Z1 Inherited - Need Advice

[John Smith]

I recently inherited a 1989 Z1 and which has 86,000 km and is in generally good condition but has some damage. The engine was well maintained but required a cylinder head repair in 2008. The front and rear bumpers are damaged and there are several areas of damage to the side panels which have hairline cracks. The leather interior and fabric is showing some wear and tear.

Here in Germany there are a number of Z1’s in comparable condition on the market for around 15-20K € but some in top condition offered north of 40K.

I am trying to decide where to start and the best strategy for eventually selling.
Would it be advisable to invest in repairing/restoring, holding as value appreciates or just selling as-is? How best to market….e.g. Auction, on-line, newspaper, here?
Thank you for offering a helpful resource to Z1 owners,
Any help or tips are appreciated!

Here are some pictures showing the condition:

 

[oldcarman]

Hi, and welcome from Canada! I have no experience with the Z1 but envy your aquitition which unfortunetly was due to the lose of someone who cared for you very much. There are many people on forum that will be along shortly to welcome you and provide answers to your questions. Sorry for your lose, enjoy the car! JIM

 

[GazHyde]

Welcome John,

The poor little thing looks like it needs some attention!

Replacement body panels are going to be hard to track down, so you will need to find someone who can repair the existing fibre glass panels. There is a guy on here who can make panels assuming he can get one to make the mold from. @Stormy_be may be able to comment on the damage in the photos.

I'm guessing the decision will come down to how much it's going to cost to get it to the top end sale prices, and how enthusiastic you are in getting in to a project which could take quite some effort to complete. Some parts are pretty rare now, so you may have to do a lot of searching!

Cheers, Gary

 

[John Smith]

Hi, and welcome from Canada! I have no experience with the Z1 but envy your aquitition which unfortunetly was due to the lose of someone who cared for you very much. There are many people on forum that will be along shortly to welcome you and provide answers to your questions. Sorry for your lose, enjoy the car! JIM

@oldcarman
Thank you for the kind words!
The car belonged to my Mother-in-law and was her pride and joy!
Unfortunately the Z1 is not the ideal choice to drive the family around in.

 

[Stormy_be]

Cracks can be repaired. No problem there.
Or you could go the full mile and have them replaced.

If you would sell the car, I would just repair the cracks (as that wouldn't cost too much).
IF you would keep the car (as value will only go up for these cars), I would look at the state of some of the panels, and may replace some.
A general issue with the Z1's panels is degradation. All Z1's have this. And it has been the case that some panels still look top condition, but almost fall apart when dismantled.
That's an extra reason for not finding many spare/2nd-hand parts.
Making new, copies of the, panels would not be any issue, as you have an original. (case of replacing them before they fall apart, because that it would be 10x harder - and therefore more pricey - to make a mould without an original part)

As you have known the owner (and you know how it has been maintained), you know if the car is in good condition or not.
You know best if there are any "hidden features".

Essen is not far from Belgium.
(Have been to the Essen motor show a couple of times in the past)

Regards, Koen

 

[John Smith]

Quick Update...
Been reviewing the excellent suggestions and advice left since my first post. I thank you all!
We've agonized over what to do with the car since MIL passed away last year. The costs and difficulties locating parts and arranging service appears daunting.

@Koen Small world, we attended the Essen Classic Motor Show in the past. Want to exhibit but too embarassed to display next to other oldtimers in "MINT" condition.

We have an estimate from 2009 to repair the front/rear bumper damage which came in at over 5K Euro. Granted that was from an official local BMW dealer and I suspect the prices are *Slightly* inflated??? Problem is, I do not know where to seek out garages that specializes in such repairs.

 

[Aceman]

John I would certainly seriously consider getting this old girl repaired as Z1's will only ever appreciate in value. I think it would be a great project for someone like Koen who could make new panels and possibly make it a business adventure at the same time (there's an idea!) as Z1 panels are very rare and hard to come by which makes then expensive too. If there was a reliable source of replacement panels there would definitely be money to be made so I think opportunities are there to be made if you two could get together for your own mutual benefits.

Anyway I hope you can get this beautiful car sorted one way or another and all the best whatever direction you take.

 

[zedonist]

I hate to say this, but please hook up on zroadster.net they have a large number of active Z1 owners that can help you locate parts, suppliers and indie garages. I think you should try and restore the old girl, if only for the memory of your loved one but also they deserve to be saved, and presently the key people to help are on that site.

Good luck with what ever you decide to do with this classic icon.

 

[Stormy_be]

Quick Update...
Been reviewing the excellent suggestions and advice left since my first post. I thank you all!
We've agonized over what to do with the car since MIL passed away last year. The costs and difficulties locating parts and arranging service appears daunting.

@Koen Small world, we attended the Essen Classic Motor Show in the past. Want to exhibit but too embarassed to display next to other oldtimers in "MINT" condition.

We have an estimate from 2009 to repair the front/rear bumper damage which came in at over 5K Euro. Granted that was from an official local BMW dealer and I suspect the prices are *Slightly* inflated??? Problem is, I do not know where to seek out garages that specializes in such repairs.

As suggested implicitly in my reply: I do fiberglass work.
For the moment it's still "a hobby", but it's starting to get bigger than that. And a official business start-up request is ongoing.
For example: I have build an AC Cobra replica in the past and I'm for the moment creating moulds for all the Z3 panels.

If you would go down the other road: I could be interested in buying the car from you, to be able to restore it.....
I have always liked the Z1.
As you said, I'm sure it's not easy to get it back in mint condition....but it wouldn't be a project otherwise, right.
I can imagine this would be a project costing money and certainly investing a lot of time....but a real car enthusiast doesn't mind that to get a car back into mint condition, it's a passion.

Regards, Koen

 

[TaffZee]

Going by the pictures you have posted, the repairs needed are in my opinion minor and could easily be repaired by a good body work specialist, and if you spent a bit of time and elbow grease on the interior you will be amazed how this will come up, obviously repairs on the interior will need to be done by the correct people but you are not talking a lot of money to bring this rare mark up to scratch (re spray being the most costly keeping original colour of course), any money spent would be a massive investment for you. I would suggest that by investing around 3,000 to 5,000 Euros would give the car a new lease of life, and a easy resale value of around 22,000 to 25,000 Euros. And as already said the price will go up over the years, get it done and drive it while it appriciates in value, best of both worlds...

 

[Stormy_be]

The questions you have to ask yourself:

Would the idea of "saving a classic" be the idea behind it (by you or someone else) or getting the most money out of it (nothing wrong intended with that) ?
Would you intend to keep it, or to sell it? (in the short and/or in the long term)
Do you want to invest the time and elbow grease to get it in better, very good or mint condition?

Regards, Koen

 

[bessieblue]

i would suggest that the repairs would be better done by an enthusiast than just getting it ready for sale.

 

[hard top]

Z1 Bodywork.

http://www.bmwz1.co.uk/z1body.htm

 

[Rev]

To respray the car properly it would need disassembly. Reading about this is interesting stuff. The body panels seem to become brittle with age and the reassembly is the difficult task. They must be refitted and aligned properly or they crack due to stress. Theres then the issue of the interior and parts. Not a job for the faint hearted as many of the parts are discontinued and unavailable.

It's an enthusiasts car and a car that love and attention needs to be lavished on. I suspect that it will end up in the hands of someone that can do this. It's certainly not a cheap fix job, but one thats definitely worth while. I think the cars are under valued, but the parts and difficulty finding them are the reason. There have been many cars broken for parts as they are now becoming so very difficult to find. BMW should have supported it more in my opinion, the values would have risen much higher if they had.

Theres to be a TV program on the restoration of one soon by wheeler dealers. I saw the car for sale.

http://www.discoveryuk.com/web/wheeler-dealers/buy-the-cars/

The car I believe is now sold, but looking at the past programs make me sceptical about the quality of what they've done. In past episodes I'd say they do nothing but "Tart" them up. A true and proper resto costs a fortune.

Whatever you do with it good luck and I hope it all turns out well.

 

[t-tony]

I thought I'd never see one Nick but I passed one on the way into work today. It would be a good fit in my garage........ if only.

 

[Rev]

I thought I'd never see one Nick but I passed one on the way into work today. It would be a good fit in my garage........ if only.

If you didn't spend so much time in Florida sunning yourself!!!

Theres only 105 in the UK so it was a good spot.

I once took the Z8 to a meeting I had to attend in a small village near Witney. Pulled up in the car park and there was a nice red one there. That would have made a good spot as well as I parked next to him.

I've seen about four on the roads over the years. Silverstone two years ago was a big spotting day. There were a lot there.

As I said, nice car and a great addition to a garage. The only "Z" I've never owned.

 

[t-tony]

If I spot one in the Orlando area I will post a picture. The one I passed this morning was a nice red one too. The bodywork does unfortunately make them more of a specialist type of restoration and those are thin on the ground.
I really enjoyed your day with Frankie by the way, thank you for giving him some great views and video.

 

[Rev]

It was a lovely day. Strange how these things make you go out and about when I'd have been at work normally. He loved Sandringham and the pleasure was really all mine. A beautiful day, the sun shone, lunch at the Victoria, a day in Norfolk, and I turned the wheels of a lovely car. All things I'd have not done if Frankie hadn't visited.

Whats not to like??

 

[John Smith]

Thanks all-around for the great tips and advice, it is really helping us form a plan.


After carefully weighing our options, we are leaning towards selling. Sadly, because of career demands and future plans we simply do not have the time or dedication necessary to devote to restoring to mint condition.

@Koen Our aim at this stage is to repair the damage to the bumper, panels and restoring the interior leather which is pretty worn on the driver-side.
PM is on the way shortly to discuss

 

[Stormy_be]

Thanks all-around for the great tips and advice, it is really helping us form a plan.


After carefully weighing our options, we are leaning towards selling. Sadly, because of career demands and future plans we simply do not have the time or dedication necessary to devote to restoring to mint condition.

@Koen Our aim at this stage is to repair the damage to the bumper, panels and restoring the interior leather which is pretty worn on the driver-side.
PM is on the way shortly to discuss

No problem.
Always willing to help save a classic.

Regards, Koen