jdmjunkies.ch

Keen readers might remember i was collecting parts to puzzle together an original, complete tool kit. With my first orders i got some wrong parts and some were still missing. Thanks to a tip from my Datsun-Mate Dan. i recently found this kit with the exact missing parts for sale in UK. Naturally i had to get it. So this is what arrived today: An original Nissan branded pliers, along with a double-headed screwdriver And s et of wrenches. This time metric ones and not inch-based sizes. I still have to check all the details. But i guess with my previous purchases the kit is complete now. More parts are somewhere on a container outside japan now. so expect more updates soon (might still take a few weeks until they're here)

You may have realized by now that the project is a bit on hold by now. The reason is i took over a management role in my job, and besides i'm also studying management. Good thing is after some first chaos i've settled in my new position and things are getting calmer and then i have my exams soon, so after that i have finally much more free time (after 2 years of school = home-study in the evenings and school on the weekends). The plan is to jump right back at where the project stopped aroun april 2022 and go full throttle. i really want to complete this build and i have so many nice parts in stock to go on the car. But from time to time you have to treat yourself with some small gimmicks to keep your brain active on the project. The first thing i got was a contactor set, which was for sale NOS locally and cheap. How could i say no? It's kind of funny to see the mitsubishi logo on the genuine Nissan part Also got this nice german book about the Z. It seems to be a quite well researched book compared to most others (in german). They even got the Goertz story right, i ncluding a print of the letter that nissan sent to him about the design: And then got myself a RAL colour chart. Why you might ask? well I'll show you that in a coming update. and NO, the car won't be painted in any of those colors

A while ago i decided to get myself a complete, original toolkit for the Z, just for completeness sake. In part 1 of the story, i got my first items, but i realized that some of the tools where not from the Z as they where not metric. It's nothing high on my bucket list, but when i see something for sale locally and the price is ok, i try to get it. So this is why i got a few things in front of my door today, all the way from a german 240Z owner. Still have to figure out if all the pieces are really from the 240Z, or maybe one or another item is from another car, but at least it seems to be a step closer to completeness. most of the tools are not in a great optical shape, but that can be handled i guess.. for now i just put them in storage. i have other priorities with the car atm So what did i get? Well the scissors jack, wheel nut wrench, two of the wrenches and the red handles. It all needs a bit of cleaning, but i somehow like the original patina and all the original stickers are still there: Oh and since the seller had this for sale too and it was missing on my car, i asked for the Spare-tire mounting kit too. One piece more in the puzzle

Well thanks to an input from a datsun group i found an Oil pan i've been searching for for a while. Last time i lost the Auction, but this time i was better prepared, and today it finally showed up at my doorstep: The Promodet L6 Large capacity oil Pan: The manufacturer, Promodet Japan, is still active today, but is a well-known porsche tuner these days. I've seen those oil pans a few times in Japan, but they seem pretty rare. I wonder if anybody has mor information on their S30 / 240Z parts lineup they used to have? Old catalogue pages, advertising, etc anyone? would love to see the cars they used to belong to, and what else they offered. It is made from cast Aluminum and has an additional baffle plate, something that looks like small cooling fins and an additional plug for an Oil temperature sensor. I think the Blue fitting is not the original one, so i will try to find a plug that suits the whole thing better. Also the original drain plug seems pretty worn out. Luckily i have a new Nissan magnetic drain plug, which will go there: Here's a look at the baffle pan on the inside: It has some wear and tear here and there, but still seems to be in quite good shape: And for those wondering: here's a size comparison of the original 240Z oil Pan to the Promodet pan: Thanks to the person who pointed me to the pan!

So a few days ago i was able to pick up the remaining parts from the Big "Barn find lot" The owner had kept three boxes of various fasteners for the 240Z for himself, since he had to assemble his car first. This is what is left over. All nicely cleaned and with a fresh coat of zinc and yellow passivated: The parts are nicely split up into "random fasteners": Metric bolts and self-cutting screws Nuts and shims: So that "sub-project" is now completed as well. Not sure however if those parts really all belong to the 240Z. Some of them don't seem familier.. but that doesn't matter i'm sure they find their place

Today i visited a Datsun friend and picked up some parts like these rear window rubbers: A used Door mirror (mine came without those) A set of NOS Window insulators: A NOS transmission boot rubber: And a bunch of catalogues. The orange one is a 1972 belgian catgalogue and the other one is a french one. But the on on the top right is the really rare one i car about. It's the very early March 1971 Swiss sales brochure. I have never seen this one (with US-spec car) before. The later one with the red euro spec car is much more common. Inside you find the usual press photos and information. nothing special. On the rear the Monte Carlo rallye 1971 is used to promote the sportiness of the Z. Mind the monte carlo rallye was held only about 6 weeks before this brochure was released. What is also interesting is the paper. It has a texture like the 240Z Vinyl dashboard and has a very exklusive feel. Nice score!

I thought the same... not sure how this came. not even sure if they're original parts for the Z, since i got them with a big parts lot.. still have to figure out all the details...

Lately i've started collecting the tools for a complete Toolkit for the Z: Which includes this packing slip, from a genuine swiss Z: You can see there are still quite some things missing. but at least i got some of the nissan branded tools already, like the wrenches: The wheel stopper set: Spare lug nuts (not sure if they're part of the toolkit. I've seen it listed in a later version of the above toolkit slip. But they're nice to have anyway! And the original tookit bag. Whit is missing currently are the scissor jack, the lug nut wrench, and at least a pliers and one screwdriver from the toolkit bag. I know you can still buy them new, but if possible id'like to source things locally with the right patina, whenever i come along it. At least i've started to collect things now

Haha thanks. i really learn a lot from all those documents. And i have more on the way here. And i don't think i even posted all here in this thread since it's a build thread and not about documents

Disclaimer: Nothing in this post is for sale - Do not ask me, thanks! What qualifies something as a "barn find" has been discussed previously. But nevertheless, i found these parts covered in dust in an old shed. They were not exactly "forgotten about", but stored there in many years. The story behind them unfortunately includes a bit of human tragedy. After many years, i was the lucky one to buy the whole lot. Well sort of. Since i'm not exactly a hoarder and did not want to have many more parts of those i already own, i made an agreement with a Friend who basically bought the whole lot and i was the one to handle it. In return i got some rare, free and much-needed parts from the lot. So let's start: A while ago i learned from a nice gentleman and z-owner who had some small parts for sale. After some first talks, it turned out we had the same interests, and then he told me about what he had in storage - and it was much more than i had expected. Since his z-restauration is completed now, he doesn't need the parts anymore and was willing to sell them. Talk about good timing! After some first parts viewing, assessment, calculations and negotiation with all of the stakeholders, i was able to make a deal. This is the little shed in some swiss countryside.... Most of the parts where stored in the upper level and only accessible via an unstdeady ladder. But hey - who cares if there are NOS genuine datsun parts? I was initially only interested in the sheetmetal parts, mostly the datsun original parts. But they were only for sale as a lot. Well and then we agreed on buying the whole parts Lot including all the used and aftermarket parts too, so he could clear out the whole stock at once. Last weekend, i was finally able to pick up the parts. First we had to get everything down from the roof-level and outside. And then put it all into two transporter-cars and an additional trailer: So the last days i spent in my garage sorting through all the parts. I made three piles. Left is used original Parts, Center are aftermarket parts and right are NOS genuine Datsun / Nissan parts. On the wall to the right you can see some additional big items... Which includes some funky window louvres, a used hatch glass and a new aftermarket Windshield: Additionally a set of Doors, hood and hatch from a donor-car: The "holy grail" is definitive the NOS parts lot which includes air-channels, complete front inner fenders, a set of front valances, frame-rails, hubcaps, weather strip, trim pieces and many small bits. These are some of the parts that will end up on my build, if required. I've been looking for those for many years now, so i'm quite happy i finally found them! The used parts lot included everything from an uncracked dashboard to original steelies, radiator frame, Headlight covers, an A-type 5-speed transmission, Euro-spec front spoiler, Euro turn signals and much, much more... The aftermarket-lot included a lot of older, but unused parts from all kind of sources. A complete Hood, 3 front fenders, inner and outer rocker panels, rear lower corners, door repair panels, rear arch repair panels, a set of vintage Koni dampers, Aisin-seiki clutch cover, brake shoes and much more... It has been an exhausting but also very fun and satisfying journey to get all those parts. They're now safely in storage and will end up on some pretty nice restauration projects, which deserve such nice parts! So again, none of the parts are for sale. All of them have either been sold already or are for my own build. Sorry..

Lately i've been purchasing a lot of stuff for the project and related documents and automobilia. Just when i got additionally offered a complete lot of documents from a big collector. Due to covid related delays, the different orders from several weeks and months ended up arriving at my place all within a few days... If you look at the picture below, quite a lot of stuff! Some things just came with the lots, and i will not keep them, even if nice stuff though. Nevertheless, here's what was in my mail yesterday. In the next part of the story, i will show you a huge pile (two cars and a trailer full) of nice parts i picked up yesterday from an old barn... So what was is all that? First a bunch of swiss Datsun memorabilia: including a vintage swiss datsun plastic bag, sales window cards, spare-parts bag, patches, a beer coaster, folders, matchstick boxes, etc... One of the coolest parts here is definitely the 1971 Geneva International Motor show press release folder, including the 240Z and information about the Z beeing shown at their booth. But what is even cooler. The press release states you can order Lithographic master plates from Datsun (Suisse) SA, for your own catalogue production, and it came with one of those lithography master plates. With exactly the same picture as shown in the press release and which is also used in some of the official swiss Z-documentation: Then i found another press release. This time from 1972, about the introduction of the 240Z in switzerland: From germany, i got a set of service manuals and a parts catalogue, which somehow seem to be photocopies of original ones. Not sure exactly who made those, since they're quite good quality and have an "official" feel to them. Maybe Datsun / Nissan germany replicated them themselves? I collected also a bunch of magazines, which include stories of interesting cars that are not your standard Z-car tests: An original swiss 240Z magazine ad (also seen in other countries with the same picture, but different text) Various random Datsun and Z-related magazine tests: A bunch of vintage Z and ZX related parts catalogues (Some of the companies do not exist anymore, or have different names now...) A set of japanese S30 and L-series related Mooks (Magazine books) Including this nice Nostalgic speed motor calendar (Sorry for the blurry photo) A bunch of key holders. Not sure if any of these where officially released by nissan or if all of them are 3rd party stuff. various stickers Sew-on patches and a little C110 Skyline Kenmeri Diecast car: Various User manuals, dealer list and empty document folders from the austrian datsun Import company (which does not exist anymore): Various apparel and a Datsun banner: Japanese nissan chronicles and history books: Which seem very informative, but still have to go through them: The japanese fold-out sales brochure for the Fairlady Z: Some new (re-issued) Tomei vintage stickers: A japanese Fairlady Z Parts catalogue: Random parts and bits for my project: And the cooles part: The "Breadbox" triple mikuni Airboxes, which where used on some of the works rallye cars, and where also optional "competition" equipment. The ones i got are japanese MS Kubo replicas with slightly different locking mechanism. Original ones are rare to find and expensive. And since i'm not even sure if i can install them here street-legally, i decided not to go too crazy about finding original ones. But then i still liked them so much, i had to have them. Here's a picture of the competition parts catalogue, listing the original ones: Stay tuned for the next part of the story, which includes a Barn and loads of stuff. but now i need to sort through all the parts first and take nice pictures

Yesterday the post officer brought a nice little package to my door: It contains a brand new (NOS) L6 Camshaft for the E88 Head. It is used widely in many L-series cars from what i understoud, but i still have to research all the details. It was for sale not far away and the price was ok, so i thought myself i better secure it... I love the beautiful wrapping with the Nissan wrapping paper, etc... It came with a (separetely sold) Set of Cam oiler blockoff plates and bolts for older externally oiled cams. I still have to check if i need those... It also came with a "Cam bracket machining procedure when replacing with new cam shaft" Manual: Here you see the typical "A" marking: I have a lot of parts on the way, but due to Covid, everytihng is pretty delayed...

Thanks to Covid-related home-office and the fact i save an hour of driving from and to my office everyday, it seems like i have too much free time to search for Datsun related stuff... Therefore i've collected a lot of cool documents lately. The first delivery consists of a lot of Colour sample charts, many marked as "For europe" unfortunately not Z-related, but the came for free with the rest and they're cool nontheless... Then i've got the L6 service Manual in German, which might come in handy for me, since it's my native language... That "Technical Training" Paper folder contains an empty Sample of a warranty report (from one dealership workshop to the Datsun switzerland headquarter) and a manual how to fill it correctly, as well as a few examples (most probably from a training at the swiss Distribution center): Also got this 1972 swiss service warranty booklet. I really like the style of it. Every service you rip out the page and cross all the jobs done, but on the small leftovers theres a stamp and a signature of the workshop who did it. One of the big green folders was empty, but three of them consist various technical bulletins for various cars in german / french, issued by Datsun Suisse SA / FMG. Written with a typewriter and nicely duplicated. Two are from the early seventies and include information for the 240Z. One is from the 80ies.. The fifth folder is a Warranty Flatrate time folder, which lists various warranty flatrate times and Warranty codes for the different cars including the 240Z and C10. It is required to fill the above mentioned warranty report. I usually don't collect stuff from other countries, but these American "Datsun News" Magazines from 1971 to 1974 were for sale for a nice lot-price, so i had to secure them. The december 1971 christmas special issue has a nice comic of with the 240Z: And a letter from "Mr. K" One issue shows a few pages of a japanese factory tour made with american dealers in 1973: Another one nicely shows how Datsun USA was organized back then. including the 10 (!) Car carrier ships that nissan used to operate back then: Then i got another few documents. which included a few catalogs (they came with the pricelists i've posted earlier on my blog already) But what is nice here is the 2002 Nissan Motorsports competition parts catalog (USA): The German book About the history of Nissan. (check the picture at the bottem left, how they used to load cars on the boat with ropes, before they had their own vessels...!) And probably the rarest document (also not Z-related): An 1969 Datsun Switzerland press release folder, issued for the Geneva International Motor Show 1969, including price lists, car descriptions and instructions how to get a Press car for testing... I have a few projects in the pipeline and I'm awaiting results soon, also awaiting a delivery with Parts and more Documents fom Japan, but thanks to Covid, everything is a bit delayed now. Looking forward to big news over the next weeks / months...

Today i got the delivery from the guys at Sandstrahlen-plus.ch which i can really recommend if you're in switzerland... They had my complete chassis blasted (except the roof and a few areas i will replace anyway) and primered. The job is very nice if you ask me and it looks so much better with all the car in one colour, rather than twelve different layers of primer, bondo, paint, rust protection, etc.. in various states... Remember, this is how it looked a few weeks ago... Luckily the process didnt' reveal any new problems, only the bad repairs of yesteryear and the rusty spots i already new and have replacement panels for... $ I also made this little "unboxing" gif whlie unwrapping the car and thought it was fun to share...

Slightly delayed because of holday season and the current COVID situation, but i just got some pictures from the blaster, and a note that the chassis is done. They blasted the whole car with non abrasive plastic media, which doesnt warp big thin surfaces. Where abrasives were needed, they added a bit of sand to remove rust and bondo (partially). The sticker underbody protecting-stuff was removed by dry-ice blasting... You can clearly see the many repairs on the inner front fender and Air channel and the ton of bondo remaining on the LH rear quarter. Luckily the engine bay looks nice at the first view, but i have to inspect closer once it's back at my place. This is the side that has already been finnished by the bodyshop (the brown stuff is remaining seam sealer...) this is the undone side. Luckily i have a NOS spare roof and rear quarter in stock to fix this. Meanwhile the chassis should also be primered with a weldable primer. In the next days they will return it to me and then i'll take some better pictures and a closer look at all the details... Just a little tip from my side. If you ever do a full restoration like this. start with cleaning the chassis. not like me who started with the bodywork just to blast the chassis when half of it was already done. well you learn new things all th e time - and that's what makes a project like this so much fun More coming soon....

Today i got a few interesting documents again. Let's start with the Z-specific stuff. An original Toolkit bag packing slip / Content slip: I will use it to make a nice replica for my original toolkit (which came with some missing tools and without the toolkit. The one above came from an original "final spec" European 240Z and is different to what i've seen for Sale in the USA. But it might be possible that the slip has changed over the years and that later spareparts came with a different slip. Picture below shows one for sale in america by zeddsaver.com: Then i got an original 1982 Datsun Switzerland catalog: Not really interesting for me, but it contains the 280ZX and some other nice cars and i will use it for my datsun suisse documentation (coming soon). I mainly got it because it came together with this nice piece: The March 1972 geneva automobil Salon "Newspaper" Called the Datsun "Red spot" It's of course all about the cars, but it also contains some nice figures and facts about datsun switzerland (more on that coming soon), Some of the cars, the racing efforts of Nissan / Datsun, The nissan switzerland / FMG Warehouse, etc.. And also advertising for some of the cool apparel you could order from them... A pretty nice piece of datsun switzerland memorabilia...

I got hands on a rare 3N71A/B Automatic transmission Manual. While i don't have an Auto-tranny and don't really need this manual, there is a reason i couldn't resist. This particular manual is not a standard workshop manual, but a Training manual. On the first pages, the employee who got the training from Nissan People, wrote down the story of the training and how it went. If you look close on the Cover page, you see that the Name of the Company is "Fehlmann Motor AG", which is the predecessor of Datsun (Suisse) SA. The Instructions are written very detailed by the trainee in german and full of personal notes. Definitely a unique item. It also contains a few memos from later years where the company is already called Datsun Suisse, with names of the involved employees and information about upcoming technical bulletins they plan to write, and spare-parts they've ordered from Japan and the 3 weeks delivery time. Nothing really relevant to my project, but a pretty interesting piece of Datsun Switzerland history..

Today i got a very accurate OEM Glovebox replica from Czech republic. Made by Privateer Pavel Dvorak. It's very close to the original regarding materials, shape and even location of the bostitches and little metal clamps. Excellent work, sir! Excellent work, sir. looks awesome. And then i got various vintage swiss Datsun stickers from various sticker collectors i found online. nice to have them to complete my collection. it appears that the round ones where made in two batches. one with the additional latch and one without. as not only the latch is different, but also the colours are slightly different...

The Bolts that hold the footrest to the floorpans have custom specs, that do not fit into any DIN / EN / ISO norm, so it's not possible to purchase them at any standard hardware supplier. There are similar ones, but most of them have a too large head, that needs cutting to fit with the L-shaped "Feet" of the footrest). So i had a local milling shop (specialized in oldtimer-parts) make the bolts for the footrest according to the drawing i made (see below) in stainless steel, since the original ones where bent, and pretty worn. Original ones: New ones: Perfect tight fitment, as the factory ones. What might be interesting is that the bolts where added to the "feet" before painting the whole thing as one unit, from the factory. You can clearly see (not in these pictures), that there is rust and no paint on the area below the original boltheads. Here's the drawing if anyone ever needs to make those. I have a set leftover, since i ordered two. If anyone is interested, let me know. (since the "f" value is covered by my logo - it's also 4mm)

Finally, something that i've really should have done first, happens now after many years. I decided to have the complete chassis blasted. Not sand-blasted but blasted with various media, depending on the area. Mostly Plastic-blasting and dry-ice blasting. I thought i'd take a few "before" shots. so here we go. I hope in one or two weeks all old paint and underbody coating and rust is gone... Some panels like the roof and the LH Rear quarter will only be blasted partially, because they'll bee replaced anyway or have already been replaced with new panels. So last week they came to pick it up and the car headed east two hours. It arrived safely at the sandblaster, but is now waiting in the queue to get blasted. Due to holiday-season, COVID measurements and the fact that they're not exactly around my corner, i wasnt able yet to check out their place and discuss a few details. but i still hope they can start the work soon...

A while a go i made a CAD drwaing of what the manual calls "Felt", but are actually rubber pieces, that work as dampers between the fuel tank and the chassis. Then took the drawing and sample to the local rubber shop and they cut them to spec for me: Left new, right old (with some dirt): Had them make two sets, but already sold the second set to a local owner. Oh and since NOS A-type 5-speed manual transmission parts are a bit rare, i just had to get this bearing when it popped up for sale. Also love the genuine oldschool Datsun (Suisse) SA Bag, it must have been in storage for quite some time...

Thanks a lot for your offer. but i thenk even the seller didn't really know the history. it's not really important and i don't have any contact, than through the auction site. Anway, thanks a lot for your nice support offer. i really appreciate that!

While browsing through some online classifieds, i stumbled on this Datsun price list. Issued on 14. March 1977 and including cars like the 260Z, the 2+2 and the 240K-GT, Cherry coupe, sunny etc... There isn't any evedince that it's from datsun Suisse SA, but it's in german and french so it seems to make sense. I got it from france, but the seller stated that it came originally from switzerland. There's also no currency for the prices, but i assume it must be Swiss franks (CHF). While my 240Z is not directly listed, it's another nice piece of Datsun Suisse memorabilia and some reference prices to talk about.. Click here to download the full high-res scan of the price list: 1977 Datsun (Suisse) Price list I also got a vintage Datsun sticker, which was a give-away by swiss datsun dealers at one point. This is not a replica, but (according to the seller) a genuine marketing item from the seventies. It is a bit worn and yellowed from the years in storage, so i assume it's the real deal. And it was merly the price of posting an envelope, so i just had to get it Oh, and while googling for some other information, i stumbled upon this random file from the swiss Matchstick museum, which shows different "Gulf" branded matchstick box variants, with various Car dealerships, service stations, gas stations, etc.. Some of them beeing swiss datsun dealers. This just as a total random discovery

I've always wanted to decorate my workshop & Garage with some authentic Vintage datsun signs or so, but they're not exactly easy to come by.. So when this one popped up, i had to get it immediately. Yesterday i undertook a 6 hour drive to the other, french speaking side, of the country, to pick up this vintage dealer sign. Due to the language barrier and short time we had, i wasn't able to figure out the history. But the seller had other, similar signs, so i guess it must have been part of a combination with other signs outside a dealership in the french speaking area of switzerland. Nevertheless. i loaded it into the back of my car and brought it home. It's basically an aluminum frame with a plexiglass front which has the datsun logo printed on it somehow (it doesn't seem to be a vinyl sticker or so) I wasn't really sure if it's working or not, and honestly i was expecting the inverters to explode when i power them up, simply to the fact that it hasn't probably been used in decades. But this beeing an "industrial grade" outdoor sign, made by a well known swiss signmaking company, it just came alife as soon as i installed the cable and plugged it in. great! Now i have to find a nice place for it, it is much bigger then what i expected when i bought it. but i love it Probably will convert it to LED lighting before hangig it somewhere on the wall, to avoid a repair after a few working hours. This thing is big and it might e tricky to hang it somewhere, so it better should stay there forever

Since i got the triple Mikuni / Solex carb setup, i was looking for an original Competition fuel rail that belongs to it, as shown in this 1978 american Datsun competition parts catalogue: Lately i found a NOS one for sale, and of course i had to get it... Here's how it's listed in the Japanese Race & Rallye preparation manual: And while ordering stuff anyway, i decided to include the floorpan rubber plugs... Oh and there was a free little early christmas gift inside the box too: