All Activity

Well done Ken. Perseverance par excellence! Dashboards are not fund to work on.

Update: put the transmission back with the Dorman $6 clutch alignment tool for 24 splines. Installed 2 guide bolts (don't forget to put slots into them, otherwise you won't be able to remove them). The transmission was in 1st gear, I moved the rear shaft a little to help it ease into the clutch splines. It took 10 minutes. Here is my improvised flywheel hold tool (saw some guys on youtube doing this): Next is the driveshaft, refill the tranny and exhaust mounting.

Understood Darom! If you decide you don’t need them and want to get rid of them, just shoot me a message. Thanks!

The OP implies that it ran when parked, but the pump and hoses indicate that somebody tried to get it running using a portable can on the fender or in the engine bay. Somebody either messed with it in the "year" (probably 3 or 4 in real years) it's been sitting, or the friend only had it running on a portable can.

Too bad the checklist notes weren't delivered with the cars. That would be cool to have today. I assume that people like zspert and Pierre are the Shop Reps? Who kept the Checklist documents? 1997 was well in to the copier and computer age. Any chance they're out there in copies or image form? I'm way over on the engine rebuilding end of the interest spectrum. It still seems unclear who managed the rebuilding of them. Did the Shop Reps just handle the shipping and receiving of engines to AER? Did they come back fully assembled, at least with heads, timing cover, fuel pump, etc., installed and torqued? Or did they come back in pieces and were reassembled at the Shop? Best to collect this information now, especailly in the States. Attempts are being made to create a new history, erasing the old. Somebody will realize what the Wayback Machine holds. It might not last.

Hi @kw906! Thanks for the interest. I haven't taken my car on a long ride yet to see if the poly mustache bar bushings are transmitting too much road noise. If the noise is there, I would use these serrated washer insulators instead of flat washers that came with my poly kit.

Darom, I would be interested in buying the old mustache bar serrated washer insulators if you are going to get rid of them.

You totally missed the point being made. Randy Jaffe was talking about 'factory-correct authenticity', even to the point of hose clamp orientation. He clearly thinks Cad was the original finish. https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxAwPdmHPp1GDcsSL09MAx51Ak2gUs4hRh?si=S2GAydRujBcJszu_ Put your own reading glasses on and pay special attention to the word FACTORY: On the other hand, you deserve special points for ""...that may have been the case in Japan...". LOL. Do you write one-liners for Larry David, by any chance? Edit: Ha ha! You edited your post! Backpedalling.

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.

In the Larry Chen YouTube video with Randy Jaffe, Jaffe was pointing at the engine bay component plating on his yellow VZ Program car and talking about "Cad plating" as though that was the original factory finish. Not the case. Most of it was Zinc, with a few different passivated finishes. No Cadmium.

Another interesting titbit from the program is that all the nuts and bolts etc were cad plated.

Attack of the killer B’s!

Yes.... it's a mess. I did use the wrong numbers initially measuring directly from the C point. When I got under the car and meausred it, the only way I could square the circle was to use 465-15+6.5 to get the number between the two rear lower control arm mounts. That worked nicely. That means the front mount is 15mm from C and the rear mount is 456.5mm. Next problem is wether the front strut top distance is correct. My car is about 20mm closer than the 913mm measurement. Is the car bent? Or is the diagram wrong.....? I'd suspect bent car. As an aside, that photo you provided is not a 240z ....perhaps a 260 or 280.....IDK. but very representative of what im working with.

A pair of cylinder heads and other engine parts - including an early type oil pan, painted Nissan engine blue, on a bench at Pierre's. Caption says that "...from now on, all engines and transmissions will be rebuilt at an NMC USA contracted factory in Texas. The proud staff at Pierre'Z were not happy with this decision. It seems they would prefer that everything was left with the car's 'foster parents' (ie in-house) if possible."

A few more: Caption for the above photo says that the guy working on the door is an Armenian, and that Armenians are historically renowned as being skilled metalworkers ("in their DNA").

Hi, I don't think he will respond, but you can get your parts from: Z-Services.eu | Shop for Datsun 240Z, 260Z & 280Z I also have a lot of parts for Z's not specific for the 280z as this was never a euro car.. Oh and yes as my name says i'm from the Netherlands too.

The Japanese caption specifically says powder coat, but that could easily have been a miscommunication (or, heaven help us, an assumption...) between reporter and the people at Pierres. I would think it much more likely that they were in fact painted, as per the original factory finish.

Horror House on Highway Five (1985)

Did they really "powder coat" them? I would think paint would have been more accurate?

Just for fun, I've dug out the JUNE 1997 edition of OLD TIMER Magazine - published in Japan - to scan some photos from the 8 page article in which they covered Vintage Z Program-related activities at Pierre's, Z World and the lobby of NMC USA. The original photos are many, small and scan up with a noticeable Moire pattern, but people still might like to see them. 'Donor' cars sitting in the parking lot behind Pierre's, waiting to start the process. Original caption says that they counted 13 in this row alone and that Pierre's had a total of 25 base cars and 8 cars for parts, so a total of 33 cars 'in stock' at that time. Any lack of ambience is made up for with Ambulance: Caption says this is a stripped bodyshell, waiting to be collected by the bodyshop: Caption says that this lineup of suspension parts have been stress checked and delicate areas taped up prior to collection for blasting and "powder coating": I'll scan and upload some more tomorrow...

I can’t imagine how it ever ran trying to pull fuel at that distance and, Maybe they removed the dampener?

And be sure it's a high pressure pump for EFI. The fuel line going into the fuel filter should be as hard a rock with pump on. Also the hose coming out of the filter will be hard from pressure. The fuel pressure regulator is what brings it down a little, 32psi IIRC. You can get the metal fuel filter for $10 to $20. Good luck!

Dean I don't think that is your car. The Master list has a revision date of Jan 1998, it shows your car as #18 and having been finished. The date in the video of the red car being driven out for test is late April 1998 and the red Vintage Z has silver mag wheels. I think it may be 40904.

Exception here (damn it).........Remember/PAY ATTENTION - the second iteration all had my reproduction door jamb and engine compartment ID tags. I've stated this more than once but given the source it's not taken into consideration. I consider Les a friend, confident and partner- in- crime, we had several long chats about the car(s) he did. I won't repeat any of them here for obvious reasons.

Speaking of parts - from the beginning getting all the needed parts was a real challenge. E-Mail from June 12, 1997