First drive and Zed died... Help!

Robbo - What other options are available for this guy, before he hands back the rego
You have experience with head gaskets?
How hard is it to get a crew together at his place for a tech day to replace head gasket.
Can we help this guy out.

 

It's an NA, so replacing the HG's can be done in situ relatively easily. Reason I suggested moving on is that there is quite a bit of evidence that there has been little to no maintenance done on this car in the past. There is a good chance that the damage is deeper than just the HG's. The heads themselves would almost certainly need to be straightened, or binned and some good second hand ones put on, and then you run the risk of further damage to the bottom end if the detonation that was going on sustained caused any damage.

Also zac was mentioning during my visit that 2nd gear in the auto is a bit clunky, so you've got the likely possibility of an auto rebuild in the future, possibly near future.

 

The Heads take quite a bit of work to get to and a hell of a lot of time. The easiest way that i can see is to remove the engien and strip it back and rebuild and that will be a big job with space and equipment that most people dont have.

Also as andyMac said other maintenance issues may be present and it does seem like a job for an expericened person or a proffcional. but getting it proffecionaly done will cost thousands.

 

Yeah so lots of things need to be done other than the HGs, thats just the beginning, so it seems like a new engine would be the way to go with this, but as I mentioned, thats not in the budget, and the wife is slowly getting peeved off that this car is slowly costing more and more, for just a fun weekend driving car for me... she says there are other things in the house that need doing...

So I'll try selling it or parting it out I guess... but I'm still going to look around for a cheapish NA engine if I can... on the fence here, but got to listen to the wife too..

 

Bloody sad news to hear
Thanks for the detailed update. I have a better picture now.
I have been following this guys threads and he has been trying real hard to get this off the ground. I feel for him.
As Blackzx said, the wife, (she must be obeyed), is getting peeved. Can't have that as she holds the keys to the fun park.
Parting out could return the most money but the you will have problems getting rid of the bits nobody needs.
Hopefully Blackzx can get a shotgun ride to Goulburn for the nats or come down with the family car.
Good luck for the future and one day we'll see you on the road with a nice shiny one.

 

Thanks heaps mate... and for understanding about the wife issue...

Yeah it has been a struggle getting it on the road, wasn't easy, and on the first drive, it died.

But thats the thing, it died on the drive, which means I did manage to drive it. And the feeling I got from driving it can't be described in words...

I'm sure all you guys out there know what I'm talking about. Its unlike anything else...

I've been bitten by the Zed bug, and I know for a fact I will get another... as soon as my finances allow me too ( and the wife too), I will get a better Zed, maybe even a TT and it will be glorious...

Thanks for all the help on here, all the advice, and the friendships I've made...

I guess parting the Zed out looks like the best option, and it would be hard getting rid of some of the parts, but I don't mind. If this Zed can be used to better someone else's Zed, thats great. I guess the rest will become scrap... Sad to say...

Things still hang in the balance with this... if I can find a cheapish NA engine that runs, I might try a transplant if the sydney guys are up for it, but I don't like my chances with that either.

Only time will tell, but I'll still be on here, checking out whats going on, looking for parts or possibly a Zed from forum member, as thats way better than buying a Zed anywhere else..

 

If you find an engine that works and need a hand i will come to you with a lifter and some other bits and help you swap it over

 

Thanks heaps mate... I will look hard for an NA engine... would love to keep the Zed, but if the costs are too high, the wife won't be happy...

But dude, you are in the ACT, thats quite far from me, I'm in Western Sydney, near the blue mountains, way too much of a drive...

 

It?s only a few hours, and I would enjoy the time away from Canberra. The offer is there if you want to go with it but I understand if you don?t want to inconvenience me

 

Look, I know you were anxious to get this car up and running(and perhaps that is a big contributing factor for where you now find yourself), so my suggestion is, why not put it up on blocks for the time being, and when you have had time to settle down(and perhaps save a few extra dollars)we can strip the engine out and assess it's real condition?
By then, it may be possible to get a reasonable S/H engine/gearbox if necessary, or do a rebuild of your bits.
At least you will not have given it away for nothing(or close to nothing)and you will have had time to accumulate some of the bits & pieces needed.
You will also take some pressure off your lady's objections re other, more pressing, house related needs.
If you think this will take some time to complete, then simply cancel your Registration for the time being.
It all really comes down to just how much you want to have a Z32.
Selling at a huge loss, and then buying at some later time, is always going to cost you more in the long run(whereas, minimizing your expenditure for the moment)will work out cheaper, further down the track.

If you need assistance, I'm not far away.

Regards
Lloyd.:zlove:

 

Thanks heaps man.... I'll keep that in mind...

Friend at work was saying its better if I get the engine fixed, then I wouldn't have to register the new engine with this car, due to the different engine numbers... what do you guys think?

 

Keep an eye in the wreckers too as there are idiots out there that are not on this forum who wrap ther cars around things.
So a google search for "parts finder" (or is it find a part) where the site puts out mass post to wreckers around the country and they email back to you the price they want.
Could be a cheap way to find what you are looking for.
Pendle Hill has quite a few Jap wreckers. Try there.
You might be able to find a cheap TT motor you could use as you don't have to use the turbos as you already have the NA parts on the stuffed motor. I might be wrong here but an't the NA and TT the same core?

 

In a perfect world that would be good advice, but a quality rebuild of your existing engine is going to be costly(much more than buying a good SH item).
Reporting an engine swap (due to catastrophic engine failure)is a very straight forward procedure at the RTA(particularly if it's a straight NA swap, rather than a TT upgrade).

 

Cool, thanks for the info. Yeah I thought it would cost more to fix the engine than do a straight swap.


Money is the only thing thats on my mind now.. thats and the wife glaring at me when I mention wanting to fix the car up...

 

Really sorry to hear how it came out. I was set to come by last night but Arv stopped by my place and told me at the last minute not to as you already knew the result.

Goes without saying, if you decide to keep it on the side, I'm more then happy to donate my time when needed.

My suggestion? Keep it. Sooner or later a bargain will pop up on the for sale thread. Might be able to pick up an NA motor for a bargain then just throw a Tech day, buy some meat and drinks the night before, fire up the Barbecue and invite some of the guys over. Sure more then a few would show up? I know I would lol.

MoulaZX

 

Thanks heaps man.. thats a possibility too.... to keep it and wait for an NA motor to show up... but the wife might not be too happy about it... plus I just got Rego for it too, so might have to cancel that to make some money back...

SO many choices, but all require money, time and mechanical skills. I don't even have too much space in my house, so will have to think about it long and hard, but thanks for the support and suggestion and offer to help. Will keep ya'll in mind...

 

Absolute worst case scenario. I have plenty of room in my backyard. If the old man gives the okay, you could take off Rego, buy a car cover and I'll put it in my backyard till you decide what you want to do with it. Being less then 5 minutes away, its not like you'll ever be that far from it.

At the very least, if you decide to keep it for a long term fix, take off the rego, get some cash back and store it. Lurk the forums in the mean time for aforementioned bargain.

As for the mechanical skills, you can just accumulate all the needed parts over a period. Then like I said, through a big Tech Day inviting forum members to come over and give you a hand.

MoulaZX

 

Wow! That sounds great man... since all I have is a tiny garage that barely is big enough for the car now, that would be pretty good...

Yeah got to talk about this with the wife and see if she is ok with me keeping it and trying to fix it...

So I paid like 300 for the rego and 700 for greenslip... how much do you think I can get back if I unregister the car?

 

hey mate sorry to hear about your car but s$%t happens,

i dunno if it helps buy my advise will be to cancel your rego and put the car on stands untill you have the funds to drop new engine into it.

once you have the engine throw a tech day and most of the zedders on here will be more than happy to come give you a hand..i know i'll be there.

but all he best mate and sorry to hear, i've seen your car being bashed around by the previous owner around my suburbs.

so all the best and if you do decide to pull the engine shoot me a pm as im about a 20 min dirive from penrith so more than happy to come and lend a hand. i know for sure ive been through my share of sh!t with the zed and have been helped by people on the forum so just keep your chin up and in time you'll get it on the road.

all the best mate

 

Speak to your insurer and ask them. Then talk to the RTA and ask them as well. Just tell them the situation, car is out of commision and will not be moving while bring repaired (if thats what you decide obviously).

Honestly I couldn't give you even a ball park figure as I've never 'refunded' Rego or Insurance.

MoulaZX