NOS SSS engines - how many are out there?

[jitenshakun]

A venerated Z enthusiast is a day or so away from turning a brand new L18 engine over as part of a restoration. The engine is a properly new, never fired L18 assembled with a black no VIN block and SSS parts. It's life has been as a collector piece. 

 

A question I have is how many new, never fired engines are out there? I'm not talking rebuilt with new parts, but an engine that has been collecting dust for over 50 years. 

[jitenshakun]

FTR a 50 year old Nissan crate engine fires first try with some gasoline thrown at it. 

[zKars]

Ah yes my little jewel that is the Kardashian of the Datsun world, no real talent but having insufferable beauty, gazed upon lustfully these many years with no real contribution to society, now has to earn a living by vile hot sweaty noisy labour under the hood of an un-remarkable 4 door sedan in the middle of nowhere special. Poor thing. 

Is the value of an object defined by rarity or desirability? Or it’s ability to bring joy to it’s owner and those that share in the ensuing reverie? I prefer to believe the latter. 

Well this thing is now nothing but a (slightly) used L18. Never again will it be NOS. It has 15min of break-in time on it. 

I speculated that if I dared to declare that I had something no one else had, many others would come out of the woodwork and proclaim they have not one but two hiding in their basement. Thus I have not shared up until now. 

At the very least we will likely descend into the hell of arguing how real and accurate all the bits are to the SSS form. Or I may be scorned for committing heresy by putting such a rarity into a stock North American 69 4 door with no SSS heritage and slapping false declarations of SSS-ishness (which I fully intend to do BTW) upon its body?  

Well I have earned with age the privilege to do what I hell I want with it and enjoy the hell out of it, and just enjoy the slight smugness that no one, at least near me if any luck, has one (or two) just like it. 

[zKars]

It would seem I can’t upload video’s or images, as others have noted. I will try again when the issue is resolved. 

As they say, it ain’t real without pictures. 

Edited August 2, 2022 by zKars