Iceman Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Ok, so the previous owner of my Z did some pretty crappy stuff that I am finding as I am rebuilding my Z that I just want to complain about. Hopefully some others will throw in some stories to make me feel better To start with, mine is a really low VIN, so I am starting to think the PO did just about everything he could to keep it on the road. For starters, I found that just about every inch of the car has a layer of bondo on it for no apparent reason. There was a dent in the right-rear quarter, so I assume a lazy shop just slabbed on the bondo to make it easier to blend everything. That, I can deal with because it's not like I am finding all kinds of dents that I didnt know about. I also found a small rat's nest of wiring behind the glove box that I have no idea what it is all there for which is part of a cheap car alarm that is also wired to the solenoid for the shaved door handle on the driver side, and I want to remove the alarm but I cant trace where all of the wires go. There is a dizzy kill switch that is kinda nice, but there is this other 2-way momentary switch that I have no idea what it's for. The battery was relocated to the rear, and the negative was just grounded to the body. As I understand it, this is lazy and a negative lead should have been run to the engine compartment and grounded to the sub-frame and engine block. The positive was run through the firewall and inside the fender and poked through holes with no grommets. The thing that the most is while sanding the left front wheel-well, I found part of a weld line along the shock tower that was hidden with bondo.. now I dont know how dependable the structure is. I hope this doesnt end up being the "break it" of the make-it-or-break it, but I am really concerned about seeing welding around the shock tower. This is the worst thing I have found so far, but I am starting to worry about any other "patches" I might find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoov100 Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 The battery was relocated to the rear, and the negative was just grounded to the body. As I understand it, this is lazy and a negative lead should have been run to the engine compartment and grounded to the sub-frame and engine block. The positive was run through the firewall and inside the fender and poked through holes with no grommets. actually I ground to the body/cage on all my cars over the motor, if you have ever seen the diagram for jump starting your z, they tell you to put it on the shock tower bolt. I have also ran the positive cable through holes without grommets, unless its cutting through it i wouldnt worry about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rturbo 930 Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 I'm the 3rd/4th+ owner of all my Zs. This should be good. 280z: Floor repairs. THIN, like almost paper thing, metal, screwed over the holes. bondo varying in thickness ranging from 1/16 to 1/2". Only bondo on the car, thank god. Carpet - glued onto all the rear interior plastic panels. When I was working on the car, I noticed my arm turning black - it was the carpet. Trashed. Wiring. There were switches with wires that went NO WHERE. I thought one switch was for the fuel pump, and being a 16 year old noob, I thought I accidentally pulled the fuel pump switch when taking the center console out because the car didn't start right away. So I proceeded to take the whole car apart - dumb idea. RTV is not for holding on the drip rail trim. That's really it for that car. It wasn't bad. 240z #1 (now scrapped): Just one - body work. Originally a CA car, then came to the east coast, and apparently rotted out. Things I found - riveted on rockers, new rear 1/4s brazed on over top the old one at the top. Very poorly brazed on. Alignment, welds, etc. Lots of bondo. Some things weren't welded at all. Holes in front upper frame structure fiberglassed over. Some VERY poor attempts to weld up holes in the frame rails. A 1/2 bolt going between the TC rods. 240z #2: RTV and plexiglass is not the proper way to seal off the hatch vents, OR putting on the interior hatch panel. Past that, nothing horrible. Some thick bondo, nothing major as far as I can tell. Floor pan patches could be better. Not awful. Sure would be nice if the doors actually lined up though. I think the car was hit, and improperly fixed. I really hope it was just the door alignment, or the repairs are going to be $$$$$. The paint on the car could definitely have been done better. actually I ground to the body/cage on all my cars over the motor, if you have ever seen the diagram for jump starting your z, they tell you to put it on the shock tower bolt. I have also ran the positive cable through holes without grommets, unless its cutting through it i wouldnt worry about it.Just because it works doesn't mean it's a good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19762802+2 Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Well mine had a trailer hitch drilled and bolted onto the rear big 280z bumper he also had a CB radio hook up and everything, It was restored once Painted blue and filled some pretty large holes in the lower rear quarter panels (missouri car), plenty of holes in the floor and that is pretty much it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 I found part of a weld line along the shock tower that was hidden with bondo.. now I dont know how dependable the structure is. I hope this doesnt end up being the "break it" of the make-it-or-break it, but I am really concerned about seeing welding around the shock tower. This is the worst thing I have found so far, but I am starting to worry about any other "patches" I might find. Post a picture. It might be a factory weld seam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeeboost Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 (edited) '75 widebody - had several square-shaped switches wired into each other that just lit up, with a rheostat controlling the brightness. No other purpose. Also used house appliance wiring; I'm not sure what the term for it is, but several wires, including the alternator charge wire, were solid copper under the insulation...not braided strands or anything like that. It had the really annoying California mirror that blinded the upper-half of the windshield. There's a lot of quirky stuff with that one, but these are what stand out to me. '72 240zt - My main complaint is that the PO didn't believe in gaskets, just silicone. At least there was a headgasket on the engine. Couple of switches without wires running to them on the inside, underneath the dash, but I can put a use to those. '82 280zx - Had several wires behind the dash that had splice connections where the copper was twisted around each other and taped...but the tape came off on a few and would start popping fuses. Had an alarm that was possessed and would go off at random times while driving. The gauges had annoying illuminated blue wire circling the edges...really looked like crap. There was really quite a bit with this one, but I'm not in the mood to type everything out. I'd say this one was probably the worst of all I've owned. '83 280zx - PO ran the engine without oil for a month which blew a hole in the block, but I bought it afterwards, so I guess that doesn't count. The turbo engine I replaced it with, though, the PO with that car used a pen, a pencil, and something else to plug vacuum holes with...and used speaker wire to run separate wires to the TPS...? Also on the donor car for the turbo engine, the PO used generic acorn lug nuts, instead of the factory ones, which I didn't find out until I had a wheel fly off on the way home '77 280z had five layers of paint, and the outer-most were the really thick single-stage paints. By different layers, I mean different colors...but I'm also counting primer. It went factory primer, factory brown, primer, red, different colored primer, red. I guess he ran it through Maaco every few years. It also has some mystery switch that does nothing. '76 280z - I forgot about this until I read flexi's post; all valve lash was adjusted tooooo tight (no gap), and the bolts to the right rear A-arm were about to fall out...actually one did. I was wondering what that popping noise was when I ran over bumps; easy fix, though. Edited October 6, 2009 by zeeboost Flexicoker reminded me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S30TRBO Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 Didn't finish it for me the way I wanted it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexicoker Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 -fresh, but cheap paint job over untreated rust -silver paint over anything that should look like metal in the engine compartment, brake lines, carb bodies, etc. -lag screw holding on the exhaust manifold -completely loose driveshaft to pinion yoke nuts (drove with it like that for a few months) -valve lash done way wrong, ie, cylinder #3 exhaust valve being held open all the time -loose Ford speakers in the back in top of that... I spent WAY too much money on it, because he claimed it had a freshly rebuilt engine, no rust, and new paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoov100 Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 lol, five layers of paint, didnt cut out the stock 1/4 panels when they put the subtle z rear flares on, riveted and glued the flares on, the covered it in bondo, molded a spoiler into the rear with rivetes and bondo, while leaving bare metal underneath for it to rust through, filled the rear vents with fiberglass resin and cheap lead, tried to use JB weld to fix a brake booster, tried to use house hold insulation to insulate the wires from heat, had the distributor 3 teeth off, hacked the wiring harness up all the way around, wired the stock tach to the motor, but didnt calibrate it, speedo wasnt hooked up, cut up a good 73 console to install some crappy auto shifter, put bolts where the grease fittings where on all the ujoints, destroyed the stock front valance by trying to mold in some yellow fog lights with all thread and fiberglass, used to short of a weatherstripping on the windshield which created a 1/2 gap at the bottom, had cheapo carpeting and insulation glued to the floor, exhaust was half ass'd and hacked up, too big of a carb, was using a point distributor and balast, wired in a Taurus fan to only be on high whenever the ignition switch is on, covered the surge tank and all those lines in a tar like substance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 The PO left the rear suspension only partially tightened. This made the car want to dogleg from side to side and extremely dangerous to drive. The car nearly crashed on the freeway that day and the driver killed... ....Good thing Auxilary was driving it for me on the ride home Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlatBlack Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 On my 78: * The paint was "two years old" and already rusting through, * Bondo on the driver's rear 1/4 over rust, as well as the passenger side fender which I replaced, * a mystery switch, * a "stealth" alarm system that has killed my battery a couple of times and screwed my starter wire [takes a couple of tries to get it cranking] * some DIY wire 'fixes' on the stock EFI, and uncovered fusible links that held water when it rained. * ran 6x9 home stereo speakers in the back and the speaker wires are sketchy now. * left the headers to the exhaust pipe with a slip joint with no clamp. * let it rust to hell :/ I made a steel plate "floor pan" for my passenger's side, if there was a owner after me they would rail on me for it, but the chassis is too far gone unless I want to spend lots of $$$ to fix it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue72 Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 Hmmmmm...... PO swapped in an L24E block, chopped the pickup tube in half and made it rear sump with flexible rubber hose and two hose clamps. Cracked (and subsequently repaired with wood) cowl induction fiberglass hood. Really accented the power of that L24E too. A set of mismatched 3 and 4 screw SU carbs with completely different needles front and rear. Timing cover held to block with non-metric fasteners. Distributor shaft not even remotely close to being positioned correctly (dizzy was about 180 off). Pieces of lower timing gear floating in oil pan. Piece of front cover floating in oil pan caused by using an oil pan bolt that was too long. Original metal fan shroud trimmed down in random spots for no apparent reason. No spacer between fuel pump and cylinder head. Three 205-75-R14 and one 195-60-R14 Too long mag lugnuts interspersed around all four corners along with two non-mag (tapered style) lugnuts. 2.5" to 1.5" to 2" to muffler to nothing behind the rear half of the car custom exhaust system. Custom red and black Velour upholstery. T handle shift knob wedged on with duct tape. Gas tank vent cut off and plugged with JB Weld. That's about all I can think of off the top of my head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeeboost Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 Hmmmmm...... PO swapped in an L24E block, chopped the pickup tube in half and made it rear sump with flexible rubber hose and two hose clamps. Cracked (and subsequently repaired with wood) cowl induction fiberglass hood. Really accented the power of that L24E too. A set of mismatched 3 and 4 screw SU carbs with completely different needles front and rear. Timing cover held to block with non-metric fasteners. Distributor shaft not even remotely close to being positioned correctly (dizzy was about 180 off). Pieces of lower timing gear floating in oil pan. Piece of front cover floating in oil pan caused by using an oil pan bolt that was too long. Three 205-75-R14 and one 195-60-R14 2.5" to 1.5" to 2" to muffler to nothing behind the rear half of the car custom exhaust system. Custom red and black Velour upholstery. T handle shift knob wedged on with duct tape. That's about all I can think of off the top of my head. :lmao: Yours takes the cake so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chartoo Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 My PO owner decided it was a good idea to fill the fibreglass rear quarter flares up with expanding foam and bondo to fill all the space. Only problem is that the foam holds water and the rear quarter proceeded to rust everywhere. Lucky I caught it at the early stages. But what an idiot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evil_datto Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 I bought an S130 Fairlady Z with the L20A. I was told it was a 280zx, as it looks almost exactly the same. The PO sanded off the plate which displays the displacement and whatnot. I never realized it was a 2 liter till taking a closer look at the block ID. The PO had an obsession with fiberglass, every bit of rust hole or dent was glassed up. I took a look under the car to see if it was all good, and it looked in pretty good shape. Later on when I was removing the gearbox, I went to put some stands under the frame rails just for safety. I noticed that the frame rails had been fiberglassed up and painted black. They fell apart very easily - they were f**ked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZR8ED Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 Ok mine doesn't so bad compared to others here... At least my first and only good Z. My 17 other z's...most were real dogs..some not even driveable, yet I did. My GOOD/First Z. (current Z) had a hitch bolted to the stock 280 bumper, but the PO was towing a small laser sail boat, so no biggie. It had deathbeam fog lights mounted in front of the rad, and get ready for it.. I found 2 quarters under the bushing holders for the rear sway bars. It was said that it was done to stiffen up the sway bar for better handling. Oh one more.. a big sticker on the dash covering a crack above the glovebox. I guess I got a good one... oh wait. It was only 11years old when I got it! Nevermind.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rolling Parts Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 Most abortions I've seen are all electrical: Things wired in without fuses. Splices everywhere in a harness and just "twisted and taped" together. Fuse boxe bypassed. Switches galore were added (few work, even fewer labled). All electrical maintenance and mods done with the cheapest crimp on connectors. Relays added everywhere, then bypassed, then crudely cut out leaving bare wires. Fuel pump circuits bypassed to work "key on" at all times. That's all just in the passenger area. Don't get me started about electrical wiring under the hood! Ahhhh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motoman Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 Just to make all of you guys feel bad. I got a 260z that has been a new mexico car all of its life. So i have one small spot of surface rust and that is it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerryb Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 My first Z had undercoated fiberglass frame rails! I was 17 and wasnt very car savy...it looked good at the time. Did I live a learning curve! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSflyer Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 How about flattened Pepsi cans pop riveted over rust holes in the floors? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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