JDMjunkies.ch

After closer inspection i think the first figure of the second part of the number is not an "1" (one), but an "I" (large "i") I tweaked the following photo a bit for better visibility: The top mount is also quite strange and doesn't look like something i've seen on a Z. it's basically a big flat dish with some holes. The diameter is much larger then for e.g. the rubber stoppers on the 240Z factory struts. The spring diameter seems similar to the ones from the Z (haven't compared in detail yet), but might look smaller, because of the large disk on top. Unfortunately i'm a bit busy in the next few days and won't find the time to work it out, but i hope next week i'll be able to go through some old compe catalgoues etc. And i'm happy to get any input from you if you have an idiea what car the "I" refers to. 🙂 I Always appreciate your inputs and thoughts 🙂 That might also be a great idea to ask them if we can't figure it out by the swarm-knowledge in this great Forum 🙂

I thought the same. However i remember seeing similar struts with that adjustment knobs being advertized as S30 struts, but that doesn't mean anything. They put the S30 or Z432 label on anything in japan on some websites recently, just to make it look rare and expensive. The original japanese sales ad mentioned they were from a Z432 but as with such purchases from abroad you cannot verify the background story. Since they were so dirt-cheap i thought i get them anyway. The other set i bought is without the adjustment-knobs. so we'll see. i'm trying to figure out more. Strangely it seems to fit physically or visually quite well, most dimensions fit with my factory struts when putting them next to each other... Nevertheless, it was worth the buy and i will try to figure out more. Also curious to compare it to the second set when it arrives here.

Today i got a long-awaited delivery from Japan. it constisted of three parts: 1) An OEM Adjustable factory competition suspension by KYB. I still need to investigate a bit. I'm not even 100% sure if this was intended for this specific version of car, and i know there were many different versions of adjustable suspension around. Especially this part (I assume it's to adjust the push / pull pressure rate?), ius not seen on all of these adjustable suspensions. As you can see it's not in the best, but restorable condition and one spring is missing, so i got it quite cheap. that's the reason i bought it. Mainly to investigate further and figure out the details. Here a quick reference (top: Adjustable / bottom factory Euro spec 240Z): Meanwhile i was even able to buy a second (complete and better condition) set, which is still in japan and will take another few months to arrive here. but yeah, it will definitely give me further insights. I will definitely need to find some time to find out more and will share the details with you. Here is a reference picture from the Competition / Sports option catalogue: 2) The second item i got is an OEM Sports Option / Competition rollbar replica by Mizukami Auto (JP). According to mizukami it is an 1:1 Copy of an OEM rollbar they have in their shop, but with some improvements to simplify installation and fitment. I think the main difference are the mounting plates on the wheel arches. . Which seem somehow pre-assembled (welded) vs the single screwed-together puzzle-pieces you get from an OEM bar, but otherwise seems to be a quite similar design. What is not visible in my photo is a separate lower plate on the wheel-arch mounts, since they are screwed to the mount sin the picture. but they are detachable, just like the original ones. Since an OEM bar is almost impossible (and expensive) to find these days, i thought this would be the next-best option. I have to say the quality is really high and it looks pretty good and the single pieces are quite complex, which justifies the not-so-cheap pricing. Unfortunately i don't have a chassis in-house at the moment to test fit it. So the next best thing was this cheap mock-up. and i probably even did it the wrong way around without the car as a reference... Nevertheless, it looks good. Here's a reference from the JP Competition / Sports option catalogue (see single plates at the bottom left and right). And here's an installation guide from the Race and rallye preparation manual. From what i understand, every OEM Z should have the installation points prepared in the chassis to install this, but again i was not able to verify this without the car on site at the moment. 3) OK and last but not least i also got this drian plug from Mizukami auto. I mean it would be a shame to not add some small gimmicks when placing a big order, right? Despite a few questionsmarks i think the suspension is quite rare and cool and useful and the rollcage definitely better then the Saito full rollcage i had originally purchased many years ago. Also in terms of registration as a historic car and the general MOT in switzerland. More updates on the suspension topic will definitely come soon and i will also try to test-fit the rollbar as soon as possible.

Recently, at the bodyshop i got asked what piece of metal this is between the original floorpan and the repair patch they put over it. I had to admit that i don't know if it was original or not, but the welds definitely looked like OEM Spotwelds. After asking on the Classic Z Forums, i got the information that this was a factory reinforcement plate for the floorpans. Unfortunately it was not listed in any of my parts books, so i guess, it was either added to the cars during the assembly process withohut proper documentation, or it was part of the original floor pan part and never sold separately. A friend of mine has his car over at Romas from DCW Classic at the moment for some bodywork and told me, they currently have such plates removed from the car and he could give me the exact measures so i can replicate them: See following photos for your own reference: So i thought it's easy for my bodyshop to replicate them with all the photos and measures. Now while searching the interwebs for something else today, i accidentally stumbled on those ready-made replacement panels from ZCardepot for 19$ per side: https://zcardepot.com/products/floor-pan-reinforcement-sheet-metal-240z The only thing that makes me a bit unsecure, is the fact that they're stainless steel. I have no clue how good it is to weld stainless steel to regular steel. I know you need a bit of a special welding technique or electrode, which any bodyshop should be able to handle. But my main concern is corrosion, as i know metals tend to have so called "contact corrosion" aka "galvanic corrosion" when two different metals are put together? Not sure in this case however. the pieces should be easy to replicate from scratch, but hey, you need to have something to think about, right? 🙂

The two-way shipping (from switzerland-to-USA-and-back) was exactly my reason for going with this option. it would have probably cost me alone 500 to ship it to the US these days. Also i have seen many repaired dashes that shortly thereafter cracked in a different location so i thought the most sustainable solution would be a completely new dash.

I have two dashboards hanging on my wall, both with the hand marked Japanese Su-i-su katakana characters (ス イ ス), for destination switzerland. We all know that those dashboards all crack sooner or later crack on the top and mine are no exception. So far there were these options: - Repair it yourself with some backyard-engineering. It will most probably crack at a different location soon, or look terrible - Have them repaired in the USA by Justdashes. Seems like a nice option but two-way shipping costs would be overboarding. - Find a NOS Nissan dashboard. I got offered some, but as expected the price is exorbitant, and who knows how long those last before cracking. - Buy a replica Dashboard from Vintagedashes. I heard mostly good (aside from some small fitting issues) about them, but i had some "unprofessional" experience with the owner of the shop. Generally the website got updated meanwhile but back then it didn't have a lot photos with details and lacking information so i never got conviced to buy one. Luckily just recently a new option popped up: JDM-Car-Parts. Well known for their usually highest-quality available parts from Japan, they this time teamed up with an american producer to have them made: In the same way as the original and vintagedashes ones are made, it's some kind of a rubber foam mold covered in a vinyl wrap. A little rework is required here and there (cutting away excess material, etc). and you need the backframe from an original dashboard to install it here. They also recommend a repaint of the dashboard (no matter if your old glove box cover is still fresh or faded) to match the colour with the interieur, but i think it's pretty close to what i have. Here you can see the JDM-Car-Parts dash compared to my original (quickly washed, but also colour-faded) glovebox cover. In reality, the difference is even smaller... and i think the colour didn't even match 100% in the original setup as the glovebox lid is hard plastic and the other is a vinyl wrap. The difference i did spot though is that the original glovebox and dashboard vinyl had a more "dotty" pattern (See photo below), while the one from JDM-Car-Parts has more of a "grainy lines" type of pattern (See photo above). Looking at the vintagedashes website, it seems they use the same material or at least pattern als JDM-Car-Parts. However i don't think anybody will ever notice that small difference. And it might also be possible that there were slight difference in the factory parts as well. In my case the original glovebox and original dashboard pattern mach nicely, however. I got the 1972 dashboard with the hazard switch indent and JDM-car-Parts also supplies the (Separately sold) Sticker for it: And i thought let's throw in a set of chrome vents into the basket. They might come in handy when rebuilding the new dash: Also got a pair of replica "Datsun" doorsteps. My bodyshop needs those to get the position of the fastener holes right when installing the new side steps: And while ordering anyway, i thought i could add a set of heater control wires: Also ordered a full set of door clips, because my old ones are either crispy and dry or missing or bent, or rusty. Oh and today i also got this datsun enamel badge, which i recently found on a swiss auction website. I've seen plenty of similar ones, but this one seemed authentic and old with the paint chips and some rust on the backside. Most other i see these days seem to be some kind of replica stuff. It was cheap so i had to get it and will look for a nice place in the garage. That's it. I have a pallete with some cool stuff from japan, which should arrive here anyday. And the bodyshop guy should return from vacation soon, so i hope there are some updates again soon.

So i got a few cool British Datsun price lists from my Friend Daniel. It was nothing i was really looking for, but always nice to have some stuff like this in the collection. From left to right: October 1971, July 1976 and August 1978 Price lists by Datsun UK Ltd. I think the design was somehow foldable, why you will find half of the prints on one side upside-down.

It seems there were quite a few who made this kit.. i also found a canadian maker of those. all look the same, except the plastic part which seems to be different material every time. and most probably also the weakest part of the design. Nevertheless, not sure if i'm going to use it, but i thought it was nice to get one of those kits as long as they're still available anyways...

Yeah i forgot to mention it, the pictures came from the Datsun 1200 website, so the arrangement of parts is most probably for non-Z cars. http://datsun1200.com/modules/mediawiki/index.php?title=Tension_Rod

Haha i know this kind of guys exactly 🙂 Let me know if you need any measurements or photos of the original ones. Thanks for your useful inputs. I Appreciate your thoughts. might think about widening the hole a bit on the aluminum base thingy.

Nice. you don't happen to have a spare set of HDPE for sale? Or manage to do another set? I'll happily pay for it and shipping of course.

Hmm, i was wondering how strong it is and how long it lasts. Let's see i might give it a try anyway. Were the ones from MSA from the same manufacturer? (Kontrolle Automotive in Fremont, CA)? thanks mate for your support! I have a forwarding address in the US, but it just wasn't worth the effort in this case. but will happily come back to you if i ever need this in future. Thank you!

In a recent discussion about safety measures, a friend pointed out that the Tension rods on the Z tend to snap, espepcially on lowered cars with hard bushings, as the tension gets too high. You can either switch to an adjustable tension rod kit, or as an alternative, use an Oldschool Bearing kit, which allows the T/C (Tension Compression Rod) to have a slight movement and therefore reduced tension. Today i got one of those kits. This kit is an vintage NOS item which was made by Kontrolle Automotive products in the USA. But i think they were made by different manufacturers and MSA still has them on sale new. Allthough they currently don't ship to switzerland: https://www.thezstore.com/product/6551/tension-rod-tc-kit-70-887-zzx At one point even Nissan USA sold them under the Part number 99996-TKIT as shown below in the 1998 Nissan USA Motorosports catalogue: The part number indicates that it was not a product from the Nissan HQ, but a local market item by Nussan USA only. and i guess it was sourced from one of those suppliers like Kontrolle. Here is the full installation manual: And here an' illustration of the assembly that goes over the TC-rod instead of one of the bushings:

That's really cool. It's maybe a bit off-topc. but i got a few original Datsun UK Colour sample booklets, from various years, and the colour combinations (interieur / exterieur) that were sold in the UK. If you're interested, you can find them all here (for later cars i even have interieur fabric samples) as photos, but also high-resolution Pdf scans. https://www.jdmjunkies.ch/wordpress/2023-01-11/240z-various-datsun-z-zx-color-charts-brochures/ And some different versions (including 240Z) can be found here: https://www.jdmjunkies.ch/wordpress/2021-05-30/240z-datsun-colour-code-brochure/

Thanks a lot for sharing this information again. 1) I'm currently working on a bigger story about the development of the "Final Euro Spec" cars where Mr. Miyazaki was involved. but it's hard to find a lot of information about it, especially from serious sources. 2) It would be lovely to find the exact records of ones car's production. Like how did the specify the trim / marked specific details for the production workers, etc. and especialyl which day (and even what time of the day!) the car was completed in each production step. It's a bit sad that Nissan doesn't share a lot of records with the public in the matters of old cars. When you think about Porsche, Mercedes, etc. they all have specialized "classic cars" departments, that help the vintage cars customers to find all this data and details about your car. I even think about it as a paid service. Want to get some details about your car? You spend for the time they research, but then get officially approved information from the factory. I'm not sure but i don't think such a service exists, and i have tried to reach out to nissan via various channels to get data about my cars confirmed. but didn't even get an answer.

Well it's holiday season. First i was away for two weeks enjoying the sea, now my bodyshop us running on low flame, so the recent progress is a bit slow. Also because they have to finish another nice project for another customer first. Here's what happened in the last few weeks. The inner wheel tub has been repaired on the inside and outside visible part, as well as LH inside trunk area which my previos bodyshop messed up a bit. The rusty swiss-cheese bit which you still see is the part from the rear quarter, which will be replaceed completely with the NOS piece in my posession soon. The main task is to rework the KFV side sills before putting them into the car. Generally their part is as close to OEM specs as it gets and fit really excellent, but these are somehow quite off in all directions. We made several templates to compare them to the OEM ones and nothing fits. so my bodyshop has to rework them. I'm a bit surprized as their stuff usually is really ace, but these not, on both sides. I tried to reach out to them with many pictures and measurements but haven't got any feedback, sadly. So the only thing we can do is rework them. Any bodyshop will anyway tell you that usually not a single replacement panel is a straight-on swap, so it's not a big deal, but some extra hours. And he had to go to a different shop which has a longer metal-scissor long enough to gut this pieces: On the already finished part, their in-house paintshop had the finished area sanded down and primered so it doesn't start to rust in the summer heat. That's it for now. I expect a pallette of goodies from Japan here mid-august and i have put an eye on a nice collection of parts, but negotiation will surely take a bit of time. wish me luck. And i hop in the coming weeks the bodyshop speeds up things a bit, when the yellow VW Bus in the background is completed (only small damage repair).

It has been a while since i got something new to read, related to the Z(X) topic. but a few days ago i found not-so-well advertized 280ZX Book for sale. The pictures didn't give a lot of information about the book, but one photograph showed a Rallye 240Z and it was super cheap. That was enough to start my interested and buy it. And this is what i got today: It's an english book about the 280ZX from 1978. A mix of brochure, Catalogue and information about the 280ZX. It shows how it was developed: But also how it is being built, tested and so on: It also doesn't forget about the ancestors of the S130 and shows the S30 in various specification interestingly also covers an Austrailian and european Spec car: It also shows the Z's rallye heritage and success: But only at the end i realized this is a fanbook. but not by 3rd party company, but by Nissan itself. I'm not sure at what occasion it came out, but being the same age as the 280ZX itself, i guess it was some kind of advertizing / marketing material for guys that bought a 280ZX, or guys that were thinking of buying one. Very nice nontheless and a great add on to my collection 🙂

Soo. time for another update from the bodyshop. After the floor pans got prepared and made sure that everything fits: They got welded in and attached to the frame rails: Next then was the inner rocker panel: Along with the rear rocker extension the seatbelt mount and seat rails: And the rear section of the floor pansl. Looks really need. and completely differnt to the RH side, where we used the older type of floor pans and lots of homemade panels. What is missing now is the little factory reinforcement piece (see previous post from the bodyshop). and the outer rocker panel. there we currently have a little fitment problem and need to find out if it's the replacement panel or something else is misaligned, Overall i'm again very happy with the work and attention to detail. I always expect more progress when i go there and then i'm disapointed when i see it looks more or less the same than 1,5 weeks ago, but then i start to look and realize all the small details they had to fix, paint, adjust, test, modify, etc. And then i think about the time it took the previous bodyshop to do the same (in a less good result) on the other side and then i'm super happy again. Overall i'd say that already more than 1/4 of the work is done, and that in only roughly 5 weeks. so if the continue like this, it wil be definitely ready in fall. Nice

@SteveE. Sorry, i guess i put an internal link there. you can find him here: https://www.facebook.com/el.bichelino

A few days ago i got this lovely package just in time for my birthday. Since long i had the idea that it would be nice to hang my collection of various Z-steering wheels on the wall, as they make a nice decoration. But i wasn't able to find any useful solution to hang them nicely with the pins. So i aske din the Datsun Europe FB group if anybody had a solution. Nobody had, but Robert, One nice guy from Austria offered me to design them and print a prototype, as he would also use a set for himself. We (he) played around with different designs and mounting types. But we (he) ended up with this solution. It's simple, comes including installaiton hardware, fits the original two pins and three screws on the backside and can easy be removed once hung on the wall. It's also extra slim, so it can be shipped in a padded envelope and not as a package. So today i finally hung my wheels on the wall (note, top right wheel requires a different mount, which i found on etsy) Fitmend, design and everything is excellent. at the end, he even printed them himself 🙂 And made some nice product photos 🙂 If you're interested. contact robert via this facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/el.bichelino Oh and robert also sent me this Sticker from a central-swiss Datsun Z club from the old days, which was in his car when he bought it 🙂 Thanks again for the excellent work and happy the wheels finally found a nice place.

Aha. it seems so. thanks for the input. does it expand underneth the floorpan or is it "just" at the rear? Do you have it on both sides of the car?

So, i thought i'd pay the bodyshop another visit. i was a bit suprized to see the car looked tmore or less the same than last time on the first glance. But upon closer inspection i realized they have worked on a lot of details. They finished the welding of the front area. added some threads where they were missing on this version of the parts i had (some have minor differences to my original ones, since they might come from a different year version, despite being factory parts). Also the firewall area behind the bedals was completed. The floor pan and seat mounts were removed and the inner side was replaced with the KFV part. Including the additional einforcement plate: Luckily i brought my USB-stick this time so i could get the pictures which the panelbeater made while in progress. he also repaired the lower section of the inner-inner rear wheel arch As well as the tool storage area behind the driver seat: You can also see the lower "Dogleg" area behind the driver, which got replaced. Some small items had to be made by hand, like this rear inner wheel arch lower corner (behind the strut area). Meanwhile the whole section is closed again. On both sides the Mud / Dirt panels got test fitted to see if all bolt holes and stuff lines up. I agreed for a next visit in 1,5 weeks, and i'm hoping for the floor panel area to be done and maybe the outer side skirt (incl seat belt mounting reinforcement, etc..). So far i'm really satisfied with the work they do and also their attention to details which matter at the end. Oh and i need your input. Behind / Outside the LH floorpan, we found some kind of reinforcment plate, which extends to the seat mounts. It looks Very much like factory spot welds from the inside, but i couldn't find anything about this piece in my parts manuals, nor does it make any sense to mee. the area was heavily "repaired" in the past. but this particular piece looks to good to be a repair. No we wonder if we should fabricate something like that and weld it in on the replacement floorpans, or just leave the floor pan as it is? I have a shipment with very rare and cool parts ready to be s hipped out in japan, but since seafreight is quite expensive atm. I guess i'll wait a bit and collect additional stuff before i send it out.

Yeah he doesn't have them listed on the website. I found the oil pump gear on ebay from him directly and the chrome trim stuff he just recently announced via email. best to give him a mail or DM via Facebook to get a quote

Sooo, i'm thrilled to bring you finally a *drumroll* update from the Bodyshop! After 1,5 weeks i thought it's about time to give them a visit and see if they made any progress. I didn't get a lot of updates so i was a bit worried if anything had been done. But turns out they rather focus on working than sending me messages. When i arrived the guys were working in full swing: After thinking about only replacing the rotten parts, they quickly realized it makes more sense to replace the whole panels, since i had those completely NOS items on hand. Like the air channel Or the frame rails: They also discovered this nasty bend, which i never realized. It must have got a hard hit at one point, which made the whole area move a bit. They also started to replace the firewall lower are with the KFV Panels and so far the feedback was that those panely fit like the OEM ones! They forgot to send me the pictures, but they made some and had them on the computer to show me. This is how the car looks with the complete front inner fender and the upper air channels removed: And including the frame-rail also gone: New frame rail in and primered: Inner fender in, primered, and the welding area sanded down again (they use a special welding primer there): They also removed the replacement roof skin from the frame. It was in very good condition when i bought it. Unfortunately i gave it to a guy who wanted to use it as a template to make a carbon roof. While removing the mold from the roof, he applied pressurized air and then the roof bent inwards completely. He brought it to a panelbeater to have it fixed, but he left a lot of dents on the roof. The new guys will fix it, but it's again a lot of additional and unplanned work... After all i'm quite happy. One corner was done quickly. I also brought them many panels from the right side, so they will be able to rework what the previous bodyshop did. It's a bit of a bummer and i'm not happy with it, but now is the time to get it done right, so yeah. Also yesterday i got this Exedy / Daikin OE replacement clutch kit, which i ordered a few days ago: You may ask why, when i have most of the original clutch Parts in NOS condition in stock? First of all they seem lighter (i still have to compare them), secondly they come with all the installtion tools required (centering tool, bearing, grease, etc) and last, i just thought the materials used might be a tad more modern and advanced, and maybe less harmfull then the ones used in the original 70ies production clutch. Since you won't notice anything from the outside, i thougth this is a good upgrade and easy to revert to original setup if required at a later point. That's it for today. I hope for more updates from the bodyshop soon 🙂

Interesting. thanks for your Info. 🤗