Namerow

I may be able to help you out. Depends on whether I kept the original from my 70Z after using it as a template to make a new one. I won't be able to check until Sunday. Where are you located in 'Canada'?

Looks like a fabulous tool, but not a casual purchase at US$1,500 (plus tax, duty and shipping). Which to buy first: plasma cutter? oxy-acetylene kit? floor lift? induction-heating fastener remover?

Looks like he may be toast. He is said to have made many enemies and this may be the result. Another dubious milestone for Nissan Motor Corp.

I think it's not very likely that you'll find these Nissan shim plates. Not impossible. Just unlikely. However. they're nothing more than pieces of stamped metal plate. You can easily make your own. For reference, auto body shim plates are typically provided in four thicknesses: 1/64", 1/32", 1/16" and 1/8" (0.4mm, 0.8mm, 1.2mm and 1.6mm). For the door shim plates, a little adjustment at the the front of the door will make for a lot of angular adjustment at the bottom and top of the door, so I'm thinking that a set of 1/64" and 1/32" plates would be the way to go. The thicknesses don't have to be exactly 1/64" or 1/32". Use what you can find conveniently. These shim plates don't need to be pretty and they don't need to be shaped to +/- 0.001" tolerances.

You, missus and daughter?

Looks like a great solution to a longstanding repair/restoration issue. Good to have your 'lab test' results, verifying the mechanical strength and electrical quality of the resulting connection. I'm always a bit unhappy with my Western Union-style connections because they're so bulky. Good mechanics, bad aesthetics. These look much more acceptable than the ubiquitous crimp-on connectors that are typically used to fix cut or broken wiring. And a lot better than solder-and-electrical tape! Hard to believe that underhood temps would ever get to the level of melting the solder here -- unless the connection is sitting near the exhaust manifold.

The Toyota's value is created by two factors: 1) rarity, and; 2) halo effect from being featured, in period, in an early James Bond movie (see also: Aston Martin DB5). Of course, it needs to be an attractive car, too, but -- as demonstrated by the 240Z -- that's not enough. Scarcity + Cachet ('exotic') = $$$$$. As noted above, the car is surprisingly small when seen in person. I read somewhere that the Bond film producers wanted to use a coupe for the film but the lead actor, Sean Connery, couldn't sit in the car without hitting the roof. The car has some lovely lines in side profile, but the styling details used at the front and rear ends are 'unique'.

This vendor sells authentic jute... www.the-roadster-factory.com

@Mike This is the third comment I've received recently to say that the gasket templates won't download. Would you mind checking the links, please?

i could be wrong, but I don't think that the Eastwood internal frame coating product had been introduced at the time when the magazine started their comparison test.

This should generate some lively discussion... Most of us have tried a variety of rust-prevention products. If you're like me, you've found that some don't quite live up to expectations. Many swear by a particular product, but I often wonder if their allegiance is tied to subconsciously defending the choice they made. There are lot of manufacturer's claims published and a lot of one-use testimonials, but not much in the way solid comparative date to back them up. Back in 2011, 'Classics Monthly' -- one of England's leading auto restoration publications -- began a test of a group of the leading, over-the-counter rust prevention products. The test lasted for three years. The products were split into two categories: 1) those for pre-paint treatment of exterior surfaces, and; 2) those for treatment of concealed internal surfaces (door cavities, frame rails, rocker sills, etc). The results were quite interesting... https://www.auson.se/sites/default/files/rusttest_noxudol_700_classic_monthly_uk_0.pdf

Typical Honda issues, IMO: Superb engineering, accompanied by indifferent exterior and interior styling. The NSX seems to draw the same reaction.

Ow. Ow. Ow. That couldn't have been a good moment (looks like something I would do). How well did the rail respond to the slide hammer? Did you have to use any heat to get the metal to shift?

This is the other end of S30 reality. For every $40K car helping to set the upper end of the pricing envelope, there's a couple of these that keep the bottom end firmly anchored at $500 (aka, 'Asking $1200'). This car is located about 45 minutes from Grannyknot, so perhaps we'll see it showing up in his driveway soon? p.s. I, too, noticed the 'L0L' postal code. I wonder if the seller will get the joke?

If I understand the loads here, the staking on the collar is used simply to retain the head on the shaft as the shaft retracts. Not much loading on the ends of the pins (or the staked dimples). Interference fit, LocTite, or both. Anyway, my idea was offered as 'a possible alternative', rather than, 'a better solution'. I look forward to seeing the DIY staking machine that you are trying to come up with.

Your uncle was a very cool guy. These days, the high-dollar car afficianados wet their pants over the Bonneville Speed Week experience and the guys that make it happen. Your uncle was there. This is probably the only picture in existence of a Z on the salt flats. Thanks for posting.

Kudos for three of the best pictures I've seen that show the challenge of repairing the Z dogleg. This seems to be the single most important and consistent repair area for a Z and yet no one manufactures a repair panel kit to address the problem. If these were Alfas or Porsches, someone would be making the kit. Disepsyon is a very talented guy, but he's not interested in making 100+ repair kits. We really need someone like MSA or ZCar Depot to step up here.

Thinking out loud here (always dangerous, I know). Instead of the factory strategy of staking the part, is there enough wall thickness to take three short pins? Dress the ends to make them round-ish. Drill the holes for a close fit (Loc-tite) or a light interference fit. The pins wouldn't be subjected to much in the way of long-axis loading. Just 'wobble' loading.

@katsToo bad, but at least we now know with certainty. Thanks for investigating. We will now need to hope for a successful outcome from Patcon's experiment with the Mustang kit.

FWIW, I made my own flap cover by gluing thin upholstery vinyl onto 1/8" open-cell foam sheet. After the two layers were joined, I traced out the pattern and cut to shape. The gasket had to be 'relieved' (undercut) a bit in the vicinity of the hinge so as to provide good closing action. Hard to describe in words, but you'll see what I'm getting after you do a trial fit. The gasket patterns that I made for the S30 HVAC system are available for download somewhere on this site (same place where the downloadable FSM's are located).

if all else fails, the part can probably be cobbled from sheet metal (24 gauge sounds about right). Trace a pattern, drill the holes for the roller, bend to shape, trial fit. Make some dimples in the fold-over to help provide some bite on the door flange (the OE part has pressed-out teeth, IIRC). Precision to +/- 0.001" is not required. Nor is concours appearance. When you're happy with the fit, temper the metal to give it some springiness. Remove the roller, heat to red-hot with a torch, and then quench in water or (preferably) oil. Prime and paint, or zinc-dip, or zinc plate before re-installing.

Your photo is a great illustration of how (and why) these parts failed in regular, daily-driver service... 5 years of driving x 1 drive/day x 1 up-down cycle/drive = 7000+ flexes through those two narrow webs of spring steel. Add additional cycles for further use by new owners over some/all of the next 35 years. 'S-N-A-P'! A junkyard piece may have already exhausted a good part of its useful life, so if you're planning on keeping your car and using it a lot, it might be a good idea to grab a spare for the driver's side door.

I recommend that you not use Permatex spray adhesive (a common offering in auto parts stores). Use, instead, 3M #08088. I have found that the Permatex product 'gives up' with time. I've had much better results with the 3M product. Also: You will find that some contact cements aren't compatible with foam. Because the heater box is something you will hope to never need to remove from the car again in the future, you do not want to discover months down the road that your new flap door padding has started to peel off.

@kats Thank you for investigating. This is the equivalent of about US$400. When compared with the current price for a rebuilt unit -(US$200), that seems a reasonable price for a comparable-design, new-old-stock Nissan part. As you note, however, only the internal parts are useful for the owner of an S30. If you have the time, would you please ask your Nissan parts source whether either of the original re-build kits for the S30 MasterVac are perhaps still available? They are: KIT-A REPAIR FOR MAS - 47210-E4625 KIT-B REPAIR FOR MAS - 47210-E4626 (includes Kit 'A', plus the plunger, check valve, and filter-silencers) According to the manual, these kits were designed for use only with S30's produced up to Aug. 1971. There is only a small possibility, I know, but I think worth investigating.

Maybe @katscould do some checking for a source in Japan?