rturbo 930

I think this is by far the nicest one you've posted. Yes, the dash has a half dash cap (only the top half). Really common since Z dashes usually crack. If you don't like it you can take it off and either have the dash restored or try one of the DIY dash restoration methods posted either here or on classiczcars. The interior is a bit red, but that's easily fixed. You probably want better seats anyway. Door panels you can recover. I think MSA sells the vinyl. I don't think I've heard of anyone using J30 disc brakes, but those front brakes look like the 13" kit that Modern Motorsports use to sell. You can see the logo on the rotor hat. Engine bay looks a little messy, but as long as nothing is suspect, then I'd go for it. Paint looks good from here. I'd certainly take a look at it. I haven't a clue what a fair price would be, but yeah, 23k is too high. A really rough guess says no less than 15k, no more than 20k.

Not surprising. The car looks (meaning aesthetic choices) like it was built by an amateur. Additionally, I noticed the over spray on the gas tank immediately. I didn't really want to say anything, but the whole thing kinda looks like shit in the CL ad, and that usually means it looks even worse in person. I've bought two cars sight unseen, and I won't be doing it again for good reason.

Your original color is red. Generally the interior panels - the doors underneath the door cards, behind the dash, inner quarters, etc. where the car wouldn't have been repainted will tell you what color it was. Yours is red in all those areas. The VIN won't tell you much. S30 is the chassis, L is for left hand drive, I forget what the H is for, and everything else is just the serial number they gave it.

From my experience, no, not normal, and I can't imagine how they got there. The first one could've happened from something hitting it, or maybe it was formed poorly, I don't know. I simply don't know how the second one occurred. I personally wouldn't worry about it. Pretty strange though. I don't know what the hell this car went through in its lifetime. I don't know if I'd use it for a flawless factory restoration, but it would make a fine hot rod.

Might've had a little tap in the rear by the exhaust, but not a huge hit. BTW, it's common for some of the trunk floor and trans tunnel sheet metal to be wavy from when it was stamped. Freaked me out the first time I saw it, but it's common. Get some dry ice, and take out the tar to see what's underneath. I still don't know about the dents in your wheel well. Maybe something got wrapped around the tire? I think that's going to remain a mystery. What I find odd is that you've sanded down the C pillar joint on the driver's, and it still appears to show paint cracking, but it looks like it's in the lead. Weird, but lead is soft, and has no give. I still think that's from extreme temp changes, but that's only a guess. What I'm not seeing though is major rust. I'd keep going with it. You may still find out you've got a junker, but I don't think so at this point, oddities aside. Go ahead and strip it. See what you're working with underneath the paint.

Actually, I think it looks like mostly surface rust there. Of course, when you strip it to the metal, you end up finding things you didn't expect, but I'm guessing it doesn't have a lot of rust. On a second look, I see signs of body filler. I wouldn't expect much behind that one, but you never know. I considered that it may have been hit from the rear, and that caused the C pillar to flex, but I don't think that's it. If it was in the desert, maybe a lot of extreme temps caused a lot of expanding and contracting, and that caused the paint issues there. I don't know. If you look at the trunk floor by the tool boxes, it's warped there too, so I don't think it's accident damage. Those dents in the wheel well are a mystery though. I'd like to see the inside of that wheel well to see if there's any suggestion of what happened. Tire blow out? I really don't know. Ultimately I think you need to strip it bare to see what you have.

That area on your C pillar is a lead filled joint. I've never seen one that looked like that, but I'm guessing that's what that is. Maybe it's from the heat. Was it stored in the desert or an otherwise really hot climate? That bit by your A pillar looks suspect. I'm guessing there's some rust there underneath. Your car hasn't been hit in the rear has it? Looks like the trunk floor is wrinkled, but I'm guessing that's just the tar sound deadening that's wavy. Again, I'm guessing from heat.

I've heard that some of the really nice, really early Zs can go for as much as 60k, although that was a few years ago, and they may go for more now. But while this one is pretty early (but not first 500 early), it is not nice, at all, and not worth the price. He's nuts. Also, there's something off here. The ad says it's automatic. I don't think an auto trans was available until something like June 1970. If it's a US market car (I don't know if Canadian Zs were different), it was probably built in January 1970 and should have a manual trans.

I think Dotsun is taken. Not long ago, I saw someone here with a username that was clearly meant to be "Datsun" but they spelled it wrong. I wanted to reach through my screen and smack them upside the head. How do you spell the name of your own car incorrectly? It's on the fuckin title, and several more times inside and outside of the car. Drives me nuts when I see a "Dotsun 240z" for sale. PS, Canucks say "Zed."

As a general rule of thumb, mods don't add value, at least not compared to what they cost you. You also have to consider, with modified cars, they can be done poorly, or done well, and they're always subject to taste. With collector cars, originality is key. S130s aren't that popular compared to S30s, so most likely you'll just have to be patient. It's also possible that it's priced too high, or your ad needs to be better.

Looked really clean at first. And then I remembered why I said "No more old cars!" Because they're all hiding something. BTW, if you aren't planning on it yet, start planning on chassis reinforcement. You're going to need it with that amount of power. Also, thank your wife for steering you away from painting it gold.

I hear you on stock interiors. Depending how much you're willing to stray from stock, check this out. Might be a good fit for you. http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/classic08c01/50-1289 Edit: Another option: http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/123259-a-modern-datsun-260z-fm-radio-with-bluetooth-support/

Lot's of people use POR15, but IMO it's overused. Lot's of people seem to use it when another product would be better suited. POR15 is a rust encapsulator, and it's very good at that. However, I've heard that it really doesn't stick to clean metal well. Personally, I would only use it for its intended purpose, which is rusty, pitted metal - think truck frame that has seen a few too many winters. I'm not sure exactly what product to recommend you, as I haven't gotten to that point in my project, but I think an epoxy would be a good place to start. Regarding you frame rails, I think any way you do it will take quite a bit of work. Looks like they're welded on pretty much the whole length. Are they connected to the rear subframe? I think most people, if they use tube, use 1x3 or something like that. And of course, there's Bad Dog rails, which are excellent, but your floor has been modified - factory 280Z floors aren't flat like that - so their 280Z rails won't fit. You might be able to use their 240Z rails, since 240Z floors are much flatter, but may require more fitment than usual. Bad Dog rails should add less weight than 1x3 tube, so there's that to consider as well. You could also cut down the ones you have, which would be a lot of cutting and welding, but might be less work than removing the rail entirely and fitting a new one. Of course, that option assumes that the rail was put in properly to begin with. It looks good at the moment IMO, but may not underneath the paint and sealer. I'm not sure exactly how you should support the car for frame rail work, but these cars are quite flexy, so that would be worth thinking about.

Nevermind, yeah, someone's done some work there, and quite a lot of it by the looks of it. To their credit, it looks mostly decent, at least at the moment. I've certainly seen worse. Not just you, those frame rails are big as hell. What were they thinking? I'm guessing 2.5" square tube, and it's already sitting 4" from the road. Looks like your car is stock height, so I think those will have to go.

Post a pic. That could easily be original.

Yeah, sounds like you'll need to buy that piece.

If you donate I think there's a way to change it in your profile.

I take it you bought it like that? I haven't removed a hatch sill before, but I'm guessing that's where the top piece was spot welded to the bottom piece, and those holes are from him drilling them out. As for the missing piece of hatch sill on the right, you should be able to make a replacement piece pretty easily out of sheet metal. For the holes, I think I'd get a piece of copper to hold up to the bottom side, and fill them with weld. The weld won't stick to the copper, and should help keep things tidy. Probably not how you're supposed to do it, but it'll get the job done. It looks solid, so I wouldn't bother replacing the whole piece. Probably more work than just filling the holes.

Are you after what the original color is? What color is on the interior?

276HP at the crank or at the wheels? This guy is claiming that at the wheels, which, if you assume 15% driveline loss, is about 325HP, or about 116HP/L. That's been done, but that's a lot of power from an L, and not a number you're going to see with just a cam. It sounds like this guy is claiming that with just the cam, no head work, or anything else. He listed everything else, so if it had other engine work done, I think he'd have said so. By the way, since it sounds like Don Potter built a lot of engines, does anyone know where they all ended up? You would think someone would have come forward by now and documented what he did. Would be a shame to lose that info.

Saw no mention whatsoever of head work, or anything else that would suggest a properly built high performance motor. I did notice that it has Mikuni 40s on it, wouldn't those be too small to make that kind of power, or am I mistaken? 276whp would be a lot of power for a 2.8L.

Bored with the rotrex already? If it were my car, I'd be looking to move toward an aluminum block. Either an Al M52 block, or toss the M52 for an M54 , which should be much easier to find. It's been swapped into an E30, so there should be an easy rear sump oil pan solution if it isn't rear sump already.

Apparently there's a Chinese car company that is going to use this technology pretty soon. http://koenigsegg.com/freevalve-technology-unveiled-at-beijing-motor-show-in-qoros-qamfree-concept-car/

That's more or less what I suggested in my post, and it's what I would do in your situation. Drill out the spot welds, take the top piece off, and see what you've got. Your sill doesn't look that bad, but I agree that it's probably worse underneath.

I don't think simply cutting out and welding in the piece you have there is the way to go. I would take your replacement piece apart by the spot welds, and remove the top sill plate on your car and see what you need to repair. In other words, repair the upper and lower sections of the sill plate separately. Patch the lower part as needed, and install your new sill plate on top. And as a general rule of thumb, you should try to do things as the factory did it, ie., use spot welds, don't just weld it in along the edges. I've seen people do that, and I don't know why they do it.