stallion114

In the next couple years I plan on having my 94 Z28 restored.
It was my first car which I purchased when I was 16 years old and I have had it stored since 2007 when I graduated college. I was able to store at my Dads company and figured the sentimental value far exceeded the value of selling at the time.

Anyway I finally settled down in a semi permanent location and thinking of moving it to my garages.

First Question is what do I need to do prior to starting it?

Secondly what do you think my cost to restore would be?
The tranny was slipping occasionally about a month before I stored it so Im sure that will be a rebuild.
I would really like to have it restored inside and out just trying to figure my cost. I figured 10K to do it right.
I am basically looking for a car to go get ice cream on a sunday afternoon or just tool around in on occasion.
Please let me know if anything looks way off. Trying to weigh the value of having my first car and whether I should just go buy a low mileage properly stored investment grade 94-97 Z or SS and be done with it.
It is a polo greem 94Z, black leather interior with the A4, has headers, and some small boltons.
I have no interest in trying to make it a race car or even anything fast as todays standards require a lot of work to keep up with say the new SS Camaros or 5.0s.

Tranny rebuild-1200
Tires-800
New leather/carpet-2000
New Paint-3000
Leaves me 3000 for whatever else needs to be replaced engine issues, suspension, etc.

Also considering just buying a crate engine with tranny. I highly doubt this will ever be a collector car to anyone buy me so not to worried about maintaining OEM in that regard.

Fatdog2

An article in hot rod magazine said make a complete list on what has to be done with all the (real costs),then, double it.Unless you really love the car,I would consider a good low mileage car at a reasonable cost.I saw on autotrader a sweet 97 with 44,600 miles on it for about $8,000 in your state in a place called Pease Minn.Hope this helps.

stallion114

Ouch on doubling but probably good advice.
A quick autotrader search showed some really nice super low mileage examples.
They have a 97 z white with orange stripes with 297 miles for 22.5.
Also several under 10k miles in the teens.


Although I'll probably have to at least get mine running to sell it.
Any tips to do before starting it? Will I have to drop the gas tank?

I might just hold out until a polo green comes up at the right price and pretend it was mine!

Fatdog2

Is the body in good shape(big dents?).
How many miles?Slowly changing my mind on this if just an ice cream getter.
Like change all the fluids starting with the brake fluid ,trans,motor oil,power steering fluid ect.New battery,gas filter(you'll be changing these a lot to remove the crap from the tank.)Throw a bottle of Chevron techron in with every fill-up for about 2000 mi. or so to clear the injectors.Clean( shampoo the carpet with a carpet shampoo upholstery attachment) or use tuff stuff from walmart to clean bad spots.Buy new floor mats at kragen or walmart .If the dash is cracked get a dash cover.Get some seat covers from the above places or your choice.A real good paint job should maybe cost $2500.or less.Plugs and wires are a no brainer.New shocks ,wheel alignment,new tires.I've read where header bolts should be tightened once a year.Do the cheap stuff first.Might bring a smile to you.Hope this helps.
On a side note when the trans fluid is flushed I think it holds 9 quarts or so (Find out) but a the trans flush only pulls about 4 quarts.Get changed again after a few hundred miles or so.And change the motor oil again if the oil looks dirty after your last change.Sorry for the long post but I'm on a roll here.My02.

stallion114

Body is in great shape. No dents whatsoever with the exception of maybe 1-2 door dings. (very small)
Car has 100K miles on the dot. The engine ran strong up until when I put it away. All I did was add fuel stabilizer and park it.
The interior looks really good overall. I went and checked on it about 5 years ago and the only thing that was a problem was the adhesive in the headliner failed and it was sagging. The seats don't have any tears but the padding is worn out on the driver seat making it look flat.

If I were to get it towed for a full fluid change prior to starting would I have to do anything to prime the engine prior to starting? Im afraid all of the gaskets would have dry rotted and also worried about starting a car that's been sitting that long for lubrication purposes. Also would it be wise to do an oil change prior to starting?

I am living in a different state right now but will probably fly home one weekend to get the ball rolling.

I have no intentions of daily driving, more just want bragging rights of having my first car (or similar to first car). I have a daily driver, and a viper as a toy car, so this would be used as a second toy car.

Fatdog2

Before my dad past on in the 80's he had a 3 year old buick riviera that sat for
about a year and we had it towed to a mechanic to do the complete maintenance and it was money well spent.They checked the fuel pressure,sucked out the old gas,changed all the filters,changed all the fluids and did a compression test and some other stuff.That's what I would do if time was limited.I wouldn't do anything until the vehicle was completely checked out.Hope this helps.(I would not go to a dealer).