RyanT’s 1971 LS1 Datsun 240Z
Discussion
Right, where do I even start this. Perhaps with my car history leading up to this point?
MX5 > 350Z > 111R Elise
Loved the MX5, my first car and what ignited the love for working on & maintaining cars. Although having purchased it as a student my financial situation didn’t allow any other alternative!
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350Z because what else would you buy when you’re commuting to your first job, doing 350 miles a week? Kept this one for a couple of years and loved it, however it eventually became a second weekend car and it just wasn’t special enough to cover that role.
I thought the 111R Elise would be a forever car, however I never properly bonded with it. I think because ultimately opportunities to fully enjoy it were to few and far between I just found it frustrating. However I can recommend one to anyone, completely reliable and was essentially free to own over my year of ownership. Amazing.
I think ultimately I enjoy working on cars almost as much as I enjoy driving them. I wanted a project, something I could continually improve and enjoy.
The Lotus money continued to burn a hole in my pocket until a friend (and fellow 240Z owner) sent me a link to a forum for sale ad from what I now understand to be a very established and well known member in the community, and the car he’d owned for the previous 20 years - The only issue was that it was 3500+ miles away in the US.
Now, I wasn’t after a specific example although I knew I wanted something I could enjoy without being obsessively precious about. So nothing ultra low miles / numbers matching / original etc.
It was a 1971 240Z, which at some point in the last 10 years or so had received a 5.7L Corvette/Camaro LS1 with T56 gearbox. Along with a host of other other clever bits along the way.
A couple of pictures from the ad:
Potentially my perfect car, something to work on and improve with classic car looks and feel but with the reliability and dependability of something modern. Plus I love the idea of it being driven about 2 decades before I was even born.
I’m well aware whole LS thing is essentially a meme at this point. Especially in the states where they’re so plentiful. While I’m not particularity bothered either way there’s no denying the logic, it’s lighter than the original engine, situated almost entirely behind the front wheels and famously robust. Plus the performance, obviously. 350-400bhp in car that weighs 1050kg.
Now, I’m the kind of person that will do days of reading online before spending £50 on a pair of headphones. Yet here we are, having never even driven one, or even properly seen one up close after half an hour on the phone the sale was agreed.
“I’m going to be that previous owner you curse when you see some of the wiring” he said. How true that turned out to be...
Ultimately I loved the car, and any issues would just roll into & become part of the project. Simple!
What followed next was 6 months of stress, hundreds of emails & endless chasing as the shipping company were unable to get the car aboard a ship due to a paperwork issue which should have been raised as part of the escrow service.
Finally sorted, she was loaded aboard the CSL Virginia and spent 2 weeks making its way across the Atlantic with me, agonisingly tracking every bit of progress on the various ship tracking apps.
Although hilariously while Googling this to confirm it’s name, this is the ship as of 5 days ago. Not ideal, but would have just been the icing on the cake given the experience I’d had up to this point.
Once in the UK the uncertainty doesn’t stop there, you have to clear customs & pay your VAT & duty. How they decide to classify the vehicle can be the difference between just a 5% duty, or a full-fat 20% VAT + 10% duty. Thousands of pounds on the line here.
After all that, seeing it arrive on the back of a low loader was surreal to say the least. Especially given the ordeal to get it here.
Rolled off the truck and onto the drive.
Plan was to put in a flurry of effort in the following month or so, get it UK road legal and then steadily rework my way through it while getting to know it on the road. However that all soon snowballed..
MX5 > 350Z > 111R Elise
Loved the MX5, my first car and what ignited the love for working on & maintaining cars. Although having purchased it as a student my financial situation didn’t allow any other alternative!
[url]350Z because what else would you buy when you’re commuting to your first job, doing 350 miles a week? Kept this one for a couple of years and loved it, however it eventually became a second weekend car and it just wasn’t special enough to cover that role.
I thought the 111R Elise would be a forever car, however I never properly bonded with it. I think because ultimately opportunities to fully enjoy it were to few and far between I just found it frustrating. However I can recommend one to anyone, completely reliable and was essentially free to own over my year of ownership. Amazing.
I think ultimately I enjoy working on cars almost as much as I enjoy driving them. I wanted a project, something I could continually improve and enjoy.
The Lotus money continued to burn a hole in my pocket until a friend (and fellow 240Z owner) sent me a link to a forum for sale ad from what I now understand to be a very established and well known member in the community, and the car he’d owned for the previous 20 years - The only issue was that it was 3500+ miles away in the US.
Now, I wasn’t after a specific example although I knew I wanted something I could enjoy without being obsessively precious about. So nothing ultra low miles / numbers matching / original etc.
It was a 1971 240Z, which at some point in the last 10 years or so had received a 5.7L Corvette/Camaro LS1 with T56 gearbox. Along with a host of other other clever bits along the way.
A couple of pictures from the ad:
Potentially my perfect car, something to work on and improve with classic car looks and feel but with the reliability and dependability of something modern. Plus I love the idea of it being driven about 2 decades before I was even born.
I’m well aware whole LS thing is essentially a meme at this point. Especially in the states where they’re so plentiful. While I’m not particularity bothered either way there’s no denying the logic, it’s lighter than the original engine, situated almost entirely behind the front wheels and famously robust. Plus the performance, obviously. 350-400bhp in car that weighs 1050kg.
Now, I’m the kind of person that will do days of reading online before spending £50 on a pair of headphones. Yet here we are, having never even driven one, or even properly seen one up close after half an hour on the phone the sale was agreed.
“I’m going to be that previous owner you curse when you see some of the wiring” he said. How true that turned out to be...
Ultimately I loved the car, and any issues would just roll into & become part of the project. Simple!
What followed next was 6 months of stress, hundreds of emails & endless chasing as the shipping company were unable to get the car aboard a ship due to a paperwork issue which should have been raised as part of the escrow service.
Finally sorted, she was loaded aboard the CSL Virginia and spent 2 weeks making its way across the Atlantic with me, agonisingly tracking every bit of progress on the various ship tracking apps.
Although hilariously while Googling this to confirm it’s name, this is the ship as of 5 days ago. Not ideal, but would have just been the icing on the cake given the experience I’d had up to this point.
Once in the UK the uncertainty doesn’t stop there, you have to clear customs & pay your VAT & duty. How they decide to classify the vehicle can be the difference between just a 5% duty, or a full-fat 20% VAT + 10% duty. Thousands of pounds on the line here.
After all that, seeing it arrive on the back of a low loader was surreal to say the least. Especially given the ordeal to get it here.
Rolled off the truck and onto the drive.
Plan was to put in a flurry of effort in the following month or so, get it UK road legal and then steadily rework my way through it while getting to know it on the road. However that all soon snowballed..
Edited by Ryan_T on Friday 12th October 22:55
Right I’ve neglected this thread. Most of my updates happen on Instagram. But to cut a long story short, over the past 12 months or so I’ve spent every spare minute working on the car! Every bit of rust has been cut out and repaired, every bit of wiring is brand new and the engine has been partially apart and inspected / cleaned.
It flew through its first MOT, and now it’s just a case of piling on the miles and continuing to improve it.
350+ hp, 1050kg. In terms of power/weight it’s up there with some very serious machinery. It’s staggeringly fast and each gear pulls just as hard as the last. But it’s completely manageable and would take you to actively provoke it to do something scary.
In everyday driving it’s almost anticlimactic as it’s just so easy!
I’ve got hundreds of photos between the first post and where we are now, but in short -
Can upload more or any specifics if interested.
Many thanks -
It flew through its first MOT, and now it’s just a case of piling on the miles and continuing to improve it.
350+ hp, 1050kg. In terms of power/weight it’s up there with some very serious machinery. It’s staggeringly fast and each gear pulls just as hard as the last. But it’s completely manageable and would take you to actively provoke it to do something scary.
In everyday driving it’s almost anticlimactic as it’s just so easy!
I’ve got hundreds of photos between the first post and where we are now, but in short -
Can upload more or any specifics if interested.
Many thanks -
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