Characteristicly, the point has been missed again.

The car was described as having been in exceptionally good original condition. It may have even been a one-owner car.

The project was taken on, but never finished by someone that may not have had the financial resources to finish it, or for any of a number of other reasons & the end result is a good car that is, as we see it now,.. screwed.

If another owner has the cash to finish it properly, then all well & good, however, all too many unfinished projects are sold off cheaply to someone else with stars in their eyes & very little money. An unhappily large number of these projects are subsequently allowed to degenerate into a pile of scrap by people trying to cut costs, in ill equiped workshops, & by people that don't have a clue, sometimes over a period of years.. I'm sure that we all have seen examples of this,.. i know i have, on far too many occasions im saddened to say.

The future of drag racing was never in question, so why you would even mention this defeats me completely, unless you had nothin else to say & wanted to red-herring the topic.

Very successfull race cars can just as easily be built from cars in quite sad condition, hopefully leaving the good condition ones, like this one, to be retained for street use & hopefully a long & glorious life.

unfortunatly, using cars, whether racing or on the road is going to lead, sooner or later, to the death of the vehicle... just look at how many datto's are still on the road out of the hundreds produced, and of those stil on the road, how many are dent free... down to 1 or 2 if we're lucky??

We could stick one in a glass case.. kinda like the nissan dream garage, but then, no one ever see's it, and no one ever gets to drive it. That wasn't what the car was built for either...

at least this car is keeping its panels in good shape while its sitting in the shed not being driven, and hopefully its not going to be too chopped up to drive again... other than that, all its got to worry about is rust...

i think we're all getting the basic point here though. trying to use our datto's as much as we can, and at the same time, not letting them get hurt.

Kinda like someone who has a car sitting around and keeps telling themself that oneday they will restore it.
Actually in this 1200's case it's no doubt better, as someone will get a good buy with lots of expensive work already done.
Unless someone is going to give me the right dollars for any of my cars, I will do with them what I want, just like everyone has the right to do to there own cars.
Some people get enjoyment out of seeing exact copies of their vehicles on the road. I get enjoyment out of knowing mine will be an individual.
Some people get enjoyment out of looking at or driving stock cars. All up I can say I have had as much enjoyment driving datsuns as I have in currently chopping both mine up.
My dollars - My cars.
How original and fun is it to have;
same hair cut,
same track suit,
same car,
same mods,
with a similar number plate to the next guy.
Thats not fun to me.
1200's like this one, make it fun to go to the drags. Just like it is to see someone out cruising their beat up, stock or modified 1200 on the road. Just like it is to see build pics of someones 1200 whether stock or cut up. Just like it is to see a 1200 at the wrecking yard. How many of us have seen a 1200 at the wreckers, smiled and thought about its previous owner driving it. And then smiled again as we stripped it for parts to make our own 1200's better?
One less 1200 makes mine all that more individual.

Dodgeman in a thread on my 1200 wags you seemed to go out of your way to try and convince me to use aftermaket inferior panels, by saying the cost to repair the originals was a waste if cheaper items were avaliable.
I would rather see pics of a modified quality 1200 that ultimately became scrap - Than to see a cheaply put together 1200 that was said to be stock that ultimately looked like crap.

Datsun translated means : Have fun.

Only time I care ( dislike ) what someone else does to their datsun, is when they do it to make it look like mine or anyone elses ie; paint or wheels etc. Even then it just makes me work that bit harder to make mine all that more different.

cheers to that phunk

Quote:
Nice try, but at no time have i advocated using inferior replacement panels, so i will thank you to avoid adding words to what i actually said in order to change the thrust of what i wrote.

You suggested that inferior Taiwanese panels were not worth the effort, & i replied that the seller, Wetheril Park Panels, advised me that the guards that were on offer were in fact from Malaysia & were [allegedly] of better quality. I have seen three of these guards fitted to 1200's & they went on without drama according to the owners. I can only take their word for it.

What i suggested was that these guards may well be a proposition at $65 each when one thinks about how much rust repair can be done [by a professional] to a rotten guard for the same amount of money. Thats not what you have writen in your post.
Yes, we are all aware of your metal working talents, but not everyone can replicate these skills & must fall back on the services of professionals, or use replacement parts where possible.

You seem to happily state that these Malaysian guards are inferior when, by your own admission, you have never seen them, or even knew that they existed, so your addition of the word 'inferior' to the retelling of my post is entirely a fabrication on your part.
I do not now, & never have, advocated the use of any inferior parts on our Datsuns.

Aftermarket, Non-Genuine from what ever country - they are all inferior to a genuine item when one is saying a vehicle is a waste if it isnt stock.
Regardless of who did repairs or how much the cost, Non-Genuine is always inferior if the wish is to keep a car stock.
Show me any non genuine guard that the body lines and wheel arch are like original.
Like I said in the other thread, I would go and try the fit of these guards. Just like my experiences with taiwanese panels, these Malaysian panels werent the best. Flatter body lines ( differing on the right to the left guard ) dont cut it in my books ( maybe I am picky ) For this reason I only bought a bonnet.
For this reason I am more than happy to say those panels are Inferior.
Not all of us can fall back an say we find enjoyment in owning a stock car. For this reason we make our cars the way we want, to suit the purpose we choose.

I still stand by what I said,
If a modified car whether finished or not, is a waste.
How can a car with non genuine parts be acceptable since it isnt stock everything?

Point is, We do things to our own vehicles because they are our own, not anyone elses.
Some people like to let cars rot and tell themselves oneday they will do this, this and this.
Other people like to do things now.
Sometimes in life we need to sell things for what ever reason. Atleast someone else might get a chance. Unlike a car that sits in the corner never to be touched, as its a gonna do project that might never get done.

Quote:
Ok you only suggest.
Tell me. Do you think changing the brakes and changing the engine of your 1000 coupe, putting non genuine guards and a genuine GX bonnet on you 1200 coupe trying to pass it off as a genuine GX, will cause them to lose value? Not in your eyes? Is that fair to say?
Well in many other peoples eyes, this 1200 coupe pictured hasnt lost any value either.

Quote:
Same can be said visa-versa. So why you would even mention this defeats me completely, unless you had nothin else to say & wanted to red-herring the topic.
If I, you or anyone else were to build something. Do you not think one would want to start with the best quality avaliable? If a drag car is destined to lose value like you advocate. Why would someone wish to spend all this so called extra cost to have a "Proffesional" do body repairs to a sad condition vehicle if its value will become greatly reduced? I would want to start with the best in such a case, so as to save on this extra cost.