Draker Posted October 15, 2011 Report Share Posted October 15, 2011 I found a 311 for sale on craigslist locally. I'm sure some of you have probably seen it before. The post has expired now.. Anyway I went to take a look at it and get a little of the history of this car. I believe it was listed for $2500-2800. The car was parked by the original owner in 1984 as you can see on the plate. He said it was parked because it would often pop out of 5th gear. It was parked in a barn so it was covered, but from the looks of it, it wasn't protected from the elements. It has a clean Oregon title. It's hard to tell from these pictures, but the floor pans didn't seem too bad. Looked decent, but could still be a few surprises in there... As you can see the it's rusted out on one side of the trunk. He has a box of OEM datsun parts. Many of them inside datsun OEM packaging. Some Nissan boxes as well. He had a full OEM engine gasket kit. Timing tensioners, spacers, risers, brake pads, master cylinder rebuild kits. He even had these original floor mats, this is the passenger side, the driver side showed some wear, but was in great shape for it's age. I had a good time talking to the owner about the car, and he showed me some of his other restored vehicles.. I told him I would get some estimates and get back to him. To me, I would estimate this car to be worth about... $1000? Probably a bit more with the parts included. He owner said he is open to offers, but I don't really want to insult him. Quote Link to comment
Laecaon Posted October 15, 2011 Report Share Posted October 15, 2011 looks like a good parts car, and I mean trim parts... Quote Link to comment
merlin Posted October 15, 2011 Report Share Posted October 15, 2011 i got 2 in better shape than that for 1000. u20 is great, but that body will cost more to repair than buying a 5-7 k car Quote Link to comment
Draker Posted October 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2011 looks like a good parts car, and I mean trim parts... Overall everything was very straight. All trim pieces were there. Drivers side mirror was broken though. Quote Link to comment
albyneau Posted October 15, 2011 Report Share Posted October 15, 2011 I just passed one up in the bay area, and- aside from missing the doors -n- engine- was in better shape than this one. The price...? Free. Even had a clean -n- current title.... Quote Link to comment
Draker Posted October 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2011 i got 2 in better shape than that for 1000. u20 is great, but that body will cost more to repair than buying a 5-7 k car Oh yeah, I know. That's why I didn't buy it. I've seen nice ones for around $5k. Quote Link to comment
Draker Posted October 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2011 I just passed one up in the bay area, and- aside from missing the doors -n- engine- was in better shape than this one. The price...? Free. Even had a clean -n- current title.... I need to run across on of these deals. Free is good, no no... Great! Quote Link to comment
FoxyRoadster Posted October 15, 2011 Report Share Posted October 15, 2011 besides being a 2L I'd say like 800 dollars. :lol: Quote Link to comment
FoxyRoadster Posted October 15, 2011 Report Share Posted October 15, 2011 Also just a note.. It will not cost that much to restore to a ratty roadster, just take a lot of labor. I have a price log on my roadster which was 400 bucks, and so far I have about 2500 total into the car and it was a 1.6L but I was missing a lot of pieces that you have already and went aftermarket on things like brakes. Quote Link to comment
uieluck Posted October 15, 2011 Report Share Posted October 15, 2011 Ouch.. I'd say $600 tops! And this is coming from a guy that always OVERPAY'S for cars. :•( Quote Link to comment
yellowdatsun Posted October 16, 2011 Report Share Posted October 16, 2011 Roadsters are by far the most expensive Datsuns to restore. Parts are prohibitively expensive. Keep this in mind when making the purchase. Even if you got it for $1k, you could easily spend many thousands finding replacement parts. Or buy it cheap, fix what you can, and rock it as is. Quote Link to comment
merlin Posted October 16, 2011 Report Share Posted October 16, 2011 i've got 2500 into interior kits, convertible top and rubber seals... every surface on that car will need to be touched or replaced... you can see grass through the rusty rocker in that one pic. worst of all, everything needs to be rechromed.. thats likely 2k right there in replating... even if you find nos bezels and tail lights(a better option than fixing those ones) you'll still be in it for 1200... add in new brakes and engine tune up parts and this car needs 5-6k in parts before you touch the bodywork... Quote Link to comment
FoxyRoadster Posted October 16, 2011 Report Share Posted October 16, 2011 i've got 2500 into interior kits, convertible top and rubber seals... every surface on that car will need to be touched or replaced... you can see grass through the rusty rocker in that one pic. worst of all, everything needs to be rechromed.. thats likely 2k right there in replating... even if you find nos bezels and tail lights(a better option than fixing those ones) you'll still be in it for 1200... add in new brakes and engine tune up parts and this car needs 5-6k in parts before you touch the bodywork... Yeah, full restore jobs aren't cheap. If you don't care about going factory stock then you have a bit of body work, can make your own interior pannels, and more. I could go into full detail, but thats a lot of typing and looking at receipts. I wont lie, that car needs a shitton of work. I was up for it myself when I bought mine, and have spent the last 3 years when I have time off work fixing it. Quote Link to comment
Draker Posted October 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2011 besides being a 2L I'd say like 800 dollars. :lol: Yeah, I don't want to offend the guy. He isn't attached to the car really.. I just don't think he knows what it's really worth. I think the new OEM parts are worth more than the car. Also just a note.. It will not cost that much to restore to a ratty roadster, just take a lot of labor. I have a price log on my roadster which was 400 bucks, and so far I have about 2500 total into the car and it was a 1.6L but I was missing a lot of pieces that you have already and went aftermarket on things like brakes. I've looked at your build. Looks like a lot of work! I went to look at this car because it was hard to tell the condition from the craigslist pics. Roadsters are by far the most expensive Datsuns to restore. Parts are prohibitively expensive. Keep this in mind when making the purchase. Even if you got it for $1k, you could easily spend many thousands finding replacement parts. Or buy it cheap, fix what you can, and rock it as is. I drive a Z32, I am familiar with expensive parts. That being said, I can't afford another car needing a ton of new parts. I already went through that with my Z, lol. I knew after seeing the car in person this car wasn't with worth the list price. That's why I posted what is it worth. Kinda so I have a reference point for others that I will eventually look at. So this is all very good info. i've got 2500 into interior kits, convertible top and rubber seals... every surface on that car will need to be touched or replaced... you can see grass through the rusty rocker in that one pic. worst of all, everything needs to be rechromed.. thats likely 2k right there in replating... even if you find nos bezels and tail lights(a better option than fixing those ones) you'll still be in it for 1200... add in new brakes and engine tune up parts and this car needs 5-6k in parts before you touch the bodywork... I'm not really looking for a pristine car.. I would be happy with a ratsun style roadster. More looking for a good canvas for a to start a slow restoration on. Yeah, full restore jobs aren't cheap. If you don't care about going factory stock then you have a bit of body work, can make your own interior pannels, and more. I could go into full detail, but thats a lot of typing and looking at receipts. I wont lie, that car needs a shitton of work. I was up for it myself when I bought mine, and have spent the last 3 years when I have time off work fixing it. It does need a shit ton of work, your right. It has a ton of good parts though. I mean, it's complete. Just not in great shape. Probably best for parts. It's sad to see them go that way though. Quote Link to comment
Hardwyre Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 Here's what a $5k offering looks like: http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/cto/2629044021.html You could probably give the $4k cash and walk away with it. Quote Link to comment
Draker Posted October 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 Here's what a $5k offering looks like: http://portland.crai...2629044021.html You could probably give the $4k cash and walk away with it. Yeah I've seen that one. There are a few that are really nice floating around for sale right now. I don't need something that nice though, what will I fix if nothing is broken? Quote Link to comment
Hardwyre Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 Yeah I've seen that one. There are a few that are really nice floating around for sale right now. I don't need something that nice though, what will I fix if nothing is broken? I'm thinking in terms of cost and man hours. There's plenty you can probably do on that car. Turn the interior to your liking, etc. Hell, even paint it a different color if you like but not have to deal with a metric ass ton of body work, etc. Engine upgrades, suspension upgrades, etc. My thought on it is spend a little more upfront to save a whole lot later in terms of time and money. Would you rather spend time repairing crap sheet metal and rust cancer when that same amount of time could rather be spent making a custom carbon fiber engine cover? Then again, I'm sort of lazy and tend to get bored with repetition easily. Some people LOT repairing rust. :) Quote Link to comment
Draker Posted October 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 I'm thinking in terms of cost and man hours. There's plenty you can probably do on that car. Turn the interior to your liking, etc. Hell, even paint it a different color if you like but not have to deal with a metric ass ton of body work, etc. Engine upgrades, suspension upgrades, etc. My thought on it is spend a little more upfront to save a whole lot later in terms of time and money. Would you rather spend time repairing crap sheet metal and rust cancer when that same amount of time could rather be spent making a custom carbon fiber engine cover? Then again, I'm sort of lazy and tend to get bored with repetition easily. Some people LOT repairing rust. :) I am in total agreement with you. I am not a body guy at all.. That's because I've never HAD to do it. I just wanted to know what this car was worth because I knew it's not worth the asking price and it gives me a good reference point for the next time I run across one. I would rather guy something more complete also. I'm not into hemorrhaging cash. Quote Link to comment
MicroMachinery Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 That thing is BEAT. $2500-2800? That guy is out of his GOURD! Quote Link to comment
bananahamuck Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 That thing is BEAT. $2500-2800? That guy is out of his GOURD! Maybe, he is also out of his squash. Being Halloween time and all.. Quote Link to comment
hobbes_the_cat Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 A few months back I missed a 2000 roadster on craigslist for free too. I think the roadsters sell cheap in unrestored condition cause they cost so much to fix up and parts are harder to find. I say no more than a grand for it, only because it comes with new parts. If you try to flip it tho, you will lose. Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.