Hoarding Z Parts

[inline6]

19 minutes ago, Terrapin Z said:

I too have quite a hoard, not a ton of NOS but lots of UOS. I usually clean up some parts and post on eBay. I also answer parts wanted ad's when I find them.

Nice to have all that space so you can add whole cars! 

I bought a few parts from a guy in Midlothian VA in the early 90's who bought unwanted 240z's and put all of the parts in his basement.  I even contacted him and co-bought a right hand drive Fairlady Z when I was knee deep in the rebuild of my first 240z.  He had a pickup with an engine crane mounted in the bed.  Several hours of work and he had picked that car clean.  Doing this in the 90's, I wonder how much inventory he stashed away.  Lost touch with him and saw he died several years ago.  Wonder what happened with the parts.

Do you have any nice, original carpet jute pieces?

Edited January 7, 2023 by inline6

[inline6]

10 hours ago, MrScott said:

I have two replacement fenders, still in their Nissan wrappers that I would love to sell. 
Biggest problem I am having is in trying to come up with a realistic price for them

I forgot to mention that if there are aftermarket reproductions available for an item you want to establish a value for, you will want to consider that.  An aftermarket fender for the Z exists for $250 plus shipping.  Though, from the description, it is obviously not the same quality as OEM.  
 

[CanTechZ]

13 hours ago, MrScott said:

I have two replacement fenders, still in their Nissan wrappers that I would love to sell. Bought them for my car several years ago in case the original fenders were too far gone, but they ended up being usable. So now the replacements are just taking up room in my garage loft.

Biggest problem I am having is in trying to come up with a realistic price for them as I have never seen anything like them for sale. Also have a spare hatch that I would like to pass along to someone who could use it.

As my car moves along towards completion I am sure there will be other parts that I might want to sell.

Just for reference, In 1982 I purchased new OEM RH & LH fenders from my local Datsun Dealer and they were $380 each, Canadian. This was for the first resto on my 7/70. I bet that with inflation over 40 years, NOS fenders would be at least 3 or 4 times that today, not even considering availability.

Rear quarter panels were CDN$450 back then.

[inline6]

$380 Canadian in 1982 is the equivalent of $1,048 Canadian now.  $779 US dollars.  I think they might be worth $800-$1000 US each.

Edited January 8, 2023 by inline6

[Diseazd]

21 hours ago, inline6 said:

Nice to have all that space so you can add whole cars! 

I bought a few parts from a guy in Midlothian VA in the early 90's who bought unwanted 240z's and put all of the parts in his basement.  I even contacted him and co-bought a right hand drive Fairlady Z when I was knee deep in the rebuild of my first 240z.  He had a pickup with an engine crane mounted in the bed.  Several hours of work and he had picked that car clean.  Doing this in the 90's, I wonder how much inventory he stashed away.  Lost touch with him and saw he died several years ago.  Wonder what happened with the parts.

Do you have any nice, original carpet jute pieces?

I know who you are talking about, but can’t remember his name. He had 2 storage units full of parts sold to another Z owner in Richmond. When he died also, his son sold the parts. I got there 2 days later after it was picked over pretty good. I bought a number of parts including a F54/P79 engine, series one steering wheel and some window lift mechanisms. Nothing to really impress, but at one time he had a ton of NOS stuff. I built a Z shed, 8x12 for my stuff……keeps it out of my garage.

[inline6]

His name was Ben Herman.  His Obituary.  He used to buy 240z's (only) that he found out about a printed, regional publication that was around at the time.  It may have been called "old car trader"?  Whatever it was called, I recall seeing his ads in it and that is how I came to meet him.  At the time I dealt with him 1994/1995, he kept everything in his basement.  The Fairlady Z we parted out had some interesting parts on it.  It was very restorable (he said is was a shame to part that one out) but I was 25 at the time and in the middle of a restoration on my 1971 Z (my first one that I still have) that was taking all of my time and money (cost me my girlfriend eventually too!)  Anyway, it had a 5 speed, a 3.70 rear diff, and some really thick rubber, floor and hatch mats.  I recall them being about like a quarter to half inch thick.  They appeared to be factory.  Right hand drive of course, with L20A engine. 

Anyway, it sounds like he built that inventory out quite a bit.  I know is inventory of early Z parts was extensive as he had special interest in the early cars.

[Patcon]

If you lost the girlfriend over a 240z, she wasn't a keeper! 😉

[Diseazd]

2 hours ago, inline6 said:

His name was Ben Herman.  His Obituary.  He used to buy 240z's (only) that he found out about a printed, regional publication that was around at the time.  It may have been called "old car trader"?  Whatever it was called, I recall seeing his ads in it and that is how I came to meet him.  At the time I dealt with him 1994/1995, he kept everything in his basement.  The Fairlady Z we parted out had some interesting parts on it.  It was very restorable (he said is was a shame to part that one out) but I was 25 at the time and in the middle of a restoration on my 1971 Z (my first one that I still have) that was taking all of my time and money (cost me my girlfriend eventually too!)  Anyway, it had a 5 speed, a 3.70 rear diff, and some really thick rubber, floor and hatch mats.  I recall them being about like a quarter to half inch thick.  They appeared to be factory.  Right hand drive of course, with L20A engine. 

Anyway, it sounds like he built that inventory out quite a bit.  I know is inventory of early Z parts was extensive as he had special interest in the early cars.

That’s him…..I never saw his basement stuff, but understand he had some OEM door cards and fenders. BTW, there was a Z junkyard I believe in Tennessee called the Z Barn. I think he had 40 or 50 Z’s that he would part out. I bought a bunch of stuff from him. Wonder what happened to those cars?

[jfa.series1]

Just over four years ago my buddy @zed2 and I heard that there were some parts available a bit north of us so we made a road trip up to Sherman TX. We met with a guy that owned his own railroad station (another story there!) and he explained that a good friend was in the VA hospital dying of cancer. The friend was an old Datsun mechanic that had assembled some parts over the years and this guy was trying to sell some of them to help with the friend's bills. We followed him to another community and were introduced to what turned out to be a motherload of Z parts. There were several S30's and a couple of S130's on the property, a small dilapidated pole shed with some parts and a 30' shipping container. When opened, the shippiing container revealed boxes of parts lining both walls, all marked with the contents. With only limited time available that day we made a hurried sample inspection and made arrangements for a return trip with more time and more money.

On the return trip we moved and inspected every box, setting aside those of further interest. I ended up with a lengthy list of purchases that filled the entire cargo compartment of my Xterra. A hoped for third trip was not to happen as the mechainc died and his property went into probate with the nearest family in Nebraska. I often wonder what became of the remaining parts hoard.

 

[240dkw]

On 1/7/2023 at 11:58 AM, CanTechZ said:

Just for reference, In 1982 I purchased new OEM RH & LH fenders from my local Datsun Dealer and they were $380 each, Canadian. This was for the first resto on my 7/70. I bet that with inflation over 40 years, NOS fenders would be at least 3 or 4 times that today, not even considering availability.

Rear quarter panels were CDN$450 back then.

I bought my RH fender from the local Nissan dealer in 2012 for $270. 

[MrScott]

Here are some photos....

[siteunseen]

2 hours ago, jfa.series1 said:

Just over four years ago my buddy @zed2 and I heard that there were some parts available a bit north of us so we made a road trip up to Sherman TX. We met with a guy that owned his own railroad station (another story there!) and he explained that a good friend was in the VA hospital dying of cancer. The friend was an old Datsun mechanic that had assembled some parts over the years and this guy was trying to sell some of them to help with the friend's bills. We followed him to another community and were introduced to what turned out to be a motherload of Z parts. There were several S30's and a couple of S130's on the property, a small dilapidated pole shed with some parts and a 30' shipping container. When opened, the shippiing container revealed boxes of parts lining both walls, all marked with the contents. With only limited time available that day we made a hurried sample inspection and made arrangements for a return trip with more time and more money.

On the return trip we moved and inspected every box, setting aside those of further interest. I ended up with a lengthy list of purchases that filled the entire cargo compartment of my Xterra. A hoped for third trip was not to happen as the mechainc died and his property went into probate with the nearest family in Nebraska. I often wonder what became of the remaining parts hoard.

 

Is this Diseazed guy? maybe...

What a neat story.