Keep, Flip, Part out

"Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction" (rustholes-are-weight-reduction)
03/03/2020 at 11:40 • Filed to: None

As probably most people here, I love the Datsun S30 Z-cars.
I have been looking at them for quite some time but quite recently I decided now is as good as any time to go get one (actually 10 years ago would have been better, but anyway).

My criteria are:

Driveable with a small amount of work (I already have too many projects to finish)

No more than surface rust

Ideally orange

Ideally with small bumpers

Able to be in North-East France in April

The paint doesn’t have to be perfect, I prefer a bit of patina to a bad rust repair/paint job.
This is a car I plan on keeping.
A 4 seater would be ideal (dad life), but they are quite hard to find here, and cost about the same as the 2 seaters while beeing less desirable.

I currently have 3 cars saved that seem intersting:

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The first one is a 240Z from Oregon. t has been repainted in metallic blue, I don’t know if that is the original paint though. The engine has been overhauled at some point, but the fuel pump has to be replaced and the brakes need some work. I asked the seller for a compression test, it turned out to be at 11 bar on all but one cylinder, which is at 10. So the engine seems healthy. The front right fender needs some paint, the bumpers are a bit dented but should be ok,, the interior needs carpetting. Otherwise it looks quite nice. The price is at 14.900€, shipping would cost 850€. It’s about 5h30 away from my place.
My take: it looks nice, The price seems right if the new paint doesn’t hide bad rust repairs. I’d probably swap the wheels but overall I like it.

https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/nissan-datsun-280z-s30-manual/1329079721-216-3497

The second one is a 280Z from California. It appears to have its original color, and no rust, is said to run and drive well, and the interior looks ok. It still has its 5MPH bumpers, which obviously need to go. Oh and it has a 5 speed! The paint is badly faded and pretty boring, but I could live with that. The price is at 14.900€ too. It is 7h30 away from my place.
My take: probably the most reasonable. I guess it just needs a good service (and small bumpers) and I could drive it. The color is quite boring though.

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The third one is a 240Z from California. It’s the cheapest but also the roughest from the lot. It appear to be a black car that’s been badly resprayed orange. The aftermarket radiator indicates that some work has been done to it, but the ad doesn’t say much about it other than it’s a good restoration basis.
Maybe the respray can be savec by sanding/polishing, but even though it’s my favorite color, right now it looks quite terrible. The dashboard looks bad and the driver side mirror is missing. the seats look ok at first sight.
It is for sale for 10.999€ and is about 3h45 away from my place.
My take: It is orange and cheap! But also looks like yet another project I won’t have the time to tackle.

What does oppo think? Feel free to send me other/better cars

DISCUSSION (9)

pip bip - choose Corrour > Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction
03/03/2020 at 06:18

buy the orange one

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction
03/03/2020 at 06:48

Blue is the best driver already, but it may be hiding some rust. You are doing on site in spections, right?

dumpsterfire! > Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction
03/03/2020 at 07:59

a couple years ago an orange one for sale on the way home from work forced me to stop and ask about it. he wanted $10kUSD, and i started to get a little excited as it looked good from 15 feet away. then i saw the front frame/subframe rails inside of the front wheels was rusted through and had been patched/covered with fiberglass! “thanks for showing it, i’ll let you know” and i was off. good luck in your search.

Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
03/03/2020 at 11:39

On site inspection would be ideal, but looking at the distance, I'll have to be pretty sure already before going there

ClassicDatsunDebate > Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction
03/03/2020 at 12:09

I’m assuming by your post that you live in N-E France? There is a guy named Richard who has a Datsun Roadster shop north of Amsterdam . He’s a Roadster guy but the Datsun community is pretty tight. ( He gets to North America once in a while to source cars and parts) . He may know of a private Z car that is for sale. Just a thought.

https://www.datsunroadster.nl/

CaptDale - is secretly British > Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction
03/03/2020 at 12:14

Id say the blue one if it is solid

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > ClassicDatsunDebate
03/03/2020 at 13:42

I never expected there would be any Datsun Roadster shops in the north of the Netherlands. I actually live quite close to there so I could check out a Z-car for Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction if there is one.

StudyStudyStudy > Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction
03/03/2020 at 14:22

I just sold mine that I had for almost 10 years. We play this game all the time on the forum, here are my thoughts.

Fact is they all will be hiding rust. The extent of it will be hard to tell from pictures alone. The most common line you will hear is “considering it’s age...” given how much they seem to be asking for they really should be a step above.

The first one has some interesting signs in that someone has gone in and coated the crap out of it. However they also coated over what looks like crushed rails and scraped floors. They didn’t bother to hammer it out or cap it so that will be a problem later on. Granted the person did take pictures of the bottom and common rust spots which are very appreciated and the paint job looks decent.

Don’t get a 280z unless the laws prevent you from changing something and you need the 5 speed, L28, or R200. 240z’s are just prettier and you will end up swapping bumpers, turn signals etc and such down the road, best to start with more or less what you are looking for.

That last one is also quite rough. The running paint is concerning wondering how it was painted or what is underneath. They also don’t post pictures of the underbody.

It seems like you have somewhat of a healthy budget, I’d be tempted to purchase from someone that knows what they are doing. JDM legends in Utah, Z car garage in California, I know up here we have Datsun Dave who used to do some real serious work and may have lines on some cars in Washington.

There are major forums like hybridz.org or zcar.com. I would make accounts there and if you decide to go look at them to ask a senior member to go with you to take a look as there are very specific areas to look at. I know on hybridz we helped find one for a German member who has a really nice restoration undergoing.

NojustNo > Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction
03/04/2020 at 23:41

Ugh 280z’s were 2-$4000 thousand forever. when did they get desirable? it seems like a ripoff at $10000 plus.

I like the blue one tho.