“Restomod” S30s - who’s got / built one?

[Zedman]

Hey folks,

I’ve been lurking and reading, and speaking to some of you for the last few months with an aim to understand if my current plans could become a reality.

I’d really love to end up with an S30 “restomod” - something along the lines of the “Fugu Z” from the movies. It would have to be RHD and road legal for UK use.

Now I’m of the opinion that the most cost-efficient way of achieving this is by buying a 260/280z instead of the more expensive 240Z. I’m not too concerned over the extra weight and I think I’ve read that the chassis rails on the 280 are thicker/stronger?

There’s a possibility that someone may have already started a project like this which may save some time/money overall, I guess. (If you know of any please do let me know)

My questions are:

- What would you expect a base car for this to cost? I’d hope I could save some money here as I wouldn’t need the bodywork/paint to be perfect as it’d need redoing anyway..?

- Is a LHD to RHD conversion a better option (US import?) to get a car with less rust? How much does this conversion cost, roughly, and are parts available?

- Do any companies import cars from the US in the same way that many do from Japan? I’m not sure I’d be confident enough trying to do it myself, but it does appear that most cars and parts would come from the US as there are few available here in the UK.

- Have any of you done this already, and can you share your experience / advice / any links to threads or companies you used? Please also share some photos if you can!

It’s quite possible that I cannot achieve my end goals with the budget I have, but I’d like to try and estimate an initial target cost so I can make an informed decision. I’m well aware that costs can spiral, but if I’m not even in the right ballpark then I’ll have to give up on the idea and find an alternative car/project.

Thanks

 

[AD240Z]

What is your budget ?

Anything is possible - but the above will determine your most likely route .

If you want a rhd restomod and have deep pockets or a spare kidney - just give mzr a ring . Sadly the club don’t get a discount …

 

[Zedman]

Well I’m seeing finished/restored 260zs at about £30-32k, so I’d expect to be able to get one needing some work for a fair chunk less, is £20k-£23k achievable?

I guess if it needs bodywork then it’ll likely need floorpan work too tho, which may then negate the savings..

 

[Crasher76]

A dry state 280z probably a good starting point, once the heavy US bumpers and irons removed I doubt they are significantly heavier than a 240Z for most mere mortals to notice! I paid 12k for mine last year, it hasn't run since 1989 ish but is super original and rust free. I guess I have chucked another 4k at it, the biggest expense are the Watz.
It is back on carbs, BC coilovers, ally rad and leccy fan.

Prices seem to be strengthening in the States but there are still loads out there, there are a couple of guys on the forum who may be able to source you something.

Where abouts are you?

 

[Zedman]

I’m near Reading, Hampshire / Berkshire border.
That sounds like a decent value.. but to make it RHD I guess there’s a substantial cost to add?
I *could* live with LHD but would prefer to be on the correct side of the car.
Is converting to RHD >£10k cost?

 

[Robotsan]

I’m near Reading, Hampshire / Berkshire border.
That sounds like a decent value.. but to make it RHD I guess there’s a substantial cost to add?
I *could* live with LHD but would prefer to be on the correct side of the car.
Is converting to RHD >£10k cost?

Speak to Andy Plant at Auto Panel Solutions. He'll do the welding part of a conversion for 3 to 4k. But then you'll need it all painting, plus you'll need a RHD dash from a UK 260z (a rare commodity and prices vary hugely - some people manage to snag them for £500, but there are also people trying to flog them for £2k because they're pretty rare, especially with no cracks). Then you need a good RHD steering rack, RHD pedal box, the RHD heater box and controls etc. There'll be more stuff I've missed - I've not done the conversion myself. There's plenty of threads on it if you use the search function though.

If you're lucky you could do the whole job for as little as 7k I reckon, but you could easily part with more than 10k. Obviously if you need to pay someone else to install all that stuff as well as for the welding and paint, you'll be looking at more.

 

[Alphabettispaghetti]

I’m near Reading, Hampshire / Berkshire border.
That sounds like a decent value.. but to make it RHD I guess there’s a substantial cost to add?
I *could* live with LHD but would prefer to be on the correct side of the car.
Is converting to RHD >£10k cost?

I can't see it being worth it, LHD cars sell to Europe for sensible money.

 

[Robotsan]

Well I’m seeing finished/restored 260zs at about £30-32k, so I’d expect to be able to get one needing some work for a fair chunk less, is £20k-£23k achievable?

I guess if it needs bodywork then it’ll likely need floorpan work too tho, which may then negate the savings..

It's all very much how long is a piece of string. And depends how much work you really want to get into.

You've seen an example of the quality you can get for a RHD for 20 - 23k in those white cars recently discussed. They will need full resprays, likely some or lots of welding and god knows what else. You could very easily have spent 10k on them before you get anywhere near the quality of this car, which is only 30k.. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/155966556488

If you want a project and the satisfaction of building a car yourself, then buy a cheaper one, and prepare for a long and expensive journey.

But if you just want the best value for money, save up a bit more and buy a completed car like that one. It looks like fantastic value compared to most Zs I've seen in the last 3 years.

 

[Robotsan]

Hey folks,

I’ve been lurking and reading, and speaking to some of you for the last few months with an aim to understand if my current plans could become a reality.

I’d really love to end up with an S30 “restomod” - something along the lines of the “Fugu Z” from the movies. It would have to be RHD and road legal for UK use.

Now I’m of the opinion that the most cost-efficient way of achieving this is by buying a 260/280z instead of the more expensive 240Z. I’m not too concerned over the extra weight and I think I’ve read that the chassis rails on the 280 are thicker/stronger?

There’s a possibility that someone may have already started a project like this which may save some time/money overall, I guess. (If you know of any please do let me know)

My questions are:

- What would you expect a base car for this to cost? I’d hope I could save some money here as I wouldn’t need the bodywork/paint to be perfect as it’d need redoing anyway..?

- Is a LHD to RHD conversion a better option (US import?) to get a car with less rust? How much does this conversion cost, roughly, and are parts available?

- Do any companies import cars from the US in the same way that many do from Japan? I’m not sure I’d be confident enough trying to do it myself, but it does appear that most cars and parts would come from the US as there are few available here in the UK.

- Have any of you done this already, and can you share your experience / advice / any links to threads or companies you used? Please also share some photos if you can!

It’s quite possible that I cannot achieve my end goals with the budget I have, but I’d like to try and estimate an initial target cost so I can make an informed decision. I’m well aware that costs can spiral, but if I’m not even in the right ballpark then I’ll have to give up on the idea and find an alternative car/project.

Thanks

To give you some replies on your initial questions.. yeah the 280z is 200 to 300kg heavier. But half of that is gone once you remove the bumpers, rip out the old carpets, remove the EFI gear and the likely broken and very heavy AC. My car probably weighs about 1200kg now.

If you're going down the restomod route then you'll likely be either engine swapping or throwing money at the existing one, so an extra 100 or 200kg is no big deal.

And yeah, if you do plan on a highly modified car then a US import 280z is a good bet for lower up front costs. But once you've converted it to RHD and had it repainted, you could have easily spent 20k. So then you're easily past the 30k you could spend on that silver 260z on eBay I mentioned. It depends what your situation is though - I'm personally going down this longer, more expensive route because I wanted a long term project. But I'm fully aware it's not financially as good a plan as saving up and spending more on a 'finished' car.

As many of us have here, I bought mine from Mike (@SacCyclone) in California, so have a chat with him. He's a great guy to deal with, and will arrange all the shipping for you, should a suitable car come up. My car was 11k and is in great shape metal wise, runs and drives. The interior was completely toast and it needed some holes welding in the floor, but that's all. Have a look at my build thread: https://zclub.net/community/index.php?threads/sunbaked-76-cali-280z.29585/

Shipping and import costs came to over 3k.

 

[Zedman]

Thanks folks.
What I’m hearing is what I guess my head has said but my heart hasn’t agreed with.
Financially, the sensible choice is a £30k+ RHD solid base car and then go from there vs buying a UK RHD (which will be likely rotten) and fix up, or a US LHD car and then converting at high cost.

Keeping it LHD would swing in favour of US import as would work out likely cheaper, albeit a bit more of a project.

 

[Rushingphil]

I can't see it being worth it, LHD cars sell to Europe for sensible money.

Very true, but bear in mind a lot of European countries won't allow modifications / esp. Restomods

 

[Rushingphil]

What engine options are you looking at? I may have a suitable project that I'm considering selling.......

 

[SacCyclone]

Hi Zedman, Mike here from Cali.

As Robotsan has said, I have exported a lot of Zeds across the pond in the last 10 years. Many were running driving 240/280's and several were "rollers". Most of them had little to no rust as i don't even bother with Cali cars that have a large amount of rust. That said, there are still deals out there to be had but as i tell most of my friends, if there is a deal that pops up it is usually gone within 30 minutes here in Cali.

If you are really hot for a FuguZ or very similar, you have already told me where your very particular interest is. The body kit, paint, suspension, and tire wheel package will be very expensive. Spending 30k on the nicely sorted and fairly stock Zed mentioned above really doesn't make any sense is you then have to drop another 30K in the parts needed to make a Fugu out of it.

In the end, buy the least expensive Zed you can that as long as it is mostly complete and mostly rust free. Don't buy someone's project car that you have to hunt all the little parts down to complete.....very few people will bag and tag parts as they tear down and even fewer that won't move the car to others because they are in over their heads.

I come across a few cars a year now instead of a car every other month 10 years ago. Too many players in the Zed market and too many flippers now. These cars are just very popular now.

Here is a car that I bought last year and really the type you should look for. Probably will be for sale after I get it all sorted for under 15K. If it was a later 240 or 280 it would be priced at much less......I just don't have one of those currently.

1971 240Z Blue/Blue Cali Baked

Just picked up this 71 240Z early car, serial number 13,... with rare blue exterior and blue interior. Matching engine numbers with 4 speed transmission. The chap I bought it from only had it for a year or less and was driving the car down the road a few moths ago. Apparently the water pump...

zclub.net

Hope this helps.
Mike

 

[Russell]

Good luck setting a budget!! Unless you have built something like this before. No matter how much you think it will cost, it will cost more.

I am near Horsham, West Sussex so not too far away from you. Check my threads out on what I have done with mine so far. Its slightly out of date now but you are welcome to come and check it out to get an idea. Currently in pieces as doing some winter work on it.
Mine is all under the skin. Plan has always been to keep the car itself looking original. Never wanted the big arches and body kit - style comes and goes with them.

 

[Robotsan]

Hi Zedman, Mike here from Cali.

As Robotsan has said, I have exported a lot of Zeds across the pond in the last 10 years. Many were running driving 240/280's and several were "rollers". Most of them had little to no rust as i don't even bother with Cali cars that have a large amount of rust. That said, there are still deals out there to be had but as i tell most of my friends, if there is a deal that pops up it is usually gone within 30 minutes here in Cali.

If you are really hot for a FuguZ or very similar, you have already told me where your very particular interest is. The body kit, paint, suspension, and tire wheel package will be very expensive. Spending 30k on the nicely sorted and fairly stock Zed mentioned above really doesn't make any sense is you then have to drop another 30K in the parts needed to make a Fugu out of it.

In the end, buy the least expensive Zed you can that as long as it is mostly complete and mostly rust free. Don't buy someone's project car that you have to hunt all the little parts down to complete.....very few people will bag and tag parts as they tear down and even fewer that won't move the car to others because they are in over their heads.

I come across a few cars a year now instead of a car every other month 10 years ago. Too many players in the Zed market and too many flippers now. These cars are just very popular now.

Here is a car that I bought last year and really the type you should look for. Probably will be for sale after I get it all sorted for under 15K. If it was a later 240 or 280 it would be priced at much less......I just don't have one of those currently.

1971 240Z Blue/Blue Cali Baked

Just picked up this 71 240Z early car, serial number 13,... with rare blue exterior and blue interior. Matching engine numbers with 4 speed transmission. The chap I bought it from only had it for a year or less and was driving the car down the road a few moths ago. Apparently the water pump...

zclub.net

Hope this helps.
Mike

Very good point Mike - @Zedman if you really want a highly modified Z then Mike is right - go with a dry state import LHD. No point in cutting up a car as good as that UK 260z. That blue 240z Mike has would be ideal in my opinion. The LHD factor really doesn't matter - you soon get used to it.

 

[Rob Gaskin]

Also look for unfinished projects. Buyers market atm.

Datsun 240z American / Jap classic | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Datsun 240z American / Jap classic at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

1973 DATSUN 240Z | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1973 DATSUN 240Z at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[Mr Tenno]

As someone who's over 30k into an unfinshed restomod, I'd advise buying yourself a solid-ish LHD (no Z is ever rust-free) and just enjoying it for what it is for a while.

Then after you've experienced one stock(ish) you can decide what to mod and how long you're willing to take it off the road for.

 

[Mr Tenno]

Speak to Andy Plant at Auto Panel Solutions. He'll do the welding part of a conversion for 3 to 4k.

Worth bearing in mind that depending on the process chosen with APS it's not always DVLA friendly

 

[Rob Gaskin]

As someone who's over 30k into an unfinshed restomod, I'd advise buying yourself a solid-ish LHD (no Z is ever rust-free) and just enjoying it for what it is for a while.

Then after you've experienced one stock(ish) you can decide what to mod and how long you're willing to take it off the road for.

The problem with this is that a standard car and a highly modified car are 'worlds apart'. I've had both.

So if you want a resto-mod you aren't going to be interested in a standard car for more than 5 mins. It tends to be the younger guys who want the modern power and looks so they aren't into 'classic' experiences. My lads weren't - they thought my standard 240Z was awful, but loved my trackday car.

I was talking to my eldest son Lee the other day about Escort RS1600s and how desirable they were in my rally days. When he saw the 'stats' he couldn't believe it only had 119bhp.

 

[Minksport]

I have all the necessary rhd conversion parts available if needed.

regards, Mark.