First Wash in 44 years! Barn Find Datsun 280z with only 350 Original Miles

hey guys on today's episode i'm in hershey pennsylvania to clean a car that hasn't been washed in over 44 years it's a datsun 280z now could this be the rarest datsun barn find ever find out today on this episode of drive [Music] protect [Music] it was my wife's dad who owned a 300 zx that she inherited and i got and i was showing it to my friend who really liked cars like that and he told me you know my neighbor has an old datsun z that doesn't have any miles on it people ask him but he never never wants to sell it well a couple years later he emailed me and said you know i just was talking to my neighbor and he thinks it's finally time to sell the z here's his number give him a call so i called him the very next day and he said sure come over and look at it and i could not believe what i found the first thing people say when they see this car is if it's new why are these pieces missing when the owner bought it and drove it home from philadelphia and he got home he realized it was a small dent in the front fender and the dealership wanted to putty it and repaint but he wanted the fender replaced with a new one they agreed and he took the fender off and they sent him a new fender and while he was waiting on that he decided well i'm going to fix some other things up i don't want an am fm radio i want to put a new pioneer cassette deck in so he took the console out he took some interior pieces out to run speaker wires and put a cassette player in it and he was in the midst of all these improvements when he had some money troubles and he just had to put the car aside having those parts be a part are the reason it only has 350 miles on it so after a few weeks of back and forth emails i had to take a trip out to hershey pennsylvania to see the z in person for the first time now at this point we moved the car into a larger work bay as steven partnered up with another z enthusiast adam eisenhower to oversee the preservation mechanical refresh and of course the eventual sale of the z once we were done with the detail this is an unbelievable car it's like new it's like it's still sitting on the dealer's showroom it has 350 miles on it it's dirty but it just looks gorgeous it still has the plastic bag on the front seat to keep it clean it has a little tag dangling from the visor telling you how to start the car it smells like a new car as you can see this had literally been left alone since the week of its original purchase over 44 years ago what struck me most is that the interior actually smelled new because the doors hadn't been opened for so many years now the windshield had the original sticker on it from october 31st 1976. the keys had the original dealership stock tag on them that also matched the sticker in the glove box the gas store looked brand new like no one had ever opened it and all of this was covered in a thick layer of dust and dirt which ironically sort of protected the paint underneath to some degree inside the car there was lots of dust and dirt but really it wasn't that bad heavy vacuuming and cleaning is really all that was needed to bring it back into shape as you can see the center console and a few other items have been removed because the original owner actually pulled them out to clean them years earlier but they were all left in the trunk before we put them on bed sheets on the floor in the garage now one of my favorite parts of a barn fine detail is opening up the rear hatch by the way the gas struts worked perfectly which is completely insane but that was cool but inside i found a harrisburg patriot newspaper from july 18 1977 an original nissan parts bag that seemed to contain a spacer at some point wipers and various other trim parts that were protected from the outside for 44 years because they were locked in the trunk so they were dusty but they were virtually like new under the hood we discovered more validation of its originality factory markings on the engine paper tags that could have easily worn away after a week of driving radiator stickers emission control information the original fan belt with the part numbers and then a nissan motor plate with the datsun type numbers the engine numbers and card numbers that were all matching to the existing parts now if you look here this black spray or splatter marks are from the original undercoating application over 44 years ago under the cowl we found a paper part number sticker that would have absolutely disintegrated after the first wash or driving in the rain so all of this was indicating that the car was driven home from the dealership and then sat in the barn until today hey guys real quick i'm excited to introduce you to a detailing video game and simulator based on my barn find episodes like the one you're watching right now in this simulator you'll walk a barn full of lost cars and discover some of the rarest pieces of automotive history then you can pick your favorite car just like the mercedes 280sl episode once you find that dream car then you can buy it and bring it back to your detailing studio where you'll find lost treasures shampoo disgusting mats steam clean the interior power wash and foam the paint and then clean the wheels all while using your favorite ammo products and tools afterwards pick your pad and polisher to restore the faded and oxidized paint before checking over your work with a paint light then clean up the chrome and any last touch-ups before the auction at carsonbids.com when it sells use the profits to upgrade your detail studio then head back to the barn and negotiate for your next dream card click the link in the description to add it to your wish list on steam [Music] now back to the 280z step number one was to vacuum the interior just to get a feel for the strength of the carpets and the level of dirt compacted within their fibers because the carpets are from 1970 they tend to not be that soft but they're actually a bit more durable than normal so instead we use the tornador to agitate the embedded dirt to the surface and then vacuumed it up before it fell back into the fibers [Music] here's a good example of how the tornado blows the dirt out of the carpet seams and then the vacuum grabs it before it falls back into the seams or the fibers take a look how clean it is under the dashboard and the footwell area i've never seen anything like this in a hundred barn finds over the years it looks like it just came off the showroom floor next i removed the carpet from the trunk to do this i first needed to unbolt the seat belt harnesses before carefully lifting the carpet that had clearly never been removed and gently placed it on the floor then i removed the brown foam revealing the toyo tires that haven't seen the light of day in over 44 years how crazy is that a little bit later i noticed these smuggler boxes under the carpet which house the jack and other tools with everything out of the car it's now time to clean the interior with ammo lather an interior brush and a microfiber towel to bring a bit of life and color back to the seats we added mousse to the surfaces before buffing to a matte finish within two minutes of the application to add a bit of uv protection now that it's gonna see the sun outside with round one of the interior done we now focused on removing the exterior filth now keep in mind with all this going on in the background steven was working on the interior pieces we removed from the trunk it was really kind of special to see someone who loves the z so much and kind of waited for this car to finally come out of the garage working so hard to restore those little pieces there it was it was really cool to see in person okay at this point it became a little bit tricky we needed to remove the dirt but at the same time maintain the integrity of the original stickers and so on so dan and i decided to use ammo frothy in the aerator first to avoid over soaking the seams with a hose before we had a chance to kind of test their strength he added six capfuls of frothy to 40 ounces of water before replacing the top step one is to lubricate the paint and allow frothy to do its job of lubricating and lifting the dirt before we actually use a microfiber towel now keep in mind if we could avoid scratching the paint during the wash process in theory the paint underneath should be as close to pristine because no one has touched it in 44 years it's just been accumulating dust that's not scratches so after one pass with a microfiber towel you can see just how much junk came off and was on the towel but underneath the paint looked pretty good [Music] we also used a bit of steam in the tight areas to take advantage of the pressure from the steam machine and the minimal amount of water released in the cleaning process at this point we were trying to become sort of comfortable with the door and the door seals before we would jump to potentially using a power washer again i want to be crystal clear it's not ideal to use a steam machine on paint in most situations but in this case it's absolutely fantastic because we're trying to figure out and become familiar with the strength of the seals with permission from steven we felt confident with the condition of the seals to hit it with a power washer very gently to release the last of the surface and the hidden dirt from sitting in the barn for that long foxy while dan and i delicately power washed the paint a local group of dots and buddies actually arrived to help us clean each individual piece and part that we pulled off the car or we found in the trunk now at this point all hands were on deck and steven really focused on the center console that was covered in dust and i think he was having a really good time once the first few layers of dirt were power washed away we went back in with frothy and agitated the tight spots with a gentle brush to release the years of caked on grime that didn't come off of the power washer before we performed our first test spot on the paint as we suspected after removing the dust and dirt from the surface of the car the paint itself is really not that damaged but simply embedded with dirt after all these years which is pretty obvious and easily removed with a polisher luckily we tested the paint depth and it read four mils so it's definitely original there's no doubt about that and plenty of room for a light polish we first taped off the rubber gaskets before applying compound on a foam red pad on a rupaus polisher think of this process as essentially cleaning the paint meaning we're not focused on removing defects because there aren't many if any at all instead we are exfoliating the years of embedded grime from the pores of the paint that transfer into the pad then we blow out the pad and release the grime this simple process is just repeated until all the pores are cleaned out after just one pass look how fresh the paint is underneath the dirt that's what signifies an original barn find it just sat there no one wiped it no one touched it no one did anything to it the paint is still going to have a ton of integrity the before and after is stunning after literally one buffing session with one foam pad that is insane with the simple process down it's now time for dan and i to give the z a quick facelift [Music] [Music] [Music] once done with step number one we polished the paint with a yellow rupaus pad to get the last five percent of shine with steven anxiously watching in the background while we were polishing the z team removed all the badges to clean and polish them before reinstalling later because the doors had been closed for 44 years the door jambs were dusty but in great shape otherwise so we used spit spray wax to lubricate the area and then wipe it with a microfiber towel while i was working the jams dan steamed the engine to blow out the dust without over soaking the original paper stickers or getting water into areas that may need further mechanical attention later on [Music] [Music] now at this point with the z looking a thousand times better the team began the process of reinstalling all the removed pieces back onto the car [Music] you happy very happy good before the rear bumper could be installed dan hit it with chrome polish and a wheel to remove the oxidation before adam and his dad who was a former nissan tech reinstalled the bumper for the first time since the car was parked in the barn over 44 years ago kind of a cool moment to see in person for the final touches dan cleaned and squeegeed the windows i applied mud to the original rubber and skin to the paint all before stephen reinstalled the nissan hubcaps which was so satisfying to watch after all the time that he had waited to bring this z out of the barn this was kind of a special moment once we were all done dan myself and the team pushed the car out into the field across the street to get the first glimpse of the paint in natural light all that's left was for steven to apply the very last badge and reveal his old slash new datsun 280z to his awaiting friends and family after being lost for nearly 44 years [Music] thank you so much [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] you

Channel: AMMO NYC

Views: 10,374,944

Rating: 4.850337 out of 5

Keywords: AMMO Detailing Products, Larry Kosilla, Car detailing, car detailing, detailing, car cleaning, cleaning, cars, detail, polishing, how to, how to clean, complete disaster, barn find, first wash, first generation nissan z-car (s30) (automobile generation), datsun (automobile make), interior car cleaning, deep cleaning, first wash in years, barn find restoration, barn find detail, First wash in 44 years, complete disaster full interior car detailing, complete disaster car detailing

Id: CZlIl74b0Ss

Length: 19min 7sec (1147 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 25 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/the_house_from_up]

Awesome to watch the process. I'm surprised that the rubber seals throughout the body were still good enough to seal from a pressure washer.

I understand why, being a concours caliber car and all, but it's a shame that it will probably never move more than a few hundred feet at a time under its own power.

[u/pawsforbear]

Everyone finding a gem in a barn and here I am overpaying for my toys haha

[u/Jlx_27]

The US bumpers really ruin that car.

[u/kardiffkook]

Man this just really highlights how far Nissan has fallen from grace.

That is a damn fine looking automobile.

[u/zonewebb]

Very slick! When they started buffing they paint, it really started coming together for me

[u/Futhermucker]

how do you have something like this in your family for 44 years, never be pressed enough for money to sell it, but never have enough money to do a simple ass restoration and drive it?

even if you were keeping it with low mileage to eventually sell, wouldn't you at least keep it clean?

[u/JuryGhost]

I wanna do a barn find, do I just drive randomly and go inside abandoned property hoping to find something or do people have a system for this

[u/StrayaMate2000]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDM8oKOna9v/ Owner In The Barn

https://www.instagram.com/p/CFGZoWTlK0r/ Mech Restored

[u/Asklepios69]

Does anyone who watches the channel know, why they stopped with that huge collecter barn? They only did about 5 cars and there would be way more interesting stuff in there