JDMjunkies.ch

Nothing big, but at the recent Japanclassic.ch show i met my buddy Stefan who had a little gift for me: A NOS Air filter complete with factory boxing. I love this kind of stuff and another piece in the puzzle

While i consider the 240Z quite a common classic (compared to other cars) around the world, it can get hard to find good quality spare-parts - especially for the parts that where installed in markets outside america only. As it is the case with the 5-speed transmission (only optional and rare in the USA). And then even more specially in the case of the early FS5C71A transmission, which i happen to have. This means a lot of reasearch and sometimes going to the other side of the world and as far as Australia to find some quality parts. In this case i have to thank the guys at www.SWMotorsport.com.au for providing me with the right parts for my Transmission. Today i finally got a delivery of: - Bearing kit - Front Seal - Rear Seal - 1x Front & 2x Center gaskets - Gear lever Pin & Clip - Roll Pin - Speedo drive Seal - Striker shaft seal And all for a decent price and fast shippin too! Thank you so much for the great service. Nice to still have those small shops able to provide the market with the stuff we need

One of t hose lucky days again where i get several deliveries at the same time One was an Ebay buy, A NOS Transmission breather vent: The second one was a New Speedo pinion Gear, which was available through Nissan Japan: Then, thanks to some tips of nice people in the community, i was able to purchase these Rear quarter panels. I promised to not tell the source. It's a Last stock and one of the people that gave me the tip wants to buy the rest of the stock and sell it. I have the feeling they are better than the tabco ones. with sharper edges. When i have time i will make a direct comparison between tabco and these. Big thanks to the people who supported me with buying these.

Nothing big here, just got another missing Piece of the transmission puzzle today: The speedo pinion gear sleeve assembly:

Here we go Got another parts delivery from the land of the rising sun. All needed transmission parts which were still available in Japan: Seals: Rear hub: Front seal gasket: Then a friend of mine asked me to help him import some Nagisa Auto motor sports Part for his 240Z: Front adjustable tierod end-links: And adjustable Doglegs. Really beautiful parts. seems like they changed their annodizing procedure, sinec the parts i have have a different colour. anyhow. Nice pieces. The Colour is more gunmetal in reality. the white-balance on my cam was a bit off...

Yeah, a few weeks ago i was browsing the internet for some usable parts for my transmission restauration when i found this ebay seller from Thailand. Usually i'm not a big fan of Cheap Asian stuff. Only real deal Japanese OEM or Aftermarket. However when i found these parts and they seemed to be either Japanese-made or high-quality but for a good price, i thought i'd give it a go. so here's what i got: Transmission / Clutch fork rubber boot. Made by Thailand company Turtlerubber / SPI-Goodrubber: Firewall grommet. Unknown brand, but i assume the same as above: Niles (Japan) Reverse light switch. Niles is the original Supplier of nissan so i guess it's an Original part: Unknown brand Speedo cable: Unknown brand Side marker (front) lamps: DENSO (japan) Horn's, 66dB: New-Era (Japan, Aftermarket supplier) Voltage regulator: Not sure how all the parts fit and if they will end up in the car, but they were cheap and looked nice so i thought i buy them in a package deal. Looking good so far More parts coming soon

Dear readers, sorry for the lack of updates during the last weeks. I was very busy with some other big things, one of them beeing marrying my wife Yesterday i got back to work in the garage. while it's still freezing cold outside i got some stuff done on the transmission. I found a local glass-bead blasting company and i'm preparing the transmission to be blasted soon. So i had to remove all bits and pieces: Shifter lever Bracket removed: Removed the shifter bushings from the brackets and had all laid-out: Removed the control arm springs and "plugs" Tried to remove this plug, but after trying hard and not beoing able to get it out, decided to leave it there for blasting Removed the oil filler plug And the speedo sensor (still in place here): Still need to figure out how to remove the speedo sensor complete, the plastic vents and then i'm ready to get it blasted

No big update, but today i got a phone call from the local Nissan dealership that my order had arrived, so i went there and picked up my order: All the refurbishment parts which ar still available at Nissan for the 5-speed FS5C71A 5-speed early type factory transmission. The order contained some oil seals, snap rings, Balls, springs and so on. still need a lot of parts and will order the rest elsewere. this was just the easy part of the whole thing

My Panelbeater asked for some Budget to continue his work, and since it's really going on nicely lately i happily brought hime some of my savings While there i had a look at the latest work, of course. You have to make sure you're money is well invested After inspecting the recently completed upper end of the rear he showed me a mock-up of the right side rear inner wheel wells and some problem areas. The tabco pieces really do not fit very well, but he will make them fit. I've seen worse And while there he was preparing the door to fit them back to the car for future fitment testing of his work around the right side. You can see the thin line on the door? he noticed that little line (edge) was gone due to some previous repairs and straightened everything and made sure the thin line is back in t he door. Most people wouldn't even notice. And then he closed the holes of the original door mirrors, because i'll go with fender mirrors

haha, that will be hard, but i guess in switzerland we have different rules I have no clue, but he does his metalwork at a friends bodyshop which has plenty of tools

Lately i really appreciate the updates from the bodyshop. And If things go right i will visit him and my car again on monday. However here are the latest pictures i got What you see here is the inner rear right quarter panel piecte between the trunk floor and the Fender. it contins the hole where the fuel filler hose goes through. As you can see the original pieces was totally rusted and he created a new one from scratch: Here it's installed test-wise: View from the outside: View from the bottom. As usual: Work of art. May look a bit rough now, but once it has some primer on it it will be like it was from factory

Finally another part of the body which can be called "completed". My panelbeater sent me another update with the rear upper hatch panel welded back and the whole area coated in some protective primer. Without top hatch panel installed: Primered inside as well: New Top hatch panel welded back. Well done

Got a little update from the bodyshop. he started work on the LH inner hatch area. Before: After (Custom made panel from sheet metal): Welds and corners still need to be smoothened out but otherwise it looks like OEM Oh and got this book a few days ago:

Recently i was bidding on some bigger parts on yahoo auctions in Japan and thought, while at it, why not order some smaller parts and get them shipped for free in the same package? unfortunately i didn't win the auctions on the bigger parts so i just ended up with the small bits and pieces. which are still good to have 1) R180 Differential oil seals 2) R180 differentil cover seal 3) Fine auto japan Polyurethane shifter bushings:

While i'm working on a big, new, exciting project (I'll post about it in a few weeks or months i guess) the bodyshop keeps me updated and has some nice progress on the rear end 1) The top of the rear lower hatch Panel have been remodeled out of sheetmetal and looks absolutely stunning. Raw naked steel. I have the NOS top panel which will be added, once everything is completed. a closer look at the craftsmanship: The lock mount and upper panel mounts have been removed, sandblasted and welded back into position. the red colour is just temporary rust protection primer: On the new rear quarter panel the rear corner piece has been removed (for easier installation): And been spotwelded into the correct position: My bodyshop told me he h as some spare time at the moment and i guess there will be much progress over the next few weeks

So here we go again. Last week i visited the Bodyshop to bring him the rear quarter panel as a reference for the other side he's currently working on and while there i had a little chat with him and a look around. The rear quarter is coming along nicely and i love when you can see the rare and pure metalwork with all the bondo and stuff gone. It proves that the car is in brilliant shape after work is done As you can see he also started work on the rear end. The bent rear lower panel was gone. What you see here is the panel inside the rear quarter panel where the tank lock is installed. he makes a new one from scratch since the original is scrap. Today i got another update. He also started work on the rear upper end (lower hatch area). I thought at least that area was rust-free in my car, but iw as wrong. This is how it looked after the upper panel was removed: My panel beater immediately started to create new ones from scratch: And while i write this topic just some new Whatsapp messages with Updates dropped into my phone with some detailed view of the final panel in one of the corners from the lower hatch area. Before (top panel already removed): Original panel cutout and rust protection applied: Final Panel welded in. Still needs some details but already i think this is a work of art. cant wait to see the rest done. Hoping for more updates soon

On Thursday i was finally able to pick up the NOS rear quarter panel, which i found online a few weeks ago. I wanted to thank the guys from http://www.swissconnection.us/ for their superior shipping service and the seller of this item for his great support. Thanks! Unfortunately it got a slight dent during shipping, but still a lot easier to fix compared to creating this complete panel from scratch and sheet metal You can still see the sticker of the original Nissan Spareparts delivery back in the day: Beautiful to see all these original welds and shapes. I guess my Car is reaching Concours level soon with all these originanal bodypanels beeing put together Oh and then i got this from Japan. I asked hayashi to reprint an old catalogue for me with all the NLA Fairlady parts. they agreed but unfortunately we probably got lost in translation a bit and they sent me a new catalogue istead. well who cares still nice to have a new Hayashi catalogue

I hate visiting my bodyshop guy because everytime i go there he reveals some more rust he found. But then again i love it because the work he does is clearle a work of art not many people in the world can do... But let's start from the beginning of t his week. He finally started to work on my car again and kept updating me with whatsapp messages about every step he did. Well most of them were more problems discovered: Dents and cheap-arse unqualified rust-repairs everywhere. Here's a closer look at the right rear corner. seems like it got a hit at some point: He asked me to bring the rear lower corner valances and the rear panel today so he could prepare the rest of the repair and when i arrived there i was greeted by this. Jup- not much of the original car left But the good news is as you look closer the dents in the rear area right from the taillights have been fixed and the area below the trunk lid has been fixed as well: This was the patch panel he cutout below the gas lid: Here the custom panel is welded in. We tried to install the gas-lid today and it fit perfectly. Quite impressive for a custom-made piece! I made even more pictures but for some reason my camera lost them Expecting big updates soon but as you look close you see there are still a ton of details to be fixed...

It has been a while, i know. I'm still working on a few big things which need their time but you'll see But i have some good news: 1) I had my original 5-speed transmission checked by a Pro. Aside from new seals and stuff it seems to be in outstanding condition and doesn't need a big rebuild. I'll keep the original one and sell the spare S14 transmission i secured a while ago. But don't ask me i already have a buyer 2) I got an update from the bodyshop on friday and hopefully more will follow soon - The sandblasted and primered Battery tray got welded back in again (not completed yet): And the finished area of the car got coated to be proteced from rust.

Link removed. see posts and PN on my blog and other threads for comments

Thanks I have a ton of official documents and the main reason is because of a lot is missing online and i had to source a hardcopy. compared to other cars the Z is very well discussed but very badly documented online. I try to change that. i already made a few knowledge posts on my blog (so far only transmission and differentials), and i'm working hard on a a general fairlady post and another one about factory suspension and a basic knowledge source post which will include a ton of important and less-important documents. mainly officiall nissan stuff. so far i managed to source a lot of documents which are not available online and if i find some time i will scan the Service bulletins too. will probably take another few months but yes, i try to put it all together somewhen

Some exciting news! First i was able to finally open up the FS5W71C 5-speed Transmission. Turns out the reason i wasn't able to open it earlier was because had removed the wrong locking spring *lol*. Small part - big problem. This is the one to remove on the main shaft bearing, not the small one in front of the bearing Finally disasembled and ready for checking. My unprofessional first check revealed that it's in quite good condition and no need for a big rebuild, but i will have a professional look over it and definitly will replace a few wear-parts anyway and have the housing repainted. Even better news - I was able to source a complete NOS (New Old stock!) Rear quarter panel from the Z. It's the US-edition with the cutout for the rear sidemarkers but otherwise exactly what i need. Man i've never seen something like this for sale in the last years and it was a reasonable price too!! It already arrived at my export agent and will be loaded onto the next sea-freight container to switzerland soon - should arrive here in about 6 weeks And then i bought this so i have a bit of extra reference and documents probably 50% of the bulletins are about the S30 chassis or L2x Motors

Finally i found some time to go back to work in the garage. unfortunately i wasn't that successfull. My goal was to completely disassemble the main parts of the 5-speed original transmission to check the gears. As you remember i have already removed the rear extension, so i started by removing all the securing bolts from the clutch housing: Then it was easy to remove: And off it is: Next i removed the stopper ring on the main shaft bearing as suggested by the SR311 5-speed transmission manual. Unfortunately i wasn't able to remove the gear xase for whatever reason. it will move slightly but it's somehow stuck. tried to hammer with a rubber and copper hammer as suggested by the manual but wasn't able to remove it without hammering too hard. any suggestions here? i'm thankful for any useful input BTW: rear extension is only put back to prevent the gears from damage during work

So before i went to vacation i ordered a lot of stuff from japan and elsewere and when i returned two days ago i had a load of boxes and envelopes waiting for me. that's how returning from vacation makes fun So what was inside these boxes and envelopes? A lot of reading material: 1) Brian Long's Fairlady Roadster to 280ZX book. Probably the most complete Z-book i've come along so far. 2) Original JDM HS30 sports option parts catalogue 3) Original JDM sports option parts catalogue 1979 4) Japanese S30 Fairlady Z Complete book, by "Nostalgic hero" Magazine. Basically a small Mook that includes scans of all original japanese catalogues and so on. can be quite handy sometimes. 5) Original JDM Fairlady Z Sales brochure cool thing is if you unfold it completely and turn it around it's a Poster of a Fairlady Z 6) JDM Service manual for HS30, PS30, and S30 7) Only Z Book (Japanese). Probably similar to 1) but in Japanese, tons of informations about Z's with many spec-tables and so on! 8) then got the JDM Parts list for the S30 on a CD. already have an other one as PDF file but this one is searchable so probably more handy... 9) Now to the non-readable parts Since i decided to go the Subaru-R180 route differential was wondering what adapters i should use. Wolf creek, Beta motorsports or some others. until i figured out that Kameari makes them for the same price with import and the somehow look a bit more appealing and more OEM to me with the darker material used and so on. and then it's Japanese too which i always prefer for personal reasons 10) and since i have a passenger seat now for the Z i also neaded a seatrail, and here it is

sorry, double-post...