Greetings all,
Picked up a 97 2.8 Z3 in Dragon Green with 80k miles on it at the weekend.
My wife has had a hankering for one for a while and as I love a soft-top and like to get my hands dirty with a bit of maintenance/upgrading/modding, a "fixer-upper" Z3 seemed to fit the bill quite well.
After looking on the usual sites for a while we came across ours. The description seemed to fit the bill for what we wanted (i.e. something that was essentially straight but that needed a little tlc) so we duly bid and won.
Wasn't 100% sure what to expect when we went to collect it - I was expecting to have to do some work on it but wasn't sure how much. However it looks like we've done quite well for ourselves - the engine runs perfectly and there are no nasty noises from the suspension, the hood is tidy (and works) even the bodywork is in good condition with only a handful of chips and little parking marks.
The steering seems OK to though I think the bushes are starting to get a little tired as it's a little vague but still reasonably accurate and doesn't seem to tramline so I'll start by replacing the rear bushes on the front arms and work my way from there I think. The only negatives so far are with the drivers seat which has a bit of a rip by the seat belt guide and worn bushes so moves a bit - have ordered a set off the shop here to fix that though
As for me, I'm a reasonably active member on a few Subaru forums, and currently run a subtly tweaked Impreza WRX wagon (no nasty body kits or super loud exhausts I might add!). Having previously owned 2 other Imprezas and a Forester so most of my recent knowledge is with turbo'd flat fours and AWD but prior to Subarus, I ran a few Pug GTis (205, 306, 206) and more recently we've had a Leon FR TSFi and a couple of Mini Cooper S (one hard top, one soft top) - there's a much longer list than that but I'll save it for my footer!
I'll no doubt find a few jobs as our ownership progresses and I'm sure this site will become a mecca for help and assistance.
Looking forward to learning about the Z3 and having a bit of fun with RWD
Picked up a 97 2.8 Z3 in Dragon Green with 80k miles on it at the weekend.
My wife has had a hankering for one for a while and as I love a soft-top and like to get my hands dirty with a bit of maintenance/upgrading/modding, a "fixer-upper" Z3 seemed to fit the bill quite well.
After looking on the usual sites for a while we came across ours. The description seemed to fit the bill for what we wanted (i.e. something that was essentially straight but that needed a little tlc) so we duly bid and won.
Wasn't 100% sure what to expect when we went to collect it - I was expecting to have to do some work on it but wasn't sure how much. However it looks like we've done quite well for ourselves - the engine runs perfectly and there are no nasty noises from the suspension, the hood is tidy (and works) even the bodywork is in good condition with only a handful of chips and little parking marks.
The steering seems OK to though I think the bushes are starting to get a little tired as it's a little vague but still reasonably accurate and doesn't seem to tramline so I'll start by replacing the rear bushes on the front arms and work my way from there I think. The only negatives so far are with the drivers seat which has a bit of a rip by the seat belt guide and worn bushes so moves a bit - have ordered a set off the shop here to fix that though
As for me, I'm a reasonably active member on a few Subaru forums, and currently run a subtly tweaked Impreza WRX wagon (no nasty body kits or super loud exhausts I might add!). Having previously owned 2 other Imprezas and a Forester so most of my recent knowledge is with turbo'd flat fours and AWD but prior to Subarus, I ran a few Pug GTis (205, 306, 206) and more recently we've had a Leon FR TSFi and a couple of Mini Cooper S (one hard top, one soft top) - there's a much longer list than that but I'll save it for my footer!
I'll no doubt find a few jobs as our ownership progresses and I'm sure this site will become a mecca for help and assistance.
Looking forward to learning about the Z3 and having a bit of fun with RWD
