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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.

Last weekend we worked in the shop some Here is a seam in the leather fender covers. I made this with contact adhesive and clamps. I picked the padding out in the seam area so it was just leather to leather. We took Lily down off the cubes. A lot less sketchy than the way I put her up there. Still had to have a 6x6 on the jack saddle at this point Rolled her outside and it promptly rained... My windshield leaks and I will add some sealant under the weatherstripping soon. I also ordered tool covers for behind the seats from Zcardepot. They don't have the hinges. So they may not work for me... Since I don't have the old covers

I should have a lot more updates and pics here as I have finished my summer home projects. Also, I am hoping the body and paint will be finished in the next month or two, so we should see some good progress. I appreciate all of the input here. I am always open to advice and the knowledge of those that have seen and worked on these cars in the past. Personally, I will listen to the panel of experts and then move forward with what seems to be the best direction. Also, as most of you know, I own a pretty much un-restored early 240Z that I grew up with since I was 9 years old (in the family for 55 years) , so I have a nice reference vehicle. That being said, I find it interesting that there seems to be a tendency to hold the ZCON judging in high regard. Personally, I do not have a very high regard for ZCON judges. In reality, many of them have never owned an original Z car or examined one closely. As a result, they make a number of mistakes in their judging, none of which can be contested because you do not receive the judging sheets until several months after the show. One of these days I will start a thread here titled "ZCON Judging Errors" and see who weighs in, in addition to the items I would list. A few examples are the deductions on my early Z for the weld lines on my oil pan. (FYI 0042 has the same weld lines so they will probably mark this off too). Another good example is the Franklin mint car losing points for having the 'Silver zinc' coil holder instead of 'Yellow zinc' holder. I have heard of judges insisting the original brake lines were stainless steel, the rear diff cover was bare aluminum and fuel hoses were not the 'cloth wrap' style. I am sure that I am just hitting a very small portion of the errors as I am only familiar with the cars that I have been involved with and what I can remember off the top of my head. Anyway, just had to rant a bit about the judging issue. Don't even get me started on the non-Z show judging. Regarding the Exhaust manifold finish, that is an interesting discussion. For most of my restorations, I have always consulted Les Cannady at Classic Datsun Motorsports and never questioned his advice (He was just 10 miles down the road) . If I am not mistaken, I think only his shop and Pierre Z were the only shops approved to build the Restoration Z's. Because of that, I have always used the gray powdercoat that he recommended as the default finish. However, given the current discussion and comments, sounds like there are several other options out there that might be more true to form. After looking at a number of different options and comments regarding the color, I am happy with the graphite finish option. Two of the items that lead me in that direction are pics from the Nissan engine service manual and pics of my own motor disassembly that are pictured below. Both pics show a dark cast iron finish, not a light gray finish. So, I am sticking with the graphite and will probably go with that in the future as well. I installed the exhaust manifold and intake assembly to the engine. Pics below. (Also looking for a correct rear engine hoist bracket) I finished up the steering column, and replaced the connector on the turn signal assembly. The main shaft was sanded and re-painted and all the electronics cleaned up. I re-finished the steering wheel that now looks much better, but not sure I will stick with this. The wood finish should be more redish. Problem is that the wood veneer is very thin and I am not sure how much was removed in the restoration attempt from the previous owner. Previously, the nubs on the opposite side were sanded through unfortunately. I will let it be for now, but may revisit it. The center metal portion looks good though. I cleaned up the brake and cluth pedal box. Ready for install. I have no idea what is written on that silver can below.

Too many projects are IMG_2691.movIMG_2691.movdelaying this RHD hs30… Heading to the wetblasting area to determine if anything is left to work with……

I had her up on jack stands and stood about a 12" piece of 6x6 up on the jack and lifted her up. But the block and jack wanted to slide out once she was up high enough. I had to hold the jack in place while someone put the cubes under the tires

I stole this cassette from my step-a s s hole when I was a kid. When cassettes where still off white colored, before the clear ones. I listened to it so much I still know every word to all the songs but this was my favorite.

I had their greatest hits album when I was a kid. In retro my parents were probably concerned.

That rubber glue may be the least of your problems! I've done a Z dash pad restoration, starting with something that had only 25% of the deterioration that yours has. Even at that, it was a time-consuming job. Not only does the pad surface need to be levelled (not easy to get right, given the multiple contours), it's also necessary to 'V' and then feather-edge all of the cracks so that the filler won't crack along the seams. I'll bet it would take you 20 man-hours of effort (or more) to level, edge-treat, fill, sand, and paint a dash pad like yours to a decent level of final finish. But before you even get started down that road, you'll need to convince yourself that what's left of your original pad has enough structural integrity to prevent the pieces from moving around independently when the cabin temperature goes up or down. With its many full-depth cracks, I don't think I would trust your badly broken-up dash pad to meet that requirement. As a litmus test, it would be interesting to know whether a professional dash restorer like Just Dashes would accept your dash for restoration. Maybe you should send a picture and ask them. IMO, your best path forward will be to either: 1) buy a used dash that offers a better starting point for a DIY restoration (as Siteunseen suggests), or; 2) buy one of the replacement dash pads that have recently become available. In the latter case, you unbolt the old pad from the underlying steel structure (known as the 'armature') and then bolt on the replacement pad. There are a couple of threads on this site that discuss these replacement pads. As a third, lowest-cost/effort alternative, you could just replace your old plastic dash cap with a new one.

A few dollars a month will eliminate the ads. Well worth it IMO.

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!

Yes, nice shade of yellow. Looks a lot like mine. This is a Chevrolet color...'Rally Yellow'

Cody continues to make progress on his car. Thanks to SteveJ for helping us sort the engine bay harness @SteveJ He has the harness in and has started sorting out the electrical issues. There are quite a few We think we have a solution for the throttle control. It's loosely based on Ken Firch's cable system. His bracket won't work but we are working on making a heat shiel that will also hold a throttle cable and hooks for the throttle return screws. It will mount to the two lower studs on the SU's. The smaller SU's only have two studs and they are set diagonally. We are planning on using the the mounts at the balance tube to add a different 10mm OD tube with a donor part from a 240z. Which will supply a ball end for the cable to connect to I worked on a template for the heat shield today. I don't have a good way to brake the sheet metal so we will need to sort that out. We are leaning towards using 1mm stainless sheet...

This one’s got four wheels!

dzcg might be having seller's regret. 🤢 Everyone knows about ad blockers. They work. Good luck.

FWIW.. subscribing to a VPN like Surfshark or Nord, etc... eliminates at least 90% of the ads.

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.

Zzzzzzzzzz…..

Hi, I don’t know much about originals of our cars, but if this helps for your reference that would be nice. The L20A is for a Skyline GT but it can be a useful reference. The Kaku -U crew inspecting the cylinder head that was a screen shot from the video of 1969 US & CANADA test drive. Kats

Quite true, thanks.

Turbo, Julio. You can do just as well with that P90 head and flat tops on that F54 block. I know you've read this before but I'm gonna post it anyway. https://datsunzgarage.us/engine/

I assumed he was mourning the loss of another turbo block to N/A..............

Yes, the plan is to paint the airdam too. Hopefully it will stick...

Yes. I've had the turbo motor sitting here for a decade, and the original plan was to go turbo, but I changed my mind and want to keep it N/A and make it what I might have done back in the day to hop it up for a, "somewhat period-correct street rod" that is clean and simple under the hood, with not a lot of spaghetti or that immediately looks like it has been modded. Of course, I want to keep it easily-returnable to its stock configuration and will be keeping the original, numbers-matching L24 and the rest of the original bits. My plan is to bore to 89mm add flat-top pistons and new rods, L-Spec Datsun-worked head (shaved, ported, new springs, SS valves, valve guides, stage 2 or 3 cam and cam tower shims). I just purchased the A123 electronic ignition distributor, Champion radiator with fans and will be doing the GM alternator conversion, light flywheel, performance damper, turbo oil pump and keeping the dual SU's. More than I bargained for, but I think I will end up with a really nice driver that will satisfy my butt dyno!

$840 (plus shipping) at Motorsport Auto.

I've seen good results achieved by hammering the metal over the long edge of a length of 6" structural I-beam. Use Vise-Grips to clamp the metal to the I-beam. Then hammer from one end to the other, making 3 to 4 passes to get from flat to fully bent.

Wow, that dash has got some issues! I guess the answer depends on your budget and focus. You could always find another one and go that route, or you can send it to a restoration shop like Just Dashes. However, with the screws and missing foam, you are probably better off finding a better dash to use as a base.

Is the clevis pin that connects the slave cylinder to the brake pedal worn?

If it was mine I'd watch the play at the adjusting nut on the rod. Press the fork against the pressure plate fingers using one hand and run the nut in until you have contact with the fork with the other one. That would be zero play. Then back it off 1.5 turns. Easier to do the adjustment without the spring attached, since you'll be able to feel when you're on the pressure plate fingers. I've never done one but I think I understand what they're trying to accomplish. 2 mm of play between bearing and pressure plate when the slave clyinder is at the start of its stroke. Don't forget to check the pedal adjustment at the MC also. I've adjusted play there in the same way. Just max out the adjustment rod, being careful not to press the piston in to the MC bore, then back it off a bit. Another feel by finger job. And you don't need to remove the clevis you can turn the rod with a pair of pliers or a strong grip while everything is assembled.

Thank you, Buddy.

He hasn't been around lately that I'm aware of but he may get an e-mail if I "tag" him @S30Driver Good luck!

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

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

'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!

I have used the Zcardepot style pans in the past. It is a lot of work getting them to mate up well to the tunnel. If it were me, I would get the KF pans. I think they are better pans and will give a better finished product. You may not care today about an OEM look today but you might in ten years...

My 3.12L is finally going in!

I just wanted to chime in, since I'm also a member of S30 World, a later edition, so not in the group photo with Takeo Miyazaki, which took place when the museum opened. However I am thrilled to have been asked to join in and represent the Australian part of the team, as mentioned Chris' goal is to ensure we have a global perspective on these cars and I've been the local train spotter in the Australian market for many years now, having got into my first S30Z back in the late 90s and joined this website in year 2000 I believe? I am also the owner of a couple of low vin # Australian delivered cars - which have their own unique differences. Even though I've been passionate about the S30Z for 25+ years, I still have things to learn, especially when it comes to cars delivered to markets outside Australia. I think we are all still learning, which is why the S30 world project and website is important, to help educate, discover and document. I'm also thrilled that through the restoration work Chris has spearheaded new parts have come to market to provide quality OEM-like reproduction bits and pieces (eg: fuel tanks and door seals just to name a couple). I was fortunate enough to see the quality of work first hand back in 2017, a local Australian had his car in display at the Nissan Datsun Nationals in Sydney. (attached photos). I've seen many 'restored' cars over the years and this was indeed top notch! Obviously not a 'factory style' restoration, but a superb finish none the less. The quality of finish achieved on cars completed since then has only improved! On a personal level, I feel the S30Z series have been greatly under appreciated for many years, however it would appear that more and more are starting to appreciate these cars these days and I'm very happy to see more cars getting quality restoration work performed at this level.

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.

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