My '73 240Z from Zimbabwe

[Classicman]

I took these photos in May went I went to Zimbabwe to purchase the car.  It has been standing in the warehouse for many years, and the elderly gent in the photo is the second owner.

 

The story goes like this.  The car was first sold in the UK in 1974 and was white.  The new owner obviously didn't like the colour and painted it blue, but left the engine compartment white .  After about a year, Andrew bought the car and shipped it to Harare, Zimbabwe.  From 1975 till now he has covered a genuine 43,000km in the car.  He went so far as to strap foam on the pedals, so the pedal rubbers would't wear out!

 

The car is very original and even the rubbers are still soft.  It will obviously need a repaint, and herein lies the dilemma......  Do I repaint in original colour and clean the car up as an original car with patina, or do I do a nut and bolt on the car?

 

Comments?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[74zzz]

if its lead as charmed life as it sounds.... why do a nut bolt? its very clean as is and if the aesthetics  are already brilliant just repaint and keep it well maintained........ do a nut and bolt when the sale prices are somewhat close to recouping a fair chunk of money spent:) with cars im a little like a house, dont over capitalise unless you are gonna live in it forever:)

[GongZ]

I like the colour of the car as it is now (but that may be because mine is metallic blue too  ).

 

Are the rear turn signal lenses red (like a US car) or amber (a trick of the photograph)?

[Classicman]

No, they're amber.  I-phone photography :-)

 

[PB260Z]

The car is very original and even the rubbers are still soft.  It will obviously need a repaint, and herein lies the dilemma......  Do I repaint in original colour and clean the car up as an original car with patina, or do I do a nut and bolt on the car?

 

Comments?

 

With a car as good as you describe, why go to the expense and effort of a full resto. I would return it to the original colour and go for a survivor car look.

 

Cheers

 

PB

[gilltech]

IMO if the existing paint is good enough then leave it as it is! Assuming you like blue.

It's a very early repaint & part of the car's history.

As soon as you strip it back to repaint it in the original colour you've lost the patina of a survivor car anyway, & the patina of all the various parts will look crap against a fresh coat of white or whatever. So you'll end up doing more than just a repaint.

A dilemma I know, but why make so much work for yourself & IMO lose the car's uniqueness!

You've got a real gem there! Keep it just the way the old boy looked after it all those years.

Please.

[Classicman]

Gilltech, the problem is that the blue paint job was done in 1974 and although acceptable at the time, hasn't aged well.  It is peeling in some places, so will need to be redone anyway.  I must admit, I like the blue, and if I am to do a total repaint, would love the Gold, but I'm a purist, and if it came out of the factory white, then will probably err on that side.  Having said that, and looking at recent posts of white cars, they don't look half bad :-)

 

I think I will revaluate when the car is at the panel shop.  If I can get away with stripping, painting and a good clean and polish of all the original parts, I may go this route. 

 

 

 

[74zzz]

oh.....yep its gonna need a paint.........paint it whatever colour you want.........its your car the next buyer can repaint if he/she wants it white (original)

[gav240z]

Given how humid Zimbabwe feels I'm surprised it's not rusted out. I'd repaint original even though white is not my favorite colour and I'd remove those rear view mirrors. Replace with the correct mirrors for a UK car or go with bullet style fender mirrors.

[Classicman]

oh.....yep its gonna need a paint.........paint it whatever colour you want.........its your car the next buyer can repaint if he/she wants it white (original)

 

History has told me to do it right the first time to maximise your return the day you decide to sell.  This motto has never let me down before.  I suppose you enjoy the car for what it is, regardless of colour. 

[Classicman]

Given how humid Zimbabwe feels I'm surprised it's not rusted out. I'd repaint original even though white is not my favorite colour and I'd remove those rear view mirrors. Replace with the correct mirrors for a UK car or go with bullet style fender mirrors.

 

Harare isn't humid at all.  You can see where the paint has peeled off that the bare metal doesn't even have surface rust.  I've got an original set of mirrors off the '71 that I'll clean up.  What mirrors did the UK cars come with?

[74zzz]

as long as it is a period colour does it really matter that much? pink, fluro green or two tone yes. But I would think the oranges, red, BRG maybe silver would be a relatively safe bet.....heaps of guys paint these dark metalic blue also because of the devil z shabang..... think white may limit buyer numbers.... if he wants to move it on at some stage....but if someone wants a out of factory spec car they'll settle on white if nothing else is available:)

[74zzz]

I think in the case of your p1800 white would sell over anything else because of the saint car etc........a bit like people want hemi orange chargers or red Ferraris..attracted  by a particular style, memory or era

[gav240z]

I'm pretty sure UK cars had a more flat looking mirror. A couple of examples here.

http://insidelane.co.uk/review-1974-datsun-240z/

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=1420996

 

HS30-H (member) would probably be better at confirming UK specification cars.

 

Personally they are not my favorite mirrors on an S30z but I see your car has the rear same rear bumper appendage's going on which might be for licence plate rear lights? It also had the indicators at the front etc.. that match the UK market style.

 

So I'm going to assume you want to keep it UK market correct?

[Classicman]

Thanks Gav240Z.  I see all these cars had door mounted mirrors.  It'l be interesting to see if there are holes in my doors that have been closed up, or if it cam with the wing mirrors.  I'd like to try and keep it as original as possible, down to the steel wheels and hubcaps if I can find them.

[260DET]

History has told me to do it right the first time to maximise your return the day you decide to sell.  This motto has never let me down before.  I suppose you enjoy the car for what it is, regardless of colour.

 

That's what I was thinking, particularly given your apparent situation as a collector.

[Classicman]

I thought I'd update everyone on this car and its progress.  We have stripped it down completely and the car is very solid with no rust to speak of.  During the course of this week, we will chemically strip all of the paint off until we get to bare metal all over.  My colour choice has been narrowed down to Safari Gold or Lime, going to have to decide this week.

 

Here are a few photos so far:

 

 

 

 

[/url

[Classicman]

So, now got all of the paint off and the car is now on rotisserie getting prepped for paint.

 

 

 

[Classicman]

The bodywork will be finished and primed today and the car fully resprayed by the end of next week.  

 

Gav240Z, you'll be pleased to know that I have decided on Safari Gold, so by the end of next week, I should be in a position to post a few photos of the shell in its new livery :-)

 

I just confirmed an order with ZStore for $4,000 worth of parts to do justice to the new paintwork.  The car is not going to be concourse, but near as dammit.

 

The plan is to have the car full completed by the second week of December and on a ship to land here by the end of January 2016.  I cant wait!

[dat240z]

Good stuff mate.. Are you going to sell this one too? Is the cost for paint/panel better than in Aus? I assume yes, but how much better??

[74zzz]

ahhh all this work is happening in SA.I thought it was already here. look forward to the updates

[Classicman]

Yes, I stopped the car there en-route from Zimbabwe.  I wouldn't be able to afford all of this over here :-(

[Classicman]

Good stuff mate.. Are you going to sell this one too? Is the cost for paint/panel better than in Aus? I assume yes, but how much better??

I'd like to keep this one, which is why I'm going all out on it.  Business success (Auto Hotel) or lack thereof will be the determining factor I suppose.

 

The labour is much cheaper in South Africa.  This whole job complete with parts will come in at under $20k.  That includes new rims, tyres, ceramic coating the exhaust manifold, head job to ensure it can run unleaded etc, etc, etc....

 

Because I know the guys there so well and trust their work unsupervised, I am considering sending some high $$$ cars back for refurbs.  Can send them there and bring back for about 60% of what it costs here.

[1600dave]

Any hints / tips / companies to use / words of advice / warnings on importing a car from Sth Africa ?

 

I was over there earlier this year (and heading back next year) - some of the "lesser" datsuns seemed quite reasonably priced for a higher-spec'd versions like the 1600 SSS and 140Z that we didn't see in Australia. 

[Classicman]

Its quite tough to find the right car in South Africa without having contacts there.  Most cars are badly misrepresented and a lot of them have been badly repaired.  Rust is a menace in the coastal areas.

 

The SSS versions have often been modified and may not have the original motors in them.  It will be quite difficult to find a really clean original one.  They are out there, but you will have to sift through a lot of rubbish beforehand.  

 

I don't want to come across as being very negative, but I have been burned a few times myself.

 

I can maybe try and help if you let me know what you are looking for?