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I don't know where to begin. I was in Monterey for two whole days. I was on the track at Laguna, I was in the room the GTO sold in, and I saw countless gorgeous cars, but this ZG was 'the' car. I cannot explain the emotions that flowed through me when I saw it for the first time. I had never seen a real 240ZG in the flesh and I was amazed. There are certain cars that photograph well and the ZG always does. But with the aperture of the eye this car is so much more stunning in person. The proportions are divine and the color is perfect. This car is a Fairlady 240ZG (HS30-H) and it was a homologation car for the g-nose and the fender flares. It only came in white, red, and this maroon. There may be a few roaming around the states, but it is rare here. The wheels could have been wider, but I wasn't focused on that. I was taking in the whole package. I couldn't help myself when I saw that the door was unlocked. I have ridden in a number of Fairlady Z's and a Bluebird 1800SSS, but I had never been in the driver's seat. I have tried to outfit the interior of my personal car to be as 'Japanese' as possible, but when I opened the door and slipped into the drivers seat of this HS30-H it was whole other world. The door clasped shut. I looked around from a different view and it was all so similar and yet so different. I stared down that long hood with the mirrors peaking on each side as I gripped the competition handle. It felt different than mine. It was rougher and newer whereas mine is smooth and burnished to a shine. The steering wheel could have been a Nismo reissue from 1998. Those details raced through my mind and all I knew was that I was in my automotive home. I feel so selfish and carnal, but when the time is right I will own this car. It may take 20 years, but I am going to get it. So many times I reveal myself on this forum, but I try to be me not hiding anything and to be real. The 240ZG is really something special. We don't think about it today, but in 1972 a 2.4L engine in Japan was a big deal. There were government regulations keeping most cars at 2L so the 2.4L cars were a luxury. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. As for the auction result I was there to watch the hammer come down. It was the wrong crowd for this car and it was late at night when the car sold. The room was less than half full and it was a no reserve auction. It sold quickly for 47.5K and with fees it was 10% more. I wanted bid so badly, but I don't have that kind of cash. What I do have is patience. Ben? p.s. Yes that is me with the car. There were other cars around and I did look at them after I opened every door of this car and felt under its bonnet?. I thought there were going to be five ribs beneath the piece of the nose with the emblem. Speaking of the emblem I believe it was off an S130. There was however the air ducting on the lower valence. It was not a perfect car by any means. It had all the signs of sitting and not being in use as of late. I do believe this was the exact ZG that sold a few years back at auction in the states with a similar result. I hope this car got to an enthusiast that is going to drive it and show it, but I am not so sure. The crowd at RM/Sotheby's seemed much like the investment type. I hope I am wrong.

Ben, did you put your hand underneath the bonnet extension panel, ahead of the bonnet? That's where the strengthening ribs are on the original factory panel. Some of the photos of this car showed that panel to be slightly ill fitting/distorted. If there were no ribs it could indicate a later replacement. Great story by the way. Believe. You'll get there.

Some photos of an OEM Fairlady 240ZG 'upper nose'/bonnet extension panel for reference. Construction/material is very similar to the later factory rear spoilers, which is a more advanced form of FRP moulding giving very crisp definition and very stable shape. These panels are very vulnerable, and easily bumped by other vehicles when parked. I've seen all sort of repairs on the underside, with chopped strand and woven roving bonding being common. I've also seen a piece of wood glued under there (!) and some pierced steel self-assembly shelving even did the deed on one example. It would not be a surprise if the panel on the Bonhams Monterey car had been repaired at some time in its 45+ year life. It's easily rectified these days.

Hi Ben , You can find a good ZG , I think not taking so long time . This ZG was sold a right price for its condition, just in Japan pricing is crazy. Most of them are listed 8 to 13 million JPY , but all of them do not deserve its price because the condition is just like this car . I know you know about this but please do not forget about checking the paper before buying, the code 02662-0070 is a mandatory for proving it is a real ZG. Owning it In the US , the code doesn’t mean anything , but you may want to show it to a future buyer when you have to sell it . It is almost impossible to authenticate without this code . ZG doesn’t have specific serial number prefix on its body, and you can put every single ZG parts by your self to any car you wish . Only very experienced experts can tell the difference . RM Auction did provide the code ? I assume that kind of very professional and reliable, entertainment auction organizer is doing correctly as usual. Kats

Ben, if you felt any weave/texture on the reverse of that panel, it's wrong. Factory OEM finish on the underside of that section was gel coat, with the strengthening ribs very clearly defined and neat. I'll take some photos later to better illustrate, and will post them here. The panel has probably been changed to an aftermarket version some time in the car's life.

Some of the Z's in attendance

https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/MO18/Monterey/lots/r0023-1972-nissan-fairlady-240zg/686172

Looking sharp! Going to be a nice restomod when you're done.

The painter sanded my tail light lenses completely smooth, removing all the raised letters etc. Then he polished them before Xpel clear wrap film was applied. They look amazing! Brake lenses will be done next week.

Another way to say it is it should be running much better and differently than the problems you have suggest. I've had the lean problem and it wasn't like yours. It popped back and bucked when you tried to give it gas. Yours is running like it's on 4 or 5 cylinder. It could be fouled plugs but these engines can run really rich, enough to make your eyes burn, and still not foul plugs.

Why don't you take out the lock sets and have a locksmith re-key them all to one key? Cheaper, no shipping and shouldn't be that expensive if you take it to the locksmith...

Yes, you may need to disconnect the sway bar end links. NONE of the rest of this is true for Stance-USA strut cartridge! Please strike out the lower two comments. edit: In regard to ride height: The softer springs will compress slightly more when loaded than the springs he's using now - not an inch I don't think - but you're right that the strut cartridge will need adjustment in the threaded adapter to get his desired ride height after the spring replacement.

1. You DON'T need a spring compressor! a. There isn't a strut cartridge insert - you don't need to worry about anything shooting out or springing apart. The spring is NOT compressed between it's two perches! 2. Take the strut cartridge out however you can and/or want to. Personally, I'd just pull the whole thing out and work with it off the car. a. So, yes - loosen the nut at the top of the threaded adapter and unscrew the strut cartridge from the adapter. b. If you can work with it after it's loose at the bottom, unscrew all of the nuts under the spring and take the spring out. I'm going to refer to the two nuts locked together just under the spring as the LOWER PERCH (or lower spring perch) c. put the new spring up there and install the two nuts that make up the lower perch. When you're tightening the topmost nut, INSTALL IT SNUG TO THE SPRING so the spring doesn't move, BUT DON'T tighten it much beyond that. (If you tighten it more than snug, you're adding PRELOAD to the spring - the spring doesn't require ANY preload (unless you're corner balancing the car - then, your suspension expert will add preload if necessary to get the balance he wants...)) A. If you pull the whole strut cartridge off the car the same thing will be true. Personally, I'd remove the entire cartridge, remove the top nut which holds the pillow block, spacer, and upper spring perch, and remove the spring from the top. Then you'll lower the lower spring perch more than an inch or so, install the spring and replace everything you took off the top in the reverse order. You should have slack between the spring perches, so this is the point that you snug up the lower perch and it's lock nut. Re-install the strut cartridge. Before I remove a strut cartridge I usually measure the distance between the bottom lock nut of the lower spring perch and the locknut on top of the threaded adapter to make sure I've re-installed the strut to the same height. You can't do it this way because you're changing the height of the lower perch. I guess subtracting the additional spring length will get you close though. *** PLEASE GUYS!!! Don't make comments about a specific strut cartridge unless you know how it actually works! ***

Ok F16 160/215 83118 by blodi, on Flickr

Well, I’m very familiar with the Japanese culture having lived near Hiroshima for 3+ years. The details matter in their culture and they are VERY serious about the minutia. This is why they make great cars. They are super stubborn and don’t sway from the “rules”. I can assure you this details with the pins was a point of discussion in the design offices. To give you an example I once ordered a Hamburger in Tokyo. The menu stated the hamburger had cheese on it. I asked for it without cheese and the lady said it wasn’t possible. Bizarre to an American but not really to a Japanese. They make it exactly as the menu specifies. Not this is obviously a tangent and a big generalization of the culture and not representative of everyone but it give you an insight into the culture. They are AMAZING at process based things and not as good, pushing outside the norms. So I think there was a reason for the pins addition but I have been know to be wrong.....ask my wife. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Less than I had expected. I wonder what kept the price down - right hand drive? Dennis

The glass beads aren't that heavy but once they are stationary they don't get moving easily without some agitation, I think the sewage pump would have a hard time lifting them up. I'm using the hopper design the same as Duffy with the glass beads above the pump and I still have to blast the nozzle down into the pile of beads to get them mixed up so they can be sucked down to the pump.

Yes, swapping springs that way is the easiest way to do it. You may have to disconnect your ARB endlinks. The new spring is an inch longer so the perch will indeed be an inch lower but, assuming 600lb corner weight, the car will drop approximately by another inch. Therefore, the damper body will need to move up to maintain ride height. Another effect of the softer spring is that you will be taking away an inch of bump travel. This may or may not be ok, depending on where your damper is currently. This can be adjusted via spring preload, e.g. one inch of spring preload will raise the car an inch and gain one inch of bump travel (assuming you haven't run out of travel).

Nut inserts is the way to go.

I am excited to see the BRE cars among others. John Morton is a super nice guy the few times I have talked to him. A celebrity of the Datsun world among me, a mortal. That Hino transporter is really cool! I saw it years ago when it was at Les Cannaday's shop in need of a restoration. Now it is where it should be. If I am not mistaken it has a Cadillac V8. I am counting down the days before I go to Monterey this weekend. The entire Monterey Car Week is a time I look forward to every year. The Historics are my favorite as the cars are in their element. The crews are humming along in the pits and the cars on the track just sing. I would love to partake in the racing one day. A vintage car of any sort would be awesome but a Nissan of the Z sort would be ideal. I imagine roaring off into the sunset, cresting a hill and descending the legendary corkscrew. Beneath my helmet would be a permanent smile. Cheers. Ben

Just make sure you can get it up on a jack so you can check for rust and how the repairs were done, the tranny tunnel looks kind of funky, simple, quickly done, probably not much strength. If the bottom of the car has a thick layer of undercoat that's my cue to walk away, you just know their hiding problems, but the body looks pretty straight so that makes it worth a look. Pull up the carpets and hunt for that rust, the fact that it has been on the market for three months tells you a lot of guys have looked it over and walked away, you need to answer the question, why.

Just a suggestion but when and if you do re-shoot that section, I would post a clip here on this website. Many of us on this site have purchased the DVD and it would be helpful to have the correct footage.