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Recently i stumblet upon this blog Post from my mate @florian at Datsun-Autowerk, where he claims that some Z's had a secret spare key box in the front radiator frame crossmember thing. After asking a bit more, he said that he had seen it on two cars so far. I had a closer look at my currently sandblasted frame, but no indications that it ever had it nor that it was modified at some point.. So we checked our R-drive manuals. it seems there were three types of front crossmembers, but none of them ever had a box, according to the drawings: Same with the L-Drive: We couldn't find anything in the "keys" section of the Parts manual either, and the key-box is not listed anywere at all. I can think this is something that was installed in specific markets only due to some safety legal requirements or whatnot, but at the end it seems a bit of a mystery. It looks too professional and "factory" to be an aftermarket installation, on the other hand, no information is available in the official documentation. Now the question is: Does anybody know more? Have you seen this on other cars as well? do you probably even have such a feature. Maybe never checked it out? Whatever you know, we're happy to hear about it 🙂

Recently i stumblet upon this blog Post from my mate @florian at Datsun-Autowerk, where he claims that some Z's had a secret spare key box in the front radiator frame crossmember thing. After asking a bit more, he said that he had seen it on two cars so far. I had a closer look at my currently sandblasted frame, but no indications that it ever had it nor that it was modified at some point.. So we checked our R-drive manuals. it seems there were three types of front crossmembers, but none of them ever had a box, according to the drawings: Same with the L-Drive: We couldn't find anything in the "keys" section of the Parts manual either, and the key-box is not listed anywere at all. I can think this is something that was installed in specific markets only due to some safety legal requirements or whatnot, but at the end it seems a bit of a mystery. It looks too professional and "factory" to be an aftermarket installation, on the other hand, no information is available in the official documentation. Now the question is: Does anybody know more? Have you seen this on other cars as well? do you probably even have such a feature. Maybe never checked it out? Whatever you know, we're happy to hear about it 🙂

So today another bunch of parts arrived: First a bunch of goodies from Sean over at datsun-zstory.com in France. A Bronze upgrade worm gear for the oil pump: Something similar has been on sale by Nissan (in this catalogue they state it's brass, but in some others, they mention it's bronze too). And a set of replica stainless steel window corner trim pieces, which he just recently released. It's also planned to release the longer parts soon too. so maybe i'll get a set of those too. from my first glance they look excellent! And then another bunch of panels from KFVintageJDM parts in Bogota. After we decided to redo the work on the right side, that my previous panel beater did so-so. I thought let's just buy whatever is available so i have it on hand if needed. i can easy sell thos items anytime if i don't need them and i didn't want to make any more unplanned orders. so basically i have almost every part of the usual problematic areas in stock and ready to be replaced. It's easy for a skilled panelbeater to make such panels by hand, but if you look at all these die-stampted details from the KFVintage parts, made as close as possible to the original panels, i have to say it will become hard to get all the details right. so here we are. I Will visit the bodyshop next week to have a look at the progress, So far i haven't got any feedback, which worries me a bit, but is nice if they prefer to work on the car instead of texting and sending photos. I'll see..

Thanks for the input. i think it's easy to find out, but for now i'm just collecting all that stuff that doesn't look familiar. One rainy day i will go through all the part numbers and put them up for sale if it doesn't fit my project.

A few weeks ago i saw a set of 240Z factory seats for sale locally. I put a bid on them because i thought they're in better condition then the ones i had, or i could use them as parts donors or sell them again if not needed. I didn't expect to win the auction but well i did.. so today i went to pick them up from a nice bloke: The seats are used, but generally in nice condition. Perfect for a refurbish: I asked the seller if he maybe had some more parts, and he said he sold his Z approx 20 years ago and is cleaning out his garage. He modified his blue 240Z back then with some recaro seats, that's why the seats where for sale, but he also put a whale-tail spoiler and other fancy stuff of the time on the car. So he also had an original trunk spoiler for sale. This comes in handy, as most of them have their bolts rusted off. this one is still quite good, so i might even use this one instead the one i once repaired for myself: Aside from the Dashboard metal cowl / trim piece thing (see first photo), he also had these units: A set of NOS door chrome mouldings. Complete with the factory "Hashimoto Forming Kogyo Co. Ltd" protectve sticker on it, etc. Definitely something you come across every day, so overall i'm happy with my purchase. I have a good set of spare seats, a nice spoiler, NOS window mouldings and a dashboard trim piece.

This comes in handy. great! Thanks a lot

Todsay i have some very good news, some not so good ones and then some good ones again. The very good news: The bodyshop started working on the car in full force. And they seem way more professional than the previos one. Not that he was really bad or so, but you see those guys have a different approach of working. Before they even plugged in the welder, they decided to measure through the entire chassis and compare them to the original drawings and check if everything is straight. And now the bad news. It seems it's not. According to them, it once got a hit front left, and the difference from height from the left to the right side is approx 1,5cm. The good thing is, i have the complete NOS factory LH Frame rails. complete front inner fender and Air channels. so basically they can rebuild a whole corner of the car with NOS parts. But before they start, they will put the car on an alignment bench and get it straight. Otherwise it makes no sense to replace parts on a bent car. you better get it right before you even start. While one guy measures all the corners and is setting up a plan in which order the car needs to be rebuilt so it remains solid all the time, the other guy is already busy preparing all the old panels. Some have small storage and transport dents or need corrrection here and there, so the other prepares all the body panels. excellent. They promised to send some pictures soon. I yet have to see the work, but i have a much better feeling. They haven't asked for a cent yet, while the other one always wanted to be paid in advance (which i can also understand somehow), they have set up multiple calls to clarify details, they ask the right questions and are more interested in showing me solutions than showing me problems they found. So far, that's way more my kind uf guys. let's see. Now the good news again: I was able to obtain another big Parts lot from an old parts hoarder. This time it's not so many NOS parts, but more of well preserved or resfurbished stuff. Mainly about 20 kilograms of replated bolts and fasteners in really good quality (he sorted them for his own usage and only kept the good ones from dozens of z's which he dismantled over his lifetime) and now i got all the "leftover" replated bolts. But you also will find a bunch of really good rubber pieces. and some NOS parts now and then scattered in. These plastic parts and wiring from the ventilation / heating system will definitely be handy. they're in excellent condition. If you look closely you also find some parts which are from later generation Z or ZX cars, but the most is from the 240Z as far as i can see. Plenty of replated stuff. I have to double check if those are really from the 240Z, but nevertheless, they're a set of NOS factory decoration stripe decals. I won't use them, so will definitely put them up for sale, once i have confirmed what car they're for. Again, multiple kilocrams of Nissan Z and ZX bolts and washers. i'm sure this will come in handy when something is missing 🙂 I have a box where i collect my stuff for replating. but now many of that is already available freshly plated, like the hood holder, shown below. The dull gold one is one that a previous owner painted and would have needed a blasing / Sanding and replating, while the one below is now already freshly refurbished. Overall i will need some time to figure out which parts are usable for my car and which not, but the parts that fit my car are definitely worth the price Oh and i just spent some money in Japan for some really, really cool parts, and as soon as the sea-freight shipment arrives here in probably 2-3 months, i will be able to show you more. Also have a few smaller orders open, and some work happening soon with my EK9. so expect plenty of updates in the near future on this very page.

Hey Kat's. very interesting finding. I have to find out more. But it seems my documentation is a bit limited. my latest R-Drive only goes up to 1976 and all other documents which i have, you have already shown pictures up there. I wonder how you assigned the part numbers written in red here to the different Z-versions? Or is it just an Idea? It could be very possible, though Soo, on friday i got a call from my bodyshop that they want to start work ASAP, because they have already an epxensive Pre-WW Bentley scheduled for fall and want to complete mine until then. So how am i to turn them down? I prepared all my bodypanels in stock, and also made an inventory to make sure nothing gets lost. it seems that not much of the original metal will be left at the end. but honestly, i give them many items just as reference or for "in case" I packed everything into my In-law's transport bus And spent quite some time at the bodyshop to discuss some details. Out of excitement, i forgot to take pictures, so the below one is the only one you'll see today. We also discussed a few portions of the bodywork done by the previous bodyshop and saw that some of the self-made bodypanels look nice at first glance but don't align to my quality standards, so i just placed another order for the RH rocker panels and floor pans, which are now available in better quality than the stuff i got 6 years ago. and he will re-do the work. Yeah it's a bit of a pain-in-the-back but at the end i want the result to be as close to perfect as possible, so i decided that little extra-work won't hurt while they're at it anyway. If everything goes well you'll see regulare updates here soon in this space. stay tuned.

Soo. today i have some big news. but let's start with the usual deliveries: 1) Something i've been searching for a while now. Well Actually i'm looking for the LHD L-Drive but this is the closest i found so far: an UK R-Drive manual: For those who don't know the L-Drive / R-drive is a Parts manual folder, but due to it's size it has the most detailed drawings and some additional informatino which is difficult to see or not existent in the microfiches, parts booklets etc. So my experience is that these are the most detailed parts books availabe (outside of NMC of course): Looks like your usual parts manual. This one is specific for the 240Z / 26oZ RHD Export specificatino booklets. so mainly UK and AUS, i guess. but i still have to see. I got it from the UK. 2) I also got this LH Inner wheel tub from KFVintageJDM in Bogota: Some may remember that i already got t his part from Tabco (USA). but i was never satisfied with the quality. Just look at the details like the little "humps" which are basically nonexistant in the Tabco item: Or the way they're cut at the edges, etc. And they came just in time, because i just got a coll from my Bodyshop that they will finally work on my car starting on Monday. Full-time with three men! Expecting big news soon. Early next week i'm going to visit them and bring an entire truckload of bodypanels for them to exchang :-)Stay tuned for more soon. hopefully. Oh and forgot to post this stuff which i got a while ago. 3) M-speed Nismo Competition racing mirror replica: Ventilation Intake pieces: And a nice print from Etsy: Which now found a nice place next to my signed Starroad Print in my garage. Let's see what the next weeks will bring. I also have a NOS parts lot find on it's way here and i'm just placing an order vor a cool Piece in Japan... Stay tuned for more

Recently a Datsun Friend introduced me to the "Service Data and specification" booklets, which i was unaware of before. Naturally i had to investigate, and luckily i found one for sale online. Strangely i have only ever seen the earlier versions in a mixed english / Spanish language print so far. However when i checked out my friend's DSSA parts lot recently, it also included a bunch of 1979 version booklet in german: The 1979 version only includes the S130, so the following pages are from the 1973 version with some pictures of the S30 stuff. The booklet's intention is for the Datsun workshop mechanic to have an overview of different specifications and interchangeability from the different NMC cars of an era. It is divided in general specifications, Motor and Body. There is also a similar booklet for non-passenger cars (trucks, etc) Here's some example of model codes used in the documentatino and some basic specification, which does not include the non-export versions. I like the overview, like shown here the different suspension options, on one page. I will use these to update some of my previously made knowledge posts. Here's another example, showing the Manual 5-speed transmission of 1973 (previous version not included). but it's a great overview of data. And there is plenty more to dicsover. Oh, and i had a talk to my bodyshop about the progress and it's still on schedule to restart work in approximately three weeks. Can't wait 🙂

Unfortunately i didn't take any measurements. maybe i can do it when i visit my friend next time. Yeah the video sounds interesting, let's see what we can recover. but it will definitely take some time to find the right person to do it.

A little Update: I found this Post wich mentions the "C/T & London" casting marks refer to a London based company named "Conversion & Tuning", of which i've never heard before: http://www.turbosport.co.uk/showthread.php?t=211869 this page has a short background information about it and an 1971 catalogue with lots of company photos and background information. the logo seems to match: https://mk1-performance-conversions.co.uk/conversion_tuning.htm Unfortunately this 1971 brochure does not contain any Z-related stuff (maybe they just added it later to their lineup), but the catalogue features some other Datsun related parts, so it seems highly likely that it must be this company.

Hmm very interesting. thanks for your inputs Alan. Here' are two more closeup pics. First a detail of the carbs, clearly visible as 40DCOE24: Secondly, the casting marks on the other top-side of the manifold, saing C / T. It may look like a "G" in this photo, but i verified in some other pictures and it's definitely a "C". The casting quality is not that "rough" as the one from Mangoletsi / Janspeed in your pictures (which looks exactly as what is in the Janspeed 1981 catalogue). But the one in the DSSA setups looks like somebody refinished the casting on the bottom side with a coarse file or something. My friend is trying to contact the previous owner to get some more details. I'll keep you updated.

The recent lot find, constinsting of many datsun Switzerland items, also contained a very cool one-off thing: A set of triple Weber carbs complete with Intake manifold and linkage. But the really cool part is that it came including an internal test report by Datsun (Suisse) SA, indicating that this very setup was used by Datsun Suisse SA (DSSA) to test said setup on a company or employee Datsun 240Z. The hand written notes are written on a DSSA "Internal report" sheet. something rarely seen alone. The date noted says June 1973The text on the front says (transleted loosely): Test performed on 240Z, with 9'806km on the odometer Triple webers with valve play 0.10/0.15. Cylinder head minus (1mm), "Super" fuel On the straight between Bremgarten / Wohlen (through the Forest), the max speed is short above 200 km/h Dietikon bis Fahrweid (down), short above 210 (km/h) Uetliberg, fourth corner in the 3rd gear, without jerking above 40km/h At slow speeds, acceleration is possible in 2nd gear below 1000 rpm Theoretically, with big tires, 240km/h should be possible Attention! Fuel nozzles are not the same in the three carbs (Backfire), probably better to mount the small one son all three carbs. Fuel consumtion seems rather improved compared to the original carbs. The straight road between Moudon-village entrance and Moudon industrial area - slightly downwards - allows slightly above 220km/h until village sign Moudon. On the back you find a sketch of the setup and settings, including the following note: Payerne, from cemetery direction village, = 190km/h at village sign. Back = 160 km/h at the cemetery Temperature 25°C. Only driver with full fuel tank. Looking closer at the setup, there are three Bologna (italy) made Weber 40DCOE24 type carbs. We were guessing the intake manifold, based on the "C/S" and then "London" cast marking we concluded that it might be a Janspeed UK manifold. It looks like some kind of "Datusun competition" derivate manifold. I forgot to take a picture from the bottom side, but it looks pretty "rough". Either somebody modified it a bit later, or the factory removed the casting remains really just rudimentary. At least this is what it looks like. However the 1981 Janspeed catalogue has an additional "bridge" between ports 3 and 4. so we're not sure. It might just be that there was a design evolution between the 70ies and 80ies on these intakes, or it was maybe a completely different brand. Looking closer, the ones in below catalogue photo also seem to be slightly longer than the ones in the photo. but the casting seems to fit (i don't have a detail photo of that) It is however very likely they used Janspeed, as it is rumored that DSSA had a loose relation with Janspeed and used to test their products on a variety of cars in switzerland. In case you're wondering, these are the part numbers of the Janspeed Weber triple DCOE intake manifolds and next to it you can find the prices (excluding VAT) in UK pounds £: As far as i know, Weber (or some reseller, maybe even DSSA itself) homologated a twin DCOE setup for the swiss market at some point, but i haven't yet investigated in that direction and still need to find out more. I know it's a pretty common setup over here. It's a nice piece of history of DSSA and the "scene" back then. I love the handwritten notes, and i'm happy to know they found a very good home (not mine), and will end up in a nice car (not mine), after being hidden for so many years.

A good friend of mine just recently sent me this photo and said i need to visit him ASAP, he got hands on some cool stuff. Who i am to turn such an offer down? Especially the boxes, martketing material and stuff made me a bit curious. it's not usually stuff to be found at dealerships or at collectors, but only at the Import Company Datsun Suisse SA, back in the days. And that's exactly where these parts come from. A former employee of DSSA took home random stuff which they wanted to scrap at some point, due to lack of space or some other cleanup. He stored the parts for many years, before putting them up for sale. A dealership at the other end of switzerland bought them and now they put this up for sale too. That's where my buddy Jumped in and made sure it ends up in good hands. It's pretty random stuff with many boxes of documents, a lot from the 80ies sadly, but also some really rare stuff.. There were also plenty of parts, but mainly for the Patrol car and some various less sporty Datsuns from back in the days. (Micra K10 anyone?). I helped unload a bit of the stuff, pre-sort some things and went through all the boxes. I was able to get some of the documents, but there were unfortunately no big Z-parts to take home. Nevertheless. i ended up with quite the lot of random datsun and Z documents: The lot also included a set of Triple Webers which datsun switerland used to test, including the test reports. I will tell you more about this pretty cool story in the coming days. My friend will keep this for himself as it's understandable One-off piece of swiss datsun history. But as i said, it consisted of mainly documents. Many of them not being very rare. But then again things like a NOS E88 head, NOS propeller shafts, or how about a complete NOS Datsun Cherry A12 Engine GT Racing kit? Speaking of cherry, the Lot also included multiple packs of Cherry advertizing stickers, straight from Japan: Loads of Posters and Training charts. Unfortunately mainly for boring cars. Please ignore the grilles in the background, they were not part of the lot and belong to my friend) And then some probably very rare Nissan Motor Co advertizing and training movies on 16mm FIlm: One from the 1972 East African Safari rallye: Or one from the 1969 Japan Grand prix race. We're currently trying to figure out of they're still usable and how we can digitalize them. Some of the roles had pretty cryptical names like "Group AZ" or something. I hope we can rescue them. If not the boxes themselves make a beautiful decoration. At the end, this is what i got home with me yesterday. That includes a set of nice original Datsun sales bags and spare parts wrapping: I like it so much, i will frame it an dhang it on the wall. A set of absolutely mint swiss (german / french) Datsun Z and ZX series operating manuals (including the correct 1972 one for my car!) Some sales brochures and price lists of the Z and ZX series A load of empty Datsun folders, which i like to put my Documents inside (already have plenty, but you never can have enough of those :-P) Also a NOS oil filter removal special tool and some small items (not part of the lot, but took them with me anyway :-P) A special yellow Datsun "advertizing" folder, which i've never seen before (empty) and a Datsun / Nissan special tool overview folder: Now this is the rare stuff: Documents used internally at Datsun Suisse SA to make notes, approve modifications on the car, to send with documents, or to make notes after the car returns from a repair: Also various unused workshop documents like the warranty claim form, Repair log pages, and carts as well as a specs-and-data booklet. On one of the boxes i also found s sticker of the shipping company, who was most probably given the task to import the spare parts from japan: The set also included a few factory Dias from the 240Z, and some customer photos of tuned Z's and ZX's: Also included were some newspaper cutouts and reviews from magazines from back in the day: Some cool manuals, which i so far only had in digital form (AUtomatic transmission in french, the S30 Heater manual and the American Competition parts catalogue): Also included was a complete folder full of original homologation specification sheets, used to get the cars homologated in switzerland! You still can find a copy of those in every registry in switzerland: This one is also nice: A users folder including service folder, the sticker that came with every new car, a three-year warranty card and the exhaust emission document: Then a few cool Nissan / Datsun documents, like letter drafts, or management training manuals, some shareholder documentatipmn, and a cool manual on how to use the digital satellite parts ordering system, if i got that right: The lot also included a set of Datsun 240Z information (mainly copies from the FSM, but still have to check it in detail), and a nice advertizing flyer template, which the Z on it: I still have to check them all out in detail and will post more in the coming days. Nothing crazy at the end of the day, but then again all those small, rare items, so i'm very happy at the end. great stuff. This will also allow me to update a few details in the Big Datsun Switzerland (Hi)story post. There was also a discussion about some bigger parts lots which still need to be picked up, so i hope i can help there too. even though it's more fun than work. Stay tuned...

Thanks. That's something i honestly still have to find out. I know the RHD cars had dedicated holes for installing it. I was hoping since the LHD cars got this as an optional "competition" item, there might be some place to put it. But since the chassis is in the bodyshop atm i wasn't able to check it out yet. My plan was to find a place when i assemble it. but maybe i should check beforehand Thanks for the input. Yeah it's likely possible that it's a Zclocks restauration. The seller was based in America and claimed it to be 100% restored. The only guy i know doing this in the US is Zclocks. Anyway it's in excellent condition

Today i managed to find something nice and rare. Something i have been looking for for a while and recently one popped up for sale: An original Nissan "two-button" Rallye clock including oscillator box in excellent shape: It consists of a the clock itself including the wires And the oscillator box: A while ago i got this aftermarket oscillator box From japan, which i don't need anymore, but since someone might be curious, here's a little comparison: For those who don't know the Rallye clock was Standard in some japanese cars, and also available as a dealer option over there. In other countries (USA for e.g.) the rallye clock was sold in the "competition" catalogues as an option as well:

Yes, there were various spring sets for the various markets plus various option sets. you can find most of the information (including springs) in the Link at the end of my previous post.

Hi Keith, sorry it took me a while. 1) i realized i have two similar sets (i thought they were different ones). Both Have the part number 56105-N3785 The labels says GS30 (Hard) 74-11 and S30(Hard) 74-11 Both sets came from two independant european dealers (one from germany, one i found in Austria) with the set including a sheet on how to install them. The manual seems to be generic, as it also includes instrction for the 510 and other cars: this is the other (exactly same) set with the same sheet included, but the backside shown. The backside is written in Japanese. and clearly shows the "AMPCO" logo, even though both sets of struts included are of "ATSUGI" brand. That is because AMPCO = Atsugi Motor Parts Corp. So it's the same company, just different branding. This also seems to be confirmed in this thread, with the exact same strusts and installation sheet: Update: Here's a closer look at the scanned installation manual. Japanese on one side and english on the other side: If you look up the part numbers, they seem to fit for the S30. but only for the 260Z: As for up to October 1974, 56105-E4185 was used. "OP" means "optional". This usually indicates harder "competition" suspension, or european factory specs, as we usually got from factory, what was optional competition suspension in other countries. This information also seems to fit with the "Hard" and date indication on the box (see 2nd. picture in this post) I still have yet to find out what to do with the two sets. Also i'm not sure yet if they're the correct euro-spec for the 240Z. If have yet to find out if the 56105-N3785 is the 1:1 replacement unit for 56105-E4185. then it would be fitting. Otherwise it's "just" a set of (optional hard) struts for the 260Z (2+2). So i looked it up in the parts manual. took me a while to find one where this one is listed: So, you can see it is not listed as a direct replacement for the 240Z items. (ok that part is cut off on the right side, but it is not listed as the replacement for the up to 10-'74 items) Means, while technically probably fitting as a replacement. they were never listed or sold from factory as an official fitting item for the 240Z. So what do we have then? It seems like it is a fitting replacement front shock absorber for the 01-74+ 260Z 2+2 and 11-74+ 260Z factory items. But it's not a standard item, but - a complete strut cartridge ("for service") to replace the original "open" style strut inserts. - a "hard" spec, factory for european cars, or optional as "competition" items for other country cars. You might wonder why there are so many of these struts around in europe that i was able to "accidentally" obtain two sets of them? Well over here the 260Z never got replaced by the 280Z, so we had the 260Z for much longer, until it got replaced by the Z31. So i guess these might be interesting for one or another 260Z (2+2) owner outside europe. If you're interested, i once wrote a big post about the 240Z suspension and options here, but i haven't updated it in a while, so you might want to read it with a pinch of salt: https://www.jdmjunkies.ch/wordpress/2017-01-19/240z-the-ultimate-guide-to-factory-suspension-and-options/

Today i finally got the Japanese Neko publishing "Fairlady Volume I" & "Fairlady Volume II" Books. Two super nice hardcover books that come in an additional nice cardboard box each. I've seen those books many times but somehow forgot about them until a friend reminded me about them (Shoutout to Florian!), So i had to get them, of course. I have only flipped through them quickly so far, so have to dive deeper into them. It appears that vol 1 has a lot of background information about the development. like below shown the different prototype / development versions: They also feature nice pictures of all variants like the HS30-H G-nose version or the PS30 (Z432), etc, where you can see all the details: Vol. II has a lot of motorsports photos And also shows one of the famous Z432 Highway patrol cars: As i said, i still have to go through them in detail in the coming days, but so far, they look good in my (partial) collection of Japanese Z-related books:

correction: As a reader pointed out, there IS actually a page with the S30 gen Fairlady Z in the book. I just completely missed it when flipping through the book initially 🙂 Here you you see the new Z together with what appears to be a Z432 and a regular JDM Spec Fairlady Z

@zed2 Hi Keith, sorry i missed your question. Let me check the numbers on the various struts i have next week. I'm on the way to the airport right now. Yesterday i was able to pick up another lot of small NOS bits and pieces for the 240Z project from a nice german bloke, who offered them them to me. Let's start with the obvious elephant in the room: A used original Datsun / Nissan Competition steering wheel in quite good shape (needs a little touch up, though). Since the original Japanese "Z" logo horn button was a bit worn out, he additionally included a reproduction item: You might remember i once had the opportunity to buy a complete reproduction steering wheel, which i still have, but the real deal is of course always better. See this link for a comparison to the original steering wheel and a bit of background information on the Compe steering wheel. The one i got now looked a bit dried out, so i thought i give it a bit of "cockpit lotion" treatment to preserve it before i put it in storage. As you can see on the towel it was quite dirty, only from rubbing a bit: Now it feels much smoother and additionally smells nice *lol* The rest of the parts mainly consist of NOS (New-old-stock) random small bits and pieces, which are always good to have on hand when restoring a car. I got various gaskets transmission-to-driveshaft seals and an alternator bracket in the original nice blue colour (this will come handy as a colour reference when painting the motor!)... Also included were a Relay (or fuse?) cover, a Battery tie-down-hook, a set of drum-brake rubber seals, a clutch cylinder / piston and a set of new interieur door-handle plastic shells: Then a few new heater control knobs, those small plastik things just below the windscreen, a few engine-bay / firewall rubber gaskets and the clutch cable rubber gasket, as well as a new nissan radiator coolant hose: Since the seller didn't have some of the originally listed parts anymore, he offered me a free new Japanese "Fairlady Z" Book instead. It is a kind of a mix between a high-end hardcover sales brochure and photobook: It consists of mainly beautiful photos of the new Fairlady Z (sadly no pictures together with the older generation Z's) And some information about the different options, colours etc. Nice to have and put it in my lecture collection 🙂 Once again many small pieces of the puzzle collected to put the car back together.

When i started my project, i never thought about putting things like Hubcaps on the car. I wanted it to be cool with aftermarket wheels and all. Today i'm a bit unsure which direction to go, but i have grown up and learned that the value of a car is only there when it comes with all original parts, documents, history, etc. so whenever i see original parts pop up for sale for a reasonable price. i buy them. just because of collecting reasons, or to have the car complete with all the parts, even though it's modified. A while ago i got a set of original Datsun hubcaps but t hey're in terrible shape (see left) and in my opinion beyond reasonable repair. they're dented, paint is gone, chrome is peeling off, etc. This is the old set: So when recently a set of correct build-date popped op for sale in good shape, i had to get it. today i was finally able to get them. Even if i'm not sure if they ever will end up on the car, it's good to know t hat the care is one piece more to complete, as it originally left the factory. Or 4 pieces, if you will. Ant this time they only need a bit of cleaning to be back in good shape. nice.

I managed to get another load of rare old, but new (NOS = New-Old-Stock) parts for the 240Z. Most of the parts are something i wouldn't have bought new since they're just small bits and pieces, but when i got the chance to obtain the whole lot, i couldn't refuse. This is what i got delivered today: First of all: A clutch disk: Then a set of complete headlight bucket assemblies. You might remember i got the rubber seals for these included in last weeks delivery, and today also the chrome trim rings arrived: Some more rare body panels: The two reinforcment corners that start at the firewall and extend under the hood on each side to the fenders. I don't think i'll need those, but it's good to have them in case the bodyshop needs those: There were also a set of gaskets. The one on the left is for the big original air filter. the red one for the fuel pump. the two black ones are for the water pump and the other one obviously for the exhaust downpipe. Last week i got some of the side marker parts, and this weeks i got the chrome trims and rubber seals for them (two top items). Additionally i also got the rare bumper mounted turn signals for the Eurpean spec 240Z including the rubber seals (bottom two items): A set of filters came with the delivery too: Oil filter, and fuel filters: And an original water pump: Something rare is this fusebox. and a fuse remover tool. I don't know i think this is not the correct one for the 240Z as it has too many fuses. so i will probably sell it. A set of chrome bumper trims or whatever they're called. I think they're US-Spec but have to double check in my manuals. Will also go up for sale if i don't need them. They also came along with a set of original rubber covers for them. I also got a set of strut inserts for the 240Z. Strangely the included papers mentions a PL510 and other cars, but the box says GS30 and S30 "Hard" so i have to double check ne numbers too. And then i got a load of small fastners, mounts, shims, bits and pieces. Those are always good to have. some of them are really rare and useful, others seem a bit strange and unfamiliar. Overall it's a great lot, even though it wasn't cheap. I still have to double check all the part numbers and see if they're right for my car. I have my doubts in some cases. But that's not an issue, i just put them up for sale 🙂 At the end, i'm sure this will save my arse once or twice when i put together the car and realize a certain small piece is missing and worth replacing, only to find it in this lot 🙂 Another friend gifted me this Coin with a Japanese lettering and a 240Z on it. It's a bit strange because it seems to show a "regular" S30 chassis (see the grille?) but the text says "Fairlady" (top) and 240 Z-G (bottom). The backside says "Award". I don't know where this comes from. but i found a few googlin japanese "240Z fairlady coin" etc. One sales ad had the following text included: It's a coin you get when you collect dozens of old arcade coins. This coin is over 30 years old. Owners and fans of Z30 and 240G, what do you think? If somebody knows more i'd love to learn what this is about.. What's next? I have a week off the coming days and i plan to get my EK9 read for next season, so i can put it in hibernation during the winter and focus on the Z again.

Soo, the Z project is slowly picking up speed again. I was able to purchase a bunch of NOS parts from a nice elderly guy lately and they arrived today: So what is inside those boxes? First of all a set of NOS Akebono rear drum brake pads. I think i have now three sets of NOS pads, and one Project Mu 🙂 A set of original headlight rubber gaskets in excellent condition. I think i bought a good aftermarket set once, but these are of course the real deal. An original battery tray mount metal frame. I think i have the rubber / Plastik kit for it, so now the set should be complete. This one is probably not really rare but something i haven't seen for sale a lot. The "Flange" is used to connect the steering column to the coupler if i'm right. A shiney Mitsubishi voltage regulator with absolutely no corrosion or signs of age: Some for t hose plastik side marker lenses: Also a chrome bumper corner: needs a bit of cleaning bit of buffing but otherwise excellent: A NOS Hood locking mechanism: Rear drum brake cylinder, early version if i'm correct: And now to the cool stuff: A complete set of NOS JDM Fairlady fender mirrors in original packing and with all hardware. Something prices have skyrocketed for. so i'm happy i got them for realistic price: And an OEM NOS Honda radio deleter storage compartment thingy (Nissan part name: "Mask"): This was an option part to install instead of the original radio, which i think is cool. I have something similar in my EK9 too. In such cars i prefer to have the sound of the car, rather than the sound of an old defunct radio. Also it allows me to skip the search for an expensive and quite rare Euro-band spec original radio in reasonable condition. Then i also got this nice swiss 280ZX brochure and color sample chart (including interieur fabric samples). Not directly related to my car, but i thought i's nice to have for my collection: Regarding the Bodyshop. I wanted to call him this week to ask about updates. When i brought him the car a few months ago, the plan was to finish it by end of 2022. Well So far not much has happened. But then out of nowhere he called me to excuse for all the delays. It seems he had some bad luck with health and was not able to work for a few weeks and this threw his whole plannig over board. They now have fixed my car into the schedule for march 2023 where 3 people are fully booked to work on my car. So hopefully next spring the shell will be ready. Fingers crossed. Oh and you might remember a while ago i got gifted a bunch of old Nissan dealer stickers and i thought one would make a good look on one of my tool drawers: Perfect. Stay tuned for more updates soon...