Garage space is tight and I have finally decided to start dismantling my 82 as a donor for my early 260.

As she sits now




Naked



You can she that she was pretty solid underneath. Another member wants the Tokico kit off of her and I am going to go ahead and do the full tear down while she is in the garage.

Motor, 5 speed, r-200, brakes, and a few other odds and ends I am keeping.

My question is what else should I pull before I send her off to the great junk yard in the sky? I am guessing that I won't have any trouble finding a home for the tail light assemblies, but there are sure to be some things that people want/need that can be reasonably shipped. But.....I don't want to fill my garage up with a bunch of stuff that no one wants or that can only realistically be sold for $10.

Any suggestions?

 

Personally I would not have taken that car apart. What's done is done but the 2+2 is the only one that had the 3.9 gears and the close ratio 5 speed. zcarsource.com has those T tops for $246 each. Maybe you should call them and see if they want anything.

 

Why did you strip the paint off if you intend on scrapping it ? Looked like a nice car, sad to see you did that to it. Very depressing, even though it was a 2+2 and I personally think they look a bit off, still a nice car. At least sell the body to someone who cares. What parts will you be using on your S30 ?

 

Thinking about this logically, if I had a nice 2+2 280zx, and I wanted to restore my 240z I would sell the 280zx, use the money to buy killer brakes and suspension, do it up right. You have created a logistical nightmare with a slew of parts not suited to your project. Many times a car is worth more in parts, but you have to make the effort to sell each piece. Just wondering what justified taking a s130 apart ? What are you swapping over ?

 

Pictures were in the wrong order. I'll give the short version of the whole story.

I picked up the 2+2 for $700 with the intention of having a fun but fuel efficient car to drive back and forth to work. I had a 70 mile commute each way at the time and was in a serious hate mood with my subaru.

2+2 was ugly as could be but hadn't been messed with mechanically. It had a cheap paint job with bad overspray, fisheyes everywhere, at leat 50 stickers all over it, interior was trashed. The T-Tops had been spray painted, as well as any interior piece that could be easily removed with screws. Red, white, and blue spray paint all over the interior. I spent a couple of weekends cleaning that up.

Gave her a tune up and she ran awesome.

I decided to strip the paint and add a body kit and tokicos. Did the paint myself in the garage so it was only a couple of hundred bucks and some nice weekend days with cold beer and tunes playing. I like doing this stuff.

Along about this time I fully caught the Z bug. The 2+2 was solid but was never going to be nice. I wasn't going to go through the expense and time to fix all of the interior uglies, just not worth it. If I am putting serious time and money into a car, I want to feel proud to drive it.

I moved with work and no longer commute, got my hands on the 260 that I had been eyeing for 10 years. It was in a barn and the guy finally decided to sell it when he needed money to fix his tractor. 260 is rust free, but was an automatic with flat top SU's and hadn't been turned over in 15 years.

I have spent the last year and a half looking for a suitable donor for the 260, but I live at the *** end of Montana, and I haven't been able to find a single candidate within 500 miles.

Which brings me up to today:

F54 with P79, 5 speed, and R-200 3.90, alond with rear brakes are going in the 260.

Already have a buyer for the Tokicos. Considering what I am getting out of the 2+2, I am left with a residual value (to me) in the body of the MSA fiberglass. I can scrap the body for a couple of hundred and be ahead of the game. Bottom line means I paid less than $500 for a solid motor, tranny, and rear end. I can't get stuff shipped here that cheap, even if the parts were free.

Does anybody out there want to drive to Montana to pay me a fair value for a 2+2 body with a trashed interior and then haul it home?

My question goes to what else can I pull off of the 2+2 that would be of value to other Z enthusiasts.

I read that the headlight assemblies are the same, but easier to adjust than the 1st gen.

I figured somebody would want the taillights, as they are still like +$200 on MSA.

Are any of the remaining suspension pieces worth anything?

Instrument cluster?

Maybe the interior door skins (which are surprisingly OK)?

I am going to follow up on theramz suggestion to hang on to the T-Tops for now.

Yes.....

I am torn about killing the 2+2, it has been a really fun car, but it is the right decision for me to make.

 

I forgot to add.

Someone gave me a tap from behind and did a little fiberglass damage to the bumper, busted a tail light, and a wee bit of sheet metal damage around the light.

I got $1700 from the insurance company, bought a new tail light from MSA, and did the metal, fiberglass and paint over a weekend. You can't tell she was hit, and I pocketed almost all of the money. It is essentially how I paid for the 260....So I am way ahead of the game on this car.

 

OK cool, since you're one of those guys who know how, you can start a build thread.

 

All my concerns were covered, and my confusion erased, not that you need it , but you have my blessing. A suitable s30 in my area hasn't come up for sale, but I would really love to do a serious build on the lighter s30 chassis. You would think working on a car you would get tired of it, and I know it happens, but like you I had caught the bug earlier and rejuvenated it lately wrenching on my 280zx. I am always looking forward to doing something on my car. I am even saving money, I canceled my cable tv, I am in the garage so much, I just don't have a need for that much TV.

 

Already have the pictures going for it.

I will probably wait until I have her on the rotisserie so there is plenty to see. I am taking the 260 completely down to the unibody. I have a buddy with a powder coating booth and I want to give everything the full treatment. I am one of those guys who gets the drools over cars with as much attention paid to the underside as the top side.

My goal is to have her painted by October and then work on the re-assemble next winter. On the road by June 2015.

 

I think the answer would be, what not to keep. But I understand that you are in a remote location and most people won't be able to get to you in a cost effective manor. I guess its a double edge sword that you have on your hand. I was told that working dash parts and the side vents by the doors are good to keep, and trunk parts. As well as all body parts.

PS are the Sun Visor good?

 

I'd say, if you can, any of the center console bits, dash vents, chrome trim for windows, interior plastic trim pieces. A lot of mine are so badly sun damaged they are just falling apart, surely others might need that stuff. As you said you can't keep it all, bumpers and the headlight housings of course. Just the bumper interior piece is worth 150$, the entire bumper assembly can fetch 200 to 300. Rubber pieces, any thing that gets sun damage that is salvageable.