Leaderboard

Some of you have dealt with this little annoyance, and I have found a perfect solution. When doing a full restoration, or at least the full interior, you often have to replace the head liner and the A pillar vinyl, as well as the vinyl trim that goes across the top of the windshield where the sun visors and rear view mirror mount. While I won’t discuss the pain of installing these items, what I have found is even more of a pain, is finding the nine M5 threaded holes to put the visor and mirror mount back in. All that fresh painfully installed lovely vinyl, and 9 secret little holes you have to find to poke holes through. Get out the pokey thingy of your choice and start poking until you find them. If you put some kind of thin foam behind the vinyl like you’re supposed to, those damn holes are just a nightmare to sleuth out. Not any more! I put some nice long M5 grub screws in the nine threaded holes, THEN do the upholstery. Then finding the tips of them sticking out is easy! Make little “X” slits to expose them, grab your M3 hex key, back them out and screw in the visor and mirror mounts. Five minutes each! Easy peasy.

So I have a Harbor Freight blast cabinet. It is probably 15 years old or older. I have wanted to do the Tacoma Company upgrades to it for years but I've never pulled the trigger because the timing was always bad. I finally bought the pieces last month. https://www.tacomacompany.com/ The original cabinet Cut the bars out from under the frame New funnel adapter on bottom of the cabinet Drilled a hole in the left leg for a new air regulator Two new holes for the air and media for the gun Regulator Cut the lower shelf back New box that covers the air intake on the left side of the cabinet Air flow is reversed in this new setup I had to silicone the screws at the glove cuffs because the static from the cabinet would shock the fool out of you Cut the spring steel screen down and wrapped it with metal screening to prevent little parts falling down in the cabinet Added a foot pedal for the cabinet versus a hand trigger New gloves inside and a fresh piece of glass I have a switch on top that cuts the LED's on in the cabinet and start a vacuum that sits outside the shop door I finally got the air all hooked up today. It's a totally different cabinet now!! I can see and it cuts really quickly. I have some new Bufferfly screws for a quick change glass setup

The memory is swirling with details of tow hooks, but I would like to point out that from the point of view of originality, the presence of tow hooks is optional. First remember they are tie down hooks, not tow hooks. They secured the car to the boat they came over on. Memory of past discussions suggests there was a Nissan order to dealers that they be removed before selling. Correct me if that’s wrong. Seems from the many Z’s I’ve seen, most still had “some” so I suspect many dealers didn’t bother. So it would appear to be “Correct” to have them or not on a restoration. If you could somehow know if they were there or not on delivery day for your particular car, then you would know to either include them or not to make it “right”. Then the issue of what particular style was installed at each of the four spots comes up, but I think that was covered in some other thread. I made a coat hook rack for the back of my shop door out of some of the ones I have laying around. Probably sacrilege to some. Too bad.

Cybersanford...

Keep it as it is

There's nothing to manage. It's just a single thread in which to talk about Z's that are being sold or have sold. As opposed to multiple individual threads. If you read back through the posts you'll see that the concept works. Even Mike has commented here.

Well, you wouldn't have to worry about being blinded by oncoming headlights. The gauge lights will have already blinded you. Maybe not. The parking light fuse would probably blow first.

Now you tell me!

Well, if you don't have the neutral switch on the 5-speed, it means you lose the capability of connecting the annoying as hell seat belt buzzers. (Just leave the wires hanging.)

I spent some hours in the Garage again and got some tasks checked off my to-do list. First, I started to test-fit the taillight panels: So I was able to get the installation holes back into the replacement rear panel: Where the plastic rivets go. Luckily, I have a few for reference: It took me a while, but in the end, all worked out. I have to say, after studying a bunch of original, unrestored cars, those Panels are quite poorly aligned from the factory, and with a few adjustments to the rear hatch lock panel, they could have made this much more appealing, but at the end I wanted to have it looking OEM. After that, I installed the taillights too, just to see if it all lines up. Which, luckily, it does. Note that the panels are not properly locked into the brackets here, why it all looks "wobbly": While at it, I decided to also install the hatch locking mechanism, so that the hatch has the correct height. I own a set of NOS locks. But decided for testing the old ones will do. As usual, bolts / nuts are only temporary and might be the wrong ones, so please ignore those. The lower one was a bit tricky. I realized the space in the aftermarket panel is not big enough for the lock to fit through it. After a bit of hammering, though, it fits now. Still needs a bit of adjustment, though, as it seems the punches are not lined up properly with the bracket: While working in that area, I realized that this corner is also not straight. So I got that straight too. (Picture shows "before" state): In the end, I'm quite satisfied with how things fit. It's still all just temporary and needs a bit of adjustment and proper fitting here and there, but for the first mock-up, things at least fit, without discovering major issues: You might have noticed that the "chrome" (I think it's stainless steel?) taillight panel trim is missing. I had them removed before paint strip dipping, because the previous owner painted them black. Luckily, the paint could easily be chipped off with a carpet knife: And then I gave it a bit of polish with my "Metarex" metal polish wool: It still needs a bit of work here and there, but the first results after a few minutes of manual work are promising: Then I had to test-fit the door steps (or whatever you call those) back, as the replacement panels came without the holes to install them: So I had them test-fitted: And then got the holes and screws back in. Note it might look crooked, but that's just the reflection of the protective plastic i left there to avoid scratches on the new panels: I hope I can keep up the current pace. It's really nice to see things coming back together, even if it's only temporary.

My next place is gonna be about a 1200 sq ft cabin and an 8000 squ ft shop. My 1000 squ ft shop is nowhere near enough and I want inside storage for all my cars

Hi Jase, I suspect you are experiencing possibly two effects of your updates. The first is likely more of a "new car" ride where everything is nice and firm and no longer the 47-year old squishy. Add on that the second item which might be the age of your tires which become harder over the years. Old (and larger) tires will certainly transmit road issues thru fresh and firm bushings and shocks. Last year I swapped out my 12-year old tires (still with lots of tread) for new ones and the difference in the ride quality was significant. Jim

This past weekend, I moved all of my project cars around to facilitate getting started on the "track car" - my 240Z with a prod date of 12/70: I blew the motor up at Road Atlanta 9 years ago. It took many of those years to get a replacement, but I have that sitting in the corner of the shop. While I had the project cars out of the "shop", I organized some things and put a bunch of parts away in boxes and on shelves. Then I put them back in the garage. My order of attack will be to bring this 240Z back to life, then repair my wrecked 2004 Honda S2000, and then build the 1970 510. Unsure how long it will take, but going to guess 6 months or so on the Z. Hopefully less than a year on the S2000. And, I really don't know how long for the 510: Probably several years. But I still have some things to finish up with this restoration. I removed my wide band O2 sensor from the track car yesterday and will be installing that in the newly restored 240Z soon to see what I have going on for air/fuel ratios. I'll be able to record some data with this and the wide band O2:

I used this stuff to fix my broken console. Used it on the bottom side mainly and smoothed out the excess on the top side with fine sandpaper. Turned out good and is still holding up. That was 2015. There's other "strengths" too.

Certainly not S30-related, anyway. The 'early' E4100 fog lamp switch is a two pin NILES unit in the same 'flip' format as the Hazard flasher switch. It has a graphic on it rather than a letter. Here's a pair of them being used as fuel pump switches:

Update: Cranking down the final injector clamp (ended up using a 1/4 inch socket with a u-joint, and an extension. The car doesn't smell anymore and the sniffer isn't picking anything up. I tested the device just to be sure by opening the fuel door and it smelled fumes by the gas cap (I didn't remove the locking gas cap). Looks like case closed 🙂 - thanks all!

Transmission is out YEA! All went well not to much drama. Clutch and flywheel are also out. Still need to get the pilot bushing out, will try the bread trick. New bushing does slide onto the five speed main shaft. The four speed has a neutral switch the five speed does not wondering what I have to do with the wires @SteveJ if anything. Next step is finsh getting the five speed ready to install. (seals, front cover gasket, reverse switch, speedo gear, clutch fork, sleeve, bearing) 12mm offset wrench worked great for the propeller shaft nuts. completly slides over the nuts with full engagement. No interference with the diff cross member.

Take good care of that head if it’s really a MN head . Like said - a compression test would show pretty stout numbers with any combo involving a Maxima head . CC’s are about 39 which should show 180-200 psi compression check . I’ll also say the Maxima head would be about better than anything you could pit on that engine . But it also would be a challenge for stock EFI to keep up with the compression - not even talking ignition timing issues also .

got me some shiny new tools, looking forward to some warmer weather!

In the recent days, I picked up various items again, which I bought recently for my project: The elephant in the room is obviously the all original KM1520-ZC AM / FM Radio. It's a bit rough around the edges. Just perfect for a restoration. In case you don't know. Restoring old audio systems, including Car HIFI, from that era was my profession for many years, so this one will be fun for me to get nostalgic. It's said to be in working condition and complete. Let's see. Then i also got an original June 1972 Datsun Switzerland dealer price list. I had it scanned, and you can download it HERE among many other price-lists from that era. One delivery also included an original NOS 240Z rear drum brake cylinder. I had several from the other side, but this side was somehow always missing. Now I have a complete pair: I also aqcuired a bunch of Japanese "Car graphic" Magazines from the early 70ies, when the Z was new, and those issues include a few nice details of the Fairlady Z and Z432 development. On the right side, you also see a Nismo accessory catalogue and sticker from the 10th anniversary, which I will put next to my 10th anniversary steering wheel and shift knob: And then i got something cool, which is a bunch of photos and two CD's full of Photos from a nice bloke. Some photos will be very cool, and I'll post the story about a certain barn full of S30's from Switzerland in the coming weeks on this blog. If you read the story about Aerotechnik. A Swiss Datsun parts dealer that quickly became one of the countries biggest wholeseller for wheels and exhausts, you might remember this photo. Now i even haven an original of that Schaffhausen-plated (SH) red 300ZX. Read more about that story here I have some more cool deliveries pending, so stay tuned for some nice stories and parts here. and oh, i also had some progress on the Car itself, which i'm going to show you soon! Today I was finally able to close another big gap in my documentation archive. The Nissan L-Drive and R-Drive Parts catalogues: There are various versions of the Parts catalogues, the L-Drive (Publication No. C-0010L) is for the Left-Hand-drive cars and the R-Drive (Publication No. C-0010R) is for RHD cars. Totally, I have no three versions. From what I understand, the dealerships once got the original Binder in the early years and then constantly got updated sheets to add or replace. That's why you can see varying years and models on the back of the binder. The Left one and center one are new, the R-Drive on the right is one I bought from the UK a while ago. I have seen other versions, which are probably even rarer, but for me, this will do. So what is it exactly? Well, it's basically the early print versions of the parts catalogue, which were later also available as Microfiches, in smaller book form, or as digital version on Nissan FAST / E-FAST disks, etc. Today these are all available online. But in my opinion this is still the best readable version due to its size and quality of print, and the most detailed version of them all. The cool thing is that I now have one of the versions with the original seat leather samples on it, which only was in specific versions of the manual, and is something quite cool, if you ask me. So, again another year-long search for something very specific comes to an end, and I'm happy to close that task too. These books will again help me to clarify some details and to do my research on the various topics. Also, the pages are easier to scan to show on different topics here on the website, since the pages can be removed individually from the binder. So sooner or later, all you readers will benefit from this, too :-). Now on to search the even rarer stuff...

I Just came back from the workshop (more on that in the coming days), and realized I never posted about my recent purchases. Firstly, a set of L-series Factory Service Manuals in German language: The Lot also included a German training manual for Nissan OEM Register carbs. Mainly of the A-series and L4 Engines, but also of the L6 of the C230, etc. Not relevant to my project, so I'm going to sell it. The Lot also included the Service bulletin N0. 201 "modification of the 260Z 2+2, One which was missing in my collection of S30 bulletins yet: I also got the last piece of the puzzle to complete my Datsun Special tool wall. The Kent-moore ST-351-00000, for the front axle. I had it before, but the handle was missing, and now i found a complete one: Then I also got a bunch of Mikuni Performance Carburetor gasket rebuilt Kits Z70-1044, which should be the correct ones to rebuild my recently acquired PHH44 S5 Carbs Today I also got the US Market 1972 FSM, which should be the almost correct one for my model. I recently realized I had only a very early 1969 version and then later S30 generations ones, but never one close to my actual build. And then you can never have enough Factory documentation 🙂 The seller also had a bunch of OEM parts, so while buying anyway, I decided to throw in a set of NOS Hood bumpers in the order: I've been busy working on the car myself in the recent days, so expect more updates on the project soon.

Nothing dramatic. Run it with the system a little under filled* for a couple minutes with the radiator cap off. Then top it off, fill up the overflow tank to "F", and put the cap on. Any remaining air should (in theory) work it's way out of the system over the next couple heat/cool cycles. I've not found the Z to be one of those cars that really needs a complicated burping process. * The reason for the underfill is if there is a big air bubble in there somewhere it will expand much more than the liquid coolant will. And if the system is full to the top, it'lcould belch out the top of the radiator.

Yeah, I assume the mention about the oil pressure gauge by Mike was simply due to the fact that with the dash out, you wouldn't know if you had an oil pressure issue or not. But if you didn't have any sort of oil pressure issue beforehand and the only reason you were messing around with the dash was to make it easier to get to the HVAC system, then I believe the concern is unnecessary. Glad to hear it worked out so far. Remember that it may take some time for the whole coolant system to come up to pressure. Oh, and I'd approve of a picture of you driving the car without a dash installed. Slow enough to guarantee you weren't speeding of course, since you don't have a speedometer. Hahaha!

Thanks Alan, just for fun I tried using the translate feature on google lens. It worked well.

Indeed, it translates as "Fog Lamp Switch" and other factory literature identifies them as being an extra-cost showroom option.

Resurrection!!! https://jdm-car-parts.com/products/original-style-fog-lamp-set-for-jdm-fairlady-z-datsun-240z-260z-280z-510-roadster?srsltid=AfmBOoq9Z4T801ioQzmLJnAbk5VItXD-5LYHbUtRaHKJH_TFZvNyk7Os

9 years! Nice Resurrection. My four Ampco bodies just say “Made in Japan” on the side

Ron Tyler from HybridZ designed the mount after a day of breaking mounts on his V8 modified Z, if I recall correctly. He posted the dimensions on the site and others have started producing them. I think on the 240Z's you might have to move some fuel lines, Can't remember clearly. But generally, once you get under there and start taking out the old mounts that hold the bolts that hold the strap it will be more obvious how the mount goes in. You have to choose between using a bumper or using the GM transmission mount to complete the setup.

Right, my understanding is that the yellow paint marks were applied at the factory to indicated the fastener had been torqued. If you have a look at the paint markings on the 240z that sold on BringaTrailer for $310,000 US a few years ago, starting at about picture number 168, you will see that the paint was applied quite messily: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1971-datsun-240z-124/ And, for what it is worth, I personally torqued all of these fasteners to spec!

No. It indicated that the fastener had been torqued to spec on assembly and checked. Nothing after that.

Let the chrome people know. You don't want to pay for their time to try to fix that rust area.

Okay, all of my dashboard wiring is finished. The AILD-1 is being controlled by the OEM rheostat and dimming the lights. I’m a little disappointed that the LEDs don’t seem to come to full brightness. I ran into this issue with another PWM, but the guy who made this one said it can be trained, so I’m hoping he can help me figure out how to fix that. After messing around with a few different methods, I decided to secure it to the inside of the dash with adhesive Velcro. I made a separate harness for it that taps into one of the ground wires for the instruments and the fiber optic light module. The rheostat is completely isolated on the blue and green wires and it’s only function is controlling the PWM. The wires that used to go to the rheostat now go to a connector for that harness. Here are the instruments turned down to zero and the fiber optic light (and all the other lights) still at 100%.

Here's the latest wiring diagram. I changed the wire color leading to the rear tail light assembly. At the hazard switch and the combination switch, the rear brakes/turns use a W/B and W/R pair, but somewhere inside the harness, they change to G/B and G/R pair by the time they get to the rear of the car. I also changed the portrayal of the rear light assemblies to show the bulbs inside. Note that in later 240's they changed one of the dual filament lamps in the back to a single filament. The car I'm working on is mid 1970 and I've got two dual filament bulbs on each side in the rear. <V6.0> _obvious 240Z Wiring Diagram 6.0.pdf

Won't win any prizes for photographic excellence, but here's an E4100 NILES early-type Fog Lamp Switch in its correct location on one of my other cars:

Looks like SteelStik. https://www.jbweld.com/product/steelstik-epoxy-putty-stick

I don't think that they are heat-treated to be "springy". I remember straightening the bends out of the ones that I had. They definitely make a difference. I tried the various treatments and greases but only reinstallng the straightened/flattened shims solved the problem.

Assuming you could find a suitable stainless, I think it would work just fine. I think the rust you often see on them comes from the non-stainless parts that come into contact with the shims, not the shims themselves. In other words, I don't think the shims are rusted at all... I think that rust is just mechanically transferred onto them by rubbing against other rusty parts. @Patcon, are the shims magnetic?

Glad you got it worked out. Perfect timing. I'll be posting a new version with the changes to the rear lights soon. You can plot out the new one then.

Wow! No kidding you've been busy!!

I got a new battery last weekend for Lily and a new battery frame I pulled together some pieces that need to be chromed. We'll see what these parts cost to get chromed There is a company in Australia that can make keys from codes or pictures. I got a price of about $40 for 2 new keys plus freight. On a whim I called my local locksmith to see if they could cut a key from a code. He could. so I took some Nissan blanks I had and he cut me two keys for like $22 I wanted to get a new key and be sure when I keyed them that the new key would work the rekeyed locks. It's good I did becoaul the new key wouldn't work the locked I already rekeyed. I also stripped a door latch for plating I also reworked the floor vents with new foam. 2mm foam on the flaps and some 6mm foam around the edges After the glue set, I trimmed these back

Fuel filter bracket search turns into 5 brackets , morphs into seats

I did not only buy plenty of stuff for the project recently, but also spent some time tinkering around on the actual project itself. The first task was to install the S30.World fuel tank together with the recently acquired S30.world fuel tank installation kit. To prevent the shiny tank from scratches, I wrapped everything in plastic. And after finding the right technique to hold up the tank while installing the mounting straps, i finally had it installed. Fitment is just like the original one, and it looks great together with the NISMO / Competition electric fuel pump and bracket: Next on the list was to install the fuel filler neck protection plate in the RH rear fender arch. The fitment of this reproduction item was somehow not right, so I had to bend it a bit, first. After a bit of trial and error and drilling some holes, I'm quite happy with the results (As usual, the used bolts are temporary for mock-up only!): Another test fitment was required for the front under panel / splash guard thing: I have to admit it fits really well. The only problem i discovered is that on the replacement NOS frame rails on the RH side, the threads / holes to install the under panels are missing. Most probably because they came from a later 260Z or something. Overall, I'm happy with the progress and my to-do list gets smaller with every day. Unfortunately, with every bit of work I carry out, I find one or two small problems that need to be corrected. So while my list gets smaller, the body shop list gets bigger. Nothing that can't be fixed, and I think I have a good plan for the next project. Recently, i also bought a collection of original (mostly european) Datsun / Nissan Colour and fabric sample charts. I scanned them all in High-resolution and you can download them all for free, here. they include all random type of Datsun / Nissan cars from the 70ies and 80ies, but also the Z's and ZX's.

I wonder who owns this tasty treat?

So- I adjusted the adjustable arm on the clutch master to the clutch pedal. I screwed it in a turns and it stopped slipping. Seems it was out too far and this does something the the inside of the clutch master. I now need to adjust my e brake as I replaced all braking and clutch parts, slave to master to brake lines to cylinders etc. I tried going in reverse and hitting the brakes than tried doing the same and pulling the e brake lever. Neither did anything so next step will be removing the rubber on the back of the rear wheel cylinders to access the star and try to adjust the brakes. The work is just never ending LOL

Got it, yes i agree it is a thin piece of metal. I will cut the rubber around it so that it just lifts up on it own. No prying of this.