AZ-240z

Thanks for the compliments, Jim. I also got much of my inspiration by following all of the fine work Kats did on his car. He is a master at illustrating, with words and pictures, the definition of originality. Great photo, Jim, and your car looks really nice. Looks like the ol' Red Blob, if proven to be correct for my car, is next. To find the right shade of red, I noticed that the left front suspension spring has A blue and red identifying paint mark and the right spring has just a blue paint mark, all which identify spring type and position. So you could then say, if this is correct, this may be the shade of red to use. The red blob may identify the type, ie., A-transmission. Looking at discussions started by Arne about the red blob, others have also found a red "L" shaped mark on the lower right side of the bell housing which could mean something like "meant for left hand drive". Conjecture yet to be explained. Dan

I just knew you were going to see, and say that. I agree, but it goes so much against a neat freaks nature. Time for further experimentation! As for the red paint mark on the tranny, that's a whole new project, ie., correct color, placement, drips, runs, etc. Thanks guys

Thanks to everyone who helped out with all of the reference pictures. I finally took the plunge and started to do some of the yellow inspection markings to see if I wanted to go down that road. Here are some pictures and your comments are welcome-too much/over the trop?

Thanks, Ian. Dan

Mike, nice early '69/'70 decal. I have never seen one that nice, and would have been tempted to repro that one as well as the later decal. Dan Again, apologies to Ken for the continuing hi-jack but hope the cowl pads do the trick!

Well, since you asked, my car has a cover story in the December issue of Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car magazine.

Mike, thanks for the great supporting pictures. Like I said, this old guy is just as sharp as ever, chuckle, chuckle! Is that my decal you have on your master vac, Mike, or is it the original one? Dan

I'm going to try and fumble my way through this explanation, so bear with me. The top cowl is refered to as the "grill-cowl top". The struction under this is called the "assy- cowl top outer". This "assy-cowl top outer" has a couple of landings, for need of a better term, one at each end on which the "grill-cowl top" rests. It's been many years since I first removed the original "grill-cowl top" when a tree branch fell on it and needed to be replaced. As I recall, those landings each had a ,probably, closed cell hard foam rubber pad attached for the "grill-cowl top" to rest on. I couldn't tell you the thickness of these pads but they were probably about 1/4 to 3/8 inchs thick. I got the terminology used in this explanation from the club "Z-Car CD ROM". I'm hoping that there are others who can help either confirm or refute my recall on this, so please chime in. If you don't have these pads for your cowl to rest on, this may explain why your cowl sits slightly lower than your fenders. Let me know what you think. Dan

Good pictures, Chris! Especially the "Gigglishous" oil pan overspray.

I think "Blue's" answers are exactly correct concerning the assembly line marks. This is just my opinion, but I would say that the original oil pan color Is about 80% gloss black. In contrast, the gas tank was close to 100% gloss black. I thought about trying to duplicate the blue engine overspray, but I couldn't find enough pictorial evidence showing The correct locations of overspray to determine how it was possibly applied. Dan

Thanks, Mike. More good examples to archive. As demonstrated in your pictures, the challenge will not only mark the correct locations, but to emulate the technique used. The daubs of paint were applied in a purposeful, yet timely manner with attention to neatness secondary as the car traveled down the assembly line. Dan

Blue, more great pictures. Much appreciated. I spent time on this board a number of years ago defining the paint marks on springs with member Carl Beck. Carl had, through Courtesy Nissan, arranged for the reproduction of a number of set of springs and your pictures reinforce what Carl had found as to the correct paint marks. Dan

Chris, thanks for the pics of both your car and a car done by Mike McGinnis. I have talked with Mike (caught him at a busytime under a car) and asked him if he had mapped out all of these yellow production marks. I'll get back to him on any specific marks when he has more time, but he did indicate there were variations as to the location of these yellow marks with no definitive mapping. Your pictures are very important as they not only convey the location, but how they were applied with obvious disregard as to neatness. The smear of paint likely not only hit the targeted fastener, but also surrounding structures. Dan

I've been trying to gather picture data of the original factory paint marks used during the assembly process. Using the search function, i guess I may not be identifying correctly what I am looking for. Has anyone mapped out all of the yellow splotches of paint used during the assembly of a 240z, or have pictures of survivor cars which depict the location of said yellow assembly marks? Thanks for any help from a helplessly addicted originality GEEK!

Jim, I have contacted Nikkibid on behalf of this discussion as I had previously purchased this horn kit from him. He said he no longer offers this hardware and gasket kit. He frequently offers products on eBay and I highly recommend him and whatever he sells. Dan

These were the two pictures that I had used. Dan

Here is another picture that shows the back of the horn. Granted, it is difficult to tell if the finish is natural, but I have seen many other survivors that had a natural rear cover.

There have been many thoughts on what is factory correct for refinishing our horns. I have attached a picture of an early 1970 Z horn to support what I feel is correct when talking about "how it came from the factory"/ 1. Front cover is olive drab. 2, Center diaphragm is satin black 3. Center bolt and nut clear zinc. 4. outer mounting screws, front side, olive drab. 5. rear cover and nuts are natural finish. 6. mounting brackets are natural finish. 7. 4 large mounting machine screws and washers are yellow zinc. I may know of someone who offers a kit of gaskets and screws, nuts, and washers for rebuilds. Dan

Mike, Bueller, anyone, Bueller, Anyone, Can anyone tell me why I can't view new content?

http://www.classiczcars.com/topic/50679-rebuilding-the-nikki-fuel-pump/

Something that is probably obvious to everyone, but occasionally overlooked is, when you have the oil pan in hand, make sure that the mounting flange is as flat as possible. I have been guilty of over-tightening the oil pan mounting screws in the past which will definitely deform that flange and make leaks highly probable. Just my two cents. Dan

Just to add to my last post, and I thought that this would be the most logical place for this, I wanted to see how difficult it would be to make a full set of these hoses using my technique. I did make a pretty nice set with the correct 11/32" ID brake vacuum hose and 1/4" copper tubing. I first formed the copper tubing, and then, with some sil-glide lube, threaded to hose over the tubing. In retrospect, I probably wouldn't compete the copper tubing bends, just start them so as to make getting the hose on a little easier. I have attached an image of the hoses with the ones I made in the foreground and to the right. The vac side hose in the back of the image is an NOS rubber vac hose I used to replicate. I trial fitted both hoses to my car and the fit was perfect, as far as I could tell. My experiment successfully completed, I am offering these to anyone in need of a set of early mastervac hoses for the cost of mailing. Please PM me with your response, and I hope that this may help others on this forum. Dan

http://ZHome.com/ZCM...andE88Heads.htm

The process I used to create this master vac hose section is something I learned from Kats. Kats used braided fuel hose which is the exact correct size, but much softer than rubber vacuum tubing, and brass rod to give the hose perminent shape. I used 11/32" ID brake vacuum hose from NAPA AUTO PARTS which is an exact match in size and texture to the Nissan hose, and 1/4" copper refrigerant tubing from Home Depot. Using a length of the copper tubing, I shaped it first and then slid the rubber hose over the tubing. A little sil-glyde on the tubing made the process fairly smooth but guard against using excessive pressure that might kink the copper tubing. Before inserting the copper tubing, you must cut enough off of each end of the copper tubing, one to one and a half inches, to allow room for the master vac, check valve, or engine mounting fitting in the rubber tubing. I, also, leave an extra 1/2" or so on the rubber tubing that can later be trimmed for a perfect fit. I plan to make a compete set of these master vac hoses and will take all the measurments for those who might want to try this for there own project. I'll try to attach the reference to Kats posting. http://www.classiczcars.com/topic/23900-datsun-240z-vs-fairlady-z432/page-8 Look at post #154 on this page. Let me know if there are any questions as to how I made this hose. And, yes, the copper tubing remains in the vacuum hose to maintain the shape. Dan

Mike B, Is this spreadsheet still available? I'm unable to access it with the above address. Dan