need to find the original engine number for my early 260z

[EVIL_denver]

hi Guys,

 

Its been a stressfull past couple of weeks for me as ive ran into a problem. My early 260z is missing the engine ID tag. Now vic roads cannot search my the chassis number and previous owner is unable to supply a previous registration number. Ive called Nissan HQ, ive called every single RTA in Australia who all say i need the engine number or previous registration. Is there a way to find the original engine number maybe through Nissan Japan? Maybe some here may have another idea? I have spoken to police who have searched the chassis number and have said that it has not been reported stolen etc..

[d3c0y]

Revs check maybe?

[George]

and previous owner is unable to supply a previous registration number.

 

What about the owner prior to him/her? Would they have the contact details on a receipt of purchase or some way of tracking them down?

[EVIL_denver]

What about the owner prior to him/her? Would they have the contact details on a receipt of purchase or some way of tracking them down?

 

I have spoken to the previous owner who is a member here, and he said that he cannot find the previous owners contact details nor can he remember his name. The previous owner bought the car from Darwin, with the engine ID tag already missing. Vicroads have suggested I contact Nissan for the engine number but all nissan could tell me was that the car was Australian delivered. I have completed a REVS/PPSR etc and all show no reported incidents.

[dat240z]

Surely theres an etched number somewhere throughout the chassis?

[EVIL_denver]

Surely theres an etched number somewhere throughout the chassis?

 

Ive got the chassis number, but this means nothing to vicroads as they require the engine number / rego number for their records.

[Riceburner]

Does it have the compliance plate?

 

The Engine I.D tag only has the Chassis number stamped everything else is factory printed (chassis prefix, engine cc's, power output, wheel base, date of manufacture).

 

EDIT: There are reproduction plates available. You will either need one of these or to find the original. The new plates can be stamped to suit the chassis number.

 

 

[Riceburner]

Was the car unregistered when purchased, did you get the previous owner to sign and print details on a sale receipt for proof of ownership when the time comes to register? This 'receipt' can be hand written, it needs chassis no, engine no, date of sale, sale amount and also the names and signatures of both seller/buyer.

[EVIL_denver]

Was the car unregistered when purchased, did you get the previous owner to sign and print details on a sale receipt for proof of ownership when the time comes to register? This 'receipt' can be hand written, it needs chassis no, engine no, date of sale, sale amount and also the names and signatures of both seller/buyer.

 

hi Gareth,

 

yes the car was unregistered when i purchased it. The previous owner said the car can be registered. I did a ppsr search and went to the police with the chassis number and both said the car was not stolen. I have my purchase reciept. The car came without an engine and engine ID tag. The reciept shows chassis number, names of both seller and i, cost of purchase, date of purchase.

[Six_Shooter]

If I ever announce that I'm moving to Australia, remind me of this thread (and other compliance issue threads) and give me a slap to not follow through.

 

Engine number for registration? Really?

[RLY240]

make one up.

[Riceburner]

There's a few shops in japan that do reproduction tags, revive jalopy & soul-rubber.net, I believe. I'm not sure if they do 'English' versions though. There is also a place in the UK I know that do them to your requirements.

I'll get the info later tonight.

 

As long as the engine is still an L series all they need to do is a visual on the car/engine and confirm the number matches what you have told them.

[EVIL_denver]

If I ever announce that I'm moving to Australia, remind me of this thread (and other compliance issue threads) and give me a slap to not follow through.

 

Engine number for registration? Really?

 

Im pretty sure the rules are tough in every country. Look at the bright side, At least if your when you come to Australia you dont get sexually assulted by customs 

 

Thanks Gareth  for your imput, its greatly appreciated!!

[Six_Shooter]

Im pretty sure the rules are tough in every country. Look at the bright side, At least if your when you come to Australia you dont get sexually assulted by customs 

 

Thanks Gareth  for your imput, its greatly appreciated!!

 

I've never needed to provide more than V.I.N. (ownership slip) bill of sale and proof of insurance (E-test results sometimes) to register my vehicles, no engineering approval for modifications (Though I CAN see a benefit to this, IF the engineer has an open mind), no engine numbers, nothing else.

 

I do plan to go back to Australia to visit again, but that won't be for a few years. It's been a little over 27 years since I lived there.

[NZeder]

Not here in NZ - engine number is not the cars ID that VID/Chassis code is the cars ID + the rego number if previous rego will be key in getting a car back on the road - better yet to put the rego on hold before it expires - this way the NZTA still have it in the system and still know who owns the car - you still transfer the ownership like the car is on the road you just don't pay the fees until it is back on the road again (aka = rego is still alive and when the car is ready for the road again just a standard WOF is carried out, a WOF we do every 6 months aka road worthy) if the car is modified then it needs to be certified before it can come back on the road. If however the rego is dead ie expired, not on hold man you have a lot of hoops to jump through to get it back on the road - it basically as to be a new car.

 

Engine number seem as bit of BS to me - engines can and do change after age, blow up etc don't see why that should be used to ID a car - I bet that goes years back when cars aka Fords did not have chassis codes just a standard number to id the body style and the engine number was used to uniquely ID the car however that died in the 60's I thought.

[Scoota G]

When i registered my V8 Zed i had to supply the previous owners address even though he bought the car from ebay unregistered and never did any work to it. They did a search on the car and found it had never been registered in Australia. The engine number could not be matched to the car as it was never registered but matched with three other vehicles (a car, a motorcycle and a truck). Some days at Vic Roads it can be just a matter of getting the right person to deal with. See if you can sign a stat dec to get the car around this issue.

When i was there previously i was obtaining a permit on a VL Commodore and even though i had photos of every id plate the lady said there were not enough numbers on the VIN at which point the fellow next to her explained that being the model that it was it didn't have the same amount of numbers as later model cars.

 

Remember Vic Roads staff are just like any other customer service center and may not know what they are talking about.

[Riceburner]

Here's a pic of a 240z ID plate, obviously yours is for a 260Z so will be slightly different, L26....... etc.

 

I thought it would be best to grey out the engine and chassis numbers. The dimensions of the plate are 100mm long and 70mm high.

 

These guys should be able to supply a replica for you with the measurements above and the image. http://www.vin-plate.co.uk/

[Zedman240®]

Check if any of the previous owners have any old pictures etc with the old rego plates still on the car...might help?

[EVIL_denver]

Thanks Scoota for your input. I have discussed the idea with Tai also regarding a stat dec, just seemed unnecessary at the time but the more I look into it a stat dec seems like a good option. I have asked the previous owner for consent for his personal details to also be put on the stat dec and he agreed.

 

Thanks Gareth. Ive seen those on ebay etc and will be buying one soon. The problem is.. do I stamp my current engine number on? or do I stamp the original engine number on?? (Once I find what the original engine number is)?

[gilltech]

I don't understand all this. What has an engine # got to do with it? Engines can be changed & do get changed. Surely the old-style VIN stamped into the Z's firewall is the car's real identity.

FWIW, early Mustangs & other Fords usually don't have engine numbers, only a few more limited run models did, until early '70s or so.

In NZ the chassis number or VIN is used for rego, & if necessary a NZ-derived VIN issued to enable rego. When I brought my '67 Mustang over to Qld the inspecting engineer required that an engine number be provided as well as the VIN, & my engine - typically - didn't have one, so the people I had taken it to to handle the LO2 compliance stuff simply stamped one on the block & all was well. But my car's identity is in the VIN stamped into the body, not the tags - also containing the VIN - which can be easily removed.

OK, sounds like VIC is pretty tough, but if people can register early Fords there then why such a hassle with a Datsun? Surely your situation would be no different than if you imported the car?

FWIW my early 260's (original) engine # is not the same as the VIN, although numerically not too much different.

 

[NZeder]

Thanks for clearing the early ford thing up I knew a number was missing but got it the wrong way around.  Vin and no engine number...got it I thought it was the other way....

[EVIL_denver]

Vic roads do not register cars under the chassis number. They only register under the VIN number for vehicles built after 1989. Pre 1989 vehicles are registered under the engine number, although the chassis number is entered in vicroads system they cannot search it. If the engine has been changed its the owners resposibiliy to advise vicroads so records can be updated. They will not remove the original engine number from the system, they will just add your new engine number.

[gav240z]

I don't know about you, what this is what I would do.

 

1. Obtain an L26 that's running.

2. Slot it into your car.

3. Get a replica plate made up with the chassis ID and L26 number that is the block sitting in your car.

4. Take photos and take it to VIC ROADS.

 

If the L26 matches other vehicles you can say yes, well it was swapped into other vehicles and you have managed to obtain and track down the original engine. It's a bit of a grey area, but you're not breaking the law, the car isn't stolen and all they need to see is certain numbers etc..

 

Unless there is some way to find Nissan's records of what engine number was fitted to which chassis ID?

[gilltech]

Well Gav's suggestion has merit.

However, the fact remains that you have a body/chassis number, but no engine # (well, no engine either as yet...), & no proof of any previous registration in Australia. But you can prove the chassis is indeed yours & not stolen.

So surely the process of registering your Datsun is the same as when someone imports themselves an early Mustang - they will have a body/chassis number, a bill of sale/proof of purchase, & - sure, I only have Qld experience here to go by - surely they then go to a compliance company whose engineer examines the car & is authorized to provide an engine number if there is none (& most haven't) from new? Then owner, chassis #, fresh engine # & Vic-issued rego # are all linked together in the system; part of Vic's own 'post '89' system.

I don't see why your car can't be treated the same as any used pre-'89 import. Go talk to a compliancing company, get professional advice, & start hunting down an engine after you've talked to them first just to see whether you're going to be locked into buying an L26 (to match your car) or whether you would be allowed to use an L24 or L28 if one comes up. What happens with V6 or V8 transplants in Vic should you want to go down that road?

Yes, FWIW the VINs these days are 17 digits whereas our old Mustangs & Zeds etc etc have 10 or 11 digits. FWIW, in NZ my Mustang being imported after a particular date required a 17 digit so they just took the 11 & slotted in extra digits here & there to some sort of logic or code, & the new 17 digit VIN was stamped into a plate which they riveted to the firewall. Then when I brought the Muzzy to Qld the professional compliance company engineers issued L02 compliance & I obtained registration using that 17 digit VIN, no hassles at all, I just paid the costs & fees & everyone was happy.

[gav240z]

Interesting that 17 digit VIN explains why my FD RX-7 got a bunch of prefix digits before it's actual chassis ID. My chassis ID on that car is only FD3 4XXXXX or something like that, but they put all these nonsensical numbers and characters before that number on my registration.

 

@Evil_Denver - if you want ask the guys from Iron Chef Imports about a compliance shop to help you out with this issue. They helped me import the FD and would know who can help I'm sure. It might cost you a couple of hundred but at least you've got that sorted?