Mechanicals are fine as the engines were in lots of GMs; the hassle will be body parts as the cars get older.
If you’re wondering about the availability of used parts, check the local pick-and-pull salvage yards in your area. Most of them will have a website where they list the inventory of cars they have. It’ll give you a sense of how easy it would be to find the right scrapped car. There’s also the nationwide Car-Part.com site that shows parts from all over the country.
My dad had a TR-4. It was great. TR-3 also good, but not as dependable. My brother had a bugeye Sprite. Loved that car.
Had no idea. I just sold a rusty BMW e10 for $4k and am regretting it. Should have got six. 
My Dad bought a Triumph Spitfire in the late 1970’s as a “Hawaii car”. It was British Green and he had it repainted in canary yellow. I was like 8 at the time and dubbed the car the “Yellowbird”.
Cool car. I remember riding in the Yellowbird on my Grandpa’s lap while my Dad drove. We were on our way to Aloha Stadium to see the Pro Bowl.We sat right behind Russ Francis.
A neighbor was selling his 2002 Porche Boxster for $6000. He’s owned it for many years. I took it for a test drive. It was O.K., but I didn’t end up buying it because:
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I asked him a question about the type of oil it used. He said, “Well, uh, I’m not really sure what kind of oil it uses…” I took this as a red flag. I was expecting a response along the lines, “Oh yes, I only use X oil, and I change it [or have it changed] religiously every Y miles.”
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I figured I would end up dead if I were in a front-end collision.
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I don’t have the space to have a “fun-driving summer car.” Being rear-wheel drive, I bet it sucks in the winter.
checking/filling the power steering fluid level is a 32-step process.
no joke.
Safety in a head-on collision is a factor of crumple space, which is an engineered function of the body/frame, not simply just having an engine in front of you. In fact, having the motor in front is a challenge to work around as the designers have to figure out where it goes in a crash, with the wrong answer being “in your lap.”
to clarify, the powerpack (engine/trans) is typically designed to “drop” so it doesn’t go crashing through the firewall. IIRC usually done by the engine cradle/crossmember breaking free of the “subframe” rails as they crumple.
Maybe consider the BMW Z3. The ones pre-1999 had both 4 and 6 cylinder versions. The 4’s will be cheaper and easier to work on, but they feel a little underpowered. You’d probably want to get a 6 for the fun aspect. The engine shares a lot of parts with the 3-series sedans at that time, so used parts are easy to come by (new as well).
As an aside, the Z3 4-cylinder situation ticked me off. The Z3 was supposed to be a slightly upmarket response to the Miata - nicer, but no more powerful. People groused about it having just 4 cylinders, so they added a 6, then a bigger 6, then an ///M version - and people groused “Why’s it so expensive? It’s supposed to be like a Miata…”
:smack:
I think the increase in power and heavier engine is the root of the subframe problems some developed - it wasn’t originally designed for them.
Dons annoying car guy hat
To be fair, the Z3 was a good 500 lbs heavier than the Miata for any given year, which is fine if it was intended to be an upscale Miata but IIRC the early 4 cylinder Z3s actually made less horsepower than an equivalent 1.8L Miata despite carrying a quarter ton more weight. It’s a tough sell.
The Z3 was also a parts-bin special; whereas the Miata was a ground-up design that shared very little with the only other RWD car Mazda made (the RX-7), the Z3 was just a chopped down E36 with an E30 rear end. Since both the E30 and E36 had 6 cylinder options, it should have been able to handle it, and it didn’t really do any worse than either of its platform mates, as both the E30 and (especially) the E36 also have known subframe issues.
It was a competent roadster for the time, it just wasn’t particularly inspired.
Doffs annoy car guy hat, dons Miata fanboy hat
Back to the OP, I’d encourage you to take another look at the Miata. Yes, they’re everywhere, but they’re infinitely customizable. My Miata looks only like my Miata, it appeals to car people because of the mods I’ve done, as well as to non-car-people who really have no idea what it is and just see a low slung roadster. Having been a “hot hatch” guy for years and years, I’m now spoiled by having a car that people actually respond to.
I owned a 2002 Miata and 2003 MR2. Both awesome cars. I ended up keeping the MR2. I preferred the MR2’s looks. The Miatas are so common that it would be like marrying your sister.
Bumping this thread because I’ve just bought a 1989 Nissan 300ZX (“Z31”), for $1400. Yes, $1400. It was on Craigslist. It has a little over 180,000 miles. The exterior looks almost brand new. Here’s a picture of it. The blue cloth interior is in fine shape, no conspicuous wear anywhere on it. I saw it on Craigslist two days ago and went to look at it yesterday morning. Owner was a younger guy (early 20s?) with several other project cars who claimed he bought it a year ago from “an old man who kept it under a cover” and was the only previous owner. Sounded like a bullshit line, but I inspected the thing carefully and found very few faults and only a handful of small rusty patches, none visible from the exterior or under the hood or the rear carpet/spare tire area. Test drove it and it ran very smoothly and very quitely, and drove fantastically. Has a great clutch with just the right amount of travel and “bite”, shifts flawlessly through the gears, the shifter is tight with little play, and the engine (non-turbo) has a satisfying amount of torque.
Still wondering if there was a catch, I arranged for a mechanic friend to re-inspect the car with me. He said it was the cleanest 300ZX he’d ever seen and that I’d be crazy not to buy it. So I paid for it with cash right there on the spot. The seller provided a legit title.
The only issues that need to be addressed: it has a power steering leak, it will eventually need new shocks, brakes, and belt, and the brake lights stay on even after the car is turned off. I was informed that this is due to a faulty brake light switch, an easy fix, but in the meantime, I have to keep a piece of wood wedged under the brake pedal applying backwards pressure on it in order to keep the brake lights from draining the battery (!) Also, there’s no stereo. Big deal.
I don’t know what other potential problems the future has in store for this thing; probably a lot of little ones, hopefully no major ones. I’m not gonna sink money into it if it starts outright falling apart, but I’ll take care of manageable issues over time and try to extend its life as long as is practical to do so. It’s not going to be a daily driver, and will sit in the garage when it’s not being used.
Anyone who has knowledge of this car, please feel free to share.
Cool! No knowledge of the car to share, I’m afraid, but cool! It seems like you’re going into this with eyes wide open, and worst-case scenario you’re out a couple of grand. On the other hand, it could be a real fairytale find. Shame it’s not the turbo, but that should reduce your bills considerably. Enjoy!
You want to turn heads? Fiat X1/9 — designed by Giugiaro. gImages here: Fiat X1/9 - Google Search
And reliable, and easy to work on. Yes — reliable. I owned one, a 1979, for 90,000 almost trouble-free miles. Only the starter died, once. That was it.
I’ll take that bet, and you would lose — mid-engine RWD cars are great in the snow. The engine weight is over the drive wheels, which is egg-zachary where you want it. My X1/9 passed many a car/Jeep/SUV on snowy, slushy winter roads.
But the OP got a sweet deal on his Z, and it looks and sounds like a great deal. Enjoy!
Mine isn’t a turbo, but frankly, I was informed by one of my gearhead friends that a turbocharger just means more things to potentially go wrong - especially on a car this old.
I’ve always admired that profile of the long hood and sloped hatchback gate. My two 1989 Dodge Daytona Shelbys were similar. It seems like OP did well, thanks for the update.
Yes indeed. I had a 1985 MR2, which I dearly loved. It was fantastic in the snow, even without snow tires. As Bullitt suggests, one of the central criteria is the proportion of the car’s mass over the driven wheels. Mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive cars are fantastic in the snow for the same reason front-engined, front-wheel drive cars are.
That looks like a great car and you’ll have a lot of fun. Have you owned an older car like this before? It’s pretty normal to have various things needing to be worked on on a regular basis. Part of the problem is all the plastic, rubber, gaskets, and flexible parts will eventually degrade due to age, so it’s pretty common to deal with things like leaks and stuff. Also, parts may be a little harder to come by. I bring this up just to make sure you set your expectations about repairs accordingly. An older car can be a lot of fun, but it’s also a bit of a hobby to keep it running. The good thing is that older cars are often much easier to work on. Everything is simpler and generally more accessible than on modern cars. If you don’t mind putting in the time to work on it, you can save a lot of money in repair costs.
One other thing that can help is to find salvage yards in your area which specialize in these cars. That can be a great way to get used parts. If you have the space on your property, consider buying a junker yourself so you can scavenge parts as you need.