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I am starting a new restoration for a local owner. This one has a good history,so I am looking forward to the build. The brief background is that the owners family had an Orange Z (looks to be a Series 1) growing up and apparently the car was sold some time later (Not really sure on that part). The family referred to their Z as "The Orange". To make a long story very short, The dad, the original owner, retired and the kids bought him this orange Z for him to work on in his retirement and bring back the memory of his youth. Gee that sounds familiar. Unfortunately, part way through the restoration, the father passed away and the Z is now owned by the daughter, shown in the first picture here. The owner contacted me and asked me to finish the restoration ( I will fill in a bit more background on this later). So anyway, the plan is to finish the restoration that the father started. And of cou rse, we will take this to a very nice level of restoration, similar to my previous two cars. We still have some decision to make on the AC, and we will most likely stick with the mags and the round tops, but otherwise we will keep this very stock. Below are some pics of the car. Other than the body, the car is in very nice condition and was derivable. Also, car has an original uncracked dash and a nice assortment of restoration parts to be installed later. Also, the passenger seat is original and in great condition. That is pretty rare. So, Lots of pics of the car are shown below. Will document the build here as things progress.

Rare NOS showing us what came out of the factory: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Datsun-Nissan-Valve-Cam-Cover-NEW-OLD-STOCK-WITH-TAGS-240Z-260Z-280Z-OEM-NOS/333359148743?hash=item4d9dc0eec7:g:USkAAOSwTeJdoie7 Here is a valve cover painted with high temp aluminum

Add to that list....soaks and holds moisture to promote corrosion, absorbs gasoline drips and overflow to maintain that delightful fresh gas smell mile after mile, and dries out and cracks like an old shoe. But, after all the silly things I've done to my Z since 1971, who am I to judge? ? Dennis

I have my reservations too, and I booked a room yesterday.

Timely post for me (and anyone else interested in a correct stock restoration) that you made here Philip-------and exactly as you said in your reply just now Charles!! How would you describe the finish as shown in the photos of this NOS valve cover?? Raw aluminum, as from the mold, satin finish??? Do you think there were any additional treatments or processes used to remove casting flash or surface/ finish irregularities? Attached is the judging sheet I received for entry of Zilver, my 1973 240Z, at the 2019 ZFest/Zcon held in Branson this past summer. 1 Zup Daniels 240Z stock.pdf The most difficult point deduction for me to understand regarding the comment of the judges was regarding the finish of the valve cover. ENGINE and ENGINE COMPARTMENT Comments Deduction 2. Engine block / oil pan / cylinder head valve cover finish blasted 1 My query is this: What is one to do? This photo is from engine restoration prior to Zcon 2015 in Memphis when I entered Zilver in "240Z Street Modified" class----before I made the conversion back to the original flat tops. After 47 years of accumulated use, (being subjected to oil changes, valve adjustments and all other manner of possible maintenance issues) certainly most, if not all, valve covers will need some form of restoration back to "as from factory" condition. Paint, polish or plating are obviously not correct finishes. At the time of my restorative efforts I chose to have the cover bead blasted with a very fine USED glass bead. It almost had the consistency of flour and the cover was gone over several times until there was an even surface appearance and texture. Satin finish---no gloss or swirl---it looked very much to me like the NOS example you linked above. I then applied GIBBS BRAND OIL to the cover liberally, several times, removing the excess after several minutes so there was no pooling or surface wetness. The GIBBS penetrates into the pores of the metal and (because it is there first) prevents the entry of anything in the way of water, other oils, dirt or combustion soot from adhering or accumulating and its anti-corrosion properties prevent oxidation of the aluminum (white spots or flaking). A simple rinse with Dawn detergent mixed with water over the surface followed by a thorough rinse from the garden hose with clean water, allow to dry, and a re-application of the GIBBS oil has maintained the cover for the last 5 years. Zilver is no "garage queen". The car is frequently driven locally and has been driven from N.W. Arkansas to and back from each of the Zcons attended. (Memphis, Austin, Atlanta and Branson) I don't know of any other way. In agreement with what Charles said above----What would the judges have us to do if not bead blast???? This is not "sour grapes" or meant to be a slam on the judges but----- BE REASONABLE!!!

Went to JCCS 15th 2019...it was fun to attend....

Tag for Fred @zpizzaman20

Easy to make. It's flat with some holes. And you get to pick the leather you like, or have it dyed to match or contrast your paint! Adjust the size to your liking, add fancy engraving, make it look like a saddle, go nuts!

Captain, I’m going to look today and see if there is any marks like that on mine. I thought I took a close look already for witness marks but now I know exactly what to look for, thanks. BTW, I grabbed a non-EGR head from one of the 75s in that yard. They only wanted $40 (that’s for the intake, heat shields, throttle body, injectors and all sensors on the head) so I figured why not grab it. Haven’t decided if I’ll use this or the ZX intake. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well been a few delays and a few dramas. But finally the new engine is all together and back with my mechanic. We have to modify the sump, tweak the extractors/headers and make up new front pulley, but should be done this side of Christmas. Couple of pics to keep the interest going. Cheers Mike

@Av8ferg, Last page you were talking about rod bolt positioning... I was messing around with my pistons a little today and I came up with what I believe is a reliable witness mark for the rod bolts rotational position. During installation of the rod bolts and nuts, it's the oval shaped head of the bolt that keeps the bolt from turning while you tighten the nut on the other side of the bearing cap. Because of this feature, the oval bolt head contacts the rod in one spot as the night is tightened, and (on my pistons at least), this resulted in clean spot witness marks where the two were in contact with each other. Here's some pics. During tightening, the bolt head will rotate in the recess in the bore in the direction of the tightening torque applied. Looks like this: And because of this, there's a little clean spot on the connecting rod where the bolt oval made contact: And a corresponding clean spot on the oval bolt head: It's pretty small and you might need some magnification to find it, but if yours look like mine, you should be able to use these marks to determine the original rotational position of the bolts. Assuming you've got the original bolts in the original holes, this should allow for positive ID for original rotation.

So rich you are washing the cylinder walls down and causing oil consumption? Gas mileage bad? Looks like a bit of both fuel and oil, but mostly carbon if it brushes off that easy. Have you checked your TPS setting? Might need to take a cruise somewhere and shut it off at cruise and then pull the plugs . Don’t let it idle before shutting it down. Everyone should invest the 200$ for a complete wideband set up. Takes a lot of the guess work out.

Does the exhaust smell gassy or oily? There is a difference in odor between the two problems. What are the oil consumption numbers? If it's not leaking it's burning.

So close. I could put the male plug on it and it would do just fine. I do have the right relay (but its ugly), so I can either exchange housings or just put a plug with new male pins and new shell and even get the right pin in the right position using the correct relay as a guide.

Oh, that was for anybody who happens across this thread. Now that you're taken care of, we have to help out the next guy.

Are you clicking on the Hotel link at http://zcon.org? Are you choosing dates from 12-20 September 2020? I just tried it, and there are rooms available. I do not know if there are any issues with booking if you are not in the US. I set my reservation from 13-20 September and didn't have any issues. You can reserve the hotel room without registering. Registration should be open later this month. The committee is still ironing out details.

Also I just came back from Williams AZ today for the 1st JDM Classic Show. It was a blast... we got some rain......had a lot of fun.