Prospective new owner!

[ZedsDead]

Thanks racer, I looked at all those events but they're all hours form me

I'm in Wiltshire near Castle Combe so it would take me something like 2.5 hours to get to Weald. Santa Pod's about 2hrs and Donnington even further. I think I'm going to have to start offering beer bribes to try and elicit interest from someone more local, clearly the Exige wasn't a tempting enough offer

 

[zedboy]

You should've gone to Japfest (at Castle Combe) in May!!! I'm sure any Z club member would be happy to help.

 

[Wyn]

I'm in Wiltshire near Castle Combe so it would take me something like 2.5 hours to get to Weald.

Tell you what, you make it on the 16th and you can take mine up the strip there
You bend it you mend it mind
You got loads a time as open till 5pm ish so early start req

See you there

 

[racer]

Now there is an offer you can't refuse!
I can do Coombe in two hours and, North weald is closer too you. No escuse now!

 

[ZedsDead]

Bloody hell! That is an extraordinarily generous offer!

OK, I'm doing a masters at the moment and this weekend is my last opportunity to finish my coursework that is due in on Monday. Priorities, priorities....

I think I'm going to try really hard to get it done over the next three nights and Saturday morning to try and make it to Weald! Even if I only get there for an hour or something. I'll keep you posted.

Again, thank you. I also looked through your gallery, that's a beautiful car you have!

 

[Weaverhead]

Welcome from another new member!! I was in a similar position looking for a UK Z after my garage find turned out to be a complete and utter basket case. I had guys lined up to start work so getting hold of a Z fairly quickly in the UK was a priority for me as was minimal price given the first was free. Also I was taking the car back to bare metal no mater what so cheap, rough and ready with additional metalwork costs from UK was favoured over additional cost of import and conversion of a better condition US shell.

This early 260z has just shown up on ebay, looks like it could be a good starting point; hard to tell from the pics but hey, have you seen what I started with? I prefer the look of the 240 rear end so I'm doing a rear light conversion but the rest of the cosmetics are largely the same.

I will be going down the RB25DET conversion route too so keep an eye on progress when I pull my finger out and start a build thread. In the meantime check out the Facebook page in my signature. I definitely agree with racer about the RB25 looking neat in the engine bay, like this fine example below

 

[morbias]

This early 260z has just shown up on ebay, looks like it could be a good starting point; hard to tell from the pics but hey, have you seen what I started with?

The one thing I'd be wary of is the bit that says 'SILLS SEAM OK BUT MAY NEED SOME WORK'

Looking at the pics there seems to be a bit of rust on the lower rear corners of the front wings and that suggests there may be rust damage to the fronts of the sills; that's the area that manages to catch water and ends up being eaten away. Definitely check that area out if you go to view the car as it can be a lot of work to sort! Once the rust eats through the outer sill, water gets in and starts rotting the inner sill out as well, you end up taking half the car apart to get to it - the outer sill needs to be removed but to get that off you have to cut away the dogleg, then you find your inner rear arches are knackered, then it's like dear god how the hell did i end up here again

 

[racer]

I see on Facebook Chris that your car is coming on very nicely. Those guys really are proper metal workers! Hace they given you an approx finish time?

Matt

 

[Weaverhead]

Thanks Matt Stu at Retropower is a metalwork wizard!

To be honest I haven't really discussed finish time for 2 reasons. The first is that Retropower are very flexible and do work in chunks that are invoiced regularly. It helps with managing the budget and if at any time cash is tight they will slow down for a while. The second is that not long after I committed to the project my wife got a job in UAE and we will be moving there for 2 years in the next couple of months. The build will continue and if it's finished while I'm away I'll get to use it for maybe 2 weeks at a time when I return to the UK every 3-4 months. I'm in no real rush to have a completed car that I can not drive.
Don't worry though, once it's done and I'm back I'll be at every meet in Europe clocking up the missed miles

The one thing I'd be wary of is the bit that says 'SILLS SEAM OK BUT MAY NEED SOME WORK'

Should have added to this that I took one of the guys from Retropower to view my Z before handing any money over as I needed to know it was worth the investment. I would strongly suggest a similar approach when buying something like this.

 

[morbias]

Wow, I just checked out the 'after media blasting' pics on the facebook page

Definitely must have been one of those 'where do I start' moments!

 

[mattbibbey]

I'm 6'3 and have never even felt a bit cramped in the car..... except for my left leg in M25 traffic! lol

 

[richiep]

Wow, I just checked out the 'after media blasting' pics on the facebook page

Definitely must have been one of those 'where do I start' moments!

Jesus! Just had a look as well! Many more holes and the car would've collapsed in on itself in the blasting booth!

Lots of ££££ on double-sided sticky tape to put that one back together!

 

[ZedsDead]

Weaverhead, thanks for the welcome, I'd already found and liked that page

Your build progress is certainly inspiring and I'll be following how you get on. I'm still undecided over engine as the 25 does seem to have a few advantages.

I've also seen that car on ebay, I'm keeping an eye on it but, like a few other members have identified, I'm cautious about a few of the comments in the description. Unfortunately it's over 2 hours from me and I'm already trying to get enough work done to be able to make it to Weald so don't think I can just pop over and look at it either. That's OK as I'm still reading through everything on this forum to try and get a better picture of the best way to move forward, so unless something jumps out at me in the mean time, I think I'm going to learn as much as I can before buying anything.

Mattbibbey, glad to hear another tall person fits OK! I'm starting to get the picture that I should be OK

Right, got to get off the internet and get on with some work!