I'm interested in buying a first or second generation Z. I'll be getting a touch of money coming up after a good decade and a half of poverty. The corolla I've been driving has been sweet and nearly repair-free, but it's just not that fun. I originally thought of an old porsche, but I don't really want porsche pricing and porsche overhead. Early miatas have the rep as the bang for your buck car for reliability and fun, but I don't care for the styling or convertibles in general. I've always had a bit of a thing for the datsun Z's. I love the styling, and while it's not exactly a muscle car, it's zippy for the weight and seems fun to drive. one can say the same for the mid 90s,
6th gen celicas. but I'm not much for fancy pants items like power steering and power windows. And I have a strong prefernce for the styling of the Z's. It seems to me like the price is right on the old Z's. I don't care much for the 300's and higher. I don't like the styling at all. it's nearly as bad as the 1980s RX7s. I'm not looking for a collectible to restore to show quality. I want something that's mechanically sound that won't be a sinkhole for repairs, which will last me for a few good years, which I can start learning autocross with, and which I can then pass on to somone else in good faith.When I was flirting with the air cooled porsches, there seemed to be a whole lot of well organized information on the net and a number of buying guides available on amazon.
I'm at a bit of a loss finding the same sorts of information on Z's. I've checked out Z-club. The only FAQ I could find associated with this group was something about batteries. I've googled, and found Zhome, which has a few good articles like where to look for rust, but nothing approaching a comprehensive guide to purchasing one of these machines, or a good guide to the year by year differences. I'm getting little pieces of information that I'm piecing together, but it would be nice to have it in one place. I've looked at the zcar webring, and nothing jumped out.
So I have two questions: 1) what are good sources to learn more about z cars and how to buy a good one, either print or HTML? there are only a few books listed on amazon, and googling isn't turning up much that's good. Is there a site I'm missing?
2) is there a preferred early Z mechanic in Seattle? The Z car webring mentions a place in Tacoma. That's a 45 minute or more drive, and there are plenty of nice older Z's around town. I don't imagine that they all drive that far. I'm a firm believer in getting a car inspected professionally, and would like to have a relationship with a good seattle area shop before shopping seriously for a fun car.Thanks,
Shamus