Best place to source a 240z restoration car

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DayZ

Forum User
Hi Folks

Apart from being a factory trained Nissan technician which i gave up 10 years ago, i am a complete restoration novice here but have dreamed of having a 240z since seeing one as an apprentice.

Looking for ideas for the best place to get a minimsal rust restoration car to start with. Is it worthwhile importing a more solid car from USA? who does best prices for shipping to UK? are there any better countries to import from?

Thanks in advance
 
Tel240z got a good shell from there, might be worth dropping him a message (not sure if he made it back from Spa yet :rofl: )
 
It is probably almost impossible to find a first registered UK 240z or 260z. Like all Datsuns of the era they just dissolved to a pile of rust fragments. There are exceptions but the price will be high. The number of available 240z's continues to climb here in the UK due to import primarily from USA but also from Aussie (mainly 260z 2+2's). That said, if you want to put your investment money into something truly worthwhile then a decent Z (and I think that increasingly extends to the 280ZX) you are on to a good thing.

Good luck. They are quite unique.:thumbs:
 
I would be a good idea to get a as complete car as possible as a lot of parts are either expensive or no longer available
 
I'll never forget the noise made by the L28 engine with 3 twin webbers on it the first time i heard it as an apprentice at Nissan back in 93. Bizarrely the owner had totally naked velocity stacks on the carbs which may have taken in some debris but the unimpeded induction noise was orgasmic! :)
 
DayZ, if you haven't already done so it would be worthwhile looking at the Threads in this 'Rebuilds and Restorations' section to get an insight into the work you may end up with.

Then you can decide your level.

This may seem a rude question but how much are you wanting/hoping to spend on a car:

a) to buy it and

b) to fully restore it?

Also how much time?

This will dictate answers from members and steer you in the right direction.

For those of you who watch 'Grand Designs' I reckon it would be good to see car focused shows with real enthusiasts.
 
Rob Gaskin said:
This may seem a rude question but how much are you wanting/hoping to spend on a car:
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Cheers for that Rob, a good suggestion to help clarify my thread ;)

a) to buy it and
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Hoping to spend £5-£10k on a solid running car

b) to fully restore it?
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Not really puttting a figure on this. Will prob just spend as i go

Also how much time?
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No target time frame as long as its running i will take my time to continually bring the car up to its best :)
 
DayZ said:
Hoping to spend £5-£10k on a solid running
Click to expand...

This is the important bit. If you want solid AND running, 5k won't cut it. Think at the top end of your bracket. E.g., the US import on eBay at the mo for £9950. That looks a good deal for the price. If you don't want a LHD, then finding solid and running for under 10k will be a challenge, particularly the solid part! 5k these days is still project car money, although it would buy you a largely rust free US import certainly, albeit one for resto.
 
richiep said:
This is the important bit. If you want solid AND running, 5k won't cut it. Think at the top end of your bracket. E.g., the US import on eBay at the mo for £9950. That looks a good deal for the price. If you don't want a LHD, then finding solid and running for under 10k will be a challenge, particularly the solid part! 5k these days is still project car money, although it would buy you a largely rust free US import certainly, albeit one for resto.
Click to expand...

Cheers for that Richie, thats a lovely example although i would really want a RHD. I am aware they can be converted but not sure how reliable the conversions are or what realistic costs are.
 
There are plenty of well done RHD conversions around. It doesn't necessarily require a donor bulkhead either, as Datsun Dave showed on here (his fabricator exactly replicated the LHD steering/master cylinder plate on the firewall as a mirror image, negating the need to find one to cut from a car). The main challenges are finding all the bits you need - rhd rack, column, pedal box, heater, heater fan motor, UK/Euro rear lights, dashboard, wiring looms (although that last one can be got around too). Not insurmountable with a bit of hunting though.

I have 80% of the things to do a lhd-rhd swap in stock just in case I ever go down that route on a future project. Either that or they are available as spares for my existing S30Z.

A RHD car is going to cost you more to start with unless you are prepared to face some fairly extensive reconstructive surgery I'd say!
 
Very difficult to tell from the photos what that worth. It may or may not be a good buy but certainly worth a look. These are very expensive to restore though so make sure you have a spare 10k or so.
 
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