87mj

I actually bought this car as a parts car. But I just don't have the heart to part it out . If I can get a title I would consider restoring it and enjoying it but if I can't I would leave it as a parts car or give it up if I the law tells me to.

Yes Patcon is correct. All 3 tags were swapped and they match which gives the appearance of a numbers matching car. I suspect I can get a title off the "real" firewall vin assuming the car was not stolen 20 years ago. Has anyone heard of problems with bmv or law enforcement if the dash doesn't have a vin?

I sure can use some advice here. I bought a low miles '71 a couple of years ago. I think the odometer is accurate at 60k miles. Its mostly original except the transmission is a type B 4 speed. It has been a great car. It is a Sunday afternoon fair weather car. I store it in a heated garage. It doesn't see rain and I put probably 500 miles on it per year. Parts are becoming scarce and I ran across another '71 shell with a boat load of parts so I bought it. The shell is in better shape than the '73 I owned in '79 and better than the '72 I owned in '87. The driver side floor has a golf ball sized hole in it.. One rocker and two rear quarters need replaced. Spare tire holder is great. Rear Valance is mint. Battery tray is excellent. Frame rails are great. I have an engine in the car and it runs. Compression is 115-118 on all cylinders (but I question if I got the engine hot enough). I cant justify using it as a parts car. I am willing to strip the suspension, remove the dash, blast and repaint the car. if I needed to sell it, I don't think I would lose based on how much I paid for the car but because I am obsessed, I would keep it for myself. I found a '81 zx 5 speed cheap I really want to put in it. The problem is the VIN tag. The VIN in the engine bay matches the tag in the door jam and dash but it doesn't match the VIN in the firewall. I know there are a lot of non numbers matching cars out there but in this case, the chassis numbers don't match. In my state, I had a sheriff come out to run the tags so I can get a title. He said ignore it and use the VIN that is visible on the tag and ignore the firewall VIN. I had an appraiser come out to look at it and he said the same thing. Should I ignore the firewall tag VIN or try to get the original VIN tags with the firewall on it? Is there any way I can get new VIN tags? Does it even matter if those three tags don't match the firewall? I assume people have run into this before when they have bought a rolling shell so it cant be a new problem. Would you consider this to be simply a non numbers matching car or is it more than that? Am I over thinking it? Any advice would be appreciated even if it is wrong. Thanks Gary

Ouch. Now that hurts.

Im not going to be much help but I have a pair of 850s that I bought for a Jeep Comanche (AMC put them on Jeeps back in the day). I was happy with the light output but I don't remember running them in the dark too often. They had the "Cat" logo on the glass lenses and I really didn't want to drive with the covers off for fear of damaging them. I don't remember them being any heavier than other lights. I pulled them off the Jeep and stuck them in a box. I have considered putting them on the Datsun. Absolutely the same era. I seem to recall the bulbs as being replaceable and still readily available.

I suspect he went with the later style console because he swapped the transmission since the older style would no longer fit. Not working around a older console is one less thing for him to deal with. One post said he converted to a 5 speed and his console had no issues. How does that work? I trimmed a perfectly good old style console to get a type B to fit and regretted it every since. Now I have later style console until I try the cut+weld solution with a shift lever.

And don't forget those nice little folded welds that act as dirt shelves inside the front fenders. The cowl drains dump water right on those. Its a great way to hold moisture. But like others have said, drive it in the salt once and you will be able to watch it rust away. I had one of these as a daily driver back in '79 in northern Indiana. After 6 just Indiana winters, it should have gone to the scrap yard. I sure wish I had it now. It would have made a great parts car.

No, I didn't try. Even though it is in a neighboring state, it was still quite a drive for me. I would feel like I need to inspect it first. Besides, I already have one potential project in the garage. No need to be tempted. I was curious if it even had a floor left in it. Those photos were terrible.

I am curious if anyone has seen this car in person to know what kind of shape it was in? It seemed unusual that there were such poor quality photos as if it had a lot to hide. http://www.ebay.com/itm/1971-Datsun-Z-Series-/162699163067?hash=item25e1a035bb:g:nXUAAOSw3uBZuegM&vxp=mtr

I would like to cast a vote for your color choice. I have clean low mile car in great shape painted what I feel is the most attractive color for a 240z but my life wont be complete until I get a 918 orange one. I have an old rusty car I am considering taking the plunge on. It is the same lime green as yours. If I decide to go ahead, I gotta go with orange.

My dash is in about the same shape as yours. I have thought about someday sending it off to justdashes but I have been concerned that it will get damaged in shipment so I probably never will. Personally, I would rather have the cracks than a dash cover.

I replaced my radiator with a 3 row and replaced my thermostat with a factory 180 degree. Before I made the change, my gauge would go all over the place. Now it gets to temp and stays there regardless of highway or city driving or ambient temp. Personally, I always thought the 2 row radiator was inadequate. One of my previous owners may have thought they were doing the car a favor by installing a 160 degree thermostat. Factory was 180. I also must confess my coolant looked like my morning coffee. I flushed, backflushed, etc, etc, probably 3 - 4 times this summer to get it cleaned out. I am sure that helped.

These cars need a lot of attention to bring them back to how they were when new. I bought a '71 with 60k miles and the car needed absolutely nothing and hopefully I will be finished with all the work by spring.

Any time I see a 240z cut up like that, it hurts my sinus.

I have seen the red car photos before. I am not sure about a vinyl top on a 240z but I think it looks good on the red car (ignoring the long term rust issues they may cause). But the white one, Im not so sure. It looks to me as if the top is completely different on the red one verses the white car. On the red car, the lower part of the top appears to start lower at the rear quarter windows which accents the lines on the rear fenders. On the white one, the vinyl starts a little higher up so it doesn't follow the same lines as the car. I cant imagine there being two styles of tops from Datsun?

Thanks everyone for the help.

Only about 175 left on the road? Is that accurate?

Hi The diff in my '71 has developed a nice little leak I believe around the diff cover. I thought this would be an easy repair job. But with the mustache bar and cross member covering the cover, it looks like minor surgery to replace the gasket. I have three questions: 1 - Do I need to remove the mustache bar in order to remove the rear diff cover? 2 - Do I need to drop the entire diff 3 - Is this as big of a PITA as it looks???? Thanks in advance. Gary

Factory cars are where the value is. Not highly modified. I couldn't imagine spending that kind of money on a heavily modified car.

I knew there were obvious changes in the sheet metal such as the '70 rear deck lid vent and the 280z vented hood. I assumed there were rear quarter panel changes to accommodate the bumper changes but what is the rear deck slope? Sorry for the ignorance. I have never owned a 280z before.

I think I saw that poor thing....craigslist? Indiana somewhere. Right? I'm up by Fort Wayne. I think it was calling my name. Always exciting getting another Datsun. Good luck! Gary

I am far from being a body mechanic but I was curious how you are able to mount a 240z on a rotisserie since the sheet metal is so thin. Especially at the rear valance. Isnt that just a piece of sheet metal with nuts welded to the back?

I really like the dated look of the vinyl. If it were me, I would try to maintain as much of the "240z" personality as I could. I would keep an eye out for transmission tunnel vinyl. I would also replace those seats with aftermarket. Then send me a PM indicating you are wanting to sell your factory seats. Seriously, I like everything about these cars and the closer to stock, the better. But its your car.

Ok I admit I procrastinate but I got them on today. I went for a test drive and I didn't feel any difference in increased road noise. Maybe even less but I am sure it was my imagination. Less noise seems impossible to me. I felt more confident running down hilly back country roads knowing I wouldn't bottom out. Also I have a 240z and always liked the stance of a 280. My personal preference and opinion is it looks more balanced with a modest rake in the back. It took me about 1 1/2 hours to get them installed. The first side was most of the time. The second literally took about 20 minutes since I knew what I was doing. Here are the steps: Jack the car, remove the tires and strut caps. Unbolt the brake line mounting bracket (this will prevent you from opening up the brake lines) Unbolt the axle (half shaft?) from behind the hub. This will allow the strut assembly to fall without stressing your brake lines. Unbolt the 3 nuts holding the top of the strut in place. Hold on to it since it may fall loose. Install the spacer Press down on the brake drum while putting it back up into place. I needed assistance for this step. After the strut is bolted back on to the car, reinstall the brake line and axle. I should note the bolts in the spacer are somewhat loose. I could see unbolting the nuts at the rear deck causing the spacers to spin so I put locktite on those and tightened them down as well as I could.

Yes it should have. I love that option. It makes the interior look like an old airplane.