I second that. It may be a truly low number car and I am not sure beating it up with cones would be my first choice...condition translates not only into money but time, if you are going to do the work yourself. I am 5 years into one of my restorations currently...

Charles

Before you get ahead of yourself David you might look into the availability of the LD V07 crank and its current going rate to obtain. They can be hard to locate and once located go for around $700. If this car is a low number rust free clean car you might consider allowing it to remain stock and original...they are only original once. Surviver class cars are the rage right now and do very well in price and value.

Ok, it is a HLS30 8###, placing it as a 1970, Series 1 car. It has the Z-in-the-circle emblem on the sides (which I thought was a Series 2 thing), and the louvers on the back window. My phone is about as old as this car, so I cannot upload the pictures. No noticeable rust around the fenders, cannot get under it to check the frame-rails.

Overall, the car is surprisingly rust-free in appearance. This is promising, but I am not holding my breath. I fully understand that getting a 40+ year old car to working order is going to cost quite a bit. That is why I do not want to spend an obnoxious amount on the engine.

I also have looked for the V07/LD28 crank, and have seen how rare it is. The cheapest one I have found was $500. So I do appreciate how much this is going to cost, regardless of which route I choose to take.

Either way, bushings need to be replaced, and will be replaced with polyurethane parts. Shocks and springs needs to be replaced, so high-rebound shocks and stiffer rate lowering springs will be installed. The parts that need to be replaced are going to be upgraded with performance being the goal. Getting the engine checked and cleaned, as well as having any porting and machining done will be done regardless of whether or not I end up stroking it square.

The valve job, port-matching, new cam, new intake, new exhaust all have to happen, even if I get to re-use the numbers matching block/head.

Edited October 8, 201311 yr by DavidBoren

The best advice I can give for the engine is come up with a very specific plan and the knowledgable 'staff' here at Classic can help guide you along the way. Saying that you are going with 'all new' intake doesn't make sense. If you are staying with SU's, good choice for now by the way, then really nothing needs to be done. The head work is where all the HP is at. That doesn't mean replacing with all new parts either. Bigger valves are great and using used ones is cheap and OEM stuff is excellent. You don't need a new cam when regrinds are cheap and it keeps the proper metallurgy of OEM steel. Use a machinist that has dealt with these motors before. The proper machining and proper 'set-up' of these heads is imperative.

The bottom ends are about bullet proof, so don't get crazy there.

Doing your due diligence with searching will save you big$$ I AM speaking from experience. I have made dumb mistakes from not doing my homework.

When I first heard you saying you wanted to hack up a Series I car, I was aghast. They were top of the list in an Sept 2013 CLASSIC MOTORSPORTS article titled "Golden Opportunities - 18 Classic Cars you should buy RIGHT NOW!"

May not be the highest and best use of a rare and getting rarer every day vehicle. But as I thought about it, hacking it up will only make mine rarer, so go ahead, have fun.

As Patcon said, Robello might be the way to go if you want to keep the stock engine, assuming that it actually is an L24. Check out his site under the 2.7L Purist Z Car: Complete Engine Builds

He claims 240HP with SU Carbs.

Marty

1970 and 1971 S30s are not particularly rare. On the local craigslist there are 8 for sale right now.

I think some of that is regional. CA,OR & WA tend to have a good number of these cars just from reading the "I spy" thread. Here in the deep south I very rarely see them on the road and the projects tend to be very rusty. I suspect the Northeast and the Midwest is even worse...

Charles

Alright, I just shot Rebello an email. I will let you know what he says in return. Thank you all for your input and advice.

1970 and 1971 S30s are not particularly rare. On the local craigslist there are 8 for sale right now.

Wow John, tried using Search Tempest for Craigslist entries within 500 miles of La Habra for 1970 Datsun 240z. It only came up with two hits on Craigslist, a Chevy powered Z in Yuma, and one in Fresno that was deleted by the author.

Of course I omitted posting for fenders, etc. What did I do wrong?

The "Purist" build is $5000. Plus carbs (I asked for the triple-double carbs) and dyno, Dave says its closer to $7500. $7500 is way out of my price range.

For that kind of cash, I can forget the vanity of having a numbers matching car, grab a 2jz-gte with the transmission for $3000, sell the twin turbos, buy an ITB intake and six throttle bodies, and still afford any fab work required for the swap.

$7500 to stroke an L24 using an OEM 280z crank and OEM 240z rods and a little port work on the head? Nope. Not me. I may be inexperienced, ignorant, naive, but I am not freaking stupid.

I know that experienced engine builders carry a bit of weight, but $5000 for rebuilding an L-series engine with OEM L-series parts, and some porting is ridiculous. I cannot get over that.

I could put an LS1 in it for less than the cost of having Rebello rebuild the L24. I really like the idea of keeping it numbers matching, but screw the "Purist" build.