Just signed up as I'm turning my thoughts towards creating a MK1 Z20 (ashamed to admit it but have been for over a decade), and reckoned I'll likely need to ask a few questions along the way, so what better place than this. I'm guessing before I can attach images, I'll need to prove myself through a minimum number of posts beforehand?
The upside of sitting on my hands for so long is it's allowed me to more or less source everything needed (famous last words), plus I've had a MK1 in bits for much the same length of time. It'll likely be the standard, mechanical side of things where the work's needed and questions will arise. I've been playing at tinkering with other cars recently and definitely know abit more than I did when I started but I'm still very, very far off tackling this without picking brains.
I was the same. I joined the site for brain picking and help though the rust I found on mine good luck on the journey.
Thanks... though don't be expecting any great posts just yet. Working on another car at the moment and all being well this one'll be next. Lesson previously learned and hoping to save myself avoidable delays by tracking down any less easily obtained parts over the winter.
Anyone not familiar with a Z20 here's an old inter-web piccie, unfortunately not mine but it'll be the template for it...
I think it’s 10 post. Probably is the best way of getting parts took me 10 weeks to find one window trim. I now have a shed and a tent full of bits. Think I spend more time looking for parts.
It's an illness... the number of bits'n'pieces I've bought over the years thinking 'I'll maybe need one of those' or 'what if I don't have a spare', is ridiculous. Having said that, if I'd kept some of them they'd possibly be worth something now. Bit more difficult nowadays, but I used to find stuff from all over the world... amazing what's out there if you know exactly what you're after.
I was Googling while you were blaspheming. That piccy was from a for sale advert for that particular car from a very long time ago. Someone might be able to confirm if my memory is playing tricks on me or not. Did there used to be a VW specialist whose owner had the surname Greene, I think his garage was Volks Wagens or something similar? This image I presume is his property in the background if that helps, I've something nagging at me saying he was located in / near a well known forest?
Hoarding parts and cars is a condition I'm sure plenty of heads on here suffer from! If you have the space to do it for free, I reckon parts cars work out best. I recently made a quick and dirty spreadsheet to sanity check storage cost vs value of my current 'fleet' of rot boxes and was shocked with the results. Basically if you're paying for storage, even if it's cheep, it adds up and before you know it you've spent wayyyy too much. Also turns out selling cars/parts takes more time and is much harder than buying them Good luck with the build - I'd wager you've got at best 75% of the parts you need heh. Those little extra bits and bobs are sneaky bar stewards. Pretty bold to make a kitted mk1 these days - looking forward to seeing your progress
I'm happy I've 99.9% of the Zender bits to do it, the regular MK1 underpinnings not so much. Then there'll be all the bits you thought were OK until you shine some light on them and find out how wrong you are. Thankfully seems to be much more stuff available through remanufacturing nowadays than when I first got the car, which should hopefully be a good thing. This is the car when I got it, must be 12 years ago now and the second piccy is it quite recently. Hanging my head in shame at what I've done to it over the years in between...
After days of brain storming have finally remembered who the seller of the helios blue Z20 pictured above was - Ian Green of Wagenwheels, apparently based near Southampton. Just spent an hour scouring the Wayback Machine and quite a few captures of the old defunct site still available to view, spanning from early 2003 to 2019, though unfortunately haven't found the original Z20 advert yet. If you're at a loose end, worth a look and if your car ever went through his hands might be lucky and find a pic. or two. https://web.archive.org/web/20190101000000*/http://www.wagenwheels.co.uk
Bingo... found it but it's just a thumbnail a third way down the page and the link to it's not saved, damn! https://web.archive.org/web/20130525082809/http://www.wagenwheels.co.uk/gallery.htm