Cost of Z restoration

[hawaiiankine]

Alohas all,

Just wanted to ask what seems to be the average overall cost of restoring a Z to decent daily driver condition. I know it depends on what the starting condition of the car is, but let us just say its your average Z that's seen better days.

I'm a VW guy right now, but I'm thinking about getting into Z cars and just want a ballpark figure of what I COULD spend.

mahalos,

Joel

[laffeaux]

Joel,

That's really hard to esimate. It depends on the condition of the car you start with, and depends on what your definition of "decent daily driver condition" is.

The cheapest option is to find a car that is already in the condition that you think meets your acceptablity, and buy it. You'll not be able to do it cheaper (in most cases) by doing work yourself.

Here's my latest project:

3,000 - '71 rust-free, good interior, poor runing

100 - tune up

200 - new weatherstripping

300 - all new switches (headlight, turn signal, ignition)

600 - stereo, speakers, new antenna

850 - new wheels

400 - new tires

620 - all new brakes (paid labor on this one)

300 - new radiator

250 - new hoses (radator, vaccum, heater, master vac)

30 - water pump

80 - new thermostat and housings

600 - new ZTherapy carbs

500 - exaust system

After all that I have a great daily driver ($7800). I'd still like to replace some of the suspension bushings, but otherwise I'm happy. This does not include my time.

I had hoped to buy a car for $6000 in the condition that I wanted but didn't find anything.

[hawaiiankine]

Laffeaux,

Wow, sounds like a nice project, though. Rust free is the key. Being in Hawai'i, its impossible.

Thanks for the nice layout of your project. I'm sure you drive what I would call a "nice daily driver." I know there's a big margin in what that means for each person, but I was just trying to make a generalization.

As a VW guy, I'm getting rather sick of paying too much for cheap parts that I have to replace before they're a year old. So, even though VW parts may SEEM inexpensive, it all adds up after you buy them twice or thrice. That's why I'm interested in Z's. Japanese made=reliability...well...more than a 30 year old Bug.

Thanks for your reply!

alohas,

Joel

[smg1404]

How much to ship one from Arizona, or some other dry place..

[Alfadog]

You paid 500$ US for an exhaust system!?

[2ManyZs]

He probably included the price of a good header in the exhaust price. That itself could cost close to 400 if it were Jet-Hot coated.

[Daniel]

Ball park figure?------HOMERUN!!!!

[laffeaux]

You know how when you decide you're going to get a new muffler, and then somehow manage to end up with two mufflers that are both better than the one you went in for? Well, that's what happened.

I went to a muffler shop for a Dynamax muffler. The guy in the shop said that for a Z, a Borla system would be better. He sent me to a local Z only repair shop to talk to them (where I listened to two cars with the system). I ended up going with a Borla muffler, and a Borla resonator (both are over $100 each), plus there was installation, and all new pipes. After you throw in 8.25% tax it adds up quickly.

Nothing's cheap.

[hawaiiankine]

Alohas,

Shipping from AZ? Hmmm...well, figure out the cost for shipping to L.A. or S.D. which is where it would have to be "shipped" from. Then add $827.30 to that price. BTW - There's only one or two companies that ship cars/containers to the islands and they both charge the same price.

Did I hear someone say price-fixing?

I'll just wait 'till I get back up to Portland to find a nice Z. Just got to finish that degree first.

$500 on exhaust doesn't sound that bad. For my '67 Bug I spent around $475 (headers, muffler, ceramic coating).

mahalos,

Joel

[smg1404]

If you watch Ebay, or other sites that have Zcars for sale there are many chaces to buy a car for much less than 3000......... I f you consider the reality that you will probably have to replace the floor boards in anything you buy, then get a car that goes for a few hundred, or go for one that someone else has already restored... the cars in the middle will cost you more.. If you pay 2 or 3 K then you will have to rebuild almost everything within the first few years. This is the same story for the cars that cost 600.. If you spend 6000, or more, for an already restored car you will cry about the price, up front, but you will come out cheaper in the long run if you consider your time as a valuable item.

[Alfadog]

I paid $120 USD for my 2.25" extractor-back (well I dont have extractors but what are the standard pipes from the engine called?) system with a lukey muffler, and it sounds niiiice. They quoted me an extra $120 for extractors...

Admittedly though, it's a bit too loud for some of you oldies

[laffeaux]

My requirements were a high performance exaust that was quiet. I had a flowmaster a few years back on an old '67 Firebird - I decided that was too loud for my tastes.

The exaust pipe that runs from the stock manifold just past the "y" sells for $60 from Nissan. I had to buy one of those too.