Researching value..

[MusPuppis]

I'm fairly new to this site, but have been over on Hybrid for a while now, but thought I'd post this question here, if its appropriate. If its not, I apologize and will remove it as soon as a Mod tells me to do so.

I'm restoring (resto-modding.. whatever its called) my Fairlady and wont be re-using the L20, opting to go with an L28ET instead. This leaves my L20 doing nothing but sitting in my garage taking up space and as a result I'm considering selling the motor. I see no reason to sit on it when someone else out there restoring a Fairlady or the like could put the motor to good use.

My problem is value, and thats the reason for this post. I havent been able to find one for sale to get an idea as to a solid, fair (for myself and for the buyer) baseline to go by. Now, it may very well turn out the engine has no real value, but I simply dont know. A description of the engine along with a picture is below..

The motor mileage is up in the air. The odo reads 57821 and I'm sure its rolled around, for 157,821 klm. The motor was running very strongly when it was put in storage about 5 years ago and still turns freely. The head was totally reworked a few months before it was stored and is essentially like-new. It has some assorted new parts, but what interest these would hold to someone looking to restore the motor I do not know. They were all obtained from my local Advanced Auto Parts, . New starter, plugs, wires, fuel pump, oil pressure sending unit, head bolts, timing chain, water pump, thermostat, clutch and valve cover gasket.

The motor does NOT have the carbs, though the intake manifolds and fuel rail are still there. I dont have the air cleaner either. Also, the motor has a header on it, which I was *told* came stock on the Fairlady's L20 but the source of that information was dubious and I'm fairly sure incorrect. The original valve cover was stolen (along with the carbs when they were off to be rebuilt.. why it was stored actually). It has an old chrome cover on now.

I also have the 5 speed that came with the motor, but its still in my friends storage unit so I cant get any numbers off of it at the moment. Reverse does not work, .. but otherwise it drove fine when it was in the car.

Again, I apologize of this was inappropriate. I'm just trying to attach a value to the motor if I decide to sell. If anyone has any info or estimates, I'd love to here it!

[sakijo]

It's at least worth the rebuild on the head. After that, who knows. I don't think there's much demand for an L20 except for someone who's restoring a Fairlady Z, but then you get into the "matching numbers" debate with some of the purists. I say put it up for sale - best offer and see what you get.

BTW, when you rebuilt the head, did you use L24 parts - gaskets, seals, etc? I'm asking for future reference when I need to work on my car.

[MusPuppis]

Yup. All L24 stuff. At the time I didnt even know it was an L20.. . Was younger then and didnt know any better.

[xray]

If you resto-mod, the value is probably more determined by the quality of modification, both mechanical as well as body/paint. Almost a referendum on the restorer, not so much the base value of the car....

Car for car, a matching numbers vehicle has a better chance of retaining value than a modified one (one man's opinion.) Interest (and by extension, dollar value) in Asian cars (except the Toyota 2000GT) still lags behind pre-war, muscle and Euroclassic cars, but with Gen X aging, interest in imports will hopefully begin to make a push to the front.

With that said, why not just keep the block? Doesn't take up too much space, and you have the option of dropping it back in later if prices favor "numbers matching" over modded cars when/if you sell.

Good luck!

Steve

[MusPuppis]

With that said, why not just keep the block? Doesn't take up too much space, and you have the option of dropping it back in later if prices favor "numbers matching" over modded cars when/if you sell.

I've been considering that, especially since the engine doesnt seem to be overly valueble. I had kinda hoped it would turn out it was worth a bucks to someone in the states, but really, if its a matter of 200-300$ for the whole thing, I'd rather just hold onto it. As odd as it sounds I could kinda restore the motor on an engine stand and leave it there.. Would feel a little less guilty about not restoring the Fairlady..