| My buddy has been looking around for an older "fun" car to purchase for a reasonable price lately and he keeps asking me all kinds of questions about Z's. He really wants to get one. In fact, he has narrowed his search down to an '83 Porsche 928 S and a '92 Wht 300Z TT... The Porsche is absolutely beautiful for an '83 and the original owner spent A LOT to restore. I told him if he drove a TT Z, he's not gonna want another car. So he found this Z, and it is beautiful as well. Interior is completely re-done, 1 owner (an older gentleman) and 82k original miles. The problem is the timing belt broke on the car. When he told me this, I told him nicely to "move on." He can't seem to move on because he likes the car immensely and it really is practically a steal at what the guy is asking.. So, my buddy asks me, "why can't I just replace the belt..?" At that point I discussed with him the way the Z engine works and that there could possibly and likely would be damage to the internals, especially the valves due to that belt breaking. My question is, at what price tag would make this car "worth it"? If he can get this older guy to sell it to him for a couple thousand, how much is he gonna have to pay to rebuild the engine? Ballpark? Is it as likely as I think that the internals are in fact damaged? Either way, will he have to open the engine up, or should he take the chance, replace the belt, and attempt to drive??? If he does the latter, will he risk "extensive" damage, or is the engine FUBAR to begin with due to the belt break and it doesn't really matter? It seems like the seller is really motivated to sell because of this headache he envisions from the work this car likely needs... If my buddy doesn't buy it, I might, as the new project car, if I can obtain it for $3k... In my opinion, that would be a steal and well worth it to rebuild. Thanks for your help, guys JP
My Sport: Driving a Z... Because with baseball, football, basketball, tennis, and golf, you only need one ball |
