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About a S20 engine block , crankshaft bearing cap has two extra bolts from side not seen in L series engine , this is what we feel S20 is special. Each bearing cap comes with specifically designated washer (Shim ) , 10 different thickness washers has letters from A to K ( I is not used to avoid confusing with 1 ) . I have got these washers yesterday, I am so happy with a lot of washers. Mr.Yamamoto told me he is trying to find washers which are used in my spare S20 engine but , I have not heard good news from him yet . So I took it from the auction. Seeing these sets of washers , now I am wondering how many S20 engines did the seller overhaul in his life ? He may have some more interesting S20 parts ? Kats

You forgot the best car Kats, the FD RX-7 :). 1 of the most beautiful cars of the era (if not the most beautiful in my humble opinion). The only modern sports car in Japan I've seen with the fender mirrors has been the RE Amemiya Super G RX-7 kit. Love how Orido puts the Civic into the weeds here ? RE: The Gentleman's agreement of 280PS, I am pretty sure they were ALL over this power figure but never dyno'd each car to confirm it's true "stock" power. There was a similar issue in Australia in the 70s as we kept building more and more powerful muscle cars (with inadequate brakes and suspension/handling to go with it). A Journalist wrote an article that changed the direction of such cars forever. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercar_scare It resulted in the stillborn Ford Falcon Phase 4 GTHO. These homologation specials were really race cars dressed up as street cars. It's not just Japan with strict laws re: modification of vehicles. In Australia you can be issued with a defect notice for removal of the standard airbox and replacing it with pod filters (unenclosed in a box). Also non-recirculating blow off valves are a no no (since they vent to atmosphere) and could disrupt MAF/MAS readings (so the story goes). So it's supposedly emissions related. A lot of the rules don't make sense, some of them do (waste-gates should be plumbed back in, no screamer pipes thank you!). PS: Kats I love your old Silvia, very hard to find a clean example like that today. That dashboard cluster is unique, I'm not used to seeing the digital readout etc.. is that a special option? In Australia you see a lot of Holden's rebadged as "Chevy's" because of the LS motor's and the wannabe status. It's a good way to attract the wrong attention from the Police etc.. however.

Jeff, Have you got a copy of the factory parts manual for the RHD 240Zs? If not, why not? Ask us! And if you have, then maybe you would be wise to be reading it in the bath, in bed and in front of the telly - before you start drilling holes in things and cutting off bits of Harada manifold that you don't really need to. Don't spoil the ship for a Ha'penny worth of tar.

So you think a fully restored car that just had 50k USD spent on it is only worth 25k USD? Point me at 'em. I'll take three. Ha Ha! Deal breaker! Personally I leave that kind of stuff to my butler.

Hey Kats, RE: Emission systems on AU market S30Z's. It looks like we got the Airpump in April 1976. My 75 260z had a charcoal canister, I am fairly sure. I will need to double-check. I thought that was part of emissions, but it may have been part of the climate control system in the dash? I'll send you a PM with a link to the PDF for HS30 parts manual.

Got a 260 intake manifold off of eBay in today. It has several common parts that I am missing and seems to be in nice shape. Paint will need to be removed.

Hi guys, checking in with an update. I had Al at Sparks Performance in San Clemente take a look. He confirmed our compression test results, and used the oil in the cylinder trick to rule out ring issues. He pulled the valve cover and completed a valve adjustment. The PO had the clearances way too tight. The adjustment helped the numbers considerably... Al's first test / after valve adjustment 118 / 127 123 / 145 180 / 195 165 / 185 148 / 175 170 / 193 The car performs much better now, including holding its idle without issue. Still, I'll need to have the head pulled and reworked to solve the issues in 1 & 2. As it is driving much better and I'm not longing for a repair bill, I think I'll hold off on head work and cam replacement for a little while.

Seller mentions "natural patina on paint". It appears that patina was applied to the hood by a large immovable object. Dennis

If you're expecting a groundswell of Japanese owners to start converting their cars from RHD to LHD, from 5-speed to 4-speed, from 3.9:1 diff ratios to 3.3:1, fast steering rack ratios to slow etc etc - with a special premium on adding Amco 'towel rail' bumper bars - then don't hold your breath. Emblems are one thing, but it tends not to go much further than that.

I have a very clean cylinder head from a Maxima for sale as is , or build to suit. If you don’t know much about these they are a very nice option for a Z motor. Small well designed combustion chambers ( approx 40cc) with a nice quench pad to help resist detonation . It has exhaust liners , but they flow great unless your building a race motor. If you do some research you’ll find it makes a sweet little hot rod head for your block. The MN 47 head came with the bigger 35mm exhaust valves and has 42mm intakes . This head will work on any Z block , the only exception is that a stock L24 block might need to be clearanced on the exhaust side. I can walk anyone thru that detail. These heads are drilled to except both carbs and EFI. This particular head has been pressure checked, checked for flatness and has VG guides and valves in it now. You can literally pop in a cam and springs and go! Or I would be willing to do that also. Or put the bigger 44mm valves in this head and drop it in your L28 block and make a killer motor. This is one of the cleanest heads I’ve ever owned . Almost zero corrosion and clean as a whistle inside. Some good reading over at HybridZ’s about cylinder heads I am currently building this head for my L28 build. Ported and bigger intake valves! http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/39134-big-and-nasty-headwork/ So buy it as is or let me build you something . Contact me for details or more pics sfinnerty1018@gmail.com

We were pretty careful on Cody's goon and I still had paint failures from rust. So I have gotten a little more paranoid! I hate rust!!

Oh, I wouldn't use tar to plug off that water port to the carbs... ? ? (How much tar can you get for a "Ha'penny"? - wait, where can you get a Ha'penny...) And it's probably BPT but over here, we just stuff an American NPT plug in holes like that.

That's funny. My grandmother offered to loan me 10k in high school to buy one I saw. I declined...I didn't think owing my grandmother money was going to be a good thing. I am also too big for it now anyway. I doubt it would have survived my wildness even if I had been able to afford it. They have such beautiful curves though!!!!

Key point in bold above. We are talking about a 1970 S30 Fairlady Z-L here, not anything else. And if the car in question was to have your quoted 50k USD spent in bringing it back to very presentable condition then I think your 'valuation' of 25k USD would be, er, unenlightened to say the least. And I don't think it would even require 50k USD to make a nice car out of it anyway. Everybody knows we can get into negative equity with these cars (I'm no different), but that's for a future restoring owner to worry about, isn't it? Early S30 and S30-S Fairlady Zs are changing hands for more than their contemporary build date HLS30Us (they pretty much always have done...) so for anybody who actually desires one - that will be people who have legs that can hold them up whilst they lean against the wall at the ATM and the indoor counter of their preferred fast food supplier - the market price is what they will usually have to pay. My observation is that the market price is still rising.

5:10, the vent badge in your left hand is off a 2+2, the rest got the vent in the right hand. 12:40 The water outlet on the thermostat housing was used as a return to heat up the original carbs, with the webers you don't have that provision, remover the nipple and replace it with a pipe plug (3/8 NPT if I remember correctly)

I reckon there's a good possibility of a sale as-is in the range of 18k to 20k USD or more if recent interest is anything to go on. It needs a lot of work and some rare parts for a 100% factory-correct restoration, but there's no imperative for such a car to be bone stock and it's a great candidate for a Japanese home market style period-modified project. I believe there are a fair few people looking for such a blank canvas these days. If it were priced around 15k USD or so it would almost be a no-brainer purchase for export. The 5k USD comment further up-thread is just trolling.

Interesting car. Not in terrible shape and the hood can be easily replaced. The tow bar is a throw away and the patina can be left or fixed as desired. I would say as a rare right hand drive car, it holds a certain appeal for many. Not my cup of tea, but I would say it sells for close to $12,500. The completeness of the car is a big selling feature.

I think it got 'personal' when you started the thread with your "rust bucket" comment. I didn't think you'd be scared of differing opinions though? You say "if it were a series 1...". You think it doesn't qualify for that soubriquet? Why can't it be a "Series 1" and a Fairlady Z? Do the two things have to be mutually exclusive? I'd say that this is probably a better car - structurally for sure - than the Fairlady Z-L which was bid up 20k USD on Bring A Trailer a couple of weeks ago. If local people don't want them/don't know what they are looking at, then they'll probably end up being sold for export.

All good stuff Jeff, but I would still replace that moustache bar... Also, the side quarter vents that you sprayed, they are directional. Make sure they are mounted on the proper side of the car. As a footnote as well, the vents are still available from Nissan new for about $35 apiece! I bought brand new ones for my build.... The manifold studs are readily available in kits from Z Car Depot and others. Much easier to work with the studs than bolts!

Yup, that's how value often works. A buyer would have the choice of driving it like it is or making it a rather involved project car. As a project car, taking on a righthand drive Z in the US would add to the fun/drama. Much would depend on the restoration skills of the buyer, how much work would have to be "farmed" out, the depth of the budget, or all three. It's easy to look at the pictures of the car and realize that if you you were willing to pour $50,000 into it's restoration, you could end up with a very nice $25,000 Z. So, the value? For me maybe $5,000 as a daily driver novelty (unusable at drive-up bank ATMs or fast food pick-up windows) if it really is structurally solid and mechanically sound with just paint patina. Dennis

"The nail that stands-up......GETS POUNDED DOWN" Communism 101 .... all of my Chinese colleagues said this.

I hope mine looks that good!

Hi Kats, I'm with you completely. There are really only one or two cars in my life that I regret not buying when I had the chance. And a Dino 246 is one of them. I had the opportunity to buy one of them a bunch of years ago before the prices reached their current level and I did not buy it. I should have. When you posted those pics of your Z next to the Dino, it reminded me about that. There's another saying in the US.... "Don't cry over spilled milk." It means "don't spend time worrying about things that occurred in the past which you can't change now." In the end, however, I think I would be afraid to drive the Dino because of the value. I think it would just sit in the garage because I didn't want to risk taking it out.

Ok so I should be in bed sleeping, but when I find stuff like this I just want to write it down whilst it's still fresh. 1. That 260z 2+2 I linked to earlier was a low VIN# GRS30. Full album of photos I collected here. https://photos.app.goo.gl/CWdhoXxY9WjdXoKE2 "Datsun 260 z 2+2 built date 5/1974,,,80,000 kms original" Now people mess up build date all the time here, I suspect it's compliance date. Which is found on a plate fixed in the engine bay upon arrival into Australia making the build date probably closer to March 1974 or thereabouts... I don't have the VIN # itself. But if you look at the engine bay you'll see: (best photos I have I'm afraid). a.) No charcoal canister b.) No airpump (or at least I can't see 1) If the above parts manual is correct, then it makes sense since it was introduced April 76, but what about the charcoal canister? Which appears to have started in 09/74. So that means early 260z's in Australia got the flat tops, but no charcoal canister and no air pump until later in 1974.

Kats, The S20 main bearing caps are "cross bolted". Enthusiasts of high performance engines are familiar with these as many 'Extra Duty' engines were designed like this from the factory. The advantages are in helping to eliminate 'crank walk' and 'fretting' (where the crankshaft deforms the main bearing caps and block casting) and helping to keep the engine block casting's shape and size during heat cycles and high rpm use. As you will notice, the machinists at the factory marked the block/oil pan mating face with the 'grading' measurement for the correct shim size on each cross-bolt to help the engine builder. This is a labour-intensive operation of the type still performed by Nissan's 'Takumi' engine builders for the VR38 engine, and it is a mark of quality. 'Hand Made' still means something today too. That's a wonderful pile of NOS shims you have found there! You can become a specialist supplier now. When I rebuilt my ex-432 S20 engine it was very hard to find these kinds of parts (valve lash caps in various sizes were also a problem) but the situation seems much better these days. Now I know where to go when I build engine no.3...

One more today, I have a pile of file of “ service Kai- Show “ it’s like a bulletin I just don’t know what is a suitable word for this . Some topic has many pages and some just a few pages . I found descriptions of a canister, and a label for emission device applied . My ZG still remains the label on the left rear quarter glass . The right one is for the emissions , it might be put in 1973 . When my ZG was rolled out from the factory in June 1972 , there was no device required. But in 1973 , new rule became active , my ZG was affected by the rule to have a lime green vacuum ball to cooperate with an ignition timing . But no need to have a canister. The middle one is the label for “ new car delivery inspection completed “ by a local Tokyo Nissan dealer. Kats

I have a question, Is a good S20 block ( or bearing cap or both ) must have all the same thickness washer ? I have not seen such a block . Why Prince had to do this for assembling? Was the quality of casting not good ? Or , were the workers in the factory careful enough to build S20 , to make it better gap installing the crankshaft? Alan , please let us know . And if you need some washers, I will give you some . But you won’t need them any?more Kats

Hi Gavin , it is very interesting to read what happened in Australia, I am surprised Japan is not the only country about the rules . About the digital readout speed indicator, I also love it , my 180SX has the same , it was an expensive option . I think Nissan did this a long time ago than Ferrari ? Kats

When you’re done it looks like new!

grannyknot, thanks for the heads up on the brackets. Maybe I can work around them or figure how to get them out somehow. Patcon, I think we will look into a fuel cell that can go roughly in the same location as the original tank. Starting from ground zero on that. The other person's insurance came through today and cut us a check to fix the car. Their body shop didn't feel comfortable working on the car so I may do a combination of some work ourselves (gas tank) as well as searching out a reputable body shop to do the body work and painting. We will be ordering a 240Z panel from the Z Store as it seems to be a good quality piece (16 guage steel). Like that look (like gwri8's car) vs the smooth look with this car! Thanks for all your help!

Pans first, firewall patch second, that allows you to match it perfectly and make it original.

It has a trailer package too, good for hauling the track car.

Thanks Captain! You are my mentor. Recently I am so inclined to Dino 246 , is it because I am looking at the car sitting on the grass the other side of the fence ? Kats

Just in-case zcardepot doesn't have it in stock, Motorsport Auto carries them. Almost $100 cheaper too. Not trying to take sales away from anyone, just an observation.

There is a saying here in the US... "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." In it's simplest term, it's used to describe the guy who looks out his window into his yard and thinks to himself that his neighbors yard always looks nicer than his does and he wishes he had his neighbors yard instead. Put into the context of automotive enthusiasts... People here in the US modify their cars changing over to fender mirrors, changing to right hand drive, re-badging their 240SX cars to Silvia. Converting to clear JDM tail lights on their 300ZX's. The Honda guys peeling off the US hood ornament and installing the red Japanese H instead because it's neat. Wouldn't surprise me to find that kids in Japan do the exact opposite. The grass is always greener.

You will be shocked by this , even most Japanese people would be . https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/d329095161 I can’t stop saying this , this fender mirrors is not beautiful. An example from active Yahoo auction in Japan . People in Japan , at that time 1993 almost every one appreciated door mirrors, seems no one wants to have fender mirrors on his / her personal coupe ( even for sedans ) anymore like before . Japan’s economy was really good, every young men tried to buy these cars and their father all rushed to buy Luxury sedan Nissan CIMA or Toyota Celcior . But here it is , a very very few people was still preferred the fender mirrors even on a Silvia ! This fender mirrors must be a dealer option at a local Nissan . I posted old stories on here or other thread before , Japanese rules were really strict, too much conservative. It was just crazy. No door mirrors allowed cars before March 1983 , no wide wheels , even some people got a ticket because they had Z432 emblems instead of their original registration type of car . ( on the other hand, there were a lot of protesters enjoyed whatever they want on the street ) Z32 and R32GTR , NSX , Supra , all Japanese manufacturers followed max 280 PS engine voluntary restraints . Literally it was not mandatory, but it was just like a restriction . RB26DETT , it was meant to be produce 500 PS or more , however it was sold as 280 PS engine to the public. And many people know about that , when type S130 debuted in Japan , the law did not allowed “ space saver “ spare tire . So , Japanese S130 had to have a big spare wheel on the rear deck ( what a meaningless law , the tire obscured almost whole space ) as it did intended to be flat for the compartment area , with newly introduced a space saver tire in the rear quarter panel . Everything like that , Japan was very very stubborn for new things , and worried about too much “ freedom of car “ . I used to owned this Silvia , everything original car . Kats

I believe they used an Australian RB30 crankshaft, 90mm stroke, 90mm bore on a sonic tested L28 block (rare), Honda sized rods due to crank journal sizes, Stuart Wilkins Motorsport big bore headers and also a custom flywheel as the rear of the crankshaft is thinner altering the flywheel clutch position. It's a little over 3.4L.

I have since acquired such a thing since July. PM me or email z240@shaw.ca for details. I also have the DIYAutotune code wheel replacement if you need that too. I think it's this one https://www.diyautotune.com/product/54-mm-optical-trigger-wheel-for-nissan-l28et-or-vg30e/