G'day ladies and gentlemen,

Ok, so it's not on my horizon any time soon, but I do love these cars so much...figured I'd start small and work my way up....

I actually have two of these, the other is a Safari version which will be made to street spec..

This is a kit of a 240ZG, made by Tamiya a few years ago..it is a large 1/12 kit which allows plenty of room for enhancement..which is where I'm heading.

My first challenge was to find some Watanabe style rims...it was a search which proved faithless...not even 1/10 R/C stuff was going to be suitable.

So, I set about making my own.....this is how I started the rims..

Tyres also needed to be scratch-built, all entirely out of flat plastic sheet.

Once I was happy with what I had, I sent the rims and tyres to get cast and made for me. Rims from resin, tyres are from rubber..

Continues.......

Continued.....

Whilst these were getting made, I made a start on detailing the chassis.

A full fuel system has been installed, along with a fully plumbed brake system.

This is where a HUGE thank you goes out to a LOT of you great people here...Because there are so many great cars getting rebuilt, reference material for me has been plentiful..

So much of what I have done, is simply copied from what I have been shown here..I just add my little twists here and there...

Here is part of my fuel and brake systems...

Most of these lines are from solder and scale braided hose. All fittings are aluminium held by micro bolts.

For the interior, I wanted something a little different...

Tamiya supply a nicely molded rubber-like interior, but it looked a little plain in my opinion..

A pair of race inspired buckets and harness' will complete the interior..

I also wanted something a bit different in the "go" department....

Research turned up the quite rare OS Giken head.

I have spent the last few days getting this to look a bit like the real one.

Still a good ways to go...some have said 1:1 builds don't take as long as this has...It's been on my bench for a year.

So, that's my introduction to my 240Z.....I hope some of you like it, it has been a fun project thus far...

Cheers

Greg

Looking good. I still need to get those wheels from you for mine

Looking good. I still need to get those wheels from you for mine

Many thanks Brandon.

You guys at this site in particular, have given me enormous inspiration with it..I just hope no one starts a new rebuild and finishes before I do...

Wheel sets are still available mate.

cheers

Greg

Still chipping away at this.....

The engine needed to slant the opposite way to stock, so I swapped engine mounts, sliced the gearbox off and re-aligned it.

Starting to look right at home sitting in the engine bay.

Also made some extra mods to the twin-cam rocker cover...

The front got shaved another 1.5 - 2mm, which will help with hood clearance..:classic:

Also allowed me to "finish" it correctly with the OS logo, something I was not happy about leaving off the first time..

Starting to add some extras...water coolant bypass pipe in mesh hose, painted matt black.

Also fitted the "race" oil filter and fittings from the Safari kit.

This will connect to a front mounted oil cooler.

New headers made from 3.2mm solder...

Another "test" fitting...just making sure the headers clear everything.

That's where I'm at for now...Have started work on a pair of "gutted" inner door panels..:stupid: May take more work than I anticipated...

Anyways, I'll see how they come up...can't help but try...

More as it happens guys..

cheers

Greg

Nice work man! I wish I had the time and patience for something like this. I've subscribed to this thread to follow your work and look forward to seeing your progress.

Just an FYI for any model builders. Both my 1/12 kits (ZG and Safari) are on eBay for an incredible BIN price of $95 + $25 shipping. That is a STEAL and I know it. I need funds. Cannot access the bay from work so you can search by Tamiya Z or 1/12 etc.