sakijo

V12Horse, Are those Watanabe lug nuts too?

Yes. They bought from component suppliers rather than make their own. It diversified the economy (more companies, more production, less risk). Light bulb manufacturers in Japan are the same as those in America - they supply the major manufacturers with "standard" bulbs. In America, these were GE, Sylvania, and Westinghouse. Again, major manufacturers of alternators in Japan are Hitachi, Mitsubishi and Koito.

Interestingly enough, Nissan and Subaru shared many components and technologies - the R160/180/200 differenntial being one of them.

Decided to start a new thread on the L-series engine. From what I've read on another forum, the L-series engine was developed by Nissan and was continually refined and upgraded, ending with the L-28. The G8 (S-20) engine was developed by Prince and this engine eventually gave birth to the RB series engines found in later Skylines. Any thoughts?

This is what I gleaned from the article about the S-20 and L-24: The Nissan Prince R380 race car was fitted with a GR8 engine. It initially developed just over 200PS or 197HP. After tuning, it improved to 255PS or 251HP. The GR8B engine developed by Prince was re-designated the S-20 by Nissan and put into the KPGC10/PGC10 Skyline. The predecessor of the GR8B was the GR7B, which powered the Prince Skyline GT-B. They did have a racing version of the GR7B, which had a cross-flow head. In March 1971, a “racing type” Fairlady Z with a L-24 engine reached the “two minute wall” at Fuji Speedway. The calculated lap times were: S-20 2:02:37 253PS (249HP) L-24 2:03:62 236PS (232HP) Although it is not stated, I suspect that the cars were both Fairlady Zs, the S-20 powered one being a 432R and the other being a 432R with an engine transplant. The article stated that the S-20 was quicker in the turns, but the L-24 had the advantage in the straights. They eventually got 264PS (260HP) from an S-20 engine by enlarging it to 2200cc and reworking the head. Sadly, the S-20 met its end due to stricter emissions. So, what we’ve suspected all along is probably true. The street version of the S-20 is most likely an under-rated and de-tuned version of the racing engine. However, it doesn’t look like you could squeeze much more than 250HP out of an S-20 without major modifications. Footnote: The article states that Nissan discontinued making the GT-R after the Kenmeri because the S-20 could not meet emission standards. It says that without twin cams, it could not be called a GT-R.

Pssssttttt . . . . BANG! POP! Owwwwww! Never had it happen to me. I always wrap a rag around the area where the air gun goes into the brake line hole and put one over the pistons as well. Flying brake fluid is definitely not good for your eyes.

I'm on it. My reading Japanese is not too good, so I'll have to ask someone for assistance. I tried SYSTRAN on it and it makes some sense to me, but I'll go ask anyway.

The crane symbolizes "long life" in Japanese culture. There are two other symbols for long life; the turtle and the pine tree. All three of these live for long periods of time and are considered auspicious symbols. In the old days, a lot of children were named Tsuru (crane), Matsu (pine) and Kame (turtle) in hope that they lived long lives - remember, this was a period of high infant mortality, so you tried to give your child any "edge" that you could. My guess is that they chose cranes because they could stylize it to look like a "W" and hope for the company's "long life" BTW the old Japan Airlines logo was also a crane, but formed in a round shape to mimic the Japanese family crest, which often served as a company's logo. My rims are 15x7, PCD 114.3. Front tires are 195/55-15 and the rears are 205/60-15. It gives the car a bit of a rake without altering the suspension. I don't know the offset, but the back fenders have rolled inner lips to clear the rim and tire.

Ezra, I was talking about the ones posted at the start of this thread. I think Speed Star and SSR are the same company. I think (and I'm not sure) that SSR means "Speed Star Racing" The "Classic Watanabes" are RS Watanabe, I think. Attached a picture of the type of wheel that I have on my car and a set of Watanabe caps. The Ws are actually cranes . . . Edit: As far as I can determine, Speed Star Co LTD is a company that makes wheels. One of their lines is the SSR line. I can't say for sure, but I would believe that the SSR Watanabes are made by Speed Star under license or agreement with RS Watanabe, otherwise their would certainly be copyright infringement with the use of RS Watanabe's logo.

My cousin had a Vega that he ran and warped the block. He replaced the original motor with the Cosworth engine. Boy, was that thing fast! He regularly beat Corvettes and other Muscle cars . . . but he never did get a BMW 2002. He warned me never to play around with those - they looked innocent, but ran like hell. I digress. My first car - 1965 Mustang, 289 V8, automatic, white with red interior. $500.00 in 1978.

Those rims sure look like SSR Watanabes to me. 7240Z - can you look at the round mark on the face of the rim? If it looks like 3 Ws stacked in a triangle in side a circle, that ''s what they are. Got 'em on my car, but hard to see because the avatar is so small. BTW, you should mention the import fees and taxes on autos in the Philippines. I've heard many a horror story that the import fees and taxes cost more than what the car is worth - and people leave them on the docks rather than pay.

As far as I know, A/C units are pretty much car-specific for the ducts, switches and other interior parts. The other parts may be easy bolt-ons (compressor, dirier, condenser, etc.). Universal under dash units may work if you have space, but most likely won't look stock. Even in the case of my car, I have seen no less than 3 different factory installations. It's not impossible - I have seen a working unit that was put together from parts of 10-12 different cars and it looked like it came that way from the factory! If you can get a unit made for the car, it shouldn't be too difficult. Good luck!

Amazing. I watched those keys and gave up after I realized that they were going to go for a high price. I was interested in the left hand key in particular that went for over $100.00, because I thought it would work in my Skyline. I did get an original key blank from England, of all places, but it's the square head one. And that's only the ignition key . . . the key that opens the doors and trunk is impossible to find. I can tell you this much, if those keys are available, they sure are hard to come by. I live in Japan and those key blanks are NLA from Nissan.

It's all been said above, but it doesn't hurt to repeat it. Patience and time is all that you need. Doing a lot of the work yourself will save you money. Don't despair . . . I remember being 17 and fixing up my 65 Mustang. It was hard when my paycheck was $5.00 a day, but I got through it - so will you. I'm a lot older now, and make a lot more than $5.00 a day, but it's still difficult to fix up the Skyline. Some things never change.

Believe it or not, these guys go to extreme lengths to make the cars pass the bi-annual (once every two years) safety inspection. Although the Government has gotten a bit lenient in the past few years, it's not uncommon for people to swap out engines and take off body parts that are not legal prior to inspection. Once they pass inspection, it all goes back on and they're good for another two years. Sounds crazy, I know, but as long as you have current paperwork, the cops don't care. In the old days, my friend used to patronize a shop that would make your car legal and rent you the necessary parts. Once it passed inspection, their parts came out, and your parts would go back in.

Found another Ugly . . . .

I've got the Skyline in the avatar, no Z. I'm looking for the pros and cons of one over the other. I think a standard VDO 2 5/8 inch will go in, though I haven't taken measurements yet.

I got a lot more pictures. 55 to be exact. I'll post them later in the gallery. An Excalibur is a custom car that looks like a 30s Mercedes with Chevy drivetrain (I think). Do a Google search. they're quite popular in the US. As for the Blue C110, it's a GTX, which came with twin SUs from the factory. I have noticed that there are apparently 2 types of flat tops, The notoriously bad ones that went into the US had square-mouths, whereas the JDM ones had round mouths. Yahoo Japan has the flat tops up for auction sometimes and they have round mouths. This blue C110 looks like an original or restoration to original, so I don't think improved performance is a goal. But then again, JDM flat tops could be as good as the round tops.

I'm going to get rid of the clock and put in a Ammeter or voltmeter. I've heard convincing arguements for both at the expense of the other. My question is: Which one gives a better indication of the charging system? I only have the real estate for one.

Went to the Tokyo Classic Motor Show yesterday. Lots of 60s and 70s cars. Lots of parts, brochures, toys (models, die cast, etc) and clothing too. It was really great. Nissan cars were the majority, but there were Toyotas, Mazdas, Hinos, Hondas, Alfas, BMWs, Mercedes, and even an Excalibur. Here's a couple of photos for you 240K owners.

Like everything else, age depends on "care." My co-worker is 53, but looks and acts like he's 65. My car has 97,000 km (60,000 mi) and shows it - worn out everything. My friend's motorcycle has 200,000 km (125,000 mi) and looks and runs like brand new. But, to answer your question, I think cars age on a sliding scale. The first year is probably the hardest on a new car, so I say the first year may be equal to ten years. Then, the wear and tear slows down as the parts break in and settle down. Maybe 8 years the for the second, 5 years for the third, until you get down to 1 for each year. using this theory, I figure my car is about 60 years old.

I did not win the auction. I gave up after 2 or 3 bids. The auction has an extension option, whereby if in the last 5 minutes a bid is placed, the auction automatically extends. Needless to say, after 3 time extensions and the bid up to 15,501 with the incremental increase raised from 500 to 1,000, I called it quits. I'll check the winning bid later today and post it. I maxed out at 15,001, which is about 126.00 USD. The winning bid was 15,501. But, here's an odd footnote. The bidding ended about 11:20. Positive feedback was posted by the seller around 8:30. There is no way for the buyer to conclude the transaction that fast. The banks are all closed and don't open until 9:00 (Japanese pay by bank transfer). There is no way for the seller to access his account to check for payment for the same reasons. We smell something rotten. Sounds like a shill buyer boosting up the price for the seller. Lucky I gave up. We complained to Yahoo Japan.

I found this to be helpful in determining what transmission you have: http://zhome.com/ZCMnL/tech/69-83TrannyShifterDrawing.jpg And this site was great to determine transmission and rear end ratios: http://www.geocities.com/z_design_studio/

The first auction ends at 10:52. Nobody's bidding on it at this moment. At 10:00 or so, I will check again and if it's still up for grabs, I'll be bidding on it. Thanks, Jim!