SpeedRoo

Have the block soaking in Evaporust for a few days, dissolving any rust left inside the water jacket after pressure washing. Stripped the block of any old paint so back to bare cast iron. Have all the pieces ready for the rebuild including Nissan/Made in Japan bearings, NOS Japanese made gasket set. All the nuts and bolts off the engine have been cleaned/derusted/wire brushed and replated ready for refitting. Just need to soda blast the alloy front cover, cylinder head and cam cover. The 4 screw carbs have been stripped and put through the ultrasonic cleaner ready for reassembly with replated fittings. Can't wait to see what it looks like reassembled. Meanwhile the gearbox is getting new seals and a good cleaning.

Engine build coming along nicely, painting the block this week in Nissan blue. Managed to pick up a couple of early 240z radiators to be recored. Also found a original steering wheel. Should have the engine in by Spring ready for a shakedown.

Also the pigments used in the paint back then are no longer available and the chemical composition of the paint has also changed from solvent to water based. Only way you will get close is to mix paint to match the underside of the tool box lid and use a single stage process without clear coat. Another problem with be matching the size of the metallic used in the original paint.

Give these guys a try, if they don't have it in stock they can make it. http://www.nostalgic-grains.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=20&product_id=133

@hiyabrad have put you in the database for 1 set of 1969 and 1 set of 1970.

Just an update on the reproduction Yazaki plug leads, Thanks to Mike @zspert and @CanTechZexcellent drawings, along with a set of NOS 1971 Yazaki coil leads from Kuwait of all places, I have finished up the CAD drawings and produced some rubber pieces for testing of fit and function. In the meantime I'm sourcing the correct 7mm carbon core leads. I'll be trialing a set on my 1970 240Z this week before I screen print the original markings onto the leads in yellow as originally done. The plan is to offer a limited run of 1969 and 1970 sets initially, both those years used the same rubber connector boots and yellow markings. Once I've sourced one of the angled boots for #6 lead on the 1971, 1972 and 1973 240Z I'll offer those as well which have the white markings. Apologies for taking so long to get this sorted but sourcing original parts to replicate was the main stumbling block. Initial cost estimate is around USD$250 for a set of reproduction leads. They will be made here in the USA not outsourced to China! Interested owners so far include @hiyabrad @Zup @VaCat33 @26th-Z @240dkw @inline6 Feel free to add any comments.

Thanks @inline6 black it is.

White ChriZmas here in Oregon for all Z big and small. Enjoy the season!

Picked up a load of bits off a smashed up 1970 240Z. Complete steering column and early steering wheel with horn button. Early ashtray, had a broken main body but good lid. Combined it with one I had that had a good body but damaged lid so I have a complete unbroken one. Fitted the light switch, indicator switch and steering wheel today. The horn button had a crack in the plastic locating ring, but fixed it easily using some amazing JB Weld blue light activated instant glue (amazing stuff). Also got an early radio antenna with the pointy tip. Slowly returning the 240Z to original spec.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/294547413490?hash=item449464d9f2:g:GZQAAOSwNzVhkMkD

@inline6 there's a chap over in Kuwait selling off a load of NOS keys and locks. Would it make sense to get an original and reset your wafers on your locks to match the keys. Here's a picture of some of the stuff they have.

Good engineering practice to put a paint mark on any nut/bolt that has been torqued to spec. Indicates the task has been completed. Also provides a visual aid to show if the nut/bolt has backed off or been tampered with. Takes time to do and as they made more Z cars in greater quantities, they used the practice less and less and just did it in a few locations.

@kats I think I have worked out the date codes for the glass. If you look carefully the small dots "." are placed differently for the date. On "01606", a Jan 1970 that was on BAT there are three dots, one after Temperlite, just in front of ASAHI, under the "I" in ASAHI. They signify Dec 1969. On the 1973 Green 240Z currently on BAT you can see the dots are in a different position to "01606"

Thanks @CanTechZ, I had looked at the thread carefully. My question was when did they stop the practice as the 1973 car doesn't have them and neither does the 2,500 mile 280Z 2+2.

After the auction of the BAT 01606 Jan 1970 240Z lots of questions were left unanswered on what is original and what's not on our cars. @zed2made the suggestion of setting up a panel of experts to answer questions and give feedback on originality. I wanted to get the ball rolling. One of the things I noticed is that the Green $310k 04684 May 1970 still had inspection marks on the nuts and bolts, even after 21k miles of use. The 14,000 mile 1973 240Z 160805 now on BAT doesn't have any yellow inspection marks. Question for the eZsperts is when did Nissan stop the practice of using the bright yellow paint inspection marks?

Excellent idea @zed2 that's what I had been trying to do with this thread. There's a wealth of knowledge on this forum and it would be great for newbies like me to be able to tap into it. Things changed so much in one year of production, let alone over the three the 240Z was in production for the USA.

Progress on engine dismantling, everything came apart easily. No broken bolts or anything seized in place. Block stripped down to be boiled out before painting in Datsun "Blue". Started work on rear brakes. Have new Nissan/Datsun hardware and NOS Datsun Akebono brake shoes. Rear hubs disassembled and NOS Datsun bearings prepared to be pressed in place. Question, should the rear inner hub flange be black or gold zinc plated like in the attached picture?

The BAT 240Z went for $165k plus fees. Who knows what one done right would go for, somewhere between this and the $310k Green one? Great to see a good 240Z holding their value.

Which code on the window shows it as 1973 Kats?

Great observations, appreciate you taking the time to comment. helps me get all the little things right on my cars. One correct I think they may be 5 JIS screws not Phillips.

@kats thanks for those, I never knew there were so many little differences. One other I found is the windshield, I believe it is not the original, the "NISSAN" logo is different.

What's the correct finish for the rear hubs, BAT car has them painted? They look to be unpainted in the service manual, other than the center piece that is exposed when the brake drum is fitted.

Thanks @SteveJ appreciate the feedback. Any tricks to fitting them or were they plug and play?

Searched back through the forum and found the correct fuel pumps. Should be a Nikki on the BAT car. Nikki is OE for 10/69 - 5/72 Atsugi for 9/72? Ampco is OE for ?/73, possibly also a later replacement Kyosan Denki is a current replacement

I keep referencing to the close to original Green May 1970 240Z "04684" to work out what is correct or not. Should the fuel pump be Nikki on early cars, also should the clip on the hose connecting to the fuel filter be a wire clamp or band type? Were the wire clamps gold zinc or clear? Or a combination?