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Hi, this old thread still needs update! Thank you dspillman, your beautiful HLS30-00051 showing some interesting facts. I have been talking about dents on the floor with Chris in Netherlands(S30WORLD), he has tremendous experiences of early cars. He taught me the difference. Really early cars have dents upward! I see the dents on the rear floor of HLS30-00051 were pushed upward from underneath of the floor. On the other hand, PS30-00028, 00047 have the dents pushed downward like later cars. I came to conclusion that Z432 was not many in October 1969. Total 72 Z432 including some Z432R were made in 1969. Most of them must have been made in November and December 1969. Remember the volume of production for export 240Z in December significantly lower than previous month. Probably the test reports from the US&Canada might have affected it. When the line workers suddenly became had nothing to do, they might have found ‘it’s time to make domestic S30 cars!’ So now I am clear why PS30-00028 has the bracket for the master vac hose unlike other really low chassis number cars. I guess it like this, S30-00028 & HLS30-00028 must have been made in October 1969.(can’t tell which one is earlier though) PS30-00028 must have been made in November or December 1969. HS30-00028 must have been made in middle of 1970. This is so interesting to me! I am still thrilled finding and learning new things here, thank you everyone! Kats PS, Mr.Miyazaki (engineer of development team of S30) said that difference seen on the dents might have been related that transition of the huge metal press machine occurred in Nissan. Mr.Miyazaki said ‘First, Nissan pressed the steel panels for S30 cars, soon they let Nissan Shatai pressed the steel panels. The press machine of Nissan was a lot huge than the one in Nissan Shatai. I can’t remember when but the transition was made in really early days’

I can confirm that my 240Z that was restored by Motorman7 did win Best Exterior at the 2023 ZCON in Ontario. I also did have Miguel do single stage paint, as I wanted it restored to the way it was when I drove it off the dealer's lot, which Motorman7's restoration achieved spectacularly. For the 2023 ZCON in Ontario, I did have it professionally polished (regular wax, not ceramic) before the show. The judges also seemed impressed with the condition of the undercarriage, which was Motorman7's work. (photo attached) It was that undercarriage that caused me to start down the rabbit hole of show competitions. Got 1st Place Stock at the 2021 ZCON in Colorado Springs, and 1st in Class at the 2022 Hillsborough Concours d;Elegance, but now the wife is complaining about her cleaning duties at these events... 😁 So it time to turn it back into a daily driver. Maybe turn it into something like the modded Z in the attached photo? 😆

I know this is ancient history but I have a 240 build sheet which I can post a picture of - that is if anyone is interested.

Yes, thanks for the info. I really appreciate it. Like most things with these cars at this point in time, the cost can vary wildly from shop to shop, and it depends on the actual work performed, obviously. My car was about as rust free as you can find, but even so, I found rust damage I wouldn't want to leave unaddressed inside the rear most part of the rocker panels where the quarter panel folds over. For the car you are doing now, I'd recommend putting a scope inside there and checking that area out, if you don't already have plans to open that area up.

Yes, this is always a big question. Previous paint and body work has ranged from $13k to $30k and is pretty much dependent on the amount of body work required. The $13k job did not require extensive body work, whereas the $30k had new floor pans and a number of other patch panels welded in. So I use this as a guideline. Based on the condition of the body, I can estimate what the cost will be within that range. Typically we are just paying for labor and materials versus a set price. Also, my previous body guy would not give me an estimate until the car had been sandblasted. You never know what you will find under there. Regarding paint quality, my San Diego guy was one of the best. If I am not mistaken, @jayhawk received an award at 2023 ZCON for Best Exterior at the show. I think his work on 'The Orange' was even better....like liquid glass. He really is an artist. All paint work was 2-stage paint, color sanded and polished. That being said, the paint on this one will most likely be a little different (need to confirm with owner). As we are going for the as close to original as possible, this paint will be a single stage where I will just do a single final polish with minimal color sand as needed to replicate the original finish. I did this same finish on the orange Z that I previously owned. This finish should save us a couple thousand as there will not be a full color sand. Also, I typically work as the overseer, coordinator and quality control for the paint shop. The customer pays the shop directly. I do seem to notice a bit lower labor rate here in Boise which should help withcost. All things considered, I honestly have no idea what the final cost will be. My best guess is $25k +/- $3k. I am hoping to come under that, but will know more after the sand blast. Hope that helps.

That's not so surprising really for the top-of-the-range 432 and the race-oriented 432-R. Both were specialised/limited market variants with lower expectation for sales volume. When you think about it, 72 cars would have been quite a lot for initial sales and for dealer requirements in late 1969 and very early 1970. I'm still not clear as to which particular 'problems' uncovered on the 'Kaku U' trips could have been serious enough to halt or slow down production specifically of the Export /HLS30 variants, but not the Domestic variants. I don't think it was the L24 crankshaft counterweight issue as that took well into 1970 production to remedy. Uemura san's 'snagging' list doesn't seem to mention anything I can see as serious enough to halt production. Most of the items in his list are fairly trivial and would apply to other variants too. If you remember Kats, I was present when Miyazaki san was telling us that. I think I pointed out that the indentations (they are location markers for brackets and other fixtures that will be added to the pressed panel at a later stage) would either be part of the press tooling for the whole panel (in which case they would be very difficult to change) or they would be pressed into the panel on another - separate - press tool (in which case they would be easier to change). I can imagine - having been involved in the manufacture of press and mould tooling in my youth - that changes to large press tooling is something that a factory will try to avoid if at all possible (not least due to down time) but if the location marker indentations were made on separate, second stage presses then the tooling would be easier to modify. Pressing the indentations from a different side of the panel must surely have required changes to press tooling and I wonder if the use of different press machinery (at Nissan Shatai rather than Nissan Honsha?) was the reason for the switch? I can imagine (yes, I'm doing quite a lot of imagining here...) that the guys running the press shop at Nissan Shatai might have had their own opinions and techniques and could see a way to improve/speed up the process. Just about every good engineer I've worked with has seen a way to improve on somebody else's work! Same goes for Barbers, Tailors and Builders...

I would just warn you to only work on one section at a time, finish the battery area then move on to one of the floor pans with the other intact. Finish the second floor pan then move to one of the rockers. Yes, remove the doors.

So... how will it work? You just hand them over the car with all sheet metal assembled and they take it from there? Are you given a ball park figure up front? Or, do they give you an hourly labor rate and then just update you as they go? I was trying to get my paint job (consisting of maybe 40 hours of labor plus spraying base and clear) done for less than $6k. Even though I put more than 2500 hours in, I failed miserably, as the price tag was more than $14k. I have several cars that need paint and am genuinely interested in the ball park figure you think you are looking at here.

Interior shots, decent coverage, minimal trash. Maybe too shining?

Yes, guess I should have thought about that. I am happy though that we will have people familiar with the cars doing the work.

Good question. I asked Jim Frederick the same question because I have an early 71 also. He said if it’s got an early (monkey motion) transmission, it had D hubcaps. Mine has early transmission, angular half shafts, early ash tray etc. No vents in the tailgate and no 240Z on the back roof vents, but if he’s correct, it came with D hubcaps. Anyone agree or disagree?

Such a dark green in contrast with thick undercoating from before. Looks much darker then anticipated, but poor lighting I believe is causing darkness…. Have a few places to touch up, maybe another coat or two, couple of runs, couple of trashy spots in the paint to sand out and re-shoot…. Still spectacular in my book…. Not perfect by any means… but sweet to see the bottom side in color.!!

Ready set ….. let’s shoot!! underside paint only ,engine compartment, then inside, mount, line up doors,hood, hatch.

Seat brackets appear to be hand painted, wavy lines, thick black gloss? Brushed, but no bristle lines…..?? No overspray . This is in 3/70 car , I’m hoping same paint pattern applies to August/september 69 car. Plans are to do paint only on underside of car. Will evaluate cosmetics once paint dries….. David