Zed-the-red
Well-Known Forum User
Hi.
Thought I would keep you appraised of the EBAY 240Z that I purchased unseen {risky} off ebay this week.
I paid for the car on Tuesday and arranged to have it collected and delivered on Wednesday next week which is my day off.
All well and good.. looking forward to seeing the beast in the rusty flesh next week or so I thought.
Yesterday afternoon I was just doing a final fettle to the 72 Scimitar I am selling on ebay. My Mobile rung and it was the transport company I had hired to bring the car to Sheffield next week.
“Hi Mr S”. “Yes I’m him.” “I have your car on the trailer I should be with you in 30 Minutes”. I thought for a minute and as I am past 50 I thought I had better check the date... No I was right it was still this week... “Oh” I said. “Fine, I will see you then”. With that I hung up.
Bear in mind it was hissing it down with rain. I had 200 bricks which had been delivered that morning sat in front of the garage doors.
I ran into the Kitchen to grab a tin of Spinach.. I tried to find Olive but she had gone shopping. The spinach took effect and in grand Popeye style I moved the 200 bricks in 15 Minutes. I then nipped to the hospital to have my heart restarted.. I got my breath back and moved the Old tractor out of one side of the garage and put the Scimitar in its place. That left the Scissor lift free over which I could then get the 240Z.
The rain was horrendous. I was soaking and miserable {no change there then}.
I was about to get a quick cuppa when I saw the trailer backing down the drive... On which was perched a Blue 1974 240Z.. My immediate worry was that it was getting cold and wet.. Poor old sausage.
It was sat on the trailer with semi flat tyres. But bless her she still looked like she was cruising at 100mph on the motorway.. What a beauty. My heart welled up and I had a tear in my eye. My dream was coming true. I can never afford and e type or a bright dashing Ferrari. So the Z in my Humble opinion is a Fantastic looking beast and it will do me just fine.
He was about to unload the car and I stopped him.. we put some air in her tyres and rolled her off the trailer. After much maneuvering we managed to get her front first over the scissor lift and under cover. She was dripping water , she was cold. She looked sad and neglected. I wanted to run inside and get her a hot water bottle.. But all said she’s a car. No she’s not... yes she is shut up!..
I paid the driver and sat in the garage watching the water drip off the Z. I marveled at her lines. The long aggressive snout the gentle almost feminine curves of the rear. She crouched as if she was ready to leap into action. Poised I think the word is. Sad but poised. Elegance and aggression all rolled into one.
Lets get to the car.. First impressions by eye. Its Blue. Dirty blue but a dark metallic blue. Lines seem fine. Gaps around the doors seem pretty straight. no obvious signs of the dreaded filler. The magnet and tapping hammer came next. As you all know these cars can rot at the first hint of water. I had visions of it dissolving into the garage floor...Only joking...
I wrapped the magnet in a bit of cloth and went round all the outer panels of the car. Sills the works. The magnet never failed to try and stick to the car. I ran my fingers round the arches and apart from flaking underseal and surface rust they appear to be quite solid.
The interior is very grubby, the drivers seat has a small split in the seam and rusty fittings. The cowls are missing from the ignition switch. there’s one or two broken trim pieces and missing seals. It has not been messed with and looks to be quite original. The stereo is missing... Why do people do that in this day and age? When stereos cost peanuts. The dash has some minor cracking round the dials but nothing serious.
I managed to get the tail gate up there was a satisfying whooshing as the pistons in the dampers took the strain. I checked the inner rear wings and all are solid. I lifter the carpets and checked the spare wheel well that was okay. The two storage bins behind the seat were lifted and revealed some surface rust but no holes. rear turrets are all good. Next target led me to the bonnet. Once open i could see that at some time it was being restored. This must have been some time ago. All the hoses are not connected and if they are they are perished. The engine has orange paint which I think is correct for the car. The gearbox is brightly painted. It looks good but grubby.
I decided to take the plugs out and slap a bit of oil in the bores in preparation for turning the engine over by hand later.
Bad points body:
Joint on the roof line needs grinding flat as it is visible under the paint. Front access covers on the wings are rusty. Wings are not secured. Some chrome trim is missing, wipers are no where to be seen. Generally paint is presentable with scratches and chips but would benefit from a re spray at some time. .Front valance is missing.
The Underside:
I know this is the bit all you Z owners are waiting for.. The Body Tub... Its okay having all these pretty solid panels only to find that the whole tub is shot....
I spent a good 1/2 hour deciding on the strongest place to pick the car up with the scissor lift. I decided in the end to use some 4 foot box section steel across the flat areas of the radius arm mounts. I buffers the body with some thick rubber pads. At the back I wanted access to the rear suspension. So I used the box section steel across the flat area of the tub in front of the rear wheels again with a bit of rubber packing. This way The weight is spread across the tubes and shares the stresses. Before I did any of this I tapped whacked and magnetized the car so much is no doubt with drive North when it comes to the test drive.
Wheels off. Head in, torch in hand. hammer and magnet. I started at the rear. This area is all original. loose rust and underseal. Does not look as though it has been toughed.. ever!. All the floors and mountings at the back appear to be solid. I have my suspicions about the rear wheel alignment.. but I will come back to that. I could not see any areas of patch welding. I will know more when all the underseal comes off.
Centre section... OOher Missus.. Dicers side is a patchwork of plates looks at lot like a quilted blanket..Problem is they have welded this from the underneath leaving the old rusty floor pans in place. It looks awful inside the car although its solid.
Passenger side looks okay. A and B posts are all solid with no rust on the outside anyway.
Chassis rail under seats is a hotpotch of crap. I could have done better with my eyes shut and a giraffe setting on my lap playing a tuba... That’s going to be cut out and new floor pans fitted. OH Yes..
Front section; Inner front wings. This looks a lot better. there has been welding yes. But they look fine. Chassis rails.. okay apart from a 10 inch {250mm} section on the drivers side which is right at the very front under the bonnet hinges. Needs cutting out and a new section fabricating.
Overall.. Impression. Not that bad. Could have been a lot lot worse. I certainly was NOT expecting better or my wallet would have been several grand lighter.
I would estimate.. one hell of a lot of work getting it back to something I am happy with. I am not a concourse man. Don’t see the point. I want a good solid classic that I can rely on. Something old but good like me.
I will need loads of spares so empty your cabinets I will be asking..
Thought I would keep you appraised of the EBAY 240Z that I purchased unseen {risky} off ebay this week.
I paid for the car on Tuesday and arranged to have it collected and delivered on Wednesday next week which is my day off.
All well and good.. looking forward to seeing the beast in the rusty flesh next week or so I thought.
Yesterday afternoon I was just doing a final fettle to the 72 Scimitar I am selling on ebay. My Mobile rung and it was the transport company I had hired to bring the car to Sheffield next week.
“Hi Mr S”. “Yes I’m him.” “I have your car on the trailer I should be with you in 30 Minutes”. I thought for a minute and as I am past 50 I thought I had better check the date... No I was right it was still this week... “Oh” I said. “Fine, I will see you then”. With that I hung up.
Bear in mind it was hissing it down with rain. I had 200 bricks which had been delivered that morning sat in front of the garage doors.
I ran into the Kitchen to grab a tin of Spinach.. I tried to find Olive but she had gone shopping. The spinach took effect and in grand Popeye style I moved the 200 bricks in 15 Minutes. I then nipped to the hospital to have my heart restarted.. I got my breath back and moved the Old tractor out of one side of the garage and put the Scimitar in its place. That left the Scissor lift free over which I could then get the 240Z.
The rain was horrendous. I was soaking and miserable {no change there then}.
I was about to get a quick cuppa when I saw the trailer backing down the drive... On which was perched a Blue 1974 240Z.. My immediate worry was that it was getting cold and wet.. Poor old sausage.
It was sat on the trailer with semi flat tyres. But bless her she still looked like she was cruising at 100mph on the motorway.. What a beauty. My heart welled up and I had a tear in my eye. My dream was coming true. I can never afford and e type or a bright dashing Ferrari. So the Z in my Humble opinion is a Fantastic looking beast and it will do me just fine.
He was about to unload the car and I stopped him.. we put some air in her tyres and rolled her off the trailer. After much maneuvering we managed to get her front first over the scissor lift and under cover. She was dripping water , she was cold. She looked sad and neglected. I wanted to run inside and get her a hot water bottle.. But all said she’s a car. No she’s not... yes she is shut up!..
I paid the driver and sat in the garage watching the water drip off the Z. I marveled at her lines. The long aggressive snout the gentle almost feminine curves of the rear. She crouched as if she was ready to leap into action. Poised I think the word is. Sad but poised. Elegance and aggression all rolled into one.
Lets get to the car.. First impressions by eye. Its Blue. Dirty blue but a dark metallic blue. Lines seem fine. Gaps around the doors seem pretty straight. no obvious signs of the dreaded filler. The magnet and tapping hammer came next. As you all know these cars can rot at the first hint of water. I had visions of it dissolving into the garage floor...Only joking...
I wrapped the magnet in a bit of cloth and went round all the outer panels of the car. Sills the works. The magnet never failed to try and stick to the car. I ran my fingers round the arches and apart from flaking underseal and surface rust they appear to be quite solid.
The interior is very grubby, the drivers seat has a small split in the seam and rusty fittings. The cowls are missing from the ignition switch. there’s one or two broken trim pieces and missing seals. It has not been messed with and looks to be quite original. The stereo is missing... Why do people do that in this day and age? When stereos cost peanuts. The dash has some minor cracking round the dials but nothing serious.
I managed to get the tail gate up there was a satisfying whooshing as the pistons in the dampers took the strain. I checked the inner rear wings and all are solid. I lifter the carpets and checked the spare wheel well that was okay. The two storage bins behind the seat were lifted and revealed some surface rust but no holes. rear turrets are all good. Next target led me to the bonnet. Once open i could see that at some time it was being restored. This must have been some time ago. All the hoses are not connected and if they are they are perished. The engine has orange paint which I think is correct for the car. The gearbox is brightly painted. It looks good but grubby.
I decided to take the plugs out and slap a bit of oil in the bores in preparation for turning the engine over by hand later.
Bad points body:
Joint on the roof line needs grinding flat as it is visible under the paint. Front access covers on the wings are rusty. Wings are not secured. Some chrome trim is missing, wipers are no where to be seen. Generally paint is presentable with scratches and chips but would benefit from a re spray at some time. .Front valance is missing.
The Underside:
I know this is the bit all you Z owners are waiting for.. The Body Tub... Its okay having all these pretty solid panels only to find that the whole tub is shot....
I spent a good 1/2 hour deciding on the strongest place to pick the car up with the scissor lift. I decided in the end to use some 4 foot box section steel across the flat areas of the radius arm mounts. I buffers the body with some thick rubber pads. At the back I wanted access to the rear suspension. So I used the box section steel across the flat area of the tub in front of the rear wheels again with a bit of rubber packing. This way The weight is spread across the tubes and shares the stresses. Before I did any of this I tapped whacked and magnetized the car so much is no doubt with drive North when it comes to the test drive.
Wheels off. Head in, torch in hand. hammer and magnet. I started at the rear. This area is all original. loose rust and underseal. Does not look as though it has been toughed.. ever!. All the floors and mountings at the back appear to be solid. I have my suspicions about the rear wheel alignment.. but I will come back to that. I could not see any areas of patch welding. I will know more when all the underseal comes off.
Centre section... OOher Missus.. Dicers side is a patchwork of plates looks at lot like a quilted blanket..Problem is they have welded this from the underneath leaving the old rusty floor pans in place. It looks awful inside the car although its solid.
Passenger side looks okay. A and B posts are all solid with no rust on the outside anyway.
Chassis rail under seats is a hotpotch of crap. I could have done better with my eyes shut and a giraffe setting on my lap playing a tuba... That’s going to be cut out and new floor pans fitted. OH Yes..
Front section; Inner front wings. This looks a lot better. there has been welding yes. But they look fine. Chassis rails.. okay apart from a 10 inch {250mm} section on the drivers side which is right at the very front under the bonnet hinges. Needs cutting out and a new section fabricating.
Overall.. Impression. Not that bad. Could have been a lot lot worse. I certainly was NOT expecting better or my wallet would have been several grand lighter.
I would estimate.. one hell of a lot of work getting it back to something I am happy with. I am not a concourse man. Don’t see the point. I want a good solid classic that I can rely on. Something old but good like me.
I will need loads of spares so empty your cabinets I will be asking..
