sure. Like I said I'm not too mechanically inclined. I mean, I've done my exhaust before, done my suspension with some help but nothing much more than that. I somewhat know my way around a car but never really worked on a car.

 

I've owned three cars up til now. I've had a 91 Mr2 Turbo, 88 Mitsubishi Starion Turbo, and a 99 Impreza 2.5rs that I'm currently selling

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/car/269076430.html

 

It's time for something new but I'm not sure if I'm up to start a big project myself, as I've never even really done a tune up or oil change to my car myself. I probably could do it, though its always been out of laziness that I havn't.

 

Right now I'm picking up an ae86 corolla GTS as a beater and as a third car that my family can use for a while and I'm wondering if I should really be buying two old cars. The starion gave me hell. It was the cleanest effing car I had ever seen when I bought it. It sounded like a dream. 15k miles on a rebuilt motor, 156k on the chassis, brand new head, upgraded turbo...etc etc lots of great mods but when I bought it. One thing steadily broke every month. I just don't want this to be a repeat I guess. I'm really indecidive about what I should get. I always thought Z's were really great looking cars and I figured they'd be fun to drive and get decent milage as well but what would you do if you were in my position?

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well i'll put it like this, after driving that impreza for awhile and going to a 30+ year old Z, ur gonna be dissapointed in everyday driving unless you update the suspension, steering, braking, etc. My friend has a wrx, and another has a impreza like urs. They handle great, there smooth, all that. Z's are kinda raw, but with a nice engine are very fast and handle turns great, but they won't handle like a nice newer car on daily driving. So you should definently test drive one for a nice long drive to see if it's what you want to be driving as ur everyday car. They can be reliable, but there not new car reliable, it's more of a squeeky rattling reliable that you have to deal with unless u dump alot of money in it..lol

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Those carbys would work fine in a warm climate... But they are stupid trouble in cold weather for most folks...

 

In any case.. Your biggest hurdle is going from a low maintenance modern car to all the regular headaches of an old carburated car.. with POINTS ignition no less...

 

Even a fully restored 1972 240Z with completely new, concourse winning mechanicals is a pile of headaches compared to a modern car...

 

If you want things to work a little easier... you should convert it to a later fuel injection system... That does require some mechanical abilities though...

 

 

I went the opposite direction with mine.. I race it with triple webers... and man does it fly... but it is 10 times as complicated to tune...

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Dropping by to say good luck on choosing your next car. its the 240z guy from soompi. My first project car initially was going to be a sr20/rb20 s14 but i ended up getting a 240z, and i dont regret it at all *thumbs up. Now all i need is a new job to support my project lolz.

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Guest dwrecckk

Well I was talking to my kung fu teacher and I think he convinced me to go for the 240z. He was saying how he had his for 30 years and he lvoed it. Stock 240z bored out w/ ported and polished heads and competition carbs? Something along those lines w/ lots of other mods and he said he was making near 300 flywheel. He was talking about how he beat his friends porche and old school ferrari's at the time haha.

 

I was thinking about what 240zV8 said. Honestly the reason I'm selling the impreza is that it just doesnt feel like a sports car to me. I don't know why. It handles pretty nicely and very stable but It feels like an econobox with a good drivetrain. I think this may just do it for me. Just need to get some nice wide flares and some huge tires then slam that Z and it'll be great. Oh and a nice 3 piece spoiler that I keep seeing around.

 

I'm aiming for 200hp flywheel. What do you guys think would be the cheapest route from where the car stands now? I'm going to check it out on saturday, hopefully all is good and I can pick it up. 280zx turbo swap sounds like the cheapest and then I can have a nice little pssst at the end of every shift but I think it may be too much work for me to do myself, i'll have to figure that out as well.

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L28 with flat tops and a nice head with an agressive cam... compression ratio to match cam...

 

That will get you a nice NA motor with an easy 200HP... you won't need to wind it to 7kRPM with that combo.. so the SUs will work OK...

 

Z-Therapy has nicely rebuilt SUs that will give you even better performance and better reliability than brand new... They can breathe to about 5600RPM...

 

You will need triples or F.I. for High RPM...

 

post some pics when you get it home.. we can offer suggestions once you get the car in hand...

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