Salvage Hunters Classic Cars 280Z

[Ian666666]

Hi All,
Salvage hunters classic cars on the 2nd of June is showcasing the 280Z I bought from them.
I believe it will be worth a watch, I'll let you all know what I actually thought of the car after delivery and what I've done to it post purchase.
Hope you enjoy Z fans
Ian

 

[moggy240]

When I saw it being advertised it looked like the engine bay was not painted which I thought was disappointing considering they painted the outside and did other stuff in the engine bay.

 

[Ian666666]

Correct, my guess that was due to not removing the engine at the time of paint.
That is my next project to tackle but there were many things unfinished.

 

[moggy240]

Looking forward to seeing the episode.

 

[moggy240]

What can I say, I always find it frustrating that they don't ever use the owners clubs when doing car restorations. I wonder how much them badges cost to get made. Didn't want to fit an aftermarket dash but happy to fit the badges. Looks like the suspension wanted sorting out.

 

[Robotsan]

I only caught the last 20 min but the car looked lovely. Did think after they'd gone to all that trouble filling and sanding the dash, it would have looked better to paint it rather than flock it, but it was the flocking company doing the filling and sanding so what else were they going to do I guess!

I'll have to watch it from the start to see how the car looked when they got it.

Was it a fresh off the boat US car with federal bumpers, baked paint and everything?

@Ian666666 So spill the beans, what did you think of it after delivery, what have you done since & what are your plans for the car?

 

[grb184]

Didn’t get to see under the bonnet at all, I know it had been converted to triples and had one of Sean’s exhausts on it, as I talked to the previous owner at a car show last month. To be honest quite liked the flocking. The other special bits like painting the tyre names and getting those badges made was an expense that could imho be better spent elsewhere.

 

[Kieronpollock]

And all done for £9k? A decent paint job eats most of that

 

[status]

It’s another case of drew talking total rubbish just like he does on some of the furniture on the other programme he does,look at some of tne other cars he’s had some of its laughable

 

[Ian666666]

Thanks for your comments all and here's the truth on the car...
So when it turned up it was running poor on the triple webbers, would barely pull away and was misfiring all over the shop. Still I was happy to take it but I had no idea of what they had done to the car for the show, so the list of mods/rectifications I've done are as follows:

Interior

Interior leather was OK although some corners cut which could have made it a lot better. Center console broken (now fixed), other plastic under dash panels broken or missing (replaced or fixed) , plastic panels scratched (painted), Chrome door handle furniture broken (Replaced) clock not working (still to fix), Rev counter not working (still to fix), overhead light broken (still to fix), stereo not working (replaced) , ignition key would only turn on some occasions (replaced complete switch) and door looks not working very well (replaced)..

Under Bonnet

Not painted in engine bay (not sure what to do), wasn't running well on Webbers and stopped running all together after a few days (replaced with a classic car EFI system), fuel smell (moved oil catch can filter to under car), screen washer tank missing (replaced with new), Air conditioning unit missing (going refit new), battery losing charge (replaced), crap heat shield (being replaced with stainless one), heat generation into cabin (Cerakoted the exhaust).

Running gear

Suspension coils fitted back to front hence high front end (fitted correctly), Oil leaks from sump and rear diff (fixed with new gaskets), gearbox noisy (going to get it rebuilt), ditched the original wheels and tires painstaking painted for Konigs and modern day tires.

Body

Replaced numerous rubbers around the car, already have paint blisters in places which I'm currently fixing. Area above rear bumpers where rear quarters meet rear valance in 2 places finished badly, will repair but this area was photoshopped in the program by what I can make out.

General

Done loads of other cosmetic stuff on the car, probably spent in the region of £10K to get it up to where it is now. Other stuff to do which is why I purchased the car, weekend play thing.
In general I'm really happy with her but Salvage Hunters seem to do a real basic job and concentrated on bits that didn't really matter. They didn't show under the bonnet as they didn't paint it I guess. It's truly a rust free example apart from the odd bits I'm doing which is great..!

I intend to take the car out to Spain so not to fussed about the money I've spent, but hopefully it's still worth the £37k its probably cost me or will be one day..

 

[Ian666666]

What can I say, I always find it frustrating that they don't ever use the owners clubs when doing car restorations. I wonder how much them badges cost to get made. Didn't want to fit an aftermarket dash but happy to fit the badges. Looks like the suspension wanted sorting out.

All explained above....
As for the badges and being a qualified toolmaker and manufacturing business owner myself I would have charged around £5k for the tool alone and probably £300 per badge seeing they only wanted 2. They did get 4 made so will probably put the other 2 up for sale at some point..

 

[Ian666666]

It’s another case of drew talking total rubbish just like he does on some of the furniture on the other programme he does,look at some of tne other cars he’s had some of its laughable

Didn't get to meet Drew but obviously met Paul, he was actually a really nice guy and did know what he was talking about. He mentioned he would get an EFI system put on plus front diffuser and rear wing. Guess Drew our cash constraints held them back. I've fitted the EFI system, other bits to come..

 

[Ian666666]

I only caught the last 20 min but the car looked lovely. Did think after they'd gone to all that trouble filling and sanding the dash, it would have looked better to paint it rather than flock it, but it was the flocking company doing the filling and sanding so what else were they going to do I guess!

I'll have to watch it from the start to see how the car looked when they got it.

Was it a fresh off the boat US car with federal bumpers, baked paint and everything?

@Ian666666 So spill the beans, what did you think of it after delivery, what have you done since & what are your plans for the car?

Ahh the dash, looks OK but I'd rather have an original which I will get at some point, probably when I take out the dials that need relacing
Dust sticks to it like s@@t to a blanket
So I've tracked down previous owners, it was sold new in California to a guy who sold it a year later to someone else in California. The new owner run it for around 10 years then had issues with fuel smell in cabin, at this point it sat on his driveway for a further 25 years without moving (see pic). His son then picked it up and start a mild restoration and then sold it to a classic car company called Stolze in the Netherlands. Then Paul who was on the show brought it and imported to the UK, did a fair junk of work on exhaust, suspension and the webbers before selling to the Salvage guys, rest is history. I'm going to get it as mint as possible but still try and keep authentic (no flared arches going on this one) as it's to rust free to mess around with to much. 62000 miles on the clock so many left in it for a life back in the sun in Spain..

 

[Ian666666]

Didn’t get to see under the bonnet at all, I know it had been converted to triples and had one of Sean’s exhausts on it, as I talked to the previous owner at a car show last month. To be honest quite liked the flocking. The other special bits like painting the tyre names and getting those badges made was an expense that could imho be better spent elsewhere.

Yes the exhaust is great quality and did have the tipple webers which I removed and sold as I'm worried about emissions in spain and getting the car exported out there. Hopefully I'm not going to find to many issues with exporting but knowing how the Spanish are with classics I can see a bumpy ride ahead.

 

[yellowz]

Didn't get to meet Drew but obviously met Paul, he was actually a really nice guy and did know what he was talking about. He mentioned he would get an EFI system put on plus front diffuser and rear wing. Guess Drew our cash constraints held them back. I've fitted the EFI system, other bits to come..

What was the EFI system?

 

[Ian666666]

And all done for £9k? A decent paint job eats most of that

Salvage guys purchased for £19k and they said total cost the £25K so only used £6k, doesn't make sense to me....
Paint Job say £5k
Interior panels £1.3K
New carpets, leather interior and seat trims and painting panels etc say £2k
Tires painted £0.2k
Badges and tool must of cost £3k at least
Flocking and IP repair £0.5k

That's a total of £12k without labour and bits I don't know about so must have owed them at least £31K

 

[Rob Gaskin]

I just don't trust the accuracy and honesty of statements on these type of programmes.

Some do get in touch with Clubs. Car SoS contacted me to supply a car for the 'this is what it could look like' shots and drive. They also said they want to know where to buy an exhaust - I mentioned Sean but they made their own in the end.

James May wanted a 260Z for his show so I supplied RIDDLER's which Damon Hill drove. That too was very stage managed.

However these programmes are at least more interesting than a lot of TV.

 

[yellowz]

All explained above....
As for the badges and being a qualified toolmaker and manufacturing business owner myself I would have charged around £5k for the tool alone and probably £300 per badge seeing they only wanted 2. They did get 4 made so will probably put the other 2 up for sale at some point..

They could have bought some for an awful lot less than that!

Datsun Z-Car Emblems & Badges

Restoration & Replacement Datsun Emblems, Badges and Parts - Hood, Hatch, Quarter Panel, Bonnet, Lid, Full Set | Metal, OEM, 240Z, 260Z, 280Z, 2+2, Z-Car.

www.280zforsale.com

 

[Robotsan]

Ahh the dash, looks OK but I'd rather have an original which I will get at some point, probably when I take out the dials that need relacing
Dust sticks to it like s@@t to a blanket
So I've tracked down previous owners, it was sold new in California to a guy who sold it a year later to someone else in California. The new owner run it for around 10 years then had issues with fuel smell in cabin, at this point it sat on his driveway for a further 25 years without moving (see pic). His son then picked it up and start a mild restoration and then sold it to a classic car company called Stolze in the Netherlands. Then Paul who was on the show brought it and imported to the UK, did a fair junk of work on exhaust, suspension and the webbers before selling to the Salvage guys, rest is history. I'm going to get it as mint as possible but still try and keep authentic (no flared arches going on this one) as it's to rust free to mess around with to much. 62000 miles on the clock so many left in it for a life back in the sun in Spain..

Yeah exactly why I'm not keen on flocking Does look better than cracks though, so there's that!

That's interesting, how did you track down the previous owners? I would like to do that with mine if its possible.

 

[Robotsan]

Salvage guys purchased for £19k and they said total cost the £25K so only used £6k, doesn't make sense to me....
Paint Job say £5k
Interior panels £1.3K
New carpets, leather interior and seat trims and painting panels etc say £2k
Tires painted £0.2k
Badges and tool must of cost £3k at least
Flocking and IP repair £0.5k

That's a total of £12k without labour and bits I don't know about so must have owed them at least £31K

Yeah that clearly doesn't add up. They obviously made a huge loss, but wouldn't be great for the show if they showed that

The badge making and tyre painting was baffling. And the springs installed upside down.. wow.

How's the paint job? Looked like a fairly thorough one, so hope there's not loads of overspray?

Shocking that they photoshopped those bits on the rear corners! Was it shown in the auction pics?

Even if you're in for £37k, it's a great looking car and if you keep it a long time it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. And yeah it'll definitely be worth it in a few years!