SpeedRoo

And therein lies the problem and why history ends up getting lost. In the larger scheme of things it probably doesn't matter how our cars are built and the details will be lost to time. Time to close this thread.

Like most car companies parts are made in different locations and shipped in for final assembly, in the case of the S30 model this was Nissan Shatai. From what you have said the engines were built in Yokohama, were the gearbox and other mechanicals done there as well. What parts were made at Shatai, the main body pressings? What were the other major sub assemblies and where did they come from? Do you have any photos of the Shatai assembly line and factory? What I have posted so far in this thread are from what was previously posted on these forums. Is there a document that details the procedure for the build. We know from looking at our cars that the bodies were welded together, then the sound deadening applied, gray primered, chip seal of the underside and then front wings, doors and cowling along with bonnet and hatch fitted before final paint. Interior and glass along with electrics fitted before the mechanical parts were then added on the assembly line. Is this the correct sequence?

I've reached out to @kats to see if he has more details but he seems to be MIA at the moment. Also trying to contact Mr. Miyazaki to see if he has any photos or videos of the assembly line; he used to visit it on a regular basis according to some notes @kats made in another thread.

Where were the S30 L24 engines built up and fired-up tested then?

@Kats had posted this picture of cars driving off the assembly line. He also posted the engine test cell for the L series.

Did Nissan do any promotional or internal videos showing the Shatai assembly line?

With all the talk of restorations and factory correct details does anyone have photos or videos of the assembly line at Nissan Shatai. I've searched high and low and found very little here or online. Interested in the process of how they are assembled, primed, chipsealed, final paint and mechanical assembly. Here's the few photos I've found.

Here's your comments about 00023 and S30's work on it. Alan puts this into even more elegant words: "A great privilege to experience this precious early production car, restored to immaculate original specification.

Here's a good one for you, tell me why this is incorrect. The brake from HLS30 00057 It will give you an idea of the attention to detail S30 go to to get a factory correct restoration!

Wow you make this too easy RAE! Which factory are they making it correct to, certainly not Nissan. Look at the underside of the white December 1970 240Z https://s30.world/collection/datsun-240z-hls30-15652-us nothing like that ever came out of the factory. Look under the front cowling over the windscreen wiper motors and ventilation, never seen that finish from the factory, it's usually gray undercoat beneath that panel. What happened to all the chipseal the factory applied under the car that was then covered with overspray when the final paint was applied. That's a factory correct restoration when you see that, not all this shiny stuff. So many other things that are wrong but I'll let you stew on the obvious that you seem to have missed. It may be a nice fully restored car but certainly not factory correct like you and your mate claims.

Buyer beware, anytime a seller claims it is a factory correct restoration it makes you wonder which factory! Looking at a lot of the details on the S30 cars they have in their museum they are far from factory correct, nice and shiny but Nissan never built them to this level. Also quite a few important details on the early cars are different to how they were built. I'm no expert but if I can spot the difference how can the so called experts involved advising S30 have missed them?

Sometimes the journey is more rewarding that the show, congrats on all your efforts to make it to the event! Let's see what it can do on the track.

@Captain Obvious I wouldn't worry about the OG making it as you know how to fix it whatever goes wrong. You're not some rank amateur setting out blindly on a journey naively hoping all will be well. You know your car inside and out and and have so much experience with Z cars I reckon you could rebuild a seized engine on a remote Tibetan pass. My beach bomb 240Z is called Louey and definitely a "him". I've never thought of cars as females.

@jfa.series1 I've had good luck getting all the parts through amayama, partsouq or nissan parts deal. You'll have to assemble the kit yourself, that's what I did.

@Captain Obvious Just had a look on my October 1970 240Z that hasn't been touched since built. It has the flat side up.

Pretty easy to do, simple scaling down of a surfboard caliper would do the trick. If I get time I'll design one up this week. here's a couple of basic designs.

@Patcon the exterior will print smooth, it's a graphics display issue and how SolidWorks saves the .stl file. When you slice it for printing the surface is rendered smoothly. Will post a picture of the first sample print when it's done, I'll do a trial piece in laser sintered nylon first. This is a sample off the Prusa 3D printer in SLA, much smoother than the graphic rendering. With laser sintering it uses powder to print the object so the layer lines and polygons are smoothed out. These are for my own use, I have no plans to sell them.

Been playing with metal laser sintered 3D printers lately and wanted to create a stainless 240Z gearknob. Went through a number of iterations and ended up with this design. It's the same size and shape as the original 1970 240Z 4 speed one. Will be running the first metal prints next week, will be interesting to see how it turns out. 3 Z logos are engraved on the main part of the body, the original gearchange pattern is enlarged in size to print more cleanly than the original smaller one.

Welcome @HLS30-365101 great to have someone that worked on the program with Pierre here, I'm sure we will have lots of questions for you. Building 240Z by night and planes by day, sounds like a great way to spend your day! What bits did you do on the Restoration program for Pierre?

@zspert can't you do one of your award winning restorations on your self and keep going for another 50 years! Don't forget the yellow paint marks on all your tightened joints and use NOS parts, I'd avoid the cad plating though! Roo

And therein lies the problem Galvanizing and Zinc plating are two totally different processes, the only thing they have in common is Zinc. If the Japanese specification is this vague then there will always be some confusion to what type of coating was used on the parts. Coming back to the Vintage Z restoration program of 1996-98 in the USA; Nissan Motor Corporation USA was very specific that Cad plating be used and listed it repeatedly in their "Quality Control Checklist". They also listed suspension parts be painted semi-gloss black not powder coated. There is no confusion here, it's all in black and white on the document.

Cad plating has much better corrosion resistance than zinc, hence it's use. The Vintage Z program was never about originality but restoring selected 240Z to as new condition with a warranty using parts and processes available in California in 1996-98.

RAE you're barking up the wrong tree yet again, I've made no mention in this thread about the original production cars, this is about the Vintage Z restoration program...plain and simple. To quote my previous post: "Another interesting titbit from the program is that all the nuts and bolts etc were cad plated." Are you always argumentative just for the sake of being so?

In Nissan's 240Z Restoration Program Quality Control Checklist they specifically call out "Cad plating", it was commonly used in California to recondition automobile parts and fasteners at the time. It's banned there now but available in other states. I use it for replating all my parts on Aston Martin restorations. They also mention "Zinc Chromate Tank Slushing" for the fuel tank, so they obviously knew the difference between Cad and Zinc processes. Additionally Nissan mention "Paint semi-gloss black" for suspension components. If you look closely at the photos of the Vintage Z that have been on BAT it is easy to discern between Cad and Zinc, Paint and powder coat.

If Nissan says it's Cad plated then I believe them. Put on your reading glasses RAE and check what they wrote in an official document. All detailed in the Nissan Motor Corporation U.S.A. 240Z Restoration Program Quality Control Checklist. Now I know RAE will come back and say Nissan never used Cad but Gold Zinced the parts on the 240Z, but that may have been the case in Japan. This was a USA program and they sourced services locally in California. Cad plating was not banned from automobiles and parts in California until 2003.