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I'm quietly laughing and sobbing to myself a little bit as I contemplate the reality that the supply of Americans who need to or bother to get their license will dwindle with each passing generation. But even before that, Americans who can drive a manual are becoming an endangered species.

What I think many North American's fail to appreciate is that the supply of good LHD cars won't last forever. Therefore automatics, less desirable colours etc.. will all rise in value eventually. We in Australia got a fraction of the cars supplied to North American shores, so in effect we are 20 years ahead of you in terms of the limited supply and pricing of parts/cars/shells etc.. the UK was probably 15 years ahead of us, thanks to their wet weather depleting the cars faster but also their limited supply in the first place. To swap an automatic car to manual is so incredibly simple in these cars it always makes me laugh when a clean rust free (as rust free as these cars can be) comes up for sale and people say to me, oh yeah, but it's an auto.. 🙂 It's far less work to convert to manual than fix a rusty manual car.

I was pretty sure you would not be able to get the same products since they are for North American market cars. But at least you would get an idea of the process. The paint in your link looks to be a bit darker than the one I use. The Ford color is more silvery and has a very fine metalflake. The matte clearcoat removes the shine from the metalflake. Here are two pics of the Ford color, one in the sun and one in the shade so you can compare to your available paints. Hope this helps.

Before you put the head back on, take a real good look to try to make sure the passages are clear in the head. Compressed air. Carb cleaner blast. Something. Also, you can take the lids off the distribution blocks on the spray bar and get a better straight on carb cleaner blast down into the tubes. Not sure if you did that, but if you are only getting a dribble out of the cam towers with the bar not even installed, then your problem is somewhere further upstream. So how about the obvious... Head gasket has the proper holes in it for oil to get up to the head? Cam tower shims without a hole in them? Cam towers installed in the correct orientation? (Is it even possible to put them in backwards?) Wadded up pieces of paper towel stuffed into the oil holes in the head so it didn't dribble all over your workbench?

Indeed, and I seem to have hit a nerve with the (non) seller because he's picking me out for some specially-dedicated comments. As mentioned before, if you are going to put a car up for auction in a format which allows comments from both bidder and non-bidders then you MUST expect to occasionally get rivet-counting and nit-picking posts along with the - mostly rather inane - positives. Picking the seller up on things that are clearly mis-described ('brake ducts' that are not brake ducts, 'metal' that is actually FRP/composite etc) can actually help the seller - as schroeder pointed out to him. I think we saw a seller who - when it comes down to it - doesn't know as much about the car he's selling as he thinks he does. He countered my (now deleted) post about Japanese Fairlady 240ZG police cars with a link to an IMCD page featuring a movie prop car (which was not actually a genuine 240ZG model or indeed a genuine, even ex, Police car). I think the whole G-Nose 'from a Japanese Police car' story is more probably a tenth-hand misunderstanding of 'this G-Nose is just like they used on some Japanese Police cars', or similar.

Haha! Honestly, I was just kidding about the whole process. I assumed that the inner cavity never saw any of the de-rusting chemicals. I was poking fun.

I must have gotten lucky because I recently bought the inner and outer seal from Z store and they both fit perfectly with just the 3m adhesive. the outer seal was the single seal bulb that went all the way around rather than the separate top and two sides they offer like original. I have no issues closing hatch and it lines up almost perfect. It is a tad higher as you can see but no where near enough to not latch.

That's a first. Should be an interesting project. The cam towers have a lot of mystery attached. Nissan says that if they're bad the whole head needs replacing. You probably have read that. Then, of course, there's the "tap the towers while spinning the cam" adjustment method if they're removed. Haven't seen towers from a different head tried. Seems like it should be possible, if the cam spins freely what could go wrong. Too bad they don't have "tower saver" journal inserts. Maybe you could make some.

Well here's where I'm at. I cut the shaft; drilled, tapped, faced off the ends; made a spacer from some scrap; and used a short section of all thread to piece it all together. This increased the length by 0.29 inches. I'll need to weld the stack in a couple spots to withstand the torque. I'll then weld the regulator back together. If all works well, I have a second one to do. Thank you all for the input.

I'm pretty sure it was but looking back at my records it was actually purchased late 21 not this year but I just got around to replacing it due to a back surgery. Maybe they have changed the mold or something to make them slightly different? This was the part number for outer https://www.thezstore.com/product/5487/rear-deck-outer-weatherstrip-one-piece-top-sides-70-78-240z-260z-280z-coupe and this was the inner https://www.thezstore.com/product/5735/reproduction-rear-deck-inner-weatherstrip-70-78-240z-260z-280z-coupe I bought this car in early 21 and the PO had fubar'd lots of stuff I'm just getting to. To be honest I didn't note the hatch being off line a tad before I replaced this so maybe he also had a precision and somehow shimmed the hinges to accommodate. When I replaced my seals I didn't take the hatch or hinges off since it was only me and my recent surgery wouldn't allow for that much weight.

Apologies - I missed the clarification. Volvo only gives those two points. I'll put the one I have in heated water with a thermometer & get some other measurements over the next day or so.

That aluminum chunk is probably molded onto the splined shaft. And if that's the case, I don't think you would be able to get that shaft out without destroying the aluminum portion. There's probably a feature built into that steel shaft to insure that those two pieces rotate as one. Maybe some splines buried down in there or a square cross sectioned area or something. Cross pin. Something. So I still think the extendo collar is the first thing I would try. Either welded or set-screwed into place.

I'm really confused... You said "I love this method of de-rusting: gets into all the places I can’t with a brush!" But then you found all that rust inside!! I though it got into all the places??? Sorry, but I'm lost.

I'm actually working on some horns right now, too. I'm shooting video of it, so maybe it will help someone in the future. Anyway, I see 3 main areas for problems. The rivet holding the positive terminal isn't making good electrical contact through the horn body from the tab on the outside to the coil wire. The contacts between the negative side of the coil and the body of the horn are carboned up. I used a strip of 1000 grit sandpaper folded in half, worked it between the contacts, and pulled it through. The bar on the diaphragm that opens the contacts isn't adjusted properly, so it doesn't open the contacts. You call tell this in a test if you feel the diaphragm pull in when you apply voltage to the horn.

Definitely a table, make sure you also install the SS trim as well before installing in the hatch.

Is a plain old 1972 240Z with a G Nose (of questionable origin), a nice paint job, and an odd "sun roof" worth $40,000? I thought the guy did really well. The 72 alone was probably worth $25,000. That's a $15,000 premium for the three additions. Hard to figure where the additional value comes from beyond that. It's a nice-looking shell on an old 72 with a 5 speed, right? I wonder what his reserve was. The Z collector world is a strange place. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1972-datsun-240z-287/

I am sure most have noticed BaT uses the same template for every S30 Z car. Just changes some things up for the current car and leaves the rest as before. He better let me review the write up for my car before it gets published. When I list it. Don't want any boiler plate Ad.

Some background character referencing: Here's a comment that - apparently - didn't last long before being deleted from the Bring A Trailer thread in question: There is a new comment on the post "1972 Datsun 240Z G-Nose Conversion 5-Speed". https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1972-datsun-240z-287/ Author: Rodeo Comment: Here's a fun fact. <a href="https://bringatrailer.com/member/the240zguild/" rel="ugc">@The240zGuild</a> is owned and operated by a convicted felon. In his prior life, he was ripping off Volvo enthusiasts "selling" them non-existent custom parts. He got a multi-year a suspended sentence that he is still serving to this day. The victims never got their money back. Now he's ripping off the 240Z crowd. I know because he ripped me off. That's when I found out he has hundreds of thousands of dollars of judgments against him, some years and years old. So if he rips you off, get in a very long line. You'll never get paid. This is a public service announcement. If you are suspicious email me at srodio at rodiobrown dot com and I'll send you the info. See all comments on this post here: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1972-datsun-240z-287/#comments

I think the seller of the ex-Larry Steppe/The 240Z Guild fantasy-in-red car has hit a metaphorical home run: "Men who will bid the amount needed to win this "Auction" do not need education". Ha ha ha ha ha. HA HA HA HA HA! That's right up there with some of the most unintentionally hilarious comments I've ever seen on BAT. Who is this guy? He should run for President of something or other. He's got my vote. On the other hand, he's probably right. Anyone who bids what this clown probably expects to net from this dog's dinner of a car will be in need of counselling, not education. A Mention In Despatches to BAT commenter 'Schroeder' who is fighting the good fight whilst so far - amazingly - dodging the incoming 'Not Constructive' deletion fire. Let's hope his piano has avoided any damage too.

That prediction of automatic trans cars starting to go up in price looks like it may be coming true.

If it is noisy inside it will at least drown out the cries of dismay from anybody with good taste who is unfortunate enough to encounter it. This car used to be part of the 'Larry Steppe' collection which seemed to be in some sort of curious arrangement of elastic ownership with 'The 240Z Guild'. I note 'The 240Z Guild' has said that the car changed hands before this BAT auction, but I'd take that with a very large pinch of Sodium Chloride. What a munter it is. The overfenders appear to have been fitted in the dark and George Foreman probably doesn't want that dinky little grill(e) back now. Had a chuckle at the tall claim that the 'G' nose on the car was sourced from a Japanese police car, although plenty of people will probably swallow that one whole.

Wanted to close this out with a final pic of the results. Taken in pretty much full sun so has a little reflection on it but I'm super happy with results. Even took the opportunity to get the right push rivets (realized after the initial install the PO had used interior ones) and I refreshed the metal clips on the bottom.

It's been off the road for a while. I think I see a 94.

That comment was in reference to the generic "exceptional investment opportunity for collectors" sales fluff that they all seem to trot out. When (and if) the new owner - or any future 'investor'/'collector' - check the car out thoroughly they will probably be in for a few surprises. What concerns me is - for example - a 1970 production-dated car being sold as a 1969 production-dated car (with, I'm convinced, some perceived value added for that 1969 cachet) and it being described as having the correct R192 differential when it arrived in the UK from Japan with an R180 in its place and it left the UK that way. There are many, many other examples. A simple Google search of the chassis number brings up a fair amount of past discussion of the car. If I was intending to fork out that kind of money for a rare car I think I'd do a little Due Diligence first. They could buy a much better car from Japan - without the irreversible issues and question marks - for not much more than they just paid.

So pointing out that the Mecum description for 'PS30-00105' is effectively a pack of lies is "missing the point" then? Call me old fashioned, but I still expect an auction to get what they put in writing right. What they hide, and what they don't know, is part of the game. Lies, not. @ "armchair experts". This thread is a veritable parking lot full of deep-buttoned silk velvet upholstered wingback armchairs. That's what we do. That's what classiczcars.com exists for. Who else is going to do it? The poorly-informed, portfolio-building-and-bailing-out-at-the-right-time-investors who bought something because their 'advisor' told them it was cool won't do it. They don't know sh*t from putty. What do you classify yourself as then, Tonto?

Check, check and check, all the oil passages are flowing well with brake cleaner and compressed air, made up some new gaskets for the distribution blocks on the spray bar, even polished the cam tower hold down bolts( oil going to the spray bar has to flow around the outside of the those bolts to get where it is going) ATM, all fingers are pointing to the cam towers and too much clearance for the cam bearings.