My two swiss S30Z Fairlady Restoration build thread

[JDMjunkies.ch]

If things turn out well, i have the great honour to meet a few very special Z-related People in a few weeks. For this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, i thought it would be nice to have them sign a part of the Z. Either it will end up in the car or i'll hang it somewhere on the wall. For that i came to the conclusion that the best part would be the glove box door lid, so i decided to prepare on of them properly:
First i removed the back cover, locking mechanism and hinge etc from the plastic front cover:

With some gentle heat and some soft hammer-taps, the logo came out too:

As you can see the surface had plenty of dirt and some mild scratches and fading:


So first it was time for a proper wash:

Then it was time for a proper plastic clean with my trustworthy "Novus" plastic repair kit:

I used Stage 2 for light scratches and stage 3 (clean and polish).

To further reduce fading, i decided to pull out the heat gun and use my old "heat treatment" trick (see here)

The one big flaw in the middle is still viseble slighty, but ither it's a bigger damage or a manufacturing flaw and i't only visible under the right light. the overall rsult is quite good.
So i'll have it (and the gold paint pen) ready to have a special signature on soon, hopefully.

[bluez]

Came out very nice, that’s quite an improvement..

[JDMjunkies.ch]

Yoiu were probably as excited as me to see big and regular updates now that the car is back from the bodyshop. Truth is I have a lot of work and i'm in the final phase of some massive projects which have been going on tor two years at my work. The good thing is, in about two weeks these should be completed and i can go back to my Daily business and should have more time for my project. Nevertheless, i found some minutes here and there to get some stuff done in the recent weeks.
1) The first thing i did is clean some welds and primer all unprotected areas in rust protection weldable primer:

I might have gone a bit overboard, but yeah, better safe than sorry.

2) I started preparing the spare Trunk spoiler by sanding it down back to shape and giving it a test fit on the trunk.

3) Test-fit the front grille

hood emblem

and front bumper.

4) Did some rear-end test fit mock up
 

5) Also got a bunch of nice magazines from Japan
 

6) and got basically gifted this nice NOS cigarette lighter from a good friend, but still need to check   if it's the correct one for the Z.

7) I also managed to get the old nissan FAST / E-Fast software running again on my computer. so i can look up parts and stuff:

😎 I hope i can go back to work on my cars and drive them in about two weeks. so far this is the to-do list for the body:

Oh and i'm also negotiating about a litle Parts lot which i hope i can get. let's see.
expect a bit of silence in the next 2-3 weeks, but i hope i can get back full-on after that!

[RIP260Z]

Good work!

The cigarette lighter you have in the above post is, as far as I know, for a Cedric 130, as I have one too!

[JDMjunkies.ch]

Today it's all about the details. I finally found some time to work on the 240Z project again. I wanted to install the door frames but while looking at that area, i noticed the drip rails were a bit messy. Therwe was some surface rust in the unprotected areas and the rail itself was a bit bumpy.

So first i got out my trustworthy hammer and a piece of wood to straighten it


Nect i decided to whire-weel the entire area to remove the remaining surface rust and old primer which probably covered some more.
You can clearly see this area had some rust in the past, which is not uncommon:

After that i gave it a good shot of rust-protection chassis primer:

So now it's straight, clean and protected.

Time to get back to what i had originally planned. quickly install the door frames.

Well for some reason, things didn't really line-up. i quickly realized that one of the holes semed off, as there was no way to move the frame further in the direction of the hole. It even had an "extension" which seems to be done in the factory.

I didn't really like it so i removed the exess metal and cleaned it (right foto doesn't show the finished solution) plus added primer. Also not sure about that other nasty weld. i might want to clean it to calm down my OCD. Not even sure if it's from factory or not. it's barely visible when the door is installed.

During the installation i also noticed that the upper door skin part didnt really seem to be straight:

Nothing a bit of directional force with a hammer can't solve. (note these are just dummy door frames for alignment, i will use NOS ones so i don't care if i sprayed primer on them *lol*)


And here we go, both door frames are in:


Another thing to check off from my task list. And a new one to add (that nasty weld)

PS. Sorry for all Photos being 16:9. Not sure how this happened

[JDMjunkies.ch]

The repeating theme of this build is definitely "two steps forward, one step back". Whenever i start to work on something, i realize there is much more work required than expected. Remember that nasty weld on the LH Door upper front in the previous post? I thought it just needs a bit of an attack with an angle grinder and some rust protectino primer. Well - once i started grinding, i realized it was a pretty cheap repair from the past,  and once some of the covering layers were ground down completely, rust appeared underneath. So it seems like it was just a simple "patch-up" work rather then a proper repair. It's just a small area and i expect it to be no big deal for the bodyshop to fix, but yeah, another small little area with an hour or two of paid labour required. Even if it's only a small area, which most people wouldn't be able to see, it would hurt my heart to just leave it like that. Also it would be just a matter of years before rust bubbles appear in that area. so better fix it now!


I kept up my motivation and decided to install the hood tension rods instead (yeah, i thought i'll sand them only before they go to the paintshop). Before:

And after:


It honestly took me a minute to figure out how this al goes in, but then it was a fairly easy install, even with the hood and hinges already installed:

Now i can work with the hood open safely again and do not need any supporting bars or anything and don't have to fear it falling on my head. Obviously, the hood allignment from the bodyshop is completely off now with the tension rods installed. thats why i do this - so it can be aligned and corrected PRIOR to painting.

Next i hope to be able to work on the front fender area. some smal tasks are pending there 🙂

[JDMjunkies.ch]

I've been shopping again recently and today a lot of packages arrived.

First, i found some original "Datsun Genuine Spare parts" stickers in switzerland. I always wanted those, but i never came across them. These seem to be original vintage stickers. as they have some wear marks and the material feels old. also the color is slightly faded on one sticker.


Recently i also came across a set of original Datsun color sample charts. Even though not 240Z related, i like to collect those, because they're rare and don't pop up often.

I already own some (see here), but these will add to my collection.  So new in are charts for the 100A / 120A, 160J / 140J, 260C / 200C, 180B / 160B.


Recently i also found a nice set of Nissan "Sports option catalogues" in Japan. I already own a few of those, but the whole lot was a nice find, so i made sure i get them. The Z432-R is specially rare and some of the others were missing. I think my collection is pretty complete now...


For those who don't know. These are basically the pre-NISMO era Option / Competition parts offerings from the Factory, back in the day.

Some deals take a bit longer, and i've been working to get this lot for quite a few months, but thanks to my man Rob, i finally got the parts today. It's a NOS parts lot, including many rare rubber and plastic parts in good shape. All the small things you don't find very often and are good to have!

The lot included: A set of front and rear bumper rubbers:


A upper and lower hood lock set, and a set of rear quarter window rubbers

Various dust boots, O-rings, a Fuel tank rubber insulator and a Handbrake rod:


A set of rear bumper mounts (which i need right now) and the rear strut top covers:


And a slightly used but very good condition OEM water pump, which i got for my friend, since he was looking for one:


Overall not the largest lot of NOS parts i ever bought, but definitely a quality one!

The seller also showed me some photos of a magazine which he recenty acquired. Road Rat no 17. Issue. It's a beautiful coffe table book with stories road trips etc around japanese (car) culture. Nothing Z-related really, but genererally about some japanese collectors cars, great photos and definitely worth a look for those who like high quality images and something to read on a rainy day!

It was sold out on the publishers website, but luckily a swiss company still sells them (worldwide)


I also got a bunch of excess Datsun 240Z Steering wheel mounts (see here for details😞


And this TechnoVersions diff mount. I don't think i will use it, but a friend ordered some and i made sure i get one just-in-case 🙂

I still have two deliveries pending and one sea-freight pallette in Japan in preparation, so there will be more to show soon.  Overall im pretty happy and excited that the parts allow me to work on a few things that were on hold.

[JDMjunkies.ch]

The 240Z / S30 Center console is in many cases broken or has been "modified" over the years, but until now there was no good replacement. At least not to my knowledge. JDM-Car-Parts had a limited run of hand made items, but they never reproduced them again. Since all of mine had a certain damage, i was always looking for a good replacement. After having being really happy with the Resurrected Classics front grille, i recently saw they now also released a Center console that fits my 1972 car, so i got myself one.

The overall shape and fitment seems very good. i found some smal, hardly noticeable imperfections, but then realized you'll also find those on the OEM center consoles.

On the inside they're stlightly different, mainly because the fastening points are made from reinforced, milled plastic bits, rather than small fastener-points, which often brake:

They claim that the material  and pattern is like OEM, but it's somewhat different. the rear one is the Resurrected Classics one and the front two are OEM. First of all the OEM are full had plastic, while the RC one seems to be some plastic, covered in some kind of vinyl. It feels soft, almost like a modern, slightly padded center console. And as you can see it's pretty glossy, got some kind of blue-ish coloue touch and feels different.

The fact that it's probably the only reproduction at the moment, makes it ovciously the best one, but i'm almost sure that soon another manufacturer will come up with a reproduction closer to OEM.

However overall i'm pretty happy and it will do for the time being, unless i find an OEM on ein good condition...

Oh, and i got some more of those stickers.

And the seller added those to the package, which are nice:

[JDMjunkies.ch]

So over the recent days i found some minutes here and there to get some work done.
First i had to remove the Fenders


To install the Splash guards: (Rubber pieces still need to be installed:


At that point i also realized that the bodyshop was nice enough to remove the factory brackets / Spacers between the air channel and fender. They thought since they were missing on the "original" (= not so original) chassis, it needs to be removed. At least they were nice enough to give it to me, so it's easy to weld them back.

Next up was the hood locking mechanism:


And upper one:


Then it was about time to install the fender mirrors. I used the JDM Fairlady Z symetric template from JDM-Car-Parts


Drilled the holes

Did a super-shady primer job (just temporary rust protection for the new-cut holes:

And here we go: A set of NOS JDM Fairlady Z Long stalk fender mirrors installed. At this point i also realized that the area where the headlight bucket is installed on the RH side has a strange bend. probably from a previous hit? Anyway, i'll sort that out next time.

I still need to do some details on the fenders before they go back on temporarly, but another few to-do's can now be checked off from my list.
What else? Oh i always loved this and finally managed to find a reasonably priced "Datsun Saves" Can, plus an original 80ies Advertizement from a Playboy magazine 🙂


Then got this lovely Motorhead Coffee table book collection it's mainly about 90ies skylines and the tuners like HKS and so on, but covers their story very well back to their beginning

I mainly bought it because it also covers the history of Japans oldest Alloy wheel maker (besides RS Watanabe), which is Enkei, who made the OEM wheels on my EK9, and Bride Jp, but also the story behind the OS-Giken TC24B1 and TC16 engines, with some beautiful fotos and History from the factory. Did you know that OS-giken raced the TC24B1 in the USA with Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima (of later Suzuki pikes peak hillclimb fame) at the wheel? I wasn't aware of that and i think that's pretty damn cool.


Oh and i'm currently working on a huge knowledge Post about the Z's audio system / radios, so i got an original Hitachi factory operation and service Manual for the AM/FM radio via some friends of mine from back in the days when i repaired those things. Expect an in-depth analysis of the circuit design and loads of details about the Z-specific radios in the coming months. I'm still  collecting and researching all the details and i need some time to figure out all those options and details.

[JDMjunkies.ch]

Yeah. i got a bunch of books again, from vairous sources.
The top left (lower one in the next photo) is a french book generally about "heroic" japanese cars from 1960 to 1975 and has it's own chapter about the Z-variants. Nothing new, but nicely written with plenty of photos. My french is quite limited so i don't understand everything, but anyway. i found it for two bucks online, so i had to have it.

Same for the upper one in the following picture. A german book about japanese cars from 1912 to 1992, it is less a book about certain cars, but more about Automotive Companies, and the industrial history in general in Japan. and also has a broad section of facts and figures about many, many cars. I still have to read it, but it makes a pretty good impression on the first glimpse.


The bottom right is the October 1974 Service bulletin issue 216 "hints in servicing the Nissan Air conditionier. which i will use to update some details in the big S30 Aircon Knowledge post soon, which i released recently.


And then i got the Japanese Z-4 Service Bulletin from October 1971, which introduces the HS30 Models and mentions changes of the S30 and PS30 models.
Obviously it has some details about the HS30 cars including the G-Nose HS30-H models, but also some other details which are useful for upcoming knowledge posts which i'm working on.

[JDMjunkies.ch]

Found another hour to work on my car. and one thing on the to-do list was the rubber mud flaps that are installed inside the fender in below the metal mud guards. Another little detail that is missing on many cars, as they have been simply removed and not replaced on many cars over the year:

Here we go:

On the LH fender (Similar to the RH one). some previous owner "cleaned" the Fender emblem holes. which was a common practice back then.

On the RH side i tried to drill the holes based on some measures i had previously made, but it proved to be not 100% perfect. so this time i decided to use the color stencil method by getting the approximate position marked on the fender by measures. And thenn getting the 100% correct spacing by adding oil color paint to the pins and then pressing it to the fender, like a stencil.

here's the result (ignore the old marking i have made previously, they were quite wrong).

After that i got my holes drilled. The 4th hole, which is slightly lower than the three mounting holes, is there from factory, and i believe it's to drain moisture that is cought behind the emblem that's why it's at the lowest point of the emblem.
Also rust protection primer added.

And here we go. I haven't pushed the emblem in completely, because i'd remove it again immediately. Also i will probably use the european "Datsun" instead of the "Fairlady Z" emblems. Good thing is they use the exactly same holes.

Then installed the LH fender back on. the front end work is progressing slowly but steadily:

Maybe it's just me, but i think the Z looks so much cooler with the original long stalk Fender mirrors:

So overall i was able to tick another few tasks from my bodywork to-do list. still plenty of work, but getting there and it's fun to see some progress.

[JDMjunkies.ch]

Recently i found that a seller in Japan was selling three of the Sports option / Competition / NISMO heat shields for the Mikuni triple carbs. which is there to prevent heat from the exhaust manifold going to the carbs / intake. The price was super fair and they seemed to be without corrosion, so i bought two of them just to be on the safe side:

The thing with blind online-buy's is you never really know what you get. In this case they looked good. the silver one had been welded previously, but nothing that can't be cleaned. The strange thing was however as soon as i touched it, i had silver paint on my fingers. It seems it was just a rattle-can fix done previously. Nevertheless, they're still both in very usable shape and nothing a bit of cleaning and plating / painting can't fix. I currently have a set of triple Mikuni 40PHH's in stock for th eproject, but i have also a set of 44's in Japan waiting to be shipped with some other parts. so even though it all needs some work, at least i have a complete set now in very restorable condition and that all for a really fair price despite what things are going for today.

Here's an exceprt from the japanese sports option catalogue showing the heat shield and the two part numbrs. Not sure what the cover is though. prably just some kind of insulating pad that went on the shield? after looking closer to mine, it seems like they have a cracked additional pad layer on it. Will need to figure this out in detail.