Hi folks,
Thought I'd say hello and tell you a bit about myself and my car. I'm new to Jap motors as I'm a VW man but always fancied a Z car, gotta love that sound!
I've got a 1978 RS30 UK Datsun 260z that was restored using new panels over 20 years ago, the owner lost heart in the project after micro blisters appeared on the rear quarter and roof and put it under wraps for all that time until I managed to get hold of it. I know every owner of the car and it's been local to me from new.
During it's restoration I t received new front wings, complete rear quarters, rear valance, new doors, spare wheel well and some patches elsewhere. At the time the only rear hatch you could buy from the dealership was early 240z, so it's got an early lid with the vents filled in!!
This was over 20 years ago and only has about 45k miles on the clock so maybe not as bad as some of the cars undergoing restoration now. For a UK RHD 2 seater it's amazingly solid original condition and the original interior isn't too bad either.
It still needs putting back together but it came with a whole heap of NOS parts, complete set of badges, wheel centre caps, brand new windscreen in its wrapper, window rubbers, complete NOS (still in Nissan wrappers) front and rear bumpers with uplight and rubbers, headlamp buckets, etc. I also got a spare RHD dash, clocks, wiring loom, etc.
The question is, what do I do with it now? The matching numbers motor is out of the car and would need to be rebuilt as it's been sat for so long, it has the Hitachi carbs on too, the brakes and suspension also need going through and although the car is solid some of the repairs are patched as you would expect of restoration techniques 20+ years ago. The paint is great apart from the micro blisters so I'd expect to do the whole car again including the underside to bring it to today's standards.
So, what are your views on this. Should it stay stock as a rock given it's a UK from new car and I've got all the bits to leave it stock? Should it be modified slightly to improve brakes and handling with Watanabe wheels, Datsun racing seats (classic style) and a twice pipe out the back?
I look forward to hearing your views!
Thought I'd say hello and tell you a bit about myself and my car. I'm new to Jap motors as I'm a VW man but always fancied a Z car, gotta love that sound!
I've got a 1978 RS30 UK Datsun 260z that was restored using new panels over 20 years ago, the owner lost heart in the project after micro blisters appeared on the rear quarter and roof and put it under wraps for all that time until I managed to get hold of it. I know every owner of the car and it's been local to me from new.
During it's restoration I t received new front wings, complete rear quarters, rear valance, new doors, spare wheel well and some patches elsewhere. At the time the only rear hatch you could buy from the dealership was early 240z, so it's got an early lid with the vents filled in!!
This was over 20 years ago and only has about 45k miles on the clock so maybe not as bad as some of the cars undergoing restoration now. For a UK RHD 2 seater it's amazingly solid original condition and the original interior isn't too bad either.
It still needs putting back together but it came with a whole heap of NOS parts, complete set of badges, wheel centre caps, brand new windscreen in its wrapper, window rubbers, complete NOS (still in Nissan wrappers) front and rear bumpers with uplight and rubbers, headlamp buckets, etc. I also got a spare RHD dash, clocks, wiring loom, etc.
The question is, what do I do with it now? The matching numbers motor is out of the car and would need to be rebuilt as it's been sat for so long, it has the Hitachi carbs on too, the brakes and suspension also need going through and although the car is solid some of the repairs are patched as you would expect of restoration techniques 20+ years ago. The paint is great apart from the micro blisters so I'd expect to do the whole car again including the underside to bring it to today's standards.
So, what are your views on this. Should it stay stock as a rock given it's a UK from new car and I've got all the bits to leave it stock? Should it be modified slightly to improve brakes and handling with Watanabe wheels, Datsun racing seats (classic style) and a twice pipe out the back?
I look forward to hearing your views!