AWC

I can't believe you grabbed one of the few 510s from the east coast and took it to CA!

Also, who (including a dealer) would have the foresight to pack up a brand new car with (then new, now NOS) replacement parts?

Yeah I did and the labor was going to make that more expensive which is why I'm planning to buy the parts and do it myself.

This is a non-Datsun specific question. My wife's 97 Nissan Altima needs a new exhaust from the manifold back. I think I've priced all the components from RockAuto at around $420 but from them I'd have to pay around $100 in shipping. Can anyone recommend a similarly cheap place to look (i.e. a chains tore) to get inexpensive aftermarket parts? Autozone looks like they have the parts for around $550. Thanks in advance.

You're right. I thought for some reason we were talking about the fronts, but R probably does mean "rear".

I tried his original part numbers from above and got: 44100N3001="R WHEEL CYLINDE" $58.50 44101N3001="R WHEEL CYLINDE" $65.38 Both are actually listed as the right side, although the prices differ.

We lived in the Austin area for three years and it was great...there are still things I miss about it.

If you are serious about a roadster there are much better starting points to be had for $2-3k. Also that is a 1600 and what you really want is the 2 liter. : )

Yes the gas tax is pennies per gallon. And tax revenues went down when gas prices went up because people were driving less. This bill isn't about liberal or conservative, it is just stupid. I put an aftermarket intake, header, and exhaust on my daily driver and it significantly increased my fuel economy, so forcing people into OEM only parts actually is contrary to the goal of increasing fuel economy and reducing emission. They already enforce emissions standards for our cars, so it isn't clear to me how banning aftermarket parts altogether improves on that.

Question if people are willing to share information: What are you using to cast reproduction parts? I've looked in to making parts from simple latex molds but all of the resins I find are not UV-resistant and will fade over time. Are folks just painting the parts with a UV-resistant interior paint to get around that issue? Thanks!

#383 just showed up on CL in Queens, asking $7950. http://newyork.craigslist.org/que/cto/977221983.html

Let him stick it in storage. He's right. In 10-15 years even a sketchy possible/could be 1969 car will be worth three grand to someone. So he'll get his price. In in the meantime he'll spend $100-$200 per month storing the car. But he'll get his price.

My biggest complaint is the lack of transparency. You may be bidding on something and perceive something is fishy is going on just because you are unable to tell if it is legit. For example, you used to be able to see the identity of those bidding against you and check out their prior transaction history and make a judgement whether they were a legitimate buyer or a "straw buyer" and avoid the latter. Now I guess they have made changes that protect the identity of legitimate buyers but those changes have the side-effect of making it much easier for dishonest sellers to bid up their own items without anyone beging able to tell what's going on. I don't know how much this goes on, but I probably suspect it more than I would if there were better transparency. I find myself bidding and buying on ebay much less than I used to.

I believe this car (#464) was listed on Craigslist for several months with the most recent asking price $2500.

Here's my question: would you rather have this car in its current shape or #299 with a $6500 head start?

Welcome. I don't live in Austin anymore but when I did I found John Shea of Japanese Motorsports (http://www.japanesemotorsports.net/) in Round Rock to be a decent mechanic and a good guy. I think he has owned/raced Zs in the past as well, and I know he is very familiar with Nissans and Datsuns. You'll like Austin, it is a great place to live.

I wish the seller had responded to me when I contacted him after the first auction. Now he needs it gone by Feb 6th, and I'm going out of town tomorrow until next Saturday. This auction ends on Tuesday. I just don't think the timing works out for me to be able to get up there and back even if I were to be the high bidder again.

Yeah I wouldn't say it is unsalvageable based on the pics from the auction. Yes, it may take a lot of sheet metal, and probably not economically worth doing, but for most people who restore these cars (or most cars) the return is negative anyway; it is more of a hobby. We'll see if he re-lists the car or what.

Well the auction ended with me the high bidder at $511.44. Sellers move.

I agree with Steve. I have received permission from my wife to bid on this car, though I doubt I will win the auction because I'm not authorized to bid very much. If I get it I will clean it up and park it in my soon-to-be-heated garage as I assemble the parts to restore it and work on it over several years. The sad truth is that this car is probably worth more to someone who plans to flip its parts and scrap the rest than someone who is willing to spend tens of thousands of dollars to restore it appropriately.

I have used both chemical paint stripper and the 3M Clean/Strip wheels on a drill. Both work well and I recommend using stripping on large flat surfaces, because it will remove the most paint the fastest. But given my experience I'd use the Clean N Strip wheels in this application. They remove paint quickly but won't damage the underlying surface. It will be dusty, though. Make sure you get wheels with a metal arbor, as for some reason they make them with a plastic one--I got a batch of those one time and they just broke off in my drill when I applied pressure, which was a big waste of money.

I remember when that car was for sale in Dallas. I'm glad someone got it who is going to do it right. You got a great deal. Very nice progress. Was the original engine sold with the car? Did you sell off the V8 set-up? This is a great project.

Another factor is the terms of the auction. Large items which are specified for local pick-up only will usually sell pretty cheap because the pool of potential buyers is limited. Also the seller's feedback is directly correlated with the final price of an item, all else equal.

I just spoke to a guy who spent three weeks down there and said it was one of the most beautiful places he'd ever visited, and this person has traveled all over the world. I have also heard that it is pretty difficult to gain citizenship in New Zealand. That could just be heresay, but it is what I've heard.

That's tough to do, though. In my state to register a car and get a title you have to pay sales tax. Then you have ebay fees and paypal fees. All told you could end up paying 10% in transactions costs. Not a big deal if you can sell it on ebay for 2x what you paid, but something to consider nonetheless.