Leaderboard

Courtesy Parts Online is alive and well... just moving to a different address. I stopped by this morning to check on our friends, had a nice visit with David House. With a decline in online orders over the past year, the old site managed by a 3rd party was no longer cost effective. It is business as usual at this Nissan-managed site: https://parts.courtesynissan.com/ And... Courtesy is no longer a part of Group 1 Auto, ownership has changed to Clay Cooley.

Today, I received some items I won from auctions in Japan. I use a third party, Jauce.com, to assist with the logistics. They handle receiving items... holding them until all are ready to export, and then packaging and sending them to me. There are many fees. There are bank fees when depositing funds. There are auction fees when you win. There are tax fees. There is shipping from the seller to the Jauce warehouse. There is the cost of shipping to the US. With all the fees and shipping, it can be difficult to determine whether what you paid was a good price. I thought it would be interesting to share a bit about my experience with purchasing and importing these items. The steering wheel is a "Nissan competition replica" - this one is wood vs. others available which are vinyl. I also got several genuine Nissan parts including a front set of front bumper rubber strips (the horizontal ones), a set of matching rear bumper strips, an ignition switch, a couple of window cranks, a horn pad for the steering wheel, and a clutch slave cylinder reservoir. Apparently someone made a batch of these replica steering wheels a while back, and you can still find them available in a few places. Generally speaking, without the horn button, you're looking at a minimum of $389 here in the US. Pair of genuine Nissan front bumper rubber strips are discontinued and no longer available - $200.84 with free shipping from eBay Pair of genuine Nissan rear rubber strips (the horizontal ones) $145 and $17 shipping from eBay and $66.51 plus shipping each from NissanPartsDeal.com Original Kanto Seiki ignition switch is available on eBay for $398 plus $19 shipping Set of two genuine Nissan window cranks $46.85 ($93.70 for two) currently, though they go on sale for about 15% off from time to time) plus shipping from NissanPartsDeal.com A genuine Nissan horn pad for a stock steering wheel - $310 on eBay and $269 plus shipping from NissanPartsDeal.com (but not currently available) A genuine Nissan clutch slave cylinder reservoir (old type) which is discontinued and no longer available Adding in all the fees and allocating the final shipping to the US. proportionately per item with the final auction price with fees included, here is what I actually paid: Replica steering wheel - $320.69 Pair of genuine Nissan front bumper rubber strips (NLA) - $96.46 Pair of genuine Nissan rear rubber strips - $109.77 Original Kanto Seiki ignition switch - $145.93 Set of two genuine Nissan window cranks - $63.16 A genuine Nissan horn pad for a stock steering wheel - $193.49 A genuine Nissan clutch slave cylinder reservoir - $21.30 A dollar buys a lot of yen these days, historically speaking, as can be seen from the graph below. The exchange rate is pretty much what it was back in about 1987. Something to consider!

The guys at the original Courtesy said that they were working on an improved site. Looks like they finally got it done. It looks very nice. You can go directly to your vehicle and find parts. It's better than MSA's wb site. Very well done.

Agree with Mr [mention=22019]Patcon[/mention] - the factory location on my 260z (just behind the seats on the sides with tiny speakers) isn’t great for sound. Let alone anything in the luggage area behind strut towers! BUT, this little baby (USW10) under the passenger seat transformed things to an “acceptable” standard. The sub volume controller is hidden under the ashtray and very useful to have for easy tweaking. Shockingly great bass from such a little thing! Incidentally, I refuse to put more holes into my car than the factory did, so I used industrial Velcro to hold it down. A total no no for sub woofer mounting, but it works exceptionally well and didn’t have a detrimental affect. https://amzn.eu/d/4M8AstJ Then having gone through the effort, I found myself just listening to the engine [emoji14] Seriously though, in my experience as a car audio-holic in my younger days, what I’ve found is that with speakers, the “cavity” and its solidity / sealing was everything when it comes to decent bass and some mid range. In a car environment it’s hard to beat a decent (and discrete) pair of 2 way speakers at the front with separate tweeters up high - ideally at dashboard top height but maybe at visor height in a Z to keep things looking clean? Finally, MLV sound deadening is vital on the car panels behind / around the speakers - especially if open cavity. My high end 6x9s on a custom heavy arse shelf sounded amazing in one car. But the same set up transferred into a hot-hatch French car with panels made of Cornflake packets sounded like $10 speakers. The paper thin panels just absorbed everything but treble!

Doing great work there - hang tough buddy, you’re making progress. It’s great to see you taking the time and giving it the proper attention it needs. This is why I didn’t take mine to a “specialist”. They would in no way give the time and attention you have to get it absolutely spot on. This will pay dividends down the road - literally! ;) When I was playing with mine, I was using throttle body / carb cleaner to get the paint off, then wiping down with microfibre cloth. I agree, WD40 may be causing you some additional fun. Not sure if this is helpful but the buddy doing my R200 received shims yesterday from the Zcardepot in Nissan packaging. They appear to be very decent quality - albeit a very different size to that which you require. Is it worth tapping them up for your shims to see if they have the size you need and comparing with the ones you have? We spent £43GBP postage - at least you have the luxury of paying a lot less. I felt like holding them in my hand and exclaiming: “my precious”!!!!!

I was planning on using their whole set...

This popped up this morning. I've noticed that there aren't many Datsuns ending up in the local wrecking yards anymore. This one looks like it might still have the drive train. The whole car might even be saveable! https://row52.com/Vehicle/Index/JN1HZ04S3BX405996

Holey-moley.

Thanks for the tip, 240dkw! Replaced the newly replaced condenser (no markings on where it was made, purchased from NAPA) with a Delco condenser (made in Mexico) and she started right up. Still going to install the Pertronix ignition once it's delivered. Will be interesting to see the difference between the two setups.

The biggest disadvantage to using your garage as a paint booth is all the trash that ends up on the clear coat, it doesn't matter how clean I blow the shop out, cover up stuff with plastic or soak the floor down. I don't paint often enough to lay down a clear coat like glass like some guys, mine are always covered with orange peel anyway so I guess some trash isn't too bad a price to pay. Like it or not the clear has to be sanded, I tried to start with 1500 grit but could see quickly that I would have to go down to 1200. A nib file is the tool to deal with trash and runs. Here is where I have gone over the worst of trash with the nib file. The tear drop at the bottom of run takes a week or more to fully cure, so if you go away at it with a nib file too soon it can pull the paint off as you get down to the bottom of the drop as I have done here. Now I'll have to apply some colour coat to that white spot with a toothpick then cover it with clear and wait another week before I go back and try to work it again. Recommissioned

Another option is a local off-road shop. The ones that support the guys that destroy things every weekend. Or one of the big online shops. https://www.randysworldwide.com/shop/?q=shims&mode=autocomplete

Agreed. Those look pretty much dead soft. (Annealed.) If you dare, you could hit the edge of your original factory shim with the file the same way and see how it compares? I think you could do that and not affect performance. That could give you something to compare against as far as what hardness you are looking for?

Hi, I am always enjoying reading this thread, thank you so much. Today I have a question about an air intake system of those works rally cars. Maybe for Safari cars, not for your car. An old interview with Mr. Namba and Mr. Wakabayashi they said “Our rally cars are designed sucking air from the cabin. It prevents engines from sucking heavy sand dust or water”. Did that mean works rally cars had ducting system on the firewall acting as a corridor between the cabin and the engine room? Was the engine room sealed enough for isolating it from the outside? And they said “when cars need to across the river, mostly a few seconds, cars have to have ability to go through”. It makes me think the huge duralumin under cover would help the cars float a few seconds over the water, wouldn’t it? Kats

I also purchased many braided hoses from Belmetric, great source.

It might be worth shooting this guy an email, https://racingdiffs.com/ I changed my ring and pinion gears on a bmw and bought the diff rebuild kit from him, knowledgeable guy. He may have a lead on the shims you are looking for.

Welp... 😑 I thought maybe I was close to done with the shim issue until tonight. First came some shim testing. Folding one in half... and no spring back whatsoever. Then, I took a small triangular file and made a few strokes with meaning behind them. Even stacked twice as thick .010", four or five strokes was cutting through the shim pretty easily. Subjective... but not great signs based on the guidance. Then, I put the paint on the ring gear to check the wipe pattern. As a reminder, all three side shims are on the right, and backlash is .005". Start: Coast side - contact is at the lower portion of the gear tooth. A closer view and from a different angle of the same: And here is the drive side. Compare with the illustration from the Nissan differential manual: I am beginning to think that moving the pinion shaft toward the ring gear is not equal to moving the ring gear towards the pinion shaft --- as it relates to contact pattern. There is also as possible issue with cleaning the ring gear with WD40 - the paint may not be acting the same way as it was before with the perfectly oil free ring gear. I think my next step will be to remove the pinion gear yet again and take my best guess at additional shim thickness necessary to allow me to get about .004"/.005" backlash with the one left and two right side retainers in their original positions. Also, I am not comfortable with the hardness of these latest shims based on my observations today.

I would go with an MSA style box if sound matters to you at all. The factory location is pretty poor.

When I first started this project, I ordered a couple of plastic panels from Dashtop. Fit was terrible. Total junk. Searched for some good quality used ones with very little results. I just ordered some panels Resurrected classics. Fit was very good and the material nice and flexy. Color is a bit on the grey side compared to what I have as original, so you may want to go with the full set if that is an issue. One of the few aftermarket parts that I have actually been pleased with. According to Max, they are going to adding more stuff in the near future.

My local dealer searches the USA and Canada. Shipping doesn’t cost me anything and they nock 20% off.

Courtesy is probably like most dealerships in that they do not keep seldom ordered parts in their inventory but rely on a warehouse for those items. I think everything I've puchased in the last few years have been warehouse supplied and I use store pickup to avoid shipping charges.

I think it may be a change in business priorities. I met Steve Richardson over 25 years ago. I believed he was the manager of the parts department & Z enthusiast, and that was the hey day of buying Z car parts from them. I noticed the inventory of unique parts faded after he left. Without a champion in the parts department to support the older cars, it can be a tough sell to continue the effort.

I uploaded this manual, hopefully it helps someone.

The hole in the inner corner of the hatch is a drain and needs nothing. Picture of hatch hinges may be of help as my car is a total stock restoration.

So I lied, I ordered a new windshield gasket from Zcardepot. It wasn't a lot of money and I could afford the little bit of lost time. The second one I got was not a "Precision" gasket. I actually like it better. It seems softer and possibly a little larger and the welded corners look really good. So I had a go at the stainless trim again. I bought some tools on Amazon, because who doesn't like new tools! 😉 So this is a windshield trim tool. There are some vintage windshield styles that use a rubber insert to log the glass in. I wasn't sure this tool would have a tip that was large enough for the stainless trim. Cody was helping me here hold the gasket to the glass and keep it in line with the trim I used the Precision gasket lube to make it easier for the edges of the rubber to move around the trim. The gasket isn't quite right in the lower corners yet, but I was thinking the car would force this corner into shape? We got the trim in with one really small nick. It's almost unnoticeable. So hopefully next weekend we will install the glass

Group 24 batteries are standard. That puts the positive terminal under the inspection door where it belongs. Amongst other reasons, I think the most important reason for keeping it this way is that you should pull the negative terminal off the battery any time you are trying to disconnect the battery for replacement, removal, or servicing the electrical system. I won't put a Group 24F battery in my Z cars, especially after I had a mishap from not securing the battery properly. I also suggest getting a battery with a flat top if possible. I'm pretty sure that the stock battery bracket would work better. I will probably test my theory in the next month or so. Batteries Plus carries this Group 24 battery. It's more than the Walmart batteries, but I found the Walmart batteries to be hit or miss when I use my battery testers. One holds up fine after 2.5 years, and the other registers replace now, though it still has enough power to turn the starter and fire the car.

And now, on to something truly specific: Nissan Works Rally lights! This particular topic is sure to be filed by many readers in the "Not really sure why anyone would care, its just a couple of extra lights" category. And yet, I'd venture to say that being able to see where you're going at high speed thru mud, sleet, snow, dirt, and dense forest - in the dark - ranks high up on my list of Rally "must-have" abilities. Like several previous topics, this one has so many surprising details attached to it, that I'll have to break things up into several posts. In addition, this is also one of those areas where advancement was ongoing throughout S30 development, and probably well into the Nissan rallying heyday of the late 70s. I'll be going over the lighting details of my car in my following posts. Prior to that, I thought I'd do my best to introduce the topic with a primer on what I've seen as a "typical" setup. Much of what I'm summarizing here is a generalization based on pictures I've seen, and I'm probably missing a bunch of significant details, which I hope to be able to fill in as I learn more. The basics: All the S30 Works cars that I've seen have the following typical setup; 1) a pair of main headlights mounted in a custom bucket, which facilitated the ability to change the bulb from the front of the car. Monte Carlo spec cars also incorporated standard headlight covers, and a small tube opening connected to an air hose, which ran all the way back to the heater box inside the cabin. I've also seen pictures of very early 1970 Works Cars which also had headlight covers. 2) up to 4 front-facing fog lights, typically in 1 of 3 configurations. Early cars had their fog lights mounted on special brackets which were welded to and extended beyond the front bumper. Later cars had special competition bumpers which allowed the lights to sit flush with the nose. Safari cars had what most enthusiasts would probably list as the "iconic" look - 2 lights on the hood, and one central light, mounted proud of the bumper. There were actually mounting brackets for up to 3 fog lights on the Safari bumper, but I can't say if the wiring harness was actually designed to have all three lights (for a total of 5) installed simultaneously. 3) an additional reverse spotlight. In order to support this many amps, some changes from stock were necessary: 1) A larger alternator, which we've already discussed 2) A way to switch combinations of lights on and off, allowing for multiple setups and configurations, usually in the form of a row of toggles on the central console. 3) A modified wiring harness to accommodate all these possible configurations. In my car, this also included a custom relay. I'd imagine that as the cars were developed, the use of custom relays probably multiplied. In addition, on many cars there is also a dial switch on the central console which, when turned on, introduces something into the lighting circuit via a box on the front of the car. Alan and I have had several discussions about how this switch may actually affect the lighting output, but I'm really still not sure I fully understand how it exactly works, and what it's effect on lighting output is supposed to be, if that is at all what it's for. I previewed this mystery box in an earlier post Here if you want to read more about it. I'll probably also have more to say about it later.