Albrecht
Well-Known Forum User
Albrecht, blimey you're a cheery soul... it's just an old car, that i'm taking a punt on....
Perhaps you want / expect only completely positive comments, regardless of what people see? If that's the case, think of these as the words of the Devil's Advocate:
What I see is a car that could be hiding a lot worse than it's revealing so far, and what I see is bad enough ( for me, maybe not for you ). The interior looks to be completely trashed for one thing. What's the point in paying money to import parts that are only fit to be thrown away? I don't get it. You would not have to pay an awful lot more to buy something older ( if that's what you really wanted ) and something that you will find to be easier to restore / refurb and - ultimately, as that seems to be what you do - sell.
I see rust, so don't swallow the stuff about this car being 'rust free'. They rust from the inside out, so when it's visible there's always more behind it. The car's been off the road for twenty years apparently. That spells a lot of time and some unknown expense to recommission, on a model that wasn't imported into the UK and which will - therefore - be a little bit tricky to get some parts for. At the very least it will be a lot of work, and at the end of all that work it will still be a 1976 280Z....
gazc130 said:I enjoy working on classics and fancy a Z, of course its gonna need some work, but i'd much rather do the mechanics than spend my life welding and welding and welding. I used to buy and sell classics and I enjoy pulling them back from the brink...
I can't see you doing just mechanicals ( hard enough with a 20 year layup ) on this one. I reckon it will need bodywork and paint ( it's got the slightly pointless and line-spoiling dealer-fitted beltline trim too), and a lot of soft trim and brightwork. Your XJS can't have been anything like as rough as this one, surely?
And I'm still not convinced about the shipping factor. How can they ship it Ro-Ro if it doesn't run and drive? Nobody's going to push your car around carefully by hand at the port, on and off the boat and then again around port at Southampton. They'll manhandle it, and if you're unlucky they'll push it with a tractor or fork truck. They won't care, believe me. I've seen the results.
Ultimately it takes just as much time and effort, and pretty much the same money, to restore / refurb a 1976 car as it does a 1972 ( for example ) car. Hats off to you if you're doing it for philanthropic reasons and have a soft spot for the HLS30 '280Z' that's not in Hackney Marshes, but I get the hunch that's not really what you're about.
But please don't think of this as some kind of personal attack. If you're right, and I'm wrong, then fine. Only you will know what you are hoping / expecting from the car and the money that you pay for it, and that's nobody's business but yours. Good luck!
I guess somebody's got to love the S30-series 280Z. Me? I've got a weak spot for donkeys. When I see one I get all melancholy. Want to 'save' them, even when they probably don't want or need saving. When I retire I might have to open a donkey sanctuary. Then I'll be happy.