Zed, I have to thank you for phrasing your response the way you did. Given the abrasive times in which we live such language is indeed a breath of fresh air.

Of course, one can do most anything they want to or with their car of any heritage. I was just exposing my druthers. I generally drive my old machines 500 or so miles per year and want to look good while at the same time being confident that I won't say to myself when 200 miles from home "what's that funny noise".

Cheers

Thanks, I do put some effort in to finding the civil middle ground. I know that you see these cars through a different lens than many.

There's a new one on BaT. Might have more potential. Too bad it's not the original white though.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1973-datsun-240z-300/

You don't see one like this very often: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1972-datsun-240z-382/

7 hours ago, inline6 said:

You don't see one like this very often: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1972-datsun-240z-382/

That car is super clean and preserved condition. Time capsule! Only thing I would change would be the propeller shaft which is incorrectly applied to the car. The spline is exposed from the front piece of the shaft, which is not good. From Sep 1971 it was extended 35mm to cope with the new rear differential location. The part number E4100 was replaced by E8700.

It’s very complicated even for Nissan parts center service man. I wrote memo to avoid making mistakes when I order parts for my cars. Hope this helps someone.

Kats

That is one strange drive shaft. Never seen one like it, what a mess.

1 hour ago, zspert said:

That is one strange drive shaft. Never seen one like it, what a mess.

It's the stock E4100 propeller shaft for 'early' (FS5C71A) equipped cars.

It might look 'strange' because it has been fitted to a car with a rearward-mounted differential position, and is therefore over-extended on its splined centre joint. The car in question requires the longer E8700 propeller shaft specific to the updated, rearward, differential mounting position.

EDIT: As Kats has pointed out above.

8 hours ago, kats said:

From Sep 1971 it was extended 35mm to cope with the new rear differential location. The part number E4100 was replaced by E8700.

It’s very complicated even for Nissan parts center service man.

4 hours ago, HS30-H said:

It's the stock E4100 propeller shaft for 'early' (FS5C71A) equipped cars.

4 hours ago, HS30-H said:

The car in question requires the longer E8700 propeller shaft specific to the updated, rearward, differential mounting position.

EDIT: As Kats has pointed out above.

So, Waverly ordered the wrong shaft when they ordered the transmission.

For anyone wondering, the 5 speed transmission used here has a flange on the output shaft. The slip yoke is replaced by the splined section. In case you stumble across one in the future.

Edited January 12Jan 12 by Zed Head
Spelling is hrad

8 hours ago, kats said:

That car is super clean and preserved condition. Time capsule! Only thing I would change would be the propeller shaft which is incorrectly applied to the car. The spline is exposed from the front piece of the shaft, which is not good. From Sep 1971 it was extended 35mm to cope with the new rear differential location. The part number E4100 was replaced by E8700.

It’s very complicated even for Nissan parts center service man. I wrote memo to avoid making mistakes when I order parts for my cars. Hope this helps someone.

Kats

Hi Kats:

Your information is of course correct, but only applied to this Z in hindsight.  

I would guess that due to the usual delays in technical information translation, communication and publication - the newer parts were not listed in the US Datsun Competition Parts Catalogs until late 1972 for the 1973 Catalog edition.

There may have been earlier Competition Dept. Bulletins on the subject, but I’ve never found any.

When this Z was put into service in 2/72 the only 5spd. listed and the only Drive Shaft Listed are the one’s put in the Car.  Perhaps if the owner had waited 8 months to start the process the Dealership might have ordered differently. 

1 hour ago, Carl Beck said:

Your information is of course correct, but only applied to this Z in hindsight.  

That's a very lenient take. Quite simply, Waverly Motors sourced and fitted the wrong part. They fitted an E4100 propeller shaft when they should have fitted the longer E8700, which was already available as a stock Nissan part. And having fitted the short shaft - with the splined centre joint clearly over-extended and NFFP - they sent the customer on his way. It was wrong then and it's wrong now.

Waverly also appear to have sourced a competition option version of the FS5C71-A transmission, then took it apart to install a set of 'street' ratio gears when they could have simply ordered an off-the-shelf Nissan transmission which already gave them what they were building. Stock equipment in the rest of the world.

You can call it Monday morning quarterbacking if you want, but Nissan had been knocking out FS5C71-A equipped Zs since late 1969 and it seems to me that a franchised Datsun dealer might be expected to have noticed. It was fully noted in the Factory Service Manual for the car.

Harsh maybe, but I'd say fair.

2 hours ago, Carl Beck said:

Hi Kats:

Your information is of course correct, but only applied to this Z in hindsight.  

I would guess that due to the usual delays in technical information translation, communication and publication - the newer parts were not listed in the US Datsun Competition Parts Catalogs until late 1972 for the 1973 Catalog edition.

There may have been earlier Competition Dept. Bulletins on the subject, but I’ve never found any.

When this Z was put into service in 2/72 the only 5spd. listed and the only Drive Shaft Listed are the one’s put in the Car.  Perhaps if the owner had waited 8 months to start the process the Dealership might have ordered differently. 

Thanks Carl, now I understand why the car ended up being wrongly fitted with E4100 shaft. And, the mechanic had to order many assorted parts to get it back to STD gear set as 32010-E4151. What a waste! It’s all because of the Datsun competition parts catalog which wrongly listed parts numbers. Or those numbers are not wrong, just lacking of well cared about information, and like you said, unfortunately the timing was not good. From September 1971 the rear differential location was put 35mm backwards but when people in America saw the catalog, there is only E4100,

See, this is why I call it is complicated about transmission and propeller shaft matching even for Nissan service man.

By the way, the car in question must have a wider cut out on the tunnel for F4W71B, but this FS5C71A originally requires shorter cut out and rubber boot just like F4W71A. Remember, from 09/71 to 01/72 Nissan Shatai still made shorter cut out on the center tunnel just for FS5C71A, at that time their majority was F4W71B though.

Kats

14 minutes ago, HS30-H said:

That's a very lenient take. Quite simply, Waverly Motors sourced and fitted the wrong part. They fitted an E4100 propeller shaft when they should have fitted the longer E8700, which was already available as a stock Nissan part. And having fitted the short shaft - with the splined centre joint clearly over-extended and NFFP - they sent the customer on his way. It was wrong then and it's wrong now.

Waverly also appear to have sourced a competition option version of the FS5C71-A transmission, then took it apart to install a set of 'street' ratio gears when they could have simply ordered an off-the-shelf Nissan transmission which already gave them what they were building. Stock equipment in the rest of the world.

You can call it Monday morning quarterbacking if you want, but Nissan had been knocking out FS5C71-A equipped Zs since late 1969 and it seems to me that a franchised Datsun dealer might be expected to have noticed. It was fully noted in the Factory Service Manual for the car.

Harsh maybe, but I'd say fair.

Thanks Alan, I too thought people in the US & Canada could have ordered STD gear ratio FS5C71A and FS5C71B but they couldn’t. The only and reliable source of information was Datsun Competition parts catalog. If they had reached out to look up parts catalog other than their territory, they would have known to order properly.

This topic reminds me that I have seen other examples of US 1972-73 cars fitted with an E4100 shaft mated with a 71A, now I see why.

Kats

I remember very well the 2000 roadster 5 speeds. I remember them because about 20% had a loose main shaft nut from the factory and we mechanics, at least those of us that had attended trans school, had to repair them under warranty. Given that the engine and trans came out as a unit the repair was a long and very unprofitable operation to say the least!