240 in OZ

2Many No probs, just wanted to clear it up for the record as I would hate for hundreds of people to go out and start to paint their stone/splash pans black ;> I just hope that the original poster of the query hasnt been able to get to the auto parts store as yet to pick up their rattle can of gloss black. Later Joseph

2Many Like I said I have it on good authority that they were just plain pressed steel from the factory. I think that the later ones (ie for the 260z/280z) were black as I use to own a 75 260z (yes, they exist here in Australia) and it had one that was black. The person I got the info from use to work for Datsun back in the 70's and purchased one over the parts counter for his car. I believe that the 240z used for the photos in the official Nissan workshop manual is a LHD USA specification car. If you have a manual take a look at the towing section which is within the first few pages and also the front suspension section and there is some good pics in there. Wish I had a pic to post but unfortunately I dont. Mine is currently painted black and I plan to strip it and clear coat it for the original look. Please post any more info that you find. At this stage Im happy to stick with the plain pressed steel finish.

Hey Guys Sorry, both incorrect. It was plain steel pressed and wasnt painted at all. I have this on good authority. If you have a workshop manual and you look through the pics in there you will see that it is a very light colour (ie black and white photos) which indicates to me that the info I have is correct. Just strip it down and clear coat it for the original look. Sorry to go against the concensus on this one. Hope this helps you out. Regards Joseph

Steve I understand your current mission and really encourage you to keep up the recording of the production dates of the Aussie 240z cars. But, as this car is not mine, I dont feel right about posting the details of the VIN and the engine number. I only remember that the VIN# was 14xx. The car was white exterior with a black interior, originally an auto. It also had a black vinyl roof. The car has been completely stripped and is going to be used in Targa Tasmania next year. It was a real shame to see it the way I did as it was a totally original car, original elderly lady owner, under 70k miles on it, minimal rust, etc. I know I shed a few tears over it. Regards Joseph

Just to add a little more confusion to the mix, my car is RHD VIN#1282 and it has been dated as 09/71 production from the engine number and comparison with USA numbers. I have recently got some parts from a guy who is wrecking out RHD VIN#14xx and the engine number on this car is a lower number than mine.It was complianced in 10/71. Also FWIW it was originally an auto. Regards Joseph

Andrew Hey. Im currently going through the same problem with my mirror, but interestingly (or not !) mine had the reverse problem of yours, ie the movement had seized up and someone has tried to adjust the mirror and the thin stainless steel mirror body has dented. Im told that this is a common problem with these mirrors. I attempted to carefully remove the mirror glass with a flat bladed knife, but the glass broke. I also got a few small kinks in the stainless steel trim. I am currently lost with what to do with mine. Im not sure where to take it to to have the kinks removed and I cannot see how to get them out by myself. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know. I assume that the mirror will be relatively easy to attain from a glass place as I have the old one, albeit in two pieces ;> Also not sure how to go about fitting the glass and bending the stainless steel lip around the mirror. I spoke with someone here in Australia a while back who had the same problem as me. They decided to break the glass rather than try and remove it. They removed the dent in the stainless steel mirror body and then took it to a glass place and had them cut a piece of mirror which was slightly smaller than the original and could fit into the body without the need to bend the lip back. They then glued the mirror in place. They were happy with the result, I never saw the finished mirror so cannot comment on the final appearance. Again if anyone has any ideas please post them as Im keen to get the mirror fitted on the car. Regards Joseph

Some also on ebay

Hello After experiencing and repairing water leaks in both my old 75 260z 2+2 and my current 71 240z I think that i have the necessary experience to offer some assistance on this matter. The key to tracing waterleaks is determining exactly what becomes wet in the footwells. There are two scenarios: (1) The tops of the floor mats are wet and have soaked completely through from the top side; (2) Only the undersides of the floor mats are wet, and the tops are bone dry. Scenario (1) was experienced by myself in my old 2+2. After close inspection done by sitting in the car and someone hosing it down I determined that I has a small leak in the windshield weatherstrip, between the glass and the rubber on either lower side of the screen. I bought a windscreen sealant from the parts store and resealed it myself. I used the complete tube doing both the front and rear screen; had a heck of a time with the clean up but got there in the end. I thought that was it, but it wasnt. I was still getting a little in there. Decided to pull the upper cowl/scuttle panel for a closer look. I found that the fresh air "chimney" for want of a better description was rusted through where it meets the base of the scuttle panel and I also found two small holes. I sealed them temporary with slilcon and all was well after that. Another potential source of scenario (1) may be the seam sealer used by the factory in this area may be dry and cracked and allowing water to leak in there, but this wasnt the case with mine. The drain hoses that the dude in NZ mentioned may also be split, so look at them closely. To try and stem the cause of scenario (1) I suggest to fellow owners that they remove the upper scuttle/cowl panel and clean out the cowl every 6 months or so. It is surprising just the amount of crud and muck that accumulates in there. Scenario (2) was experienced a few years back when I first got my 240z. It really drove me crazy. The top sides of the floor mats would be bone dry, yet the undersides of them and the floor itself was always wet after washing the car. I discovered after much frustration that the leak was being caused by two problems. The first was the windshield weatherstrip where the rubber joins the body on the roof edge. Water was getting in there, running out to the sides. down the roof pillars (A pillars) and behind the jute padding on the firewall and underneath the floor mats and soaking them from the bottom upwards. I resealed the screen and that stopped 90% of the problem. I then discovered that water was getting in between the door seal and the door jamb. It was getting in the front top edge of the door, where the little stubby weatherstrip is, running around the periphery of the door to the base and then dripping down to the floor underneath the mat and again soaking it from the bottom upwards. I havent stopped this 100% as yet but feel with new weatherstrips on the top edges of the doors it will be cured. You could always caulk them temporary to try and stop the water. One suggested cure for this problem is not to drive the car in the rain and was it by hand using the two bucket method rather than with a hose. I hope this sheds some pretty common water leaking problems on the z car and saves someone from going insane trying to track them down.

Post engine number for comparison, it cannot be dated via VIN#.

Zach You must have a 72 model year car as the dash was changed to incorporate the cigarette lighter in the dash.

The hole above the hazard switch was generally cut out by the factory to install the optional driving light operational switch. The early 69 cars didnt have any rear defroster bars on the rear hatch glass.

Gav Is that you I see putting your hand up to look at the car? From memory it is in Heidleburg or something. I have a friend in Melbourne that offered to inspect the car for me if I was interested, but when I saw the asking price and the description of the condition I baulked at it. My guess is he is asking too much for the car for the condition it is in and is playing on the low VIN#.

Agreed, but it all depends on the sellers definition of the word "kink"; it could mean a lot of things.

Gav240z No, I havent seen the car in person. When it was first listed on the internet for sale (on ozdat from memory) a few months back I contacted the seller and made some inquiries. I was informed that one of the chassis rails was "kinked", cant remember which one.

Frame rail is bent in this car.

Sorry Halz; I wanted zed240au to read it again

Read the third paragraph of my recent post again.

datfreak We shall see if you are right in say 10 years time when there are only a handful of 240z cars still left in the country and still in one piece. These cars are now becomming true collector status cars, and Im afraid to say that true collectors just wont put up with mods such as non-original engines etc. Its good to see people out there rebuilding these cars basically from scrap and getting them back on the road; owner mods are always going to happen in these cases. But, I am definately against modifying these cars just for the sake of it.

Gav240z/others I did say in my posting "in some respects", and the points that both you and Steve Curtis have pointed out are basically the other respects. As the owner of a very original 71 240z I am very pleased to see the prices of the cars going up; hell Id like to see them commanding AUS$20K; but I was just trying to point out that people are starting to become a little unrealistic when it comes to selling cars that they have in the run down conditions that it seems a great deal of them are in these days. My anology with the MGB may have been a bad one I guess due to the high numbers of surviving cars and also the great spare parts availability. It wouldnt be too difficult to complete a 100 point restoration on an MGB, all you would need is a heap of dollars and not much sense (sorry MGB owners ;>), but try doing a 100 point restoration on a 240z here in Australia. From what I have heard it is starting to be a little difficult to complete one in the USA as well. What I was trying to get at is people are just being unrealistic when it comes to selling run down cars. Cars that have no floors, bad rails, gutted interiors and non-original engines in them are suddenly commanding $3000! Buy this car and have the body work done and you would be in for a great deal of expense I would imagine, far outweighing the final "value" of the car. At the end of the day the car has the non-original engine in it, and most buyers of collector cars looking at the high end of the market would want the original engine in the car, or at least available with the car. Halz example of RHD#91 is a prime example. Here is a car that has a non-original engine in it and the owner/seller is asking $12k for it. Using this as a mark of the market, should I ask say $20k for my original condition car and hope to sell it? IMO there is definately a clear divide starting to emerge in the z car scene here in Australia...the car is either good or bad. There doesnt seem to be that many average cars out there in the market place these days, and the picture has definately shifted significantly since I have been into zed cars. The really bad cars have become the bad cars and the average ones have become the good ones. No offence to anyone here on the list (and I include myself in this description), but I havent seen many "great" cars here in Australia for some time. I do not class my car as a great car. I can think of a few, but can count them using my fingers. I hope this has cleared up my point that I was trying to put across; I have probably just confused you even more, havent I ;>

In some respects Im afraid to say that prices of all of the zed cars here in Australia are really starting to go through the roof and IMO are becomming stupid in most cases. I can remember back in the early 90's when you could pick up a good, sound, running and registered 240z as a project car for around $2000. Sure it needed some work, but nothing major and it could be fixed up while you were using it. I have seen cars in similar condition these days advertised for around $4000 min. I remember looking at a very low VIN# car back in about 94 or so (VIN<100) that was registered, driveable and pretty decent. The owner wanted $2500 ono for it. It was a very original car but did need some work and unfortunately wasnt what I was looking for at the time. Of course, looking back on it, it is exactly what I would like to have now ;> I still think that the majority of sellers of z cars these days here in Australia are really trying to take advantage of "z fever" and also the scarcity of the cars to try and demand top $ for the rotting rubbish that they are trying to pass off as "restoration cases". Its a real shame to see. As a comparison you wouldnt buy say an MGB for AUS$12K that needed anything done to it, would you?

The mint 260z for sale in Qld is an auto

OK, now you made me go and check the parts fiche book (www.carfiche.com) ;>. For the LHD models the parts book lists that FRP (assumed to stand for fibre reinforced plastic) was used for the headlight buckets from start of production until 06/72. From 07/72 onwards the headlight buckets were metal. Dates may vary slightly as sometimes the published literature doesnt correspond with changes made on the assembly line. You are right in saying that the factory found it difficult to tool them up initially in metal so they went with the fibreglass ones due to the extreme demand for the cars when they were first introduced. Im not sure how the dates for the LHD cars correspond to our RHD cars. My car is a 09/71 and it had one fibreglass bucket and one metal bucket that was used to repair the car when it was damaged some years back (prior to my ownership). I have recently replaced the metal one with a fibregalss one so I now have a matching pair of fibregalss ones. Mr C says his car is a 72 and by the sounds of it had fibreglass ones originally as well. Mr C, I am happy to pay postage from yourself to me for the fibregalss one that you are going to replace on your car if you no longer want/need it. PM me and we can work it out. Regards Joseph

I believe that the fibreglass headlight buckets/nose cones were introduced for the 72 model year.

Steve If it helps any mine is a 09/71 car with # HS30 01282. Joseph

Hello I suggest that your engine or head has been modified to produce larger cylinder compression. Without knowing more of the history of your car and the engine it will be difficult to tell what mods have been made. Regards Joseph