Some movement: the insurance company estimated repairs for the Z at ~$1900. After the deductible, I got a check for $900. I like knowing that I've done all the work on the car, and there's no way I'm finding a shop to repair it for $1900 (let alone $900) so it's DIY job. That check should cover parts and materials, plus labor ...at about 10 cents/hour.
I got the fender support mostly straightened out and haven't given up on the fender itself. They're harder to find and none are for sale locally right now, so I'm seeing what I can do. 50/50 right now. Headlight bucket is a goner.
Meanwhile, I got this:
It popped up on Craigslist, was close, and low priced. L28s, like everything else, seem to be going up in value, so I grabbed it even though nothing will happen for a while. According to the seller, it's from an 82 or 83ZX that he was going to swap into his car until it was totaled (fun coincidence: the vacuum tank and thermostat housing I picked up from the junkyard a few years back came from the seller's totaled ZX). The engine sat for a couple years, but it turns over freely and has everything. I figured if it turns out to be junk, I could probably sell off enough stuff to make up most of what I paid for it.
Disassembly so far has been painless. Not a single stuck nut or bolt. All the accessory pieces still spin. The exhaust manifold has a big crack, but that's the only part so far that's properly damaged. I pulled off the valve cover and oil pain and the internals I can see look good to my relatively unknowing eyes. The head looks better than the one in my own car.
I have a pile of stuff here that's pulled off. The stuff on the right is headed for the trash. Most of the stuff on the left I don't really know what to do with. Is there any market or interest out there for things like an alternator, AC compressor, injector blower that aren't seized but may not work? I don't want to throw things out that are valuable (or even useful) for someone, but garage space is at a premium and I don't want to fill it with junk, either.