Hi all,

Thought I'd come and sign up on here and say hello, I'm hoping to take advantage of all of the knowledge and experience on here to help me out along the way. I've just signed up as a full member as I know forums are the fountain of knowledge when it comes to these things.

Ever since I saw the below linked video on Petrolicious (a couple of years ago now) I decided that I had to have a 240Z. I'm heavily into my MR2's with a 1996 gen3 JDM Turbo model which I've spent the last couple of years transforming my car from stock into a fast road car, and have loved every moment of it (most of the time :-D). This car continues to be used on a daily basis however I've been wanting to get into the classic/vintage car scene for a while with something of an older generation. My dad also runs an Austin Healey mk2a so we're fairly familiar with the world of classic cars.

https://youtu.be/EO2y_-vpolA

I've just jointly purchased a series one Datsun 240z from the east coast of the USA with my dad as a bit of a 50/50 weekend toy. We're currently in the process of having the car collected and imported back to the UK. I'm hoping to get a confirmation that the car in now in NY tonight getting ready to be shipped a cross to Southampton in due course having had it collected on Friday before Independence day weekend.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1971-Dats...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Plans at the moment are to just bring the car back, get it registered and use it for a bit before starting work to make some choice modifications along the way. Long term I'd love to have it as a period style racer, very much similar to the car in the above Petrolicious video having an orange and black colour combination but we'll see how we go.

It would be great to have some feedback about the spec of the car seeing as your the experts.

Finally I wanted to ask those in the know who've done the process before, what are the requirements to get the car through an MOT and road legal? I've had mixed messages however I'm lead to believe I'll be needing Euro/JDM taillights for the orange indicators, requiring the rear lights to be re-wired? disconnected side lights and Euro/JDM headlight units?

Can anyone help me on the above and let me know what the process is from the car landing in the UK as I'm struggling to find much info on this from my previous searches.

Cheers,

Mark

 

Thanks for the kind words, I'm hoping its as good as it looks.

Do I need to replace the headlights then for the MOT? or can they just be re-adjusted? Sounds like Mike will be a useful person to speak to. Can he also help with sourcing JDM/Euro rear light clusters?

Sounds like there's a few people I should be having a word with, hopefully they may chip in here, if not then I'll try and look them up

Cheers bud, They were my two main requirements being an early series one car and in 918 orange. I've always wanted an orange car, and the 240Z looks too good in this colour scheme, not to everyone's taste but some nice blacks rims should set it off nicely.

Hi Steve, I've shipped the car with a US company called CFR Rinkens. I'm waiting for them to confirm who the contact is at the UK end as its another company, however I'm planning to pay them a small fee to sort out the VAT and paperwork etc. Thanks for the info, that's handy to know.

Do I have to trailer the car away from the port?

If your offering assistance then I would gladly accept, the whole process is a bit new to me. I take it your near to Southampton then? Fortunately its only about 70 miles down the road for me.

 

Thanks, when you say some serious value now. How much do you reckon a car like would be worth back in the UK or Europe? (Obviously subjective question and can only base it from a few photos) Would be curious to get an opinion though as it will be a matter to deal with my insurance company when it arrives.

Haha cheers for the advice. I'd certainly just like to get accustomed to it first that's for sure. I don't plan to modify the body in any significant irreversible way, mirrors will be added, a bre front air dam possibly, headlight covers (I'll keep the original buckets and modify another set so that I can return to stock). I don't have the original alloys which can't help for originality and the engine isn't the original L24 which can't help either, I would imagine without really knowing? I certainly don't intend to rivet on wide arches or anything like that (each to their own though). Also I take it that values are strongest on series one cars? or is it related to the vin number?

Ahh thank you, only just seen that! New forum, new layout. Using that then given that your in France do you ever make it to the Le Mans Classic? I'll be there from Thursday evening onward with my dad in his Healey for the weekend.

Unfortunately all I know about the exhaust tip is what mentioned in the advert and what you can see from the photos, I will take some more photos and do some investigation when it arrives if you would like?

Let hope so, I want to rack up some serious miles in her

 

Another member of the orange zed club! Looks great!

 

There were stock wheels with hub caps though weren't there? No she's got an L26 engine in her. It was one of my original requirements to have an original L24 engine however that along with finding an early production car in 918 orange was too much to ask so I compromised on the engine, long term I think it may get an L28 tbh.

Yes those one, clearly your not a fan! lol I can't afford the crazy money for the OEM JDM versions. I much prefer the look with headlight covers. The cars already been picked up so its one thing I wanted to ask the shipper about, if not I have a US contact who can post items over to me...

Haha thanks for the heads up, its all new ground for me. I've read all kinds of articles and comments over the internet. Would people just refer to them as an early production car? and whats considered a low vin number?

Oh cool, I'm glad to hear you've got a presence there. Haha it feels weird having been so knowledgeable in the MR2 world to be back to square one again! lol. I'll definitely come over and say hello and kick some tyres. Unless the Healey club has been moved them we'll be parked with them who are usually in the same corner as you guys as you correctly pointed out We've got plans on the Friday, however it would be great to say hello on the Saturday. Any particular car I should be looking for to identify you?

Thank you very much, yes I do. The car was taken down to bare metal and redone following complete new rear arches and front fenders along with a bit of welding in a few places. If you follow the link to the ad I posted earlier there's a link in the description to the restoration photos (You have to make a free account tot view them but it doesn't take 2 seconds if your interested). Indeed, I'm really hoping its as good as it looks in the photos however until you see it in the flesh then its impossible to say. The previous owner seems very meticulous so I'm hopeful. Most of what I know to an extent is in the ad, but you can try me with further questions. What do you want to know? (Obviously I'll know a lot more when she's back). Oh God yes! Can't wait, its going to feel like a lifetime I'm sure. Congratulations nice to hear of another Z coming back to blightly. Is that the Yellow/Lime colour?

Thanks for the offer, however I'm hoping I won't have to worry about those details, time will tell though.

Well my thoughts/hopes are that I won't lose anything, however it would be nice if its worth a bit more. That being said there no intention to sell it, it would just be nice to not lose money on a car for once! lol

Good to hear another positive review, I'm dealing with a Guy called Steve Feeney who has been fantastic so far. Yes I've been pre warned so fingers crossed but I'm hoping to hear more on that this week. Ok sounds sensible, who would you recommend the trailer the car away? and do you know whether you can drive the car to the MOT before its registered officially in the UK.

Thanks again for the warning, I'll give you a shout when it gets in

Cheers man, are there a few orange ones around in the UK then?

Thanks for clarifying that for me, from what I've been told on here Mike F should be able to sort me out for the headlights, so I need to try and look him up. Either way from the sounds of it I need to have the rear lights re-wired its just whether or not I want to get some Euro/JDM rear lights to complete the look or just chuck in an orange bulb to sneak it through. Do you know what the quality of the reproduction ones are? I've found all of the below options and am leaning towards the ones in the very bottom link....

From my limited understanding there is limited availability on numerous parts and the USA seems to be the best place to pick up bits and pieces.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111929847707?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262093652315?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

http://jdm-car-parts.com/collection...ec-fairlady-z-with-harness-and-seal-blem-unit

http://jdm-car-parts.com/collection...fairlady-z-with-harness-and-seal-reproduction

 

Hi Ad,

Thanks for the warm welcome and kind words. Haha I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who's been captivated by it then. Good to know, I'd be curious to ask him about his exhaust specs at some point if possible, I think thats the route I want to go down. Outrageous race car look! All custom I'm sure.

Thanks for the kind offer, I know where you are. I' not going to rush into swapping lots of bits straight away, the L26 will stay in for the time being. In all likely hood if it comes out it will be replaced with a heavily speced L28 I would imagine.... lol

Cheers Mark

Has anyone got any recommendations on the tail lights I posted links to above? They seem to vary massively in price depending on where you look.

In other news I managed to meet up with the French Datsun club at the Le Mans Classic last weekend, managed to find a few brits which is always a bonus. Some truly awesome cars on display there, and more than I've seen before. There was even one racing in Plateau 6! Hopefully I'll get some pics up in due course.

Its also now looking as though the car may get onto a boat by the middle of next week. There's now enough cars for a container so its all looking very hopeful!