Z-car advice needed please

[abqz]

So, I recently purchased a 1978 280z here in Albuquerque. The car has 189,000 miles on it. The owner told me the car had only minor problems, but now that I've been looking at it closer I'm realizing the problems it has are huge! Was hoping to get a little advice from this forum to help me decide what to do with the car.

THe Good things this car has going for it are a very nice interior with freshly-done seats, new carpet, dash cover, etc. The exterior of the car is nice, with decent paint (1992 re-do but garage kept) nice wheels and tires. The owner recently installed some new injectors and had the clutch and brakes re-done. All electricals, switches, and gages work fine. All good stuff, right? Here's where it goes downhill.

The Bad things with the car include problems the owner had described previously. No working A/C, which is a killer here in Albuquerque for about half the year, but I can deal. More serious is a major engine oil leak, and a minor transmission (5-speed) leak, both of which will need to be fixed sooner or later. I have the infamous and annoying rear-end-on-acceletration clunk which is probably the differential mount needing replacement. Additionally, I get an unnerving fuel vapor smell (very minor) coming from the right rear wheel area of the car. It's annoying though because now I can't garage the car like I previously hoped till it's resolved.

Now, the Ugly. What serously concerns me the most with this car are the rust problems I am just now discovering. Floor pans look like they *may* be able to be salvaged, I mean fixed somehow and not have to have new ones put in. Most of the underside of the car is covered in (what looks to be) 30-year-old undercoating material of some sort, but on the passengers side there is enough exposed to see what looks to be serious rust issues affecting the frame rail.

So, I need help figuring out what to do here.

I paid quite a bit of money for this car, WAY too much obviously now looking back at it. I'll admit that. And I absolutely love early z-cars and would love to make this one right BUT am I better off in the long run finding a better (less rusty) example? This car unfortunately spent most of its life in Virginia which is probably how it got so rusty.

I could cut my losses right now (sunk costs) and just plan on parting out the car, and start my search for a local less-rusty 280z or I could try and fix these problems. I'm mechanically-abled and not afraid of doing the mechanical work myself for the most part, but rust I have no idea. Or welding, or bodywork or anything like that.

Questions:

1. Should I remove the old undercoating material to really see what it looks like under there? Could I just scrape it off or is there some chemical to use?

2. Anyone have any ballpark estimate, from worst-case (need new floor pans, both sides, and frame rails, both sides) to best case (can repair floor pans and frame rails) on how much fixing rust issues would cost, having the work done professionally?

3. If you had to, could you come up with a ballpark, totally-crazy guestimate on total cost to fix all problems listed above, with me doing as much work as possible and having specialized tasks performed professionally (such as rust issues, engine/transmission rebuild, etc).

4. Is it totally crazy to think somehow the car could be transferred to another 280z "shell" that is rust-free?

What would you do? Try and fix this one up (bottomless money pit?) or just find something else all together? Sadly, I think I know the answer already. I wanted one of these cars so badly for so long that I rushed into the purchase and got seriously burned. Thanks for reading all this and for any comments or advice!

[JimmyZ]

It sounds to me like you haven't done any paint/bodywork before. If you have the aptitude to learn these things it's doable. For someone who does this day in/out this sort of thing would be a two-three day turnaround. For someone like us it may take weeks or months. After doing my own pans and rail I was comfortable with it. Another member had me replace his pans over a day and a half.

If you have the equipment to fix it yourself and you're attched to the car I say keep it. The cost of having a shop do the work could easily buy another 280Z... or two or three.

I put in a frame rail on my Z and it wasn't difficult. The problem is having the garage space or work area to both store the parts and do your stripping/sandblasting. The engine, tranny and everything else are going to need to come out. Use Aircraft remover to strip the undercoating. Be careful not to get any in your eyes! Wear goggles and some full body protection. If it gets on your skin you will get chemical burns. The asphalt melt sheet (topside of pans) can be removed with a scraper and a heat gun or carefully used propane torch. (Use torch to warm not melt)

You'll need a decent MIG welder, compressor, sandblaster and paint equipment.

Might as well replace the pans or at least do a partial pan replacement. (I'm assuming the car is not for winning shows) You can use mild steel and fab your own pans if you can't afford the repro's.

2c

Jim

[Bruce Palmer]

This situation merely points out how easy and necessary it is to jack up a car and get under it and take a look when evaluating a purchase. That deterioration is way too obvious to be spotting it after the purchase.

[xray]

What...you don't like the nice new ventilation ducts time and rust provided you???

Do some searches here for "gas fumes," "floorpans" and "clunk, rear end, diff mount". While the problems you describe here seem to you as major (and from a cost and "surprise factor" they are) what you have is a typical 30+ year old unrestored Z. Bottomless pit? Not really. But it's pretty deep, and without a good flashlight the bottom can seem waaaaay down there.

New floorpans plus install is around $800-1200, maybe less if you have a friend who welds.

Oil leak=new gaskets. Buy "How to Rebuild Your Nissan OHC Engine" and an FSM and DIY. Great learning experience

Fumes? May be combo of exhaust and vapor recovery system leaks wafting through other rust holes you haven't found yet (hatch, rear wheel well etc)

Only you know what you can afford. If you like the 280 IIRC 6-8K will get you a very nice car, even a good driver 240Z, especially on the WestCoast

[abqz]

Thanks everyone for your advice and comments.

I made the huge mistake already of rushing into things and now I'll have to be patient and take some time to decide what to do. I'll likely see if I can sell this one at a loss to someone who may want to deal with its problems. To me it would be a tough sell, but someone with the equipment, skills and the inclination to fix the frame problems might be interested. It would be dishonest at this point to sell the car as anything other than a parts car or with a major disclaimer about the rust issues.

Would you say this car (a "solid highway machine", as described by the seller) is safe to drive? My other option is to use this car as a parts car for another one I might buy sometime down the line.

Just thinking "out loud" a bit thanks again guys.