Prospective Z owner from derbyshire

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Dave B

Well-Known Forum User
Hi guys,
Been browsing for a while so thought i'd register.
I'm up in Chesterfield, and hoping to buy an S30 in the near future.
Ive had a few Jap cars in recent years, just sold an Evo X, and had an Evo 8 and a Skyline R32 Gtr in recent years also.
I've a yearning for something old school as a project to get my teeth into now though, after deliberating a mk1 escort for a while I've fallen in love with the shape of the Z. Dream car to build for me, is a 240z, in lime green, with zg flares, and an Rb25/26 transplant. (still miss the sound of my skyline lol)
Not fussed about rhd particularly as i'd rather have a solid shell, than a rotten rhd, and have had a couple of lid motors in the past (integrale and a chevrolet astro van), I've noticed there are plenty for sale in dealers over in Holland, have many of you purchased from any of them?
Thanks
Dave
 
SeanDezart

SeanDezart

Well-Known Forum User
Dave B said:
....and an Rb25/26 transplant. (still miss the sound of my skyline lol)
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You've not heard an on-song L-gata then ? You can't miss what you've never experienced.....:eek:

Dave B said:
I've noticed there are plenty for sale in dealers over in Holland, have many of you purchased from any of them?
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Go and see them in the flesh - do NOT buy at distance.;)
 
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Dave_Brown

Active Forum User
Yeah was thinking of going over to view in person if I go down that route. Obviously buying in the uk would be preferable, just liked the fact some of those Dutch dealers have 4 or 5 to choose from, and priced competitively. My budget will be 10k tops for the initial purchase so I know I'll have to get one needing some work


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SeanDezart

SeanDezart

Well-Known Forum User
There are at least 4x importers to visit and I reccomend you do them all - see as many as possible then choose...or not !
Think about transport on top to get the car home.
 
uk66fastback

uk66fastback

Club Member
You would be able to get a decent one in the US inc shipping here for £10k I'd have thought. The ones in Holland do look as though they need some work although obviously you can go see the, not so easy with the US ones. Lots of contacts about though for cars from the US from reputable people.

Buy from Holland you're essentially paying an extra bit for the convenience. Bring in your own one after some due diligence and save £££ I reckon ...
 
Alphabettispaghetti

Alphabettispaghetti

Club Member
buying yourself in the states will save you the mark-up, there's a fair few over here now so some to look at. if its just a shell you want there's a 280z on ebay
 
SeanDezart

SeanDezart

Well-Known Forum User
richiep said:
Would also allow you to drive an L-series engined car before writing that option off and jumping on the RB bandwagon. It's funny how quite a few people think they need a hybrid mega-hp swap without a frame of reference.
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That's 50% of replies that propose the same thing.....

SeanDezart said:
You've not heard an on-song L-gata then ? You can't miss what you've never experienced.....
Click to expand...

It's YOUR project, your decision but if you want to turn towards old-school........then old school is not just about the look inside and out - it's the whole experience.;)
 
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Dave B

Well-Known Forum User
Thanks guys,
I've been watching eBay for some time, to try and get a grasp of values.
That one for just under 9k would be ideal for me, sadly it'll be a few weeks probably till I have that sort of money, as got my VW T4 Camper to sell to free some cash up, will have about 10 to spend then.

I could probably get that 280z that needs a full restoration now, its just the extent of the rot round the sunroof thats putting me off. Ive seen that frp automotive do a carbon fibre roof skin, does this just bond over the top of the old roof, or replace it completely? As there wouldn't be much left to bond to when all that rust is chopped out? If I'm working down south next week I could always ask to go view it I suppose.

I do like the idea of importing from a dry state, Its just the idea of being long distance without viewing that puts me off, and finding someone trustworthy to deliver the car to the port etc.

I thought I might get bashed a bit for going straight for an rb swap haha, but my last 3 cars have all been well over 400bhp though, and I want something that will get into the 11's on the strip. The evo I've just sold was nearly 440, but only managed a 13.04 best run, due to the 1540kg weight :rolleyes: That said, if I get something roadworthy/near roadworthy, I will run it with the L series for a good year or so while I get all the parts together for the swap. I plan on getting the engine/turbo setup/box/mounts/intercooler/rad/diff and driveshafts all ready before I tear the car to pieces. You never know I might fall in love with the normally aspirated motor and decide to tune that instead lol
 
richiep

richiep

Club Member
Where the roof is concerned, the best option for sunroof deletion is replacement of the roof skin with a secondhand sunroof-less equivalent. Everything else is half-measures really. It needs patience to do - 120 spot welds to drill out! The result is the most permanent though.

L-series can be built up pretty heavily in n/a form - consider the 3+ litre strokers in the 300hp ballpark (some in Japan considerably in excess of that). Or get north of 300 with turbo. 260TT on this forum has a lovely 260Z running an L28 with twin turbos running around 400hp ( might be more now).

If you do go RB though, there are various people here who've done it. See Datsun Dave's build thread in the hybrid Z bit of the forum for example. :thumbs:
 
Rob Gaskin

Rob Gaskin

Treasurer
Staff member
Site Administrator
Hello Dave, don't worry about anything else at this stage apart from the body.

When you are in a position to buy use ALL of your budget to buy the best bodied car, which I'm sure will be LHD.
 
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