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

 

Hi
Welcome to the club That's a nice looking Z

For your mot you need to make sure the front lights point the right way. If you want to replace them for the correct type Mike F @ MJP (a member on here) can help you out with parts. For the rear lights replace with euro lenses or use orange led or bulbs for indicators. Don't worry about the side markers as they are not needed in the UK. As far as paperwork and such once the car has landed here in the UK I believe you have to have all duties paid before the car can leave the port and the is a little paperwork to do before you get your UK reg number. Johnymd (on here) has imported lots of Z's so I'm sure he can put you right on the finer detail.

 

Looks a really nice early car example. Well done. Great colour too!

Welcome on board.

 

Hi Mark

When the car arrives in the UK the shippers will let you know. They will send you some forms to fill out ( customs C384 import form ) all via email. I usually let them sort the 5% binding tariff, small extra cost for this.

Once the above is sorted, they will require paying, give you a reference number and an address to collect the car.

Usually best to call the agent unloading the car the day before, just to make sure its ready.

The shippers will then send your pink slip, and you may have to wait a couple of weeks for the Nova certificate.

Do you know which shipper in the UK is dealing with your car? If its Kingstown Shipping, can give you a number of someone their who is very helpful.

If you need any help collecting the car from the docks let me know.

Steve

 

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.

 

Hi and welcome.

I would hesitate to 'too modify' the car as the early cars are the only ones to hold some serious value now (whether we agree or not). Drive it as much as possible as is and 'feel' what you want ratehr than listen to the experts !

If you look up on the top right hand side of each poster, you'll see their location - Chris shows Wiltshire.

What is the exhaust tip - ie which make and do you have any more photos of it please ? Kinda loks like one of mine so pro curiosity incurred !

Nice looking car - hope she runs as she looks.

 

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

 

Alloys weren't standard so no loss there - does she have an L24 or what ?
Headlight covers....you mean the cheapy plastic ones with black rubber seals ? If you're gonna buy stuff from the States, get it delivered to the current owner to stuff in the car - sort out with him a list and load it up !

'series 1' cars will start a few off Did Nissan ever quote them as series 1, 2, 3 likes Jags ? No.

I won't quote values in the UK - I have a good feel for them here though - chat over a beer at Le Mans Classic.
I love new blood, all innocent and sweet I help run the club over here and organise THE Datsun/Nissan stand since 15years.

Saturday at around 12:30/13hrs on our stand* (see and print off the plan attached) for an apperitif and/or come down the our campsite Friday evening in 'Epinettes' (again, print off the 2nd plan) for a drink - we'll be BBQ-ing.

*I think the AH stand'll be opposite ours anyway !

 

Nice looking car and welcome to the club. Do you have any pictures of before it was painted? Although its hard to tell, it does look like a good paint job. Do you have any more info on the car? I guess your itching to get the car, as I am with the yellow one I just bought.

Sounds like you don't have to worry about the paperwork as the shippers are doing that for you. If you do need assistance, I have taken copies of the 2 forms you have to fill in and also a copy of my V355/5 forms I sent off. They look worse than they really are.

Values - Difficult one as the early cars are quite expensive in the US but I would generally say you wouldn't lose money.

 

Mark

I have used CFR Rinkens in the past Jovon is very helpful, I would guess they still use Kingstown Shipping. In the past the cars can sit on the docks waiting to fill a container, you might be lucky and yours could be the last. ( usually put three in a container ).

Usually collect on a recovery truck, the easiest way, sometimes the fuel has been drained, you can't guarantee the car will start.

Depending on which agent unloads the car, have had to collect the car 5/6 miles away, normally on the docks though.

Just let me know when it arrives.

Steve

 

Can you repost those forms on here or point me to where they are on the site. I remember looking at them ages ago ...

 

You will need new headlights as the angle the light leaves the unit is determined by the glass, or the reflector if you go for more modern replacements. The adjustment screws are for just that, adjusting the left/right/up/down slightly so they aim correctly but that's it, there's not enough movement to shift the beam pattern from LHD to RHD requirements.

In the rear clusters a yellow bulb/led should be sufficient to pass an MOT, unless you happen to get a jobsworth! some re-wiring still required tho i believe, because US indicators are also part of the lights i.e. not just indicators as in the UK, atleast i think that's right?!
NOS clusters or remanufactured ones are very expensive and as far as i know not available in the UK, you can buy the required lenses seperatley, but again, not in the UK and not cheap either! You can of course source used ones, but availability is hit and miss, as is condition.

Great looking car

 

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

 

Hey Steve!

The car looks lovely mate. Welcome to the club! That video also played a big part in my obsession! Dave is a lovely guy as well I speak to him on Instagram sometimes!

I think I have some 240Z headlights and an L24 if needed

Ad

 

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!

 

I'm going with the blem ones from JDM ... I can't justify the cost of the perfect ones and MSA want over $700! Shipping looks like $100 in any case.

You can try and swing it with LED bulbs etc but I'm getting some regardless and rewiring the old setup. Will do a write-up for general consumption on here when done.

There's a single one on ebay atm, but I can't be bothered to get one and wait for the other from somewhere - there is a single one in the States on ebay as well but they won't match, you can betcha life!

 

Welcome aboard she sure looks a lovely car, I like the front spoiler too, I imported an Orange 240Z a year ago so I know where you are and how excited you must be!

I went for the JDM Blem rear lights and they're superb, I couldn't find anything blemished about them, I think they're the best way to go, good luck when she arrives !

 

My container is leaving on the 22nd. Race Ya

 

That's two votes for the blems, then Woody. The most cost-effective solution I reckon ...