My uncle has a Z31 that isn't currently working, he's willing to give it to me for free. According to him the water pump needs to be replaced and that's it, but of course I'm still going to have my mechanic take a look. I can do basic things like oil changes, timing belt and water pump, tire rotation, changing brakes, but I want a proper mechanic to take a look at it.

*Note, I don't need a DD, so I'm not expecting a car that'll work right out of the box; in other words I'm not screwing myself over expecting to have a perfectly running automobile, especially a Z31. Of course, having a running car would be nice, but I'm perfectly okay taking the transit bus.

Now, you may say "don't buy a vehicle that doesn't work", especially as a project that you have to have your mechanic take a look at, but I mean it's free, and from what I can tell it's either this or buy a ZX from some random for 1.5k that'll still need work in the end.

So, assuming that the repairs aren't too bad and I can budget this right to have a properly working vehicle without putting myself in the hole, would this be a TERRIBLE idea? I plan on doing as much of the labour as I can, and I know tons of friendly mechanics who'll offer help and get me parts for cheap, if I ever run into trouble. The body has very little rust, and it's turbocharged, if that helps sway your opinion at all. I have seen the car in question. It's also a 2 seater, not a 2+2, and I think many people don't like the 2+2 look.. (I personally don't)

So uhh, yeah, am I an idiot? This is kind of going to be a learning curve for me too. I love cars, but I only know mostly theory as I don't have a mechanical background. I do have the tools, can always ask questions and am very cautious about doing anything I have not done before, and therefore will read up on it and get multiple opinions on it. Also, I love the Z31 and would be super happy to see this car running again.

 

free! I'll take it if you don't want it. Do the timing belt while you are in there and you can very well have a very nice driveable auto. The driver seats on the turbos that aren't cloth are vinyl/leather and they fall apart. NO much rust they really don't have all that much problem usually under the tool kit in the back but usually just surface. replace the vacuum hoses. Get it running then you can work on the running gear to make it more driveable. Shocks are shot for sure but not that hard nor expensive to replace. bushings tie rod ends ball joints. clean connectors for maf, ecu and tps. They really are fairly reliable cars unless they have been thrashed by a moron. people who don't take the time to read the manual have problems with them but if you search thru the forum you will find all the usual problems and how to fix em. Replace teh battery and battery cables they don't like low voltage at all.

 

All right, yeah I'll do all the typical flushes and fixes, and if it still doesn't work I'll have to take the engine out I suppose. I'll work on suspension components later, right now I just want to get the car idling smoothly.