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My friend Aaron sent me a link to a Z for sale up in Harrisburg on Sunday. I took a quick look at some pictures and told the guy that I'll get it on Monday. It's a 1-owner car. Everything is original except for the wheels, header (stock manifold included) and radio. It came with Clymer and Chilton manuals, owners manual and the manual for the Craig cassette player. The car has been parked and stored inside since 1983. A couple of the hose clamps aren't original and the dash has a couple cracks. The worst rust is the rear wheel arches. I have some NOS quarters that were put on my parts car so they'll go on this one. The hatch area is rock solid. The hood, doors and hatch are solid as well. It came with some extra parts and receipts from the late 70s. I plan to restore the car this winter. Chuck

Another dramatic change has been the installation of the rear ST anti roll bar. This single item really has transformed the cars handling dramatically, it’s quite silly how well the car now handles considering the platform is nearly 48 years old. B roads really have been made so much more fun and the overall package has transformed just with this item. The front bar is still waiting to be fitted as we have decided it will be prudent to reinforce the chassis legs before installation given how chunky the new bar is. The overall suspension package now is however fantastic, its amazed a few people how well it negotiates corners. Thankfully the replacement of the lower steering column UJ has removed a huge amount of slack out of the steering and made it far more responsive much to my delight, the car really engages you and provides lots of positive feedback when you want to press on! Long term the only addition I can see will be strut bars to help out further when funds allow. We are very much shaking down the car given the huge amount of custom work that has been completed and various unknown parts installed. So far on the to do list is a vibration that comes in at around 60 & 80 while cruising, I’m not sure if this could be a propshaft balance issue having been told how precise this needs to be but will be investigated. Fourth gear syncro is also fairly high up the list as you cannot rush it and some attention to the gearbox however otherwise she’s running better than ever. The car is a far cry from the one that we purchased 2 years ago, with the exception of the half shafts I think everything drivetrain related has now been replaced. I think it’s only the brake master cylinder left in the engine bay before all major items have been replaced as well. Depending on my schedule the car is going to have a thorough check over in the next month or two and be looked at more seriously to get it running spot on and check that we’ve caught everything. At this point I cannot say a big enough thank you to Iain at Passion Engineering (and his dad who pitched in as well), while it’s taken me 5-6 months for me to plan everything out and source all of the parts his engineering skills have made this part of the project a reality. Due to time and space I didn’t get to attempt a few of the jobs which I would have very much liked to have tackled myself, however when it comes to some of the bigger jobs such as the fabrication and repair of items his skills are second to none. He also bent over backwards in his efforts to try and get the car Le Mans ready, working full weekends and putting in lots of extra hours to get it just right. Sadly some unforeseen issues stopped us but that’s meant to finished product was not compromised in any way. I’ve mentioned all of the key items above however its all of the little details where he excels such as my hidden fan override switch under the dash (without altering the car in any way) and rerouting on the rocker cover breather to be more discrete that makes all the difference. As you can well imagine I’m completely broke on the Datsun fund this year. That doesn’t stop future plans though and in the pipeline I’m still hoping to get a 4 pot vented brake setup up front to compliment the rear drums with new performance shoes. I’ve also been aware for some time that the exhaust system midpipe and tailpipe is very much homemade and horrible. Having properly investigated we’ve identified that near the tailpipe the diameter shrinks from about 2.5 to 1.5 which is really choking the engine I would imagine and needs to go. Currently toying with speaking to Z story about a new JDM muffler and midpipe to go with the current headers or even go the whole hog and replace the whole system which I’d love to if it can be justified. All being well we also have plans to sneak an AFR gauge into the factory gauge setup in place of the clock to keep things looking factory but being more functional. Aesthetics wise the project has taken somewhat of a turn with reality dawning that this is too nice a car to make it look like a race car despite my aspirations, I quite enjoy the fact that everyone thinks it’s just a standard 240Z with the exception of my crazy bosozuku style gear shifter. It’s only when you start talking to people that they realize all of the work that’s gone on under the skin. I may therefore continue to show restraint against spoilers and the like…. There’s been several stories and experiences as ever in the meantime and lots of little extra details however I’ve already written lots so I’ll leave it for now, enjoy the photos instead if you’ve made it this far. IMG-7113 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG-7112 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG-7115 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG-7116 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr A quick view of all of the area's you don't get to see. It would be good to clean up the fuel tank straps! (Follow link to video on Flickr) IMG-7111 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG-7467 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG-7316 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG-7470 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG-7325 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG-7475 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

Got the front anti-sway bar bolted up. Looks good!

Redline MT90 has a dramatic effect on worn Nissan synchros. It's not hype, it really works. I had a 3rd gear grind on a 78 5 speed and Redline made it go away, over Valvoline 80W-90 gear oil. It's a cheap fix attempt. Pennzoil Synchromesh has a good reputation also.

Nope!!! Drive it and enjoy...

I'm not sure why you think it's complicated. The electric fuel pump has 3 switches. The first is the ignition switch. The second is a normally open contact on a relay. That relay coil is energized when the alternator is turning fast enough. (Note the voltage for that coil comes from the yellow wire between the alternator and voltage regulator. If you swap to an internally regulated alternator, you will remove the coil voltage from this circuit, and the fuel pump will never get voltage.) The last switch is a normally closed contact on a relay that opens up when you are cranking the engine. Diagnostics go like this: Turn the key to the ON position. Use a voltmeter or test light to verify you have voltage (to ground) on the black/white wire on Relay 1. (It's the 4 pin connector.) If this test fails, find the break in the wire. Start the car. Use a voltmeter or test light to verify you have voltage (to ground) on the green/white wire on Relay 1. If this test fails, you need to replace Relay 1. (This will require substituting a modern relay.) Use a voltmeter or test light to verify you have voltage (to ground) on the green/white wire on Relay 2. (It's the 6 pin connector.) If this test fails, find the break in the wire. Use a voltmeter or test light to verify you have voltage (to ground) on the black/white wire on Relay 2. If this test fails, you need to replace Relay 2. (This will require substituting a modern relay.)

Wow! Perfect fit on the steering rack. So glad I got rid of the Prothane bushings. The Energy Suspension ones are perfect.

It may have been to prevent damage to the vapour tank/hoses etc from the interior of the vehicle. In case a load shifted etc.

It is probably a gearing issue overall. Depending on which 5 speed you have, your gearing could be a little high, which will make your launch a little slower. If you go to a lower gearing in the rear end then your cruising rpm's at 100mph is going to be much higher. There's no free lunch here. After all, you are only working with 150 or so HP if you're lucky. It's not going to launch like a modern EFI car that makes 200 or more HP and could have as many a 8 tranny gears. For us in the states, law enforcement tends to lower the speed range we build for, so we don't have to worry so much about higher rpm's. We can run lower rear end gearing and not have to worry about high speed rpm so much

I tore a seal on the shaft of the fuel pump. The one that keeps gas from going in the head in case of an rip and keeps oil from the engine bay out of the fuel pump. Someone said the GMB 550-8040 was exactly the same inside. That isn’t true but it’s close. Their seal is actually a better design and works and should function perfectly. So now 3 fuel pumps to make one nikki pump. Still I’m below 100$ total into the project. She looks amazing.

Well time for another update, I'm getting painfully close to putting the car through its next transformation having collected parts, researched and talked about it for the past few months. The car made it to Leeds Castle again and home with no dramas despite being a little unhealthy and was a cracking day out, it was great to see a few S30's together again this year and some of the usual faces. The weather even turned up by the end of the day so awesome all in all. IMG_6097 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr So the parts are now really stacking up, with everything now sorted via the gearbox which is waiting on the local shop to get their arse in gear and take another look. Looking at radiator options having had several conversations about cooling and the state of the radiator we decided to go ahead and over engineer so we are now the proud owners of a Mishimoto Aluminium rad which should be more than man enough for any engine build we do in the future! It also comes with a lifetime warranty. Just trying to decide whether to paint it black or anodise it black to make it blend into the engine bay a bit more or not? IMG_6136 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr I need to give a shout out to Toopy for kindly selling me his old rocker cover as I've been meaning to attempt to refurbish one in a wrinkle/crackle black finish having seen so many done before I've been keen to get one done and move away from the polished look as it's really not for me. Having spent several evenings this week, I managed to strip it down, degrease, paint it and finish it. It's not perfect having had to spray it in the garden at compete with the wind and flies which kept being attracted to the paint (fortunately the wrinkle finish hides most of it). With paint not really being my forte though I'm quite please with how its come out and I've learnt lessons for if I do it again. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves though. IMG_6142 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG_6154 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG_6172 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG_6186 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr With parts continuing to pile in I also need to give a massive shout out to Mike, Chris and Alan on here. Having missed the window on anti roll bars for my suspension work I had a rethink and was sensibly pointed in the direction of suspension technics anti roll bars on the basis that the rear bar mounts off of the diff support like the period BRE cars rather than requiring any body modifications, particularly when being an early car with no brackets to talk of. Having realised shipping would be insane with the quote coming in at $850 dollars! Mike allowed me to have them shipped to him, dropped into Chris's car to be shipped over to the UK before it was sold to Alan (who I coincidentally met at Donington and found out lives just down the road). Who in turn delivered the bits to my front door! It never ceases to amaze me the sense of community, with three members generously helping me out and getting parts several thousand miles to my front door free of charge Having now seen them in the flesh I'm convinced these are going to go a long way towards removing hte body roll with a seriously chunky front bar and a sensible looking rear one to bolt on. At the same time I also picked up a brand new passenger grab handle as one of the Chrome pieces of trim had decided to fall to pieces, the nice thing its a Nissan nos item. I always love original parts in bags with the stickers! lol IMG_6178 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG_6175 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr Finally my evening has been topped off with another arrival from the US, this time after months of waiting on the list ZTherapy have come through with the goods. Fantastic packaging to keep the newly refurbished carb, intake manifold, euro balance tube, heat shield, fuel rail and throttle linkage all protected. The setup looks amazing, and everything feels very slick. The only problem is that now there's loads of nicely zinc plated items, there's lots of little bits and pieces that will need to be done to match in, I'm not sure quite what I've started here! I'm still recovering from the import duties and had second thoughts over tripples however they will come at a later date long way down the road, for now these are going to be awesome and should give some decent performance and economy. I think it's fair to say the car is going to drive like a different beast very shortly with all the parts that are being thrown at it, I'm getting super excited as fingers crossed work will begin in a couple of weeks time. Getting an idea of what things will look like shortly: IMG_6191 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG_6194 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG_6195 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr More to come in due course, don't go away

Well more to report still, recently its felt like one step forward and two steps backwards however I finally feel as though some progress is being made. Quite a few weeks back now my new OS Giken single plate clutch and lightweight flywheel combo turned up from Japan which looks like a piece of art, currently placed on the shelf gathering dust for now though. I’ve also received an uprated diff mount from the US which seemed like some sensible over engineering to go in with the LSD not knowing the state of the oem hardware which I imagine is still very original. I now have a good lead for S14 gears thanks to JP so keeping my fingers crossed on that count, my Z therapy setup is also just waiting on the polished intake manifold and then that’ll be on its way as well. In other good news the stub axels made by John Williams have just been finished so I’m finalising details to have a small batch sent across for a few of us at the same time to keep costs down. Having further investigated my coolant issues as several of you now know it turned out to be that the water pump gasket had failed and was leaking coolant down the block onto the alternator belt and arb. Having written the car off from attending both the Donington Historic and Japfest I changed my registration on both tickets not thinking I wouldn’t be able to source and fit a replacement before the weekends shows. Having nearly given up in a last ditch attempt I gave Four ways a call on Thursday who happened to have literally one left in stock so a priority delivery later and I had a replacement on Friday morning before show day. Having got home and drained and stripped the front end it was clear that the original gasket was knackered and where the leak was coming from, having cleaned the surfaces and fitted everything back up it was apparent the gasket hadn’t seated properly so back it all came off with some more gasket sealant more generously applied to the bottom to seal the joint. Everything was going well at this point until in my tired state I over tightened the last bolt and snapped it! A job for later, the system was refilled and the leak was gone. Following a short test drive, fuelled up and loaded all the spares I could think of into the car as well as printed off my breakdown cover policy the car was ready to go at 11pm. Having recycled the coolant following the installation more signs have been appearing to support the theory that the car had serious coolant system issues in the past before my ownership and the band aid approach was applied. Having now done the heater matrix, head gasket, water pump and physically inspected and seen the poor state of the oem radiator it’s clear that some form of rad weld was holding the system together for a while. Plans in the short term are to remove the water pump to sort the snapped bolt and replace all bolts with new ones, completely flush the system again and look to sort the radiator. I’m still in two minds as to whether to re-core the oem radiator or to take the opportunity to drop a Mishimoto Ali rad in its place to improve the cars cooling. I’ve also been recommended a Gano filter that can be put into the system to pick up any remaining crud as well which should all massibly improve the efficiency. Fingers crossed that once this has been done everything was be in tip top condition and I won’t have any more surprises from the engine bay. The good news was despite the fact the engine needs a health check it made both Donington and Japfest and managed both journeys without complaint! Both shows were fantastic and allowed for some long overdue catch ups, let me put some faces to names and get plenty of ideas of things to be done. Having not been out in the car properly in months it was really nice and gave me some much needed motivation to push on with the project. The car got some fantastic attention over the weekend particularly at Japfest which was really nice, and on the home had people hanging out of windows and all sorts to get pictures and wave. I’m just keeping my fingers crossed everything slots together I can try and ambitiously get everything some before the Le Mans Classic in July. IMG-5612 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG-6011 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr When most people are cleaning their cars or chilling with a beer before show day! IMG-6013 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr Out with the old and in with the new IMG-6014 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr Looking fairly tired and abused IMG-6016 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr More evidence of my band aid theory, this didn’t get back into the system IMG-6021 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

no, positive offset moves the wheel in, towards the brake drum. negative offset moves the wheel out towards the fender http://www.wheelpros.com/page/offset-explained/9