440k

Chrome trim that goes around the grill? Do you mean the ones on the leading edge of the bonnet and front guards? That's what I'm after too (RH side is kaputt). I'll take what Lachlan doesn't need.

Most of the keys I've had for Datsuns have resembled a butter knife more than a key. You'll probably find that the key is very worn, in which case a new original spec key should work. However, if the barrel of the lock is also worn, a "new" key may not work either. In that case, your best bet is to get the lock re-barrelled (prety straightforward job on house locks, but probably a bit dearer on car locks). The keys are usually made from brass (or some similar copper alloy), whereas the pins in the lock are normally hardened steel. If this is the case, then the barrel pins should have very minimal wear in them. Peter

Anothe thing to consider with your engine swap is eligibility in certain racing categories. I'm facing the same dilemma with my P76 powered 240k. I love tha fact that the engine is about 50kg lighter than the L24, and sits a lot further back, but if I want to get into any serious caregories like IP, then they won't let me use the V8. I intend on building the car up as a registered track car, ie built for track, but can be driven on the road (even though it won't spend much time on the road at all). The way I see it, a car that can actually be competitive (and legal) in several caregories of racing is going to be a lot more useful than some hybrid that has to run against the 800hp all out race monsters. My 2c

Good luck with them. I'd be interested myself, but I think that These would look better on mine

Hey, welcome to the site. Your K is exactly the same colour as mine. How scary is that??? Don't worry - mine's uglier than yours at the moment. I've got an alloy V8 in mine, so weight distribution should be no problem for me. Once I move the battery and fuel pump into the boot, the weight distribution will be even better.

Well done on the find, Stephen. I know V8skylineman from the Skylines Australia website (altho I've never met him). We both have V8 skylines, and live about 5 minutes from eachother. Small world, huh? Those wheels are a cinch to clean up. I had a set that I fixed up many years ago. Just stripped the paint / lacquer off, then sanded / polished all the machined surfaces. Then I re-painted the black sections and re-polished the machined bits and it came up sweet. Took a lot of elbow grease, but cost bugger all.

Are you saying that the pulley doesn't have any markings on it (usually notches around the outside of the front surface - sometimes painted, sometimes not. They can be hard to see) or there's no pointer to line up against the notches. If there's no pointer, then you can make up a temporary one with a piece of heavy wire (such as a few inches off an old coat hanger). Coil one end into a loop and fit it inder one of the bolts on the timing cover. Then adjust the other end (which you have sharpened to a point - to make a good pointer ) so that it points at your pulley. Now, set your engine to TDC. Do this by doing the following: with No 1 spark plug out, and both valves for No 1 cylinder closed, raise the piston to its uppermost position. Use a drinking straw down the spark plug hole to tell when the piston is at TDC. With the engine at TDC, then adjust the pointer you have made so that it points to the TDC mark (I think there are about 4 or 5 marks. One is 5 deg ATDC, one is TDC, then there will be a few BTDC marks as well). Once you have set TDC, then you can use your make-shift pointer to set the timing on your car (obviously, pit the spark plug back, and make sure you haven't left any spanners attached to the crank pulley bolt or anything like that.) Note that if done properly, this method is actually more accurate than the factory markings, which after 30 years of abuse can be inaccurate. If it's the markings that are missing off the pulley, then ignore all of the waffle above. HTH

Hi Jim. There was one on ebay a few weeks ago, and it didn't sell. I've emailed the seller to see if it's still available. Will let you know as soon as I hear anything back. Don't know if you can still view the item, but here goes anyway: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2482017454&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

The crush tubes don't actually transfer load through the bolt (in theory). They're supposed to clamp at their ends, so no shear loading is transferred into the bolt. This way, it soesn't matter what the clearance is between the bolt. Are the ends of the crush tubes serrated? If so, you'll probably find they're made from hardened material. If the bolts come loose, then they will take the shear load, and you have a problem.

Well done Jim. I had a look as a donor car for my toy, but it looked too good to wreck. I'm currently chasing up availability of spares, and have found a wrecker locally who says he has a few 240k's. He's just a bit slack in getting back to me on anything. I'm sure you'll have great fun with your new toy.

I was told it was a Supra box, but upon further investigation, I suspect it's a steel case Celica (still very strong boxes). I've done a bit of research on the Dellow site, and the evidence points to Celica. Still have to do more research, to be 100% sure. However, it mounts up very nicely, and the lever sits in a good position. I always loved the Celica boxes for their strength, and slick gearchanges.

Hey PranK, I used to hang around at SDU / Skylines Australia when I had an R32. I now drive a WRX, so am no longer welcome there (Just kidding - I still visit from time to time, but hardly recognise anyone there anymore!) The 240K, like many older Dattos lends itself to mods quite well. If you're worried about too much weight from the RB25's, don't be. The old L24 lump was one heavy unit. (Very well built , and bullet proof engine). I have a V8 in mine which probably weighs 50kg less than the original donk (being all alloy helps) 240k's didn't have discs at the back as standard, but I'm confident that the R31 Skyline discs will fit well. I have a set of R30 rear arms, and am going to try and fit those brakes to mine - just to see if I can. If you want more info on rallying a 240K (even though you say you're not going to do any serious sideways stuff - shyeah, right!!) call Dave Gaines at Cruisin Auto Spares on the Sunshine Coast (07 5441 6411). He rallies a 240k quite successfully, and can help out with suspension and brake mods, as well as other performance ideas. You'll find that the GTR flares can be picked up quite cheap, (look for an earlier post on this site) but other things like the mirrors, grille, rear spoiler, badges and tail lights are a bit harder to get, and can be quite expensive. I'm going to put the flares on my car, but only so I can fit some decent rubber in there. I doubt whether I'll bother with the rest of the stuff. Mine will be built for go, rather than show (if I ever get around to starting on it :disappoin ) I can't see why you shouldn't be able to pick up a reasonable 240K for a grand or so - if you can find one. A 2 door will be harder, and more expensive, but they are out there. I paid less than a grand for mine, but it basically needs a full rebuild (although the body is very rust free)

Welcome Khughes!! As far as dedicated 240k forums go - this is about the closest I've found. there are a few other good Nissan / Datsun sites, such as http://www.ozdat.com/forum/ - they mainly discuss the Datto 1600, but there's a lot of knowledge about older Datsuns in general. You can also visit skulines Australia, but they seem more interested in later Skylines (and you probably already know about them). Upgrades? What exactly are you after? The brakes can be quite easilu upgraded along the same lines as the 1600 upgrades (ie VL calipers, Verada discs, or you can look at Hilux calipers, or later model Nissan ones. It all depends on what struts you have. Rear disc brake conversions can be done from R30 / 31 Skylines without too much difficulty. Suspension - well, I'm going to build my own coilovers, although this will take me a while to get organised. Engines - well, the L24 can be upgraded with an L28 and made to go hard, or the RB series engines can be made to fit without too much hassle. mine has an old Skool boat anchor in the form of a P76 donk. Haven't had it running yet, so can't comment on the effectiveness of that unit. I'd be concerned about using a K as a rally / charity bash car. They're getting quite rare, specially the 2 door ones. Seems more and more people are getting into the 2 door ones too, which makes them a bit mor especial. Mine's going to become a dedicated (almost) track car, and I'm having enough difficulty coming to terms with that concept. Lastly, good luck on your quest, and keep us posted on your progress!!

Badges? Bah! they add too much weight anyway:devious: Anyone want a standard 240k GL badge?

To me, reseal is what you do to an engine that leaks oil. Crank oil seals, sump gasket seals, and tappet cover gasket. I did it on a rally engine after running into a tree. The front of the engine was damaged (timing cover and pulley were smashed). I pulled the sump off to check the internal condition of the engine. As everything looked ok (bit of wear in the bearings, but I knew either don't touch it, or do a full rebuild and make it worthwhile). I just picked up a gasket kit (or maybe had one lying around, can't remember) and reassembled the engine with new oil gaskets and seals. That engine did several more rallies until I finally sold the car.

oops!! Yep, that was me, sorry. I missed out on a bidding war on a P76 shop manual this week. Got to $35 and I gave up, considering my local library has one on the shelf. Just gotta love ebay!!

Went for $51.00!! Maybe I'll have to settle for the Gregorys manual that I picked up for $5.50 last week:classic:

WOW!! I wonder how I'd go getting that engineered?

Hey thanks for the quick response Rob. Guess I should've done a search first, hey?? Might have to ring these guys and order my set pronto.

Hi. Finally took delivery of the ol' 440K, and the rebuild has begun!(pulling things off is always the easy bit). First thing I did was take to it with a cordless screwdriver and remove the fibreglass flares. Not that they look too bad from a distance, but they've been pretty badly fitted, and they don't really give a lot of extra clearance for the fat watanabes (yeh, we can all dream). Besides, with all the tek screws I've removed, it now weighs about 10% less. I've heard that you can get replica GTR flares pretty easily. As I'm planning on running this thing at the track, I want to widen the track as much as I can get away with (otherwise, I'd keep it looking stock as a rock). Does anyone know where I can get these flares in Australia, and how much they're worth? cheers in advance. Peter

These wheels were fitted to the C210 Skyline, as mentioned previously. I had a set on my Datsun 1600 (P510) - they're 14 x 5.5" I repainted the centre black, and polished the rims - they looked sweet!

Yeh, I've been keeping an eye on it for the last few days. Seems a bit pricey, but probably worth it. I'm holding off bidding, because I'm certain that my boss has a copy of it somewhere (saw it sitting on the shelf 10 years ago - 3 office moves may mean it's lost for good) Problem is that my boss is out of town for the next few days:(

Yes, the 240K (or should I say 440K??) is sold - to me! As Harry said, I've been contemplating a track toy for a long time now, and the 1600 was the first choice. I saw a few along the way, ranging from reasonably straight bodies, to total rustbuckets, but couldn't find anything at the right price. I turned my attention to a 240K, thinking that at least they'd be cheaper priced, seeing they don't have the same cult following as the 1600 (why, oh why did I sell / give away / throw away all those 1600's and associated bits:( ) When I heard Harry was selling his K, it seemed like fate. One look at the car and , well, looking through the dodgy paint, and even dodgier bodykit I could see a great platform for a serious track toy. The 4.4 V8 will give it that nice old-skool touch, without upsetting the handling too much. The only problem I now have is that I didn't realise what a following the 2 door 240K's had developed. Last time I looked (about 15 years ago) the 240K was a granny car with as much sporting character as a tweed jacket. (Just kidding - I can see the potienial in the chassis / suspension setup, and have seen a couple of very quick rally 240k's). I almost feel guilty welding in a full spec rollcage and belting around racetracks in it. That's ok - I'm sure I'll get over it. Anyway, it'll probably sit in the corner of my shed for a long time before I even lay a spanner to it - it'll be a long term project. First thing I'll do is rip off a front strut, and start designing the adjustable coilover suspension, and looking at decent brake options. Then will begin the slow strip down to bare shell, so that I can get the cage welded in. If I'm really keen, I might even build a rotisserie so that I can do a proper prep job on the body. Wherever possible, I want to do all of the engineering myself, to save costs, and give me a bit more satisfaction at the end result. (I'm too much of a tightarse to be a chequebook racer) I'll keep everyone posted on progress, but don't anybody hold your breath. Hey Alfadog - we must just about be neighbours. Where abouts on the Coast are you? I live at Helensvale (although the car will be at Nerang) Might have to come and check yours out for some inspiration, and pick your brains for supplies of bits.