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A few weeks ago i saw a german guy named tim on facebook, showing some Choke lever adapter plates he designed and made for the Z. He made a few more and sold them. I guess he didn't expect them to sell like hot cakes, so he had to make a few more. And that's how i got one in the mailbox today. The plate is made from 3D Printed plastic, which is then hardenet to improve strenght a lot and make it thermally stable up to 120°C. He designed and made those in first case for himself, and told me a lot of testing went into it to get the process right: The original choke lever is prone to be a bit "wiggly" which wasn't the best design from Nissan. The plate will improve tha stability of the choke lever and also prevent the Center console from cracking it that area (which can happen due to the loose choke lever) Once it's installed it is completely invisible. In my opinion clearly an OEM Upgrade worth it, even with completely stock cars. All pictures except the first one are courtesy of tim.

A while a go a i scored an (incomplete) set of old Nissan / Datsun Microfiches of the 240Z / S30 chassis in germany for almost nothing. I tried to scan it using a flatbet scanner is some suggested but the results were terrible. When i found out that my company (beeing a several hundred years old machinery company) has several of those in the mechanical department, i asked if i could borrow one to check my microfiches. and today i brought one home: Microfiches are like Dia's, a kind of minimized drawings or part lists on a film type piece of plastic. The microfiche reader is more or less a projector. You insert one of the film cards, which is labelled for example with "S30 Chassis": And then you can zoom in. By moving around the card you can check the different sections. and then zoom in more and more until you get the page you want: Like for example the steering section: The data in the microfiche is nothing special. it's available in digital form (Nissan FAST or E-Fast software), printed form (Parts manual / R-Drive parts lists) or even as scanned versions of the Microfiches. However it's fun to tinker around like they did back in the day and i will sure have my fun during the COVID-19 Lockdown time to go through the microfiches and check for some data i didn't know yet. Since those Microfiche readers are for sale cheap, im thinking of buying a second-hand unit just for fun and for having the parts fiches accessable directly in the workshop.

Good news. My Panelbeater is working hard on my car atm and there's some progress, so i visited him (with 2 meters distance of course, because #Coronavirus). So the passenger floor pans are in and will be completed soon: Looking good in my opinion: To get everything aligned was a bit of a headache, even with the best parts available, but looks good now. So today i brought him the front fender. It needs the original edge line hammered back in, as some previous owner decided to hammer that flat.. terrible.. Luckily it's the kind of job my panelbeater likes Starts to look like a car again, doesn't it? Allthough the rocker panel needs some adjustment. View from the rear. Also brought him the hatch to adjust everything but we didn't test fit it yet. Still a few days of work to adjust the rocker panel, get the floorpans welded in completely and have the Seat rail mounts back in. But then it's up to the other side. which is luckily in much better state and i have much bigger, better and OEM Panels ready. so i hope work will be faster. I say that, knowing that my panelbeater takes his time to get it done right..

My bodyshop guy promised me to work on my car until end of march. so i hope there is some progress. the first update he sent me was from the area behind the passenger seat. There was some rust do to the previous owner storing it without a sunroof installed, during swiss winter, so snow collected inside the car and we know Z's dont like any kind of moisture. Now looks better than ever and is nicely protected.

Well the last week have been pretty busy at work, and i'm still working on some details of the house. but everything is finally calming down now and i have plans to kickstart the Z-project again soon and get some long overdue work done over the next months. So i got in touch with my Bodyshop guy to discuss a few details and then i just got an update from him from today. The old seat brackets got removed and sandblasted: Primered: And test fitted on the old cutout floorpan: And theis is how they look on the new floorpan, ready to weld it all back together:

Exactly. Allthough i'm not sure about the "standard in Japan" thing. If so, i guess then only in some of the trim-levels. Would need to check the Parts list, but i have other work right now

Nothing huge to show you, but i got another update from my Bodyshop guy. The area behind the passenger seat got formed out of a piece of sheetmetal and installed. ready to weld in all of that stuff, including the floorpan.

Two weeks ago i found a footrest for the 240Z for sale on a local ads-website. I remember i've seen them before but never really investigated about them. Both my cars came without them. This particular item was from a 260Z 2+2 and got a fair price-tag, so naturally it gathered my interrest. Turns out that the parts fiches say that it's the same unit as used in the 240Z (both LHD and RHD) and was an optional item. I love optional stuff. and since it was cheap and seemed to be in easy restoreable shape, i had to get it And yesterday i finally got the package with it. It's a bit rough around the edges but when in bring my next bunch uf parts for sandblasting and powerdercoating this will go in the same delivery: I'm not really sure how "rare" this item is, but i think i've never seen it on a swiss car. And as a serious parts-hoarder i love to collect these things anyway

Well yeah, i have yet another two new books to add to my ever evolving list of Z-related books i have to read and translate when i find some time. 1) Fairlady Z Story and history, Vol. 1 - The 50th Anniversary Chronicles. A book about the history of the Z including the development It contains some backgroundinformation. for example about road testing in America: And some of the racing cars. I've just been flicking through it yet, but it seems it seems to focus on the car globally with pictures showing old woking station, american race cars but also the japanese. so this might be an interessteing one 2) Japanese masterpiece series [Vol.12] - Nissan Fairlady This book is actually a bit older (released in August 1973). The cool thing is, it contains some backgronud information but also a lot of nice drawings and technical information about the different version. as shown below. Still have to read it as well, but they seem to be (aside from the factory books) some of the more promising and serious books i bought. But i still have to prove my initial feelings about them

So, My panelbeater started work on the passenger side floors. Those hungarian-made floor pans came in.. before: After: Still have to be welded etc. but overall fitment looks nice. Here is the bottom side fitment together with the NOS frame rails. Seems pretty spot-on!

Just another update from my Metal-wizard. The driver side lower frame has been cutout A new piece has been fabricated And now it's back in. I guess the next big part will be the LH rear quarter and inner wheel well.. I'll go to have a closeup look soon

Got some more news from my bodyshop. Nothing big, but another step closer to a finished shell. The spare wheel well is back in and primered with rust protection and also sealed:

After a long time i got some parts for my Z-project again. The first item is a book about Yutaka "Mr. K Katayama". Some people think that his role with the Z is a bit overrated by the average media. But since the book is written originally by Japanese Takashi Ashikawa in japanese and has been translated since. i guess there might be more truth behind it than the average glorifying of Mr. K. I haven't read a single word so i have to dive into it first befor i can say anything more.. It might sound repetitive but the coolest things i tend to find when i don't look for them. I have seen the "competition" steering wheel for sale in the usual Z-specialist shops but i never planned to buy one. Unti recently one popped up new for a good price in a local secondhand website. It even came with the Japanese "fairlady Z" Horn button. A bit of research before purchase revealed that this is most probably one of the pretty good JDM-car-parts replica items based on an original Mold (o a mold from an original competition steering wheel). Anyhow the quality is outstanding and it's nice to have! And here some siza comparison shots take next to the original "fake wood" steering wheel of my 1972 Z's: Those "competition" steering wheels were introduced (to my knowledge) years after the original S30 was released (back then a different steering wheel was optionally available) but has sine been a popular mod on the 240Z and or Fairlady Z with prices for original ones skyrocketing. As far as i know t his has also been sold for the "Hakosuka" skyline but with different horn buttons. I'm not 100% sure but i believe to remember that there was even a second version of this steering wheel which was deeper. but i might be wrong. Here's a shot from the 1979 Nissan sports option catalogue: After all it's a really nice piece to have so i'm happy with my purchase

Good news. My bodyshop guy is back at work with my car. First he welded back the sandblasted rea bumper mounting brackets: Then the inside of the trunk floor got sanded and painted with rust protection: Before the rear lower valance got fitted and welded back in blacke. Finally i got a rear end again. Wow ❤️ Next week the spare tire wheel well should go back in, before work on the left rear quarter starts This should go faster compared to the left side, since i have a complete NOS quarter panel and it doesn't have a fuel filler neck

Finally, a lifsign from the bodyshop. Nothing big. but the little update came along a promise that he will contune work on the car again soon. which makes me quite a bit happy. Today he got the brackets for the rear bumper sandblasted, so i assume the plan is to get the rear valance welded back on the car soon:

Yeah it has been way too long since a last project update. The garage is still far from done, but it's slowly getting there (more on that in an other post). Last week i got the EK9 in it's new home. Finally: So i think it's time to carefully crank up the "Fairlady Z" project again... What better way to re-start a project than buying new tools? exactly Got myself some air tools like a rattle gun and tire filler tool with Manometer. And a little extension hose drum too In order to make some space in the new garage, i decided to put the ole L24 on the motorstand instead of having it on that old wheel on the little dolly which is quite unpractical. To do so i had to take of the clutch. thanks to the new rattle gun, this was a piece of cake: So i had her lifted on the engine stand: Tadaa... looks much more professional and is way more practical too And while at it anyway i decided to remove the old fan clutch and fan blades too: Here we go... Hoping for more news again soon. still a lot of other work in the house / workshop / garage, but i see some light at the end of the tunnel

Well my bodyshop is an excellent guy, but he surely takes his time to get all the details right. I love that, but i want my car back before i retire. That's why i always search for the best possible solution to make life as easy as possible for him. Lately i often saw those yellow panels from UK popping up on various sites. One of the "problematic" areas is stil the Rear lower valance. I got one from MSA so far and it's ok for most of the "american" restaurations i guess, but not for me... The main problem beeing that the Curvature from the original lower valance is missing. I thought i'd give it a try and got it today: I'm surprised about how different it is and how great it looks. Also got confirmed that it's the original sheet metal thickness as the cars came with. You can clearly see the "curvature" in this picture. The main difference aside from that is the "lip" at the bottom end (see first picture) and the more accurate shape at the exhaust area. Here's panel from MSA, see the differences? All a bout the details.. I really can recommand the yellow one above. They don't have a website but i often see these (and many other 240Z parts from them) pop up on ebay and various facebook pages. Price is also nice if you ask me

Nothing big, but finally something car related again I recently got contacted by a nice guy in Czechia who just made sets of OEM reproduction stickers for all those inspection and small supplier stickers which will need replacement when the car is done for the people who know. Got them today. From the first sight they seem pretty nice with those glossy finnish, etc. But will compare them at another point. Nevertheless. something to keep the project alive. Also bought some more stuff which should arrive here by next week or so.

Thanks for the kind words. unfortunately the progress is slow at the moment. and honestly i think nobody can ever pay what the build is worth to me, i'm afraid This all started with a friend who was asking for my help to import some strut tower braces for an MX-5 for one of his friends. So i made an offer. Then he decided to add some small pieces for himself for his Kenmeri Skyline build. And when i realized i had to order bits and pieces from shops like rubber-soul, M-Speed, RS-Start and Revive Jalopy, i decided it couldn't be wrong to add a few bits and pieces for my own 240Z project. That's when another friend of ours stepped in and was asking for some Parts for his Hakosuka build. So today i finally got the big order of small bits and pieces from Japan. These were the parts for me: Rubber soul / NGK blue spark plug wires, that will fit my colour theme perfectly: Some rubber trunk lid / hatch stoppers a Factory R160 / R180 / R200 Differential Service manual Window wiper boots: Windscreen washer nozzles: rear drum cylinder rubbers: And a free rubber soul calendar And some free catalogues: And then the KGC10 Hakosuka Skyline GT parts: And then some Kenmeri / Yonmeri Skyline GC110 parts:

It seems like currently nice parts are looking for me, rather then i'm looking for them 🙂 But lets start at the beginning. The garage-build is coming along nicely, with temporary lighting now installed: With the House-build as a first priority now, i don't look for parts atm. But then (as with the mikuni's i bought lately) something popped up for a great price which has been on my shopping list for quite a while: A NOS splash under guard panel, which arrived today: I think now i have officially all the body panels together, including the "optional" parts, or parts that are, say, more functional than visible. This will prevent the engine bay from getting too dirty and wet. Since these panels are prone to stone chips, most of them are quite dented and rusty, or completely missing (as it was on both of my cars), so it's rare to come along a nice piece like this one. And for a reasonable price that too.. The seller in Hungary was also nice enough to add a free set of what i assume are reproduction Datsun / Nissan colour code stickers. I need to investigate further on these. Paint is still far away in my project so i haven't spent too much time investigating on all those small details like stickers. But i absolutely love them. Thanks a lot for those!

thanks for your feedback. Well i think i will go to the annual japanese classic car shows in switzerland (so far two) and maybe an occasional general japanese car meet. Also if time allows i may opt for one or another heritage hillclimb race. we'll see what time brings and if petrol cars are still legal, once the car is finally restored

I haven't got much to show you honestly. The House / Workshop / Garage build is coming along nicely and keeps me distracted from the car projects. And that for at least another 6 months. And the panelbeater is recovering from a broken nose and i'snt able to work at the moment. However This saturday was a milestone in that: I went to check out some potential new garage lifts. The grey one is actually my favourite so far: However i felt like i HAVE to do something for the cars every now and then. so i decided to take apart the FET intake manifold. so i can have the parts cleaned and replated with my next load. Before: During And after. It surely does look good in my opinion Will be even better once it's blasted, cleaned and all the parts are plated and back into position...

I randomly seem to stumble on nice stuff by accident. I always dreamed about triple Mikunis for my Z, but i always felt in the current situation with the house going on i save them for buying them later, even with rapidly rising prices. Then one day i accidently came accross these nice carbs for sale on an Austrian ads website. A bit of negotiation, a payment and they arrived here today: They are genuine japan made Mikuni (Solex) PHH40 S5 (5-screw) carbs. You might wonder why PHH40? I don't plan to run any crazy numbers, so the PHH40 should be nice with my calculations. we'll see. i think i can swap them for PHH44 when i figure out that i was wrong in future. The deal was too god to say now. it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. They have been beautifully restored. Probably will zinc plate all the bolts but not sure yet: It even gets better: They're fully restored, and came with a free set of intake side gaskets and beautiful velocity stacks. After all i'm very happy with my purchase and i think my engine setup comes along nicely with the FET Intake manifold and the Kakimoto valve cover. The whole engine side of things is still on a bit on hold, but when i find good parts like this, i just have to save them for the future

While having all the grille pieces disassembled, i thought i better take advantage of it and straighten all the pieces before i have them zinc-plated. So i pulled out my best (nonexistant) panel-beater skills and hammered the parts as straight as i could. A few examples: Before: After: Before: After: Before: After: .

Upon closer inspection of the grille, i realized the already some rust has appeared at the places where matal rubs on metal: So i decided to better have all the non-aluminum pieces completely disassembled and zinc plated. That's why i remoced all the rivets While doing so, i decided to redrill some of the rivet holes: Will have to strip the primer, hammer a few small dents straight and then have it zinc plated with the next load of parts...