Hi all,

 

It's been 7 or 8 years since the demise of my beloved zed (cooling system self destructed but that's another story) and I'm finally looking to get back into ownership again. Looking for a TT manual that's been looked after.

 

I just looked at a UK spec car which has had a manual dropped in and it ran really smoothly from cold and behaved well on a test drive. Problem is there is a 3-year gap in the paperwork so it looks like the last owner basically did nothing. There are a few questions I'd appreciate views on before deciding on this one…

 

1: It's done a lot of miles (138k) so should be on its 3rd cambelt. No evidence of 120k change so that would be first job. Any idea what the going rate for that is these days or recommendations for a reliable place to get it done?

 

2: The last couple of MOTs mentioned corrosion in the front cross member. Is that a part you can source or would it have to be patched?

 

3: No obvious signs of head gasket failure (water in oil, white smoke, overheating, smelly coolant or bubbles) but the inside of the rad pressure cap neck had a slimy orange deposit. Is that just manky old coolant that needs a change or something more sinister?

 

Thanks for any advice you can give. The gaps in history make me very wary but unmodified manual TTs are so rare I don't want to pass on this if it's really ok!

 

Chris

1: I don't know about the cambelt price, but I don't think its that expensive from a specialist.

2: I think MJP can source the crossmembers.

3:Orange gunk is just corrosion in the coolant system, give it a good flush through if you buy it.

Jeff at Zedworld is down the road from you near Birmingham for a service and cam belt change and i wouldnt worry about lack of paperwork for the 3 year gap, it may have been stood or unused.

 

The front crossmember is replaceable, 4 bolts, steering UJ 1 bolt and steering rack unbolted will remove it.

 

If its a good price, its worth getting for a UK zed with a sound body and sills :thumbup1:

He is talking about the front crossmember where the rad is sited, not the front subframe ;)

What was the condition of the body? Sills, in particular the sill area (inner and outer) in front of the rear wheels. Wheel arches. Signs of

body filler or patching and/or recent resprays to hide poorly repaired rust damage. UK cars are protected to the same degree as imports

by the factory for corrosion resistance but generally have had the most exposure to salting in the winter. Check carefully, ideally get the

car up on a ramp to inspect.

Rust bubbles round both rear arches. Sills look ok but the lip on the near side was getting crumbly. No chance on the day to get it on a ramp :(. I'm thinking I might be in for some sizeable bills to get it sorted and he was asking 4k which would be ok if there were no issues but now sounds a bit steep?

For your budget, 4K would have got you this (now sold - scroll down a bit to see details):

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/A-Formidable-Z32-Nissan-300ZX-Twin-Turbo-with-Full-History-and-an-Amazing-Tale-/281256996622?ViewItem=&item=281256996622&nma=true&si=ntkS64E2D6S%252BULMo0NWqPivUSrE%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

 

A UK car with known history and service record. Cars of that condition do come up for sale, but not very often. It is really down

to your budget and experience. Buy cheap, repair yourself (expensive if you are relying in professional body and/or mechanical

repairs) or wait for a good one which you could enjoy straight away.

He is talking about the front crossmember where the rad is sited, not the front subframe ;)

 

And this is not a straight forward bolt on part.

Wow! That one looks amazing. In that case I think the one I saw is definitely overpriced. I'll keep looking or maybe try to import one. Thanks everybody for all the good advice!

nope,it would be a cut and reweld job

I never saw that grey one up close but if it was as good as it looked it was under priced at £4k, 3.5k is now about the going rate for a well look after clean car, heading upwards to 5k for a good car, a car in A1 condition, of which there are very few in this country is going to cost whatever it costs to prize it out the current owners hands. The 1-2k cars that were plentiful a few years back seems to be drastically reducing as most of them were just terrors and dogs.

 

With that in mind I wouldn't pay 4k for Uk car that needs a new front cross member and sills, even if your handy the materials are going to add up. That's an entry price car by the sound of it and worth about 1.5k depending on the rest of the car. I would hold onto your money, look to spend 3.5k ish for a clean car and spend the remainder on servicing. Plenty of good cars out there, if your prepared to wait.

Don't discount JDM models either. When I was looking for a Z32 10 years ago, the amount of rotten UK cars scared the bejesus out of me. Good UK cars are few and far between and generally owners hang on to them for that reason! Plenty of tatty and rusty JDM cars about now though. But I wouldn't discount them at all.

 

At the end of the day, if the car is solid, sound, well looked after and hasn't had half a boat grafted onto it, then it's a goer regardless of origin of market.

I can help you import one of you like.

Can get a really good import for about 4-5k

That grey one that was on eBay was some sort of scam as I had put an offer in for the 4k and never got any correspondence from the seller garage but did pick up a decent one for 3k solid underneath and no rust on body at all, I think you just need to be patient and not rush in to buy-in the first thing you look at as I have seen some really nice ones on here go for very fair prices over the last 8months.

Check for rot under the carpet, at the front in the ECU area, in the corner, look into the sills in the same area with a torch. You really need to get under the car and poke the sill area with a screw driver, especially the rear where the targa drain is. The way I look at (now anyway), is you can fix pretty much everything else if it goes wrong, but if the chassis is rotten, then it can easily be a showstopper.

Yes I agree my first one I didn't look underneath properly and 2nd mot it failed the sills were rotten front to back and on closer inspection most of floor needed replaced too your better waiting a longer time for a good UN or buy-in one with solid chassis that maybe not to you taste looks col whatever this can all be changed fixed as said above.

Thanks for the offer ruishy1, I'm away on holiday at the might take you up on that when I get back!