How to lop a cylinder off your Z!

AliK

Vehicle Dating Officer
Staff member
Club Member
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Rob Gaskin

Treasurer
Staff member
Site Administrator
I think I'd have to remove the Volvo name. Although these days they are more sporty than the flat-cap Sunday driver image of old. Oh no I wear a flat-cap!
 

chrisvega

Well-Known Forum User
Yes, pass me the bucket please !
:rant:

Call me old fashioned but this continual bastardisation of the S30 range baffles me.
It is a Datsun/Nissan FFS !
At least respect heritage to some extent if you must do an engine swap and keep it marque specific.

You never see serious classic marques cheapened in this way.
Does not happen with Alfa Romeo, Jaguar, Porsche, Mercedes, Ferrari, MG, Austin Healey etc etc whose owners are generally fiercely proud of the heritage and tradition associated with their particular marque and would laugh at such a notion.
 

yellowz

Club Member
Yes, pass me the bucket please !
:rant:

Call me old fashioned but this continual bastardisation of the S30 range baffles me.
It is a Datsun/Nissan FFS !
At least respect heritage to some extent if you must do an engine swap and keep it marque specific.

You never see serious classic marques cheapened in this way.
Does not happen with Alfa Romeo, Jaguar, Porsche, Mercedes, Ferrari, MG, Austin Healey etc etc whose owners are generally fiercely proud of the heritage and tradition associated with their particular marque and would laugh at such a notion.

I don't think Datsuns are perceived as being in the same league as the makes you have mentioned Chris. If you were to ask a car owner to picture one of those makes in his/her mind they could usually come up with something. Get most people to picture a Datsun and ............... nothing like it comes to mind. Our cars are still a niche.

Just after I first got mine an older guy came up to me when I parked up at some shops and said 'nice Volvo'!

This seems a car to restomod over restore.
 

chrisvega

Well-Known Forum User
I hear what you are saying yellowz and I think that has been the case previously, but S30Z prices are on a steep upward curve and now higher than some of the marques I mentioned.
That is part of the problem, Datsun/Japanese cars were often derided by the old classic brigade - we've all heard the usual Jap crap story, but times have moved on and those attitudes with it too, thank goodness. The Datsun S30Z range is now viewed as a serious classic, the amazing car that it is in its own right and Datsun a serious marque up there with others mentioned with prices to match so shouldn't be de-valued by association with dubious practices.

An MGC is now half the price of an equivalent 240Z and I've never come across an engine swapped MGC.
Alfa GT 105 series Veloce or Junior - equal to or possibly slightly behind 240Z prices, never seen an engine swapped GTJ/GTV aside from ones with the newer twin spark engine but same marque, bit like putting an RB in 240Z, acceptable poetic licence. Why would anyone think of putting a Volvo engine in an Alfa ? You'd be carted off to the funny farm.

Look at Quentin Wilson this month picking the 240Z as one to buy this year and stating values on S1 cars soon to be in the ballpark £ 100/150k.
OK, he is getting carried away with those figures, but either way it serious money for a serious classic now (forget about any Volvo engined car obtaining high prices btw, that will seriously de-value).

There has been a broad church of ownership aross the S30Z range and that is a big part of the charm. We have twenty something owners right up to eighty something owners and there has been something in it for everyone from the custom boys to the originality enthusiasts and all in-between. However, in 240Z form the S30 is no longer a cheap custom car for the wide boys now as it was a few years ago, those days are gone. In the States owners have realised that values are shooting up quickly and a lot of engine swapped modded cars are being put back to original spec. for obvious reasons. Ultimately as we hear all the time on here 'your car do what you want' but expect to take a large financial loss for the priviledge and the scorn of old fuddy duddy traditionalists (guilty) ;) Oh and if you have do an engine swap, keep it Nissan, you know it makes sense :D
 

Rob Gaskin

Treasurer
Staff member
Site Administrator
Yes, pass me the bucket please !
:rant:

Call me old fashioned but this continual bastardisation of the S30 range baffles me.
It is a Datsun/Nissan FFS !
At least respect heritage to some extent if you must do an engine swap and keep it marque specific.

You never see serious classic marques cheapened in this way.
Does not happen with Alfa Romeo, Jaguar, Porsche, Mercedes, Ferrari, MG, Austin Healey etc etc whose owners are generally fiercely proud of the heritage and tradition associated with their particular marque and would laugh at such a notion.

I've said that for a long time. Also people fitting fuel injection. Then why is it right for an S30 to have just one bumper.

Anyway there are some great cars out there - Johnny Palmer's hybrid blue car is a formidable beast, the same for Terry Taylor's orange car. These guys also have L6 engined cars and their 'base' for their hybrids were not concourse cars.

There are so many ways to enjoy an S30 they are so versatile. I think the chassis is so capable (unlike an MGC, E Type, Healey) that folks want to exploit it.
 

chrisvega

Well-Known Forum User
I did think about John's blue car with the 1JZ engine when writing. In the mid-90's I imported one of the very first Soarer Twin Turbo's JZZ30 to come to the UK from Japan which I ran for a couple of years. One word for that car - Immense ! and on that basis it gets a bye - plus at least it's Japanese and he uses it mostly on the track. Phew! got out of that one EXTRA:D
 

chrisvega

Well-Known Forum User
Alfaholics car is very expensive as my heathen ‘hybrid’ loving friend Datsfun has intimated but a definite work of art agreed.

If have to make a tiny criticism, the interior is a bit dark though, even makes the austere all black S30 interiors look almost cheerful.
 
Alfaholics car is very expensive as my heathen ‘hybrid’ loving friend Datsfun has intimated but a definite work of art agreed.

If have to make a tiny criticism, the interior is a bit dark though, even makes the austere all black S30 interiors look almost cheerful.

those seats are terrible. Should be a nice chocolate brown leather and period.
 

datsfun

Club Member
Alfaholics car is very expensive as my heathen ‘hybrid’ loving friend Datsfun has intimated but a definite work of art agreed.

They are indeed beautifully finished. I may be a wee bit biased though as a good friend of mine does all the shell preparation work for said shop and delivers them painted ready for mechanical assembly.

After seeing the base cars that he sometimes starts with, honestly Datsuns ain't too bad !
 
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