Choices...

"Z (ND + Cancer Fighter)" (roadsterzach) 10/18/2018 at 14:34 • Filed to: None

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Sitting here looking at how much money I’ve spent on cars the last few years and wondering why I didn’t just restromod a classic Z instead.  I mean, the other cars were totally worth it, but the Z is a timeless beauty~

Nibby > Z (ND + Cancer Fighter) 10/18/2018 at 14:40

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just buy a camry

Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz) > Z (ND + Cancer Fighter) 10/18/2018 at 14:42

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I’m sitting here reading about you sitting there thinking about it and I’m also wondering why you didn’t. Damn that pictured Z is perfection. However, if the other cars were totally worth it, then it was money/time well spent regardless.

and 100 more > Z (ND + Cancer Fighter) 10/18/2018 at 14:43

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How are you holding up these days?

Arrivederci > Z (ND + Cancer Fighter) 10/18/2018 at 14:45

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I’ve thought about that many times - but I sort of have a SQUIRREL! tendency with cars, which distracts from what an actual goal would be.

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > Z (ND + Cancer Fighter) 10/18/2018 at 14:56

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Fuck those cars are sexy, I just don’t live in an area where I could drive it year round so have never really considered it but if I had a climate controlled garage it would be a different story. 

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > Z (ND + Cancer Fighter) 10/18/2018 at 14:59

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As an S30 owner, I have to ask, why restomod it? I did replace the rear drums with disks and got slightly larger wheels, a 260Z 5 speed, triple carbs. But they don’t need anything else. I’ll say this, don’t mess up 240Zs, if you mess anything up use a 280. 

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > Z (ND + Cancer Fighter) 10/18/2018 at 15:20

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There’s always the fact that you’d have probably spent a lot of time chasing down finicky issues and such. The nice thing about new cars is that they (usually) just work, so you can go out and enjoy them. 

Chuckles > Z (ND + Cancer Fighter) 10/18/2018 at 16:36

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The grass is always greener...

Look, that car is beautiful, but don't regret your choices. You've had some awesome cars, and hopefully they've made you smile a few times. 

TheRealBicycleBuck > Z (ND + Cancer Fighter) 10/18/2018 at 17:18

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R ead this first: https://oppositelock.kinja.com/what-it-cost-me-to-own-a-500-car-part-1-1618545599

StudyStudyStudy > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 10/18/2018 at 17:53

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Because 240z’ are lighter, have bigger transmission tunnels, look better just to name a few :)

StudyStudyStudy > Z (ND + Cancer Fighter) 10/18/2018 at 17:55

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Money pit, rust, exhaust fumes.

gmctavish needs more space > Z (ND + Cancer Fighter) 10/18/2018 at 18:21

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Holy shit,  I missed your last post, I was wondering about you the other day. Glad to see you’re hanging in there

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > StudyStudyStudy 10/18/2018 at 19:27

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Yes I know, I have one, but they aren’t making any more so we should restore them, not mod them to death. There are not a ton of early 240Zs around. 

StudyStudyStudy > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 10/18/2018 at 19:57

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As do I. I would say there are still many around. Not nearly as many in good condition for cheap, but you can find them on almost every major city craigslist. Just the 70-73 production numbers are still much higher than the entire span of the whole porsche 930 series, almost by a factor of 10. I think a little bit of personality can still be injected into these cars, not like the porsches that are nearing ferrari status of “don’t mess with it or you will not be able to sell it. ”

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > StudyStudyStudy 10/18/2018 at 21:02

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I have no idea what percentage are gone now, but I drive my 71' and people always say they can’t remember the last time they saw one. I am in the Bay Area and I see a few but they are generally the same group I see over and over. I can tell you where are few are sitting and slowly dying. I suspect a great many of them sat somewhere and rusted badly in the usual spots, making them very expensive to fix. Mine was in a shed for years under a roof and it still needed the usual spots cut out and reinforced, and that is a CA car. I lived in Hawaii for years and all the Datsuns there have gone back to the Earth. I am not going to be nice about this subject because so many of these cars have been totally fucked with or are so bad that I doubt people will bring them back until they reach a higher price range. I have a stack of offer notes in my glovebox. My friend has a shop that works on all cars but they are Z experts and get the serious people for restorations. They have the #417 240Z in there right now. We went all through mine, after three years it’s pretty good.

Z (ND + Cancer Fighter) > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 10/18/2018 at 23:21

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More on the restore side, then the full modification side. I would definitely avoid messing with a 240Z if I could, as those have gotten expensive. My target would be a 260Z (or a ’75 280Z), so I can still be pre-smog and not have to deal with CA’s BS.

I’ve kicked around the idea for many, many years now and slowly formulated a plan.

I’d pull the engine, transmission, all suspension and rip out the interior. Strip the exterior and patch any rust anywhere.

Engine wise I’d start with some variant of the L28 engine, add the LD28 crank and a slight overbore to get the block to 3.0L (Inline 6s should be 3.0L imo). Get the nicer fuel injection, head and turbo set-up from the 280ZX L28ET except running a more modern turbo and maybe a slight cam. Custom intercooler set-up and a nice overbuilt cooling system.

For the transmission I’d grab a conversion kit and run the 350Z’s six speed manual box. A nicely matched re-gear diff with a limited slip out back. Upgraded axles to handle the extra power and torque.

Suspension would just be all new components and either replacement or rebuilt subframes, depending on how far gone the originals are. No coilovers or bags or anything, just static suspension with a very mild drop. Definitely throw in some adjustable sway bars and such to dial in the suspension. Switch to a 5-lug set-up. Nice big brakes front and rear (probably 5-lug Wilwoods, 6-caliper front and 4-caliper rear with parking brake) as I greatly prefer stopping power over horsepower.

I’d have to be “that guy” and run a nice deep set of TE37s as well.

Interior wise I’d mostly keep it original. New speakers, but not a ton, just to replace the probably ruined originals. A nice new headunit that doesn’t look too gaudy with bluetooth, maybe one of those retro styled ones? New gauges but the original dash. New carpet with sound deadening. Recaro bucket seats, probably custom upholstered. Roll bar behind the seats and into the hatch.
Quilted leather rear hatch covering the carpet back there. Maybe some custom doorcards to match the new seats. Probably black leather with red stitching, maybe alcantara inserts for the middle of the seats. New A/C and heat system, maybe adding heating/cooling to the seats.

Exterior wise I’d go for the G-Nose front with some smaller fender flares like pictured, not like the gigantic ones on some of the newer kits. Custom diffuser out back most likely. LEDs in the original side markers and tail lights, upgraded front bulbs that aren’t HID or pretending to be. Other than that (and maybe a sunroof), keep the body original. I’m always leaning towards a World Rally Blue paint for it. I’d probably debadge it except for the emblems on behind the quarter windows.

And of course, re-wire the entire car. I’ve had 90s cars before and I’ve had my share of tracking down electrical gremlins. I’m to the point where I’d rather rip everything out and start fresh.

I’d try to do as much as of the work as possible myself because I feel it’d be super rewarding that way. I figured I’d be into somewhere in the $40-65k range, but it’d definitely be daily driv able and would be a blast once finished.

Z (ND + Cancer Fighter) > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) 10/18/2018 at 23:22

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That’s been the reasoning behind all my new car purchases after owning a few 90s cars, no chasing down issues. Just get in, turn it on, and go!

Still though, the classic Z’s are just so sexy~

Z (ND + Cancer Fighter) > TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. 10/18/2018 at 23:23

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Luckily I’m in Southern California, so I’d drive the crap out of it 90% of the year. Our living expenses and CARB may suck, but the weather doesn’t!

Z (ND + Cancer Fighter) > and 100 more 10/18/2018 at 23:24

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Hit or miss. Some good days, some bad. Seems the bad days are becoming a lot more frequent and worse, but I’m doing my best to fight each day. I should probably be exercising more, but since the last round of radiation my energy has just not come back at all.  Hoping to still be around for awhile but I’ll take what I can get.

Z (ND + Cancer Fighter) > Chuckles 10/18/2018 at 23:25

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Oh, I don’t regret my cars at all! Except maybe my ‘12 Focus with the DCT. That thing went through 3 transmissions in less than a year. Other than that though, lots of smiles. I love them all and miss a few of them !

And the grass is always greener, but the classic Z might just be worth it. So good looking.

Z (ND + Cancer Fighter) > TheRealBicycleBuck 10/18/2018 at 23:26

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Definitely going to be reading through all of that, thanks for the link!

Chuckles > Z (ND + Cancer Fighter) 10/18/2018 at 23:37

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It’s a beauty for sure.

Ho w have you been lately? It's good to see you here.

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > Z (ND + Cancer Fighter) 10/19/2018 at 00:02

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Can’t argue with that. I love the idea of owning something like an Alfa Montreal, but I know the reality would be an expensive headache, lol.

But damn it’s a sexy car.

and 100 more > Z (ND + Cancer Fighter) 10/19/2018 at 00:42

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Your   positivity is awesome. Someone very close to me is also doing chemo right now, and like you, she has made the conscious decision to stay positive about her cancer. Her mantra has been “N=1", which basically means a statistical set with a single sample - a statistic of one . You, too, are a statistic of one. Whatever numbers they tell you, you are your own case, and you just need to be the one that kicks cancer out. Keep up the good work, man, and keep that positivity going! We're sending you love from Austin!

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > Z (ND + Cancer Fighter) 10/19/2018 at 01:11

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Just so you know, the worst rust spot is INSIDE the dog leg just in front of the rear wheels. They can look great from the outside, but there was insufficient drainage and they basically began rusting from the inside from the start. My friend always cuts them out and welds in something much stronger than what was originally there. I much prefer a lighter engine with triple carbs, use all the revs, my car goes faster than I could ever drive it safely anyway and it sounds like an old warbird. The L28 is a big heavy thing, keeping the S30 light is the best thing about them, it’s much more fun to use the whole range of the engine . You can put a cam on an L24 but so far I haven’t felt like I need it. Rear disks are a must though, safer and make the car much more fun.

StudyStudyStudy > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 10/19/2018 at 04:59

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Curious, as I feel I may be someone you think has “totally fucked with” the car. Carbs are neat and sound cool (I’ve had them) , but turbo charged fuel injection is an alternate type of fun. U - joint axles are fine, but CV axles can handle more abuse. Drums work fine as well, but discs are easier to service as I am sure you know . Manual steering is fine, but power steering can make life easier while maintaining manual steering at the flick of a switch. Polybushings and rod ends offer far greater control then rubber.

There are probably 20 or so early Z’s in my area that I know of, I have seen maybe about 10 or so I have never met, the people I’ve sold parts and bought parts from, not to mention a few guys with several, or the 3 specialty Z shops in the area (one place had over 40 cars). Plenty in museums and plenty of restorations as well. I like these cars because they aren’t at that status where people are too afraid to work on them or drive them or modify them, with time I realize that may not always be true.

I will say your car is probably in the same group as restomod as well. More period correct, but still a modern interpretation vs a nut and bolt  restoration. I’ve got classic wheels on mine, but I’m not regretting adjustable suspension, modern tire compounds, digital gauges, LED lighting, modern seats, 4 point harnesses, 3L displacement with 400+ hp on tap, LSD, and so on just name a few.

StudyStudyStudy > Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz) 10/19/2018 at 05:06

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As a stickler I would have to disagree, the flares were mounted incorrectly and the pictures don’t quite show how bad the wheels are in hovercraft mode. Those flares add ~2 inches per side, and I had the same wheels fit in my stock arches. Plus the owner had the harnesses bolt straight down to the floor or something else a bit dodgy if I recall.

RB30S30-126.jpg

This my friend is perfection! Although I’m sure someone else would disagree haha.

Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz) > StudyStudyStudy 10/19/2018 at 11:10

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Equally beautiful I’d say. I’m less a stickler and more of a “ooh, that strikes my fancy” kind of guy.

Z (ND + Cancer Fighter) > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) 10/19/2018 at 12:56

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That Alfa is an amazingly beautiful car. It’s an old Alfa so I’m sure it’d be a nightmare, but at least it’d be a pretty nightmare!

Z (ND + Cancer Fighter) > Chuckles 10/19/2018 at 12:58

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Some good days, some bad days. Unfortunately the bad days seem to becoming more frequent but I’m doing my best each day. I’ll have a new scan and update around the end of the month, I’ll be sure to share it (good or bad) with y’all.

Chuckles > Z (ND + Cancer Fighter) 10/19/2018 at 13:14

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Good luck. There are a lot of people around here thinking of you. Hopefully today is a good day.