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I've been very lucky on many fronts in my life. My luck started with being born in this country and continued through being born into my family. However, for this screed I'll stick to the Z world. I started getting paid, $125.00/week, to be a mechanic at a dealer in 1970, talk about luck. I very quickly realized that paying close attention/noticing things were important aspects to becoming successful at my craft. When I opened my now closed shop in 1980 a trickle of unmodified original owner Z cars started to flow through, talk about luck. It didn't take me long to understand the importance of documenting as many details as possible. The results of my appreciation are a large stack of photos of the many fine details of 240/260/280 construction. I also have many sloppy pages of notes describing the fine points of construction and differences between model years. My goodness, I even have several pages of notes describing, in detail, the fasteners used to secure a 240 timing chain cover for production date X. Every time a serious customer approached me for a restoration I would ask, in detail, exactly what he/she wanted the finished product to look like. Before they had a chance to answer I would describe what an original Z looked like from the factory and I'd often show them a few pictures from my collection. The answer was always not just no but HELL NO! They wanted pretty. What does pretty mean? Modern, often 2 stage, paint that has been wet sanded and buffed to near perfection. Powder coated suspension and all the other bits and pieces of modern restoration required to satisfy a customer. To see 2 of my last 3 Z car restorations visit my site and click on Customer Profiles. When a 240 left the factory there was orange peel in the paint in random places. Have to mention that this particular problem improved markedly in about 1975 or so. However, there was often a serious problem with the clear coat discoloring when 2 stage paint was used starting about the same time. The paint on the bottom was applied very unevenly and often contained dirt in random places. Most of the grommets that were glued in place had glue running down from the grommet. The suspension pieces were painted a sloppy and uneven satin black. There was overspray on some of the exterior engine components that were in proximity to the engine block. The list goes on from there. Please don't misunderstand me, I'm not criticizing Datsun, that was the way cars were often manufactured back in the Olden Days. I can all but guarantee that if a real factory-like restored Z showed up at a convention a trophy would not be forth coming. Now to address the hyperbole that has crept into the world of Z restoration. "Frame -off Restoration", "Rotisserie Restoration", "Factory Restoration", etc., etc., etc. There are some new ones now like "Magnificent" and so forth. The situation is often made worse with fancy photography and lighting. This is what happens when marketing geniuses get involved. Remember the Z Store Program? H@#$, now I'm often confused and don't understand what they're talking about. ALWAYS look at the car you're considering or send someone like me to have a look before making that offer. I understand that I've only lightly covered this subject but there you have it for better or worse.

'Make damn sure your sparks are right before you start messing around with the fuel'. Butch Bohunk, Master Mechanic, Finzio's Sincair Service

Hi guys, this week i sold my 240z! It needed a good service as the engine leaked some oil, the body needed some work and.. i don't have the energy to work on it i will now concentrate on the engineroom of the 280zx i had restored in the past years.. I kept my self made mahogany steeringwheel and gave the new owner the rear wheel arches that i had stored on my attic with the car and some other nice parts to make an nice driver car for every day. As you can see in this pic the car has glassfiber rear arches and they are not original. As i said, i will now with some help of a friend, going to work on my almost ready 280zx! He also helped to get the lighting ready in my carport as he is a electrician as i am also! I finished also the air to air heat pump in my garage, so we can work on the 280zx coming winter. It was a bit difficult to let the 240z go but i had it for 27 years, and drove it for 25 years! It was a blast!

In Brief: Paul Taylor is the person that bought HLS30 02545 from Bill Reagan, the person that restored HLS30 02545. Paul then took his Datsun 240Z to a Z Car Club Association (ZCCA) annual convention. There I believe it caught the attention of a company that produced/sold fairly high end Die Cast Models: The Franklin Mint. They talked Paul into allowing them to use his 240Z as the model - for their Die Cast model. Thus it became the Franklin Mint Model. At issue AIR they sold a limited edition for ??? $125.00… Paul’s Z was also invited to the Automobile Hall of Fame’s Ceremony of Mr. Kayatama being inducted to the US Automobile Hall of Fame. Because of #02545 documented history, full restoration and association with Mr. K and the Franklin Mint’s model - It has become a very desirable Collector item.

Update. It's been several months when I posted questions about a soft feeling brake pedal in my 79 zx. I checked the vacuun check valve and found it to be defective. I didn't even use my vacuum test equipment but instead just removed it and blew and sucked through it and knew it wasn't holding vacuum. I replaced it and now have very good, stock brakes again.

@Yarb

I plugged mine off but it doesn't get very cold down here. Less chances off leaking, losing coolant was my main reason. Lots of info in these threads... https://www.google.com/search?q=plugging+water+to+carbs+240z+classiczcars.com&sca_esv=77dc914585b7f4b2&rlz=1C1VDKB_enUS1121US1121&ei=1oETafjINaKHp84P-LudoAw&ved=0ahUKEwj4i8S_3uqQAxWiw8kDHfhdB8QQ4dUDCBM&oq=plugging+water+to+carbs+240z+classiczcars.com&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiLXBsdWdnaW5nIHdhdGVyIHRvIGNhcmJzIDI0MHogY2xhc3NpY3pjYXJzLmNvbTIFEAAY7wUyCBAAGKIEGIkFMgUQABjvBTIIEAAYgAQYogQyBRAAGO8FSJZBUOkFWKcfcAF4AJABAJgBlgGgAcYIqgEDMC45uAEMyAEA-AEBmAIKoALsCMICDhAAGIAEGLADGIYDGIoFwgILEAAYsAMYogQYiQXCAggQABiwAxjvBcICCxAAGIAEGLADGKIEwgIKECEYoAEYwwQYCsICCBAhGKABGMMEmAMAiAYBkAYIkgcDMS45oAfSHLIHAzAuObgH5wjCBwUwLjguMsgHFA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp

Should have put it on BaT so we could pick it apart!

My vote is that electronic distributer. Do you have an old points style one you could swap back to ?

Here's the Franklin Mint model.

I'm a big fan of having a vacuum gauge on the balance tube (and plugging the emmissions holes). If the engine isn't healthy, it doesn't matter how the carbs are tuned. Compression, Timing, then Carbs. The vaccum gauge is a wonderful tool to see the health of the engine. I

RESTORATION Customer excitedly bursts into my now closed shop "Mike, you've gotta check out my 240 - I just had it restored". This is the same chap that wasted a fair amount of my time a few months ago when I explained the restoration process. At that time his only question was "why does it cost so much". That was followed, almost without taking time to breathe, "I don't wanna do all that"! Anyway, I go outside to check out his beauty only to find that it had recently suffered a rather cheap, glass-in, paint job, a new set of incorrect seat covers complimented with mags that are too wide sporting new tires - clearly not a restoration. The industry recognized definition of a restoration is to first reduce the car to a shell with just enough suspension to roll the car around as required. Next it goes to a stripper who removes all of the paint, undercoating, sound deadener and rust to expose what I call the "sins". Sins are the holes in the body that resulted from the rust being removed by the stripping process and or repairs done to the body in the past that, in most cases, were poorly executed. Yes, one may strip the body by applying paint stripper and scraping the layers of old paint off but this takes way too much time and doesn't expose all of the sins. Of course, the chap doing the stripping MUST know his craft and apply the correct media otherwise there could be problems no one wants or needs. The pictured 510 wagon went through the stripping process using 2 different types of media. The fellow who did the job is very experienced and knows his craft. Many, many years ago I restored a 74.5 260 and an 82 ZX which were both stripped using plastic media. I was very happy with the results but plastic seems to have fallen out of favor as I couldn't find anyone to do the 510 with plastic. The next step is body and paint. The body shell may be mounted on a a rotisserie which could make working on the body shell easier - each case is different. All of the unacceptable sheet metal is replaced with new metal which is carefully, and hopefully, done in a way to replicate the original process. Major ripples, dents and or unevenness are treated with hammers/dollies or rivets and pullers. Bondo or plastic filler is used to smooth out minor imperfections. Now we're ready for the paint booth. Interesting to note - about 90% of the dirt that finds its way onto new paint jobs comes off of the painter. Most painters now use a one time use suit and hood. While the car is making its way through the body and paint shop is when all of the stuff you removed to reduce the car to a shell gets the business. Engine and trans rebuild, heater restoration, gauge restoration/repair, fastener replating, suspension powder coating, seat rebuilding, etc. Yes, the list is much longer than I've outlined but each system needs to be addressed and now is the best time to do it. Now is NOT the time to say "well it just costs too much to address X. NO, now is the time. Just got a VERY important call so I'll finish later.

How about the old standard of mixed up firing order? Just watched a pro do that. It happens.

I happen to have a complete E30 head that I have never been able to sell, quite a niche market for sure. I’m in Western Canada, send me a PM if you want to discuss getting it to you.

That is NOT factory. It looks painted or perhaps sprayed on...and appears thick in some locations. Very difficult to tell what it may be from the picture so this is a big huge wild guess...I'd say it is rust inhibitor of some sort (think POR15, Rustoleum, etc.) and if that is the case you no doubt have rust under it.

Too dark, black really. I looked again of my pix of the Franklin Mint manifold above and the true, not light distorted, color is at the extreme ends.

Yes, take it a lock smith. If the core can be removed from the cylinder it isn't that difficult to make a key. Key blanks are common. I can't recall if the core is wafers or pins. Come to think of it, it's a double cut key, so it would be a wafer lock. To remove the core from the cylinder without a key, not a big deal to pick the lock. I have no idea what a lock smith would charge, but it's not a big deal. When I closed my business I kept all the key blanks, I probably have what you need. Jim

Shame you had to get rid of the 240z but glad to see the 280zx getting some more attention. I just ordered some parts from the US and will try to fix my 280z over the coming winter. I will definitely come visit you this spring with my 280z!

Sorry about that but I HAD to take that call. Every part on that car will pass through the hands of the restorer so why not do it correctly. So many times I've casually helped an owner who's doing a lot of the work himself and he'll often put an incorrect finish on a part or subassembly or use an incorrect part. His reply to my comment about the mistake he made or is planning to make is "well, I never plan to put it in a show". WRONG, every time he takes it out it's in a show. OK, what about cost? In the world of today, and it doesn't make a bit of difference what the marque is, it starts @ 80K. Yes, I said 80K. It will very quickly go up from there if rust is prevalent. "But Mike, I just talked to a body shop who quoted me 25K for the works". Be careful, very careful. Another important issue in the case of Zs is parts. Expect to pay a TON for that rare gem you found after shaking the bushes for a while. Last week I had a chat with a Z owner who recently sold an NOS 240 air injection manifold for 2K. Restoration is not for the weak of heart. Next installment "Factory Restoration", "Just off the boat restoration", etc. How to cut through the hype/marketing.

About rust free section from a series 1 . Not using this so up for sale. Hard to find a clean section like this . I’ll ship anywhere 200$ Email Sfinnerty1018@gmail.com

@Terrapin Z - you have a PM! @kickstand80 - you have an email.

It is a thermostatic switch to close off the manifold coolant line (the tube across the manifolds). A remedy for over heating the fuel, that did not function well. IMHO

Another reason to look @ a car before bidding/purchasing

SX

Maybe try one of these cheap plug testers. At least you could visibly see spark getting to the plug and rule out ignition. What do the plugs look like? https://www.harborfreight.com/90-in-line-spark-checker-63593.html?hftm_sc=532&hftm_source=google&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=21901271210&campaignid=21901271210&utm_content=171677806542&adsetid=171677806542&product=63593&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21901271210&gbraid=0AAAAADAHb4cCWCcSJ4qCMytUVmlv7v7bX&gclid=CjwKCAiAlMHIBhAcEiwAZhZBUlzpLzH9TR7YSC9i3f7bzmYEm7gw-Ai3uRRfne-Qjhh-zYy0O4G-khoCpwwQAvD_BwE

Disconnect at the manifold/header exit and run your borescope up that way. That distributor looks like just a magnetic pickup distributor, that uses an external ignition module. But your exhaust blockage sounds reasonable. Good luck. Post pictures.

Your compression test would seem to rule out anything mechanical in cylinders one and two. And yes, front carb supplies all three front cylinders, so I would not suspect a "no fuel" issue. How confident are you that the carbs idle settings for the carbs are where they should be - so both carbs flow the same amount at idle? And, when revving? Spark plugs can be dead right out of the box. I'd move plugs around and move plug leads around with them. I'd try swapping known good, perhaps from six to one and from four to two and vice versa. I think a Z engine will have a very hard time running if it has two totally dead cylinders. They may be intermittently firing a bit. So, new plug wires, new plugs, and new distributor cap?

Probably not your issue, but thought I would share. I had an issue with my white Z where it ran great driving to a show 20 miles away and then horribly on the return drive. Cylinders 2 and 3 were bad. I was convinced it was fuel and wasted a couple hours rebuilding and then replacing the front float bowl shut off valve. Eventually I took off the valve cover and saw that the #2 and #3 valve rocker arms had 'relocated'. The end that was supposed to depress the intake valves was no longer touching the valve. Long story short, took the head to the machine shop and was told the valve stems were all gummed up from running old/bad gas. Sadly, I do not drive the cars enough. Anyway, put it all back together and it runs great now. Machine shop cleaned all the valves and guides. Fortunately, no damage was caused to anything except for my wallet. You can see the two valve 'nicks' on cylinders 2 and 3 in the pic.

Correct firing order? 1-5-3-6-2-4 CCW?

Do they have good grounds? Have you tried to bench test them?

I think that I saw that or something similar on PBS or one of those channels. It was more focused on the main guy with the mustache. Rick Hall. Pretty fascinating show. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Hall

I'd just cut the pans out and clean up whatever is left on the edges using dry ice or heat and a scraper.

Eh, sorry but who is Paul Taylor, i only know Tim de toolman Taylor.. 🤣🤣

BOT!

One of them is incorrect for the diff then. That's just the way they were built. You can see it in the eBay picture and in the illustrations. One is longer than the other. That's why you get the same result when you swap them. Because yours are the same length when they shouldn't be. If you bought the diff used it might be that the seller popped the axles out for storage and gave you a mismatched set by accident. I used to have several R200's and I stored them with the axles removed sometimes. Anyway, in short...your stub axles should be of two lengths, not one. Good luck.

Pre-Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac.

Nov 1971 Mid-1972

I'd say more like 1971, if not even early 1972. Most of those drivers were assembled for a similar shoot with the photos published in 'Auto Sport Young' (a special edition of Auto Sport magazine) in early March 1971, and the difference in hairstyle/length is noticeable. They were pretty much all following a trend for longer hair at the time and I reckon your photo was taken later than that shoot.

Thanks again Alan! I am guessing it was taken near the end of the first S30 racing season in Q4 of 1970. Would you have any insight? Here is the 2nd Revision. I can add more annotations or make corrections in the future if needed.

After a discussion arising from a recent thread, I took a closer look into the question of 'The first Z pace car'. That is to say, the first S30-series Z car to be used for 'Pace Car' duties in a race event worldwide. I have been encouraged to post this information here on the site for all to see, so here goes: The first instance of use that I can back up with solid documentary evidence, data and pictures is at the 'Race De Nippon' event - held on 12th April 1970 at FISCO ( Fuji Speedway ) in Japan. This 6-hour race included 'TS-II', 'TS-III' and 'GTS' classes, with two SCCN ( Nissan's works team ) Fairlady Z432-R cars entered in the GTS class. Car no.1 was crewed by aces Hasemi and Kitano, and car no.2 was crewed by Teranishi and Yokoyama. The main challenge to the two Z cars for overall victory was to come from a gaggle of Skyline GT-Rs in the TS-III class, a brace of very hot Mazda rotary coupes also in TS-III and a couple of quick Isuzu Bellett GT-Rs running in TS-II. Several Fairlady SRs were running head-to-head with the 432-Rs in the GTS class, and as these were pretty much at the end of their development period they would have been well-sorted and still fairly quick. The no.1 432-R of Hasemi and Kitano took the overall and GTS class class win - covering 959km over the 6 hours, with Skyline GT-Rs following home in second and third positions. One of the Mazdas came in fourth. This was the worldwide first ever race win for the S30-series Z car....... A pace car was deployed more than once during the race, and it is this car that is the subject of this thread. It was a Fairlady Z432, and was actually one of the cars that was part of the Nissan Racing School fleet - which was based at FISCO. For this event, JAF ( the Japanese Automobile Federation ) 'borrowed' the car from the Nissan Racing School, and used SCCN race team driver Yasunori Toshimori as the Pace Car driver - accompanied by a JAF official in contact with the Race Controller by radio. As one of the cars in the Nissan Racing School fleet, the 432 was prepared for fast circuit use - with many of Nissan's own 'Sports Option' list and Works parts fitted to it. It would certainly have been able to keep up a reasonable speed on the circuit, especially with Toshimori driving. Below are pics of the car in question. First pic is of the car being used in the race after an incident. Second is the same car in its Nissan Racing School livery. Third is a nice illustration of the same car in some Nissan Racing School publicity, and the fourth pic is a portrait photo of SCCN team driver Yasunori Fujimori, who drove the Pace Car illustrated. I hope this is of interest to some site members. Alan T.

Still enjoying clean air!!! This really has enhanced my Z driving experience. Windows down and 70mph is a joy. I did also find some small exhaust leaks in my exhaust system around some band clamps, which I removed and welded solid. I think I was smelling this when I was rolling up to a stop. Though my hatch seal still shows leaks using the fog test, they are very minimal and I can't smell them. The remedy there might be an actual Nissan seal;0 So if you are dealing with smells, there is hope. first thing I would check is the hatch panel. Think about it, it's been there for 40 years and very possibly been removed at least once-probably by you---so seal it up!!

Well I'm going to tag on to this older thread because I think Derek had the best idea for trouble shooting this issue. I had actually bought a fog machine over a year ago when they were cheap(after the hallowen holiday). It really is a cheap, fast clean way to diagnose the exhaust fumes. I tried the "suck" method first, but it left too much to question. Inside the car with not much room to move around and it being dark, it was too hard to tell where the fumes originated from. Now the "blow" method was much better. It really only takes a couple of minutes to set things up and start trouble shooting. What I found and yet to be fixed, is that I have a lot of air moving thru the latch assembly. It looked like a steam engine coming out of there. Perfect spot to suck up those swirling fumes around the back. I haven't finished examining everything yet, but the only way fumes have access thru this point is by leaking around the vinyl panel on the hatch. The low pressure in the cabin must be sucking air around this panel(which is NOT air tight-mine anyway) and thru the hatch assembly. It would seem to me that the easiest fix here would be to seal the hatch panel by sealing some plastic sheet behind it-agree? I also noticed smoke around the left tail light , where some previous bodywork was done. Also noticed a lot of smoke out the pillar vents, but I think they are too far from the exhaust to be sucking anything in. I will update as I try to fix these

Hi Gav, In that particular race the 432s were up against the PGC10 4-door GT-Rs ( this was before the debut of the 'K' 2-door ). The weight issue must have helped, but there were races where the Z was beaten by the GT-R overall even though they were racing in different classes. Incidentally - the 4-door GT-R was lighter than the 2-door, which is interesting isn't it? Bambikiller240 & Alfadog, I doubt that this particular car survived its Nissan Racing School career, and I have certainly never heard tell of such a 432 surviving. The only Nissan Racing School Z car to survive as far as I know is the LY-engined 240ZR that NISMO restored a few years back - which is a much later car. Unfortunately it was probably the case that the cars were worked to death and then split for spares or scrapped within just a few years. ChrisA, The emblem that you see on the centre of the grille is the 'SCCN' ( Sports Car Club of Nissan ) steering wheel / leaves / tricolour shield emblem. SCCN was in effect the organisation that the Works team drivers belonged to ( and were employed by ) and which entered the Works cars in the races. The Nissan Racing School was also part of the SCCN organisation, along with the NDC ( Nissan Drivers Club ). The Katakana script around the rim of the steering wheel on their emblem reads "Nissan Sportscar Club" - which does not actually match up with the SCCN acronym...... I am attaching a photo of an SCCN sticker below: MikeW, Don't forget that this particular race was not actually the race debut of the Works cars. You might be more impressed to hear that the race debut of the Z car was on 18th January 1970 - in the "All Japan Suzuka 300km" race. SCCN works driver Moto Kitano was leading the race in his 432R until he was hit broadside by another car - destroying the first Works 432R race car in its first-ever event. 1GENZED, The Nissan Racing School was set up initially to recruit and train drivers to become members of Nissan's race teams. They mainly operated out of Fuji Speedway and Tsukuba Circuit, and the teachers themselves were Works drivers and SCCN team members. This was purely a race driving school, and was not set up to sell Nissan products, or to instruct customers who had bought Nissan cars in how to drive them - so the comparison with Bob Bondurant's school would be a good one. They used many different types of car, ranging from Fairlady roadsters, Sunny Coupes, Skyline GT-Rs, Cedric and Gloria stock cars right up to single seaters. The school was still running until recently - so they would have used many many cars over the years. See the photo below of an early Nissan Racing School 'starter pack' of text book, FISCO course map and Nissan Racing School sticker. Alan T.