LiamR's 280z Restomod - SR20DET to RB25DET

[Robbie J]

It looks worse than the first car I imported and decided to sell for parts

There are a lot fewer cars on craiglist than a year back, I would talk to Mike about sourcing a car SacCyclone on here. He could inspect and ship a car, that way you know what you are getting into. I met Mike in person, he knows his stuff.

the only 2 cars near him are 2+2s

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/d/pittsburg-280z/7211372305.html
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/d/morgan-hill-1974-datsun-260z-22/7208497371.html

They are cheap enough and not so far for Mike, that said Mike might have stock. Need to add $2K to ship it, Import duty is low 5% but you have to pay to get it off the boat

2 seater in LA, might be too far for Mike to look at, risky buying blind!
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/cto/d/gardena-1978-datsun-280z/7202415411.html

The first car I got a workmate to look at (bad decision), second I purchased blind but they took a load of pictures as I had learnt off the first car + when I met Mike he had said he had seen the car I eventually purchased but thought it was overpriced. I got it cheaper + a free Mike inspection! (sorry Mike) it is a very sound car needing dogleg and a bit of inner wing a 2+2 have on the rear.

I don't know if this helps or not

 

[Robbie J]

Race car + parts to sell $7,500 feels too cheap
You could always ask for more pictures, the shipping companies will pickup for a charge, you can even pay the shipping company and they do the payment to the seller +paperwork. I can give you contacts as my first car was from LA

https://inlandempire.craigslist.org/cto/d/redlands-1978-datsun-280z-scca-official/7204749701.html

If it is rust free it could be perfect, need to protect yourself with Mike or shipping company purchase

 

[MCBladeRun]

I am so sorry to see your car had all that hidden beneath Liam. That is truly gut-wrenching.

 

[Alphabettispaghetti]

I'd sack it off and get a 240z shell from the states.

You'd save any extra cost in future value. Also you'd have to be very unlucky to get anything in this condition. If you just want a shell, you'd get one over here for £7k ish.

 

[Ian]

Sorry to see this, as you know I had a similar issue with mine, albeit not this bad.

From a time and money perspective obtaining a shell from a reliable source in the USA is probably the best option. However of course it is also possible to save your shell if you want or if you are already feeling attached to it. So, it cost you a fair bit of money, that sucks, and a car from the USA would be £4-6k on top of this. But its going to cost a lot more than that to save your shell and a heck of a lot of time. If you are lucky you may get a shell that needs very little rust repair work other than the RHD conversion.

Not an easy decision to make.

 

[candy red]

Hi liam
Just spent about an hour looking through your whole thread, feeling really gutted for you to get your car back and see the the state of the repairs also your car looked so good when you first got it .unfortunately when people buy classic cars that have just been sprayed they really don't know whats underneath you have some hard decisions to make but on the plus side your mate will keep you laughing Maybe you should go back to the guy you brought it from and tell him you want a replacement shell as with you trade in this has cost you a lot of money Good luck with whatever you decide to do

 

[AD240Z]

Maybe you should go back to the guy you brought it from and tell him you want a replacement shell as with you trade in this has cost you a lot of money Good luck with whatever you decide to do

Was this a spare........

Not sure I’d be too keen taking the existing one back now .....

 

[IbanezDan51]

I really don't understand the thought process that went through someones mind when they welded that up. I cant understand why they would join part of another car how they have if that is actually the case?

If that were mine - personally, I wouldn't want to invest another penny into it of my own. Sell it as a bare shell, someone might have a use for it. Find yourself a better shell to start with.

Dan

 

[richiep]

Ouch. Truly horrendous and gutting stuff. Totally feel for you.

It is fixable - but the questions are do you want to and is that the best move? Personally, I’d lean towards not lifting another finger on that shell and source another 280Z to recreate what you had with a more sound basis. That’s even if you are doing most of the work yourself. The cost of paying someone to fix that shell would be way out there. Some of the rust is pretty bad in locations that are atypical for an import (inner roof structure for example). There’s so many areas and layers that will need reconstruction I just don’t think it will be cost effective. It would be soul destroying to do it yourself too IMO.

Even if a replacement shell needs some repair and work for a RHD swap, it is unlikely, if you buy smartly, that anywhere near that level of work will be needed, meaning you could still end up with a saving over trying to resurrect that current shell. Just make sure your decision making is led by cold, calculating logic, and put the heart to one side for later on!!

Im sure many of us on here will be rooting for you to sort this out and obviously we are here as second opinions on anything you end up looking at if you head down the replacement route. Good luck!

 

[LiamR]

Ok right.... so after much discussion with my mate Ste about this we are going to give it a go and try to save it. (Yes.. I must be bloody crazy)

I've done the basic calculations and it would be an insane amount to send it away and get it done by a restorer (if I was in a rush). It would also be a lot more to buy another shell (something I just can't afford right now out of the blue... plus the missus to explain to) which could potentially need more work as I would want to send that to be blasted so I know it's good and not hiding anything.

My thought process is this...

Andy at APS is going to help me as much as he can with replacement panels. Even making bespoke ones if I'm unable to make them with my basic tooling. I do have access to a shrinker and stretcher at the unit. So replacement panels shouldn't be an issue.

The money I would have to put into buying a new shell I will put into this over time and do it properly. I can take my time with it now as I know there is no chance it will be my wedding car.

Luckily for me Ste is an awesome mate and a dab hand at welding. He said he will not let me give up on my dream car. He is doing all the repair work so no huge company to pay for. Just materials and beer money... which is a HUGE saving right there.

I will know that once this shell is done, it will be to the standard that I want it done at. There's only myself and my mate Ste to blame if anything goes wrong. It will be completely safe, straight and solid.

Most of the bodged panels were going to be replaced anyway with the conversion. Full RHD firewall, floor pans, floor rails, upgraded front chassis rails, radiator panel, upper and lower cross members, bonnet hinge panels.. so from that aspect theres not much extra apart from the rear quarters and a few panels here and there. I may have to source a cut out transmission tunnel unless I can fab something up or repair what's there already.

It's going to be a hybrid style front end using a mixture of 240 and 280 parts to give the most clearance for the radiator, oil cooler and intercooler/piping etc etc.

Believe me... I was ready to throw in the towel. I just sat there thinking... £17k just lost in a flash, or in the words of Ken Dodd... just like that. Proper down in the dumps and feeling beaten.

I'm under no illusion... I know this is not going to be an easy project, but when it's done I want to be able to stand back and think... yeah... we did that. We saved it from the grave and built it to what it is now.

 

[LiamR]

Oh.. also for anyone that's interested.. this car originally came from S.J CLASSICS and was a white car said to be from Nevada.

Did they know about all this damage when they imported it? Who knows...

 

[Rushingphil]

Admire and respect your 'can do' attitude

I'm sure Derrick (Candy Red) would approve!

You have what you have, through no fault of your own. Life is Sh*t like that sometimes. I, and millions of others have faced far worst problems.

You could blame your friend for doing the trade, but I'm sure he wasn't aware of the issues, and I bet he's feeling pretty bad about the situation!

Stay positive and try and enjoy the journey!!

Would be great if you could continue to post here - just as Derrick has done. Us newbies learn so much from these threads

Phil

 

[LiamR]

Cheers Phil.

I was an aircraft mechanical technician in the RAF for 10 years so I think that can do attitude is sort of drilled into you. Doesn't matter what it is... get your head down, get on with it and don't let it beat you.

I get a great sense of achievement when I fix something and it all works. Be it the TV remote or the Eurofighter Typhoons I currently work on.

You are absolutely correct mate.. there are a lot of people out there with far bigger problems than me at the moment.

Oh don't worry... you guys are coming along for the ride too we are by no means professionals, we just like working with cars and have a passion for them. There's only one way to get good at something... practice! If we can get this sorted then I'm sure anything is possible.

 

[AD240Z]

Oh.. also for anyone that's interested.. this car originally came from S.J CLASSICS and was a white car said to be from Nevada.

Did they know about all this damage when they imported it? Who knows...

SJ classics was discussed here - Sean seemingly not a fan.... https://zclub.net/community/index.php?threads/sj-classics.22258/

Looks like they specialise in selling ‘projects ‘ according to that thread - and I guess if it was white ( as in the engine bay ) - more of a question for the restorer / person who did the mods - assuming that was after they sold it and before you bought it.

 

[AD240Z]

Big respect btw for carrying on.

I’d have been reluctant to give up on my original investment

 

[Rushingphil]

Excellent news

NB. if you are not aware, Jay. Is my eldest, and my Dad was a Chief Tiff in the Fleet Air Arm - worked on the development squadron (700 I think) on the Buccaneer. Learn a lot about being positive from him

 

[Rob Gaskin]

Liam 'just like that' was Tommy Cooper's catch phrase not Ken Dodd's.

 

[LiamR]

SJ classics was discussed here - Sean seemingly not a fan.... https://zclub.net/community/index.php?threads/sj-classics.22258/

Looks like they specialise in selling ‘projects ‘ according to that thread - and I guess if it was white ( as in the engine bay ) - more of a question for the restorer / person who did the mods - assuming that was after they sold it and before you bought it.

I'll have to take a look at that thread in detail.

Well I know that the guy I swapped with did the smoothing of the back end and the paint work to the Lamborghini grey. That's all I know really. I guess I will never know.

 

[LiamR]

Liam 'just like that' was Tommy Cooper's catch phrase not Ken Dodd's.

Lmao! What an idiot I am! You are absolutely correct. Huge fail there.

 

[Rushingphil]

I'll have to take a look at that thread in detail.

Well I know that the guy I swapped with did the smoothing of the back end and the paint work to the Lamborghini grey. That's all I know really. I guess I will never know.

Hmmmm. That puts a different perspective on things. If he did the paintwork, I would suggest he knew the state of the bodywork?