Squeaky wheel...

Nice work :tup: Good luck with the inspection!

Thanks. The more I thought about it the less I wanted to lose my Z. I can't justify replacing it with another RWD sports car now that I have a 13 month old and everything else I like is out of my budget if I don't want a car payment (which I don't). I thought about an S3 or Golf R but even the Audi guys told me the handling would leave me disappointed if I'm coming from a Z.

Plus even after 11 years the Z is still one of the best looking cars in the road IMO.

Time to see if it's worth fixing. I think structurally it's all still good. What I've got are 3 deployed airbags, a broken wheel, broken lower control arm and sway bar end, fenders, hood, and windshield that are toast, and pretty much all the plastic junk from the radiator core support forward is annihilated. The engine still starts right up on the first crank and I don't think the strut towers moved at all.:ugh2:

Best of luck!

You have about $8k-$9k in parts, bodywork and paint, if you do disassembly and assembly yourself. If you do dont mechanical work, than add about 80-100 hours of labor at whatever rate. Your best bet is to get a flood or rear end collison Z and use the parts from that. good luck.

All mechanical work and paint will be done by myself and a buddy who repairs/builds cars professionally. There won't be any bodywork apart from maybe sandable primer as all damaged panels are just getting replaced and everything from the doors back is fine. The whole car will get new clear and a bunch of wet sanding, however (since Nissan factory finish is sh*t anyway IMO). I hear you on a parts Z. That's really my best bet for all the incidental junk up front... especially since it's a nismo. The front bumper parts are my biggest concern. Z1 has the OEM nismo conversion kit but for $2500 I'd rather be buying exhaust and fun parts.

I could easily just buy another Z... but I don't want another Z if that makes any sense.

I should probably make a build thread. New stuff on the way: Mishimoto radiator, Z1 diff upgrade kit with Whiteline bushings, every idler pulley on the engine plus tensioner, serpentine belt, oil pan spacer, and vented carbon hood. If I can get a donor car at auction (got 1 lead so far) I'm in business. Then on to stage 2: Fast Intentions TT, clutch upgrade, motor mounts, exhaust, etc.

Debating changing the color too. Dark metallic orange maybe? Black is just too damn hard to keep up with.