xs10shl

That's pretty much the same place where the early s30 factory AC went through the firewall, so I'd venture to say hole location was unchanged throughout the s30 production. This is a picture of a 1970 JDM car with factory AC. We have not yet verified the AC lines are in the correct position.

Great photos, Carl!

I'll have a little chat with Matt and teach him the phrase, "Yes, it's absolutely bone stock" for the next show. Doubt anyone would notice, . [HIJACK] Just as a side story, the Japanese aftermarket ignition module recently crapped out on us days before a photoshoot, so I spent the weekend cursing, yanking parts off, and trying to retrofit an MSD box to it. All's well that ends well. [/HIJACK] Back to concours-talk.

Agreed- I myself am not a fan of judging any marque, as there are few "Judges" who know more than the local mechanic who has worked on them for 40 years. There is effectively no written history available in English about JDM cars, so there is no way to learn about them, other than to attempt to buy one. However, one thing that IS surprising is the number of 20 or 30-somethings that rush over to see the Hako whenever I show it. Perhaps it's a weird side effect from all those video games and movies. I'd venture to say there may be as many as 15 c10's on the west coast of the United States, mostly owned by people under 40. Instead of concours competition, I focus on elevating Japanese car collecting as a whole, and help build awareness through education and exposure. A small article in Automobile Magazine (which I'm surprised no-one commented on, especially since the dreaded "G" word was used with respect to the Z, against my wishes), and a hopefully larger one coming up this July in another magazine. And of course, "display-only" entries at various concours events. I have a relatively easy time of it in California, where there is already a groundswell of interest in old J-tin. To echo your comments about the the best designs being limited to the Japanese market, I almost always begin every presentation with "When it comes to engineering, the Japanese always seemed to keep the best stuff for themselves" . . . even though I'm starting to sway to the opinion that when it comes to s30s, it may actually have been the Portuguese!

I'd say that when adjusted for inflation, most classic cars end up costing around the same, with exceptions, to be sure. That's part of what makes certain models a good currency and/or inflation hedge.

Oiluj, congratulations on your recognition. As you say, many Z enthusiasts would prefer to see modified cars, and get more excited about those types of cars, whereas people who prefer XKEs would rarely (if ever) consider an engine swap. Customs will almost always be relegated into side-show status in a typical Concours, regardless of country of origin. Sometimes, a custom even makes enthusiasts angry - in the Ferrari world, replicas and cars with any type of custom modification are typically publicly ridiculed and derided. Owners of Ferraris that use the wrong sort of hose clamps will be constantly reminded by overeager enthusiasts of this inaccuracy and deficiency throughout the day. Good thing is that many Japanese-only concours have embraced a "dual-track" system, where a "stock" and "modified" class exists for each peer grouping. I'm a big proponent of this myself, as it allows for more participation.

Many, many potential topics of discussion here, some of which I have a little first hand experience with. I've attended the Pebble Beach Concours for the last 12 years in a row now, and I regularly either attend or participate in 4-5 Concours events annually. My first observation is quite simply that winners of big shows, and the overall feel of the event, is almost solely determined by the organizers. At Pebble Beach, which by many is considered the premier concours event globally, no post-war car has won Best of Show since the event was organized into it's modern form decades ago, which is certainly so statistically improbable, that it must be due to a natural bias. Most cars are over-restored to standards simply unachievable when the car was new, and this is expected and encouraged. As the organizers point out, it is a Concours d'Elegance- a beauty show. Point being - if a show is organized by a bunch of 70-year old Italians or the like, you can bet there will be little interest in anything other than what they knew and grew up with, which would include zero Japanese cars. Perhaps it is prejudice, but it's also partly a fact of human nature that people covet the cars they lusted after when they were young. With respect to the participation of Japanese cars in these types of events, I've also found this to be a mixed bag for several reasons: 1) Many Concours events have a large focus on pre-1975 - this is an issue when trying to assemble a class for Japanese cars, because there is not a large knowledge base about rare Japanese cars which pre-date this era, nor is there a really large assortment of cars to choose from when compared to cars form other global regions. 2) There is a predetermination that Japanese cars are all cheap econo-boxes. Certainly some were, however, I think that over time this will be sorted out, as people who grew up with Japanese cars come of the age where they have real disposable income to buy and restore them. Perhaps in 10-15 years we will start to see a shift in how many concours are run to accommodate this. 3) Many enthusiasts of Japanese cars themselves don't seem to put as high a "price" on originality, which is a staple of a typical concours. Most major concours I've attended place the highest point-value on cars which are properly restored to original specifications. There is frequently a great deal of value placed on a highly and/or tastefully modded car by Japanese car fans. This is not a criticism, just an observation. 4) Some of the rarest and most desirable Japanese cars are simply unknown to car enthusiasts, or unattainable, or both. Plenty more to discuss, these are just some broad brush strokes.

Different A/C systems were installed differently in a 240Z, based on my experience. The typical installations I've seen have the control located at the driver's knee or just under the dash, and the evaporator in the passenger footwell. I'd imagine it can be installed/removed without taking out the dashboard. If you follow the A/C hose as it snakes around the car, you'll eventually get to all the components, such as the dryer (typically located on one of the inner fenders) compressor (running on a pulley off of the crank pulley), condenser (typically in front of the radiator), thermostat (usually attached to the evaporator), and evaporator itself. The factory s30 A/C system (not available as an option for a 240Z, but potentially retrofit-able should someone have elected to do so) would have the evaporator be located behind the center console, and the controls integrated with the heater control system. In this case, you'd probably have to remove the dash to get at it.

Good to hear you are ok. What Im about to say may sound cold hearted, but IMHO this was a blessing that it happened as it did. If a heavy collision is unavoidable like ths one, it might as well be hard enough to total the car, yet soft enough to allow you to walk out of the ER in one piece. The alternatives are typically worse. You could have ended up with a car that would never be the same again after fixing it, and worse, a 3 month hospital stay. Surely it's better to have avoided getting into accident altogether, but who knows:if you had sped up, you may have ended up arriving at an intersection 5 minutes later, just in time to get T-boned by a red light runner.

I contacted the seller a few days ago and have not heard back. Can't say what that means. Anyone else had more luck?

My personal sense is that this is #22, and not a doppelganger, just based on the photos. Everything looks equally old, including the data plate, and these cars were pretty much worthless until recently - it would take more money than the car is worth to try and fake it to this degree, IMHO.

If there's a local mechanic who works on old Nissans or other Japanese cars from the era, it's likely he may have some in a box in his shop. Anything can be re-plated to look like new, so long as it's not too far gone. Roadster clamps will probably be identical in appearance.

FYI I PM'd you on another site, but I managed to secure a copy from Amazon.

I always thought it was important to put a new engine under some load to seat the rings somewhat early in the process? (i.e. not too much idling for extended periods) Could be wrong, so check with an expert.

I've never done this type of modification, but I seem to recall that there are LH and RH parts to configure the cold start circuit to pull from either desired direction, depending on your application. I think this is true for both types of carburetor. I have Mikunis that are configured for LH pull and RH pull - some carbs are installed on the LH side of the engine, and some on the RH side (and sometimes both sides!)

From my chair I think you could get $8 to $9k on this car, but not without putting a little effort (and $$) into it. I've recently seen cars in similar or worse condition sell in this range, but they've all been good runners with trace amounts of rust in the usual places. As mentioned, clean the car, take a great set of photos, show that the miscolored fender has been properly repaired, spend $1000 to get it running, and I think you can make a sale. I mention this only because it's been my experience that a little elbow grease, and some Mcguiars cleaning products, can return way more $$ then the time and $$ spent. It's all about eliminating the variables and barriers to sale. Good luck!

When did Z's start having that small impression for the hood stay on the front cross brace? I've always thought that was indicative of a Series 2, perhaps 1971 timeframe.

Great photos Kats! Any chance you will relink to the image archives of your Z432 restoration you had posted a few years ago? There were some fantastic detail shots of many rare items!

Even badly neglected Zs of the correct vintage can be worth thousands. For example, a 1970z with rust and seized motor may have a pristine uncracked dash and console, which can be sold for $2000+. Anyone who is willing to take it away for free has likely seen something rare and valuable, otherwise why offer?

Just from personal experience in the European car world, XWX tires give just about the worst ride of any tire you can put on your car. I find them to be way too hard, and offer minimal grip. But sometimes they are the only size option, and for concours events, they look great. Also check the manufacture data code, they may already be 10-15 years old or more, even if they look fine.

I can't wait to see how the story ends. I'm sure it will be a fantasic ride. Perhaps you'll have difficulty laying the power down on the period Dunlops with a 3000cc power plant (!) but either way you'll certainly be cursing in style!

Fantastic collection of original, hard to get parts! Too bad you sold the G-Nose kit, I'd kill for one. What other goodies are you selling? :^) I have to ask the following in all sincerity: I'm wondering why you chose to re-make a LHD 240Z into a RHD, instead of, say, just purchasing an s30 (or 240ZG) to begin with. Since you're doing a complete restoration anyways, it just seems like the more difficult path. Especially when you've got so many great (and expensive) parts to put on it. This is not intended to be a critique, so I apologize in advance if it comes across that way.

Regardless of the US getting almost none of the goodies when compared to the home market Z, they still sold out as fast as they could make them. So perhaps the only change I'd advise them to make is to build another factory to meet demand.

Period correct metal hood emblems and wing emblems are a tough find these days. Looks like it's going to be a fun ride!

Just going based on the drawings in the service manual (and assuming that most of the other stuff is original) it looks like I might have everything except the F.I.C.D. and the original compressor/mount. Also I can't be sure that the crank pulley is the right piece. I can probably use some later Datsun parts for the compressor, but the F.I.C.D is probably unfindable. Thankfully that piece is probably not the most critical, and can be compensated for.