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Recently i was bidding on some bigger parts on yahoo auctions in Japan and thought, while at it, why not order some smaller parts and get them shipped for free in the same package? unfortunately i didn't win the auctions on the bigger parts so i just ended up with the small bits and pieces. which are still good to have 1) R180 Differential oil seals 2) R180 differentil cover seal 3) Fine auto japan Polyurethane shifter bushings:

While i'm working on a big, new, exciting project (I'll post about it in a few weeks or months i guess) the bodyshop keeps me updated and has some nice progress on the rear end 1) The top of the rear lower hatch Panel have been remodeled out of sheetmetal and looks absolutely stunning. Raw naked steel. I have the NOS top panel which will be added, once everything is completed. a closer look at the craftsmanship: The lock mount and upper panel mounts have been removed, sandblasted and welded back into position. the red colour is just temporary rust protection primer: On the new rear quarter panel the rear corner piece has been removed (for easier installation): And been spotwelded into the correct position: My bodyshop told me he h as some spare time at the moment and i guess there will be much progress over the next few weeks

So it's basically an extension of the existing rails? Looks like a smart idea. but not sure yet since the car will probably not be driven in rain anymore after resto and also the paintjob will be much better than original to protect from rust. but I'll think about it - thanks for the input (y)

So here we go again. Last week i visited the Bodyshop to bring him the rear quarter panel as a reference for the other side he's currently working on and while there i had a little chat with him and a look around. The rear quarter is coming along nicely and i love when you can see the rare and pure metalwork with all the bondo and stuff gone. It proves that the car is in brilliant shape after work is done As you can see he also started work on the rear end. The bent rear lower panel was gone. What you see here is the panel inside the rear quarter panel where the tank lock is installed. he makes a new one from scratch since the original is scrap. Today i got another update. He also started work on the rear upper end (lower hatch area). I thought at least that area was rust-free in my car, but iw as wrong. This is how it looked after the upper panel was removed: My panel beater immediately started to create new ones from scratch: And while i write this topic just some new Whatsapp messages with Updates dropped into my phone with some detailed view of the final panel in one of the corners from the lower hatch area. Before (top panel already removed): Original panel cutout and rust protection applied: Final Panel welded in. Still needs some details but already i think this is a work of art. cant wait to see the rest done. Hoping for more updates soon

On Thursday i was finally able to pick up the NOS rear quarter panel, which i found online a few weeks ago. I wanted to thank the guys from http://www.swissconnection.us/ for their superior shipping service and the seller of this item for his great support. Thanks! Unfortunately it got a slight dent during shipping, but still a lot easier to fix compared to creating this complete panel from scratch and sheet metal You can still see the sticker of the original Nissan Spareparts delivery back in the day: Beautiful to see all these original welds and shapes. I guess my Car is reaching Concours level soon with all these originanal bodypanels beeing put together Oh and then i got this from Japan. I asked hayashi to reprint an old catalogue for me with all the NLA Fairlady parts. they agreed but unfortunately we probably got lost in translation a bit and they sent me a new catalogue istead. well who cares still nice to have a new Hayashi catalogue

I hate visiting my bodyshop guy because everytime i go there he reveals some more rust he found. But then again i love it because the work he does is clearle a work of art not many people in the world can do... But let's start from the beginning of t his week. He finally started to work on my car again and kept updating me with whatsapp messages about every step he did. Well most of them were more problems discovered: Dents and cheap-ass unqualified rust-repairs everywhere. Here's a closer look at the right rear corner. seems like it got a hit at some point: He asked me to bring the rear lower corner valances and the rear panel today so he could prepare the rest of the repair and when i arrived there i was greeted by this. Jup- not much of the original car left But the good news is as you look closer the dents in the rear area right from the taillights have been fixed and the area below the trunk lid has been fixed as well: This was the patch panel he cutout below the gas lid: Here the custom panel is welded in. We tried to install the gas-lid today and it fit perfectly. Quite impressive for a custom-made piece! I made even more pictures but for some reason my camera lost them Expecting big updates soon but as you look close you see there are still a ton of details to be fixed...

It has been a while, i know. I'm still working on a few big things which need their time but you'll see But i have some good news: 1) I had my original 5-speed transmission checked by a Pro. Aside from new seals and stuff it seems to be in outstanding condition and doesn't need a big rebuild. I'll keep the original one and sell the spare S14 transmission i secured a while ago. But don't ask me i already have a buyer 2) I got an update from the bodyshop on friday and hopefully more will follow soon - The sandblasted and primered Battery tray got welded back in again (not completed yet): And the finished area of the car got coated to be proteced from rust.

Link removed upon your request on all websites. I didn't cut off any names from the original document. I just compared it with the original i got from you. I just uploaded it and the watermark was added automatically by my blog software. Just saying. sorry for the complications. wasn't my meaning.

Some exciting news! First i was able to finally open up the FS5W71C 5-speed Transmission. Turns out the reason i wasn't able to open it earlier was because had removed the wrong locking spring *lol*. Small part - big problem. This is the one to remove on the main shaft bearing, not the small one in front of the bearing Finally disasembled and ready for checking. My unprofessional first check revealed that it's in quite good condition and no need for a big rebuild, but i will have a professional look over it and definitly will replace a few wear-parts anyway and have the housing repainted. Even better news - I was able to source a complete NOS (New Old stock!) Rear quarter panel from the Z. It's the US-edition with the cutout for the rear sidemarkers but otherwise exactly what i need. Man i've never seen something like this for sale in the last years and it was a reasonable price too!! It already arrived at my export agent and will be loaded onto the next sea-freight container to switzerland soon - should arrive here in about 6 weeks And then i bought this so i have a bit of extra reference and documents probably 50% of the bulletins are about the S30 chassis or L2x Motors

Finally i found some time to go back to work in the garage. unfortunately i wasn't that successfull. My goal was to completely disassemble the main parts of the 5-speed original transmission to check the gears. As you remember i have already removed the rear extension, so i started by removing all the securing bolts from the clutch housing: Then it was easy to remove: And off it is: Next i removed the stopper ring on the main shaft bearing as suggested by the SR311 5-speed transmission manual. Unfortunately i wasn't able to remove the gear xase for whatever reason. it will move slightly but it's somehow stuck. tried to hammer with a rubber and copper hammer as suggested by the manual but wasn't able to remove it without hammering too hard. any suggestions here? i'm thankful for any useful input BTW: rear extension is only put back to prevent the gears from damage during work

thanks mate. hoping to have more progress soon With the 432 i would love to have one put prices in japan are exploding as well and they're hard to find. and since i already have a JDM car (My EK9) which took my three years to register with all the swis slaw and the fact that the motor was never homologated in switzerland i don't want to go through that hassle again. And as usual the Z-project was never inteded to grow that big. it was just a plan to build a cheap and cool japanese classic but somehow costs and time-needed exploded and i decided to do it the right way I guess it will still end up as some outstanding car with lots of JDM-only modifications and parts

So before i went to vacation i ordered a lot of stuff from japan and elsewere and when i returned two days ago i had a load of boxes and envelopes waiting for me. that's how returning from vacation makes fun So what was inside these boxes and envelopes? A lot of reading material: 1) Brian Long's Fairlady Roadster to 280ZX book. Probably the most complete Z-book i've come along so far. 2) Original JDM HS30 sports option parts catalogue 3) Original JDM sports option parts catalogue 1979 4) Japanese S30 Fairlady Z Complete book, by "Nostalgic hero" Magazine. Basically a small Mook that includes scans of all original japanese catalogues and so on. can be quite handy sometimes. 5) Original JDM Fairlady Z Sales brochure cool thing is if you unfold it completely and turn it around it's a Poster of a Fairlady Z 6) JDM Service manual for HS30, PS30, and S30 7) Only Z Book (Japanese). Probably similar to 1) but in Japanese, tons of informations about Z's with many spec-tables and so on! 8) then got the JDM Parts list for the S30 on a CD. already have an other one as PDF file but this one is searchable so probably more handy... 9) Now to the non-readable parts Since i decided to go the Subaru-R180 route differential was wondering what adapters i should use. Wolf creek, Beta motorsports or some others. until i figured out that Kameari makes them for the same price with import and the somehow look a bit more appealing and more OEM to me with the darker material used and so on. and then it's Japanese too which i always prefer for personal reasons 10) and since i have a passenger seat now for the Z i also neaded a seatrail, and here it is

I'm working on a huge post about Z Factory transmissions and options but i decided myself i rather get some physical work done on my transmission. The goal is to check the state of my original FS5C71A factory five-speed (non-US-spec) and then decide if i'll stick with the stock transmission or switch to the FS5W71C transmission from the S14. So this is how i started on saturday: Decided to give the transmission a little cleanup with some engine cleaner first: Then drain the transmission oil before proceeding to avoid a huge mess in front of my garage: The magnetic Oil drain plug has surely collected a few metal-pieces showing some wear to the transmission: Then the sthifter stick pin had to be removed from the gear-selector rod: Next was to get the flange-connector of. Was quite a bit tricky without air-tools but a trusty hammer, a big ratchet and 30minuts later i was able to remove it without any damage to anything or anyone Next i removed all the bolts to the rear extension cover. Note the smaller bolts on top and bottom and the larger ones on each side. Before proceeding further i thought it might be a smart idea to remove the reverse switch as well: Then i carfulle hammered the rear extension housing off using a wood piece to prevent damage to the housing: So far it looks promising. wasn't able to find any damage on the gears but as soon as i have the clutch bell housing and the front cover removed and all gears are visible i will have a collegue of mine check through all the gearing, synchro rings and so on. Will get the covers repainted and all the seals replaced.

About two years ago i was a lucky guy to find a NOS Bride Histrix Seat on Yahoo auctions. Probably the last new one for sale. I bought it and ever since then i was looking for a second one, because only one would suck. A few months ago my Buddy Stef was at my place and we talked about how hard it would be to find a second one. The same evening he saw something about a Histrix for Sale and sent me a screenshot. I Immediately got in contact with the seller but it wasn't really a seat for sale, but more possibility to get one custom made for my by Bride Japan. A lot of emails back and forth and negotiating, which even including talking to Bride representatives at Tokyo Auto Salon earlier this year and finally, yesterday this box showed up at my door.. Inside was a Brand-spaking-new, Order-made only-for-me damn BRIDE Histrix Seat. Oh how happy i am My girl also liked the fact that there will be a passenger seat for her in the car now too So at least that task is closed now. Seats - acomplished

Last weekend i checked out the super-cool Japanclassic.ch meeting, switzerlands biggest meeting for japanese classics, check out the pictures and story here... http://www.jdmjunkies.ch/wordpress/2016-05-23/event-japaner-young-oldtimer-meeting-bleienbach-2016/ So lately, i've been working a lot on the underbody parts.. But i'm still not sure about a few things which seem to be tricky to find out. I'm sure i will get my results Anyhow, measuring is always better then reading, i thought so i bought myself a huge-ass 58mm spanner to open up the strut housing of my second car.. The reason was of course to see what was inside.. so far my two cars came with: Car one: Tokico shocks front, Monroe (Belgium) rear Car two: unknown front, KYB rear Inside i found this. First a bit of head scratching.. The design and pattern looked familiar but there was no name stamped on it... A bit of googling revealed that these were Monroe (USA) replacement shocks. The design is similar to the monroe rear's from Car one, but these were stamped with "Monroe" and "made in Belgium" while the ones here are stamped with "Made in USA". Here is a Comparison Pic of a Monroe MC-952 (probably from a different car). Well and then i got a delivery of a spindle lock set which i ordered a while ago from zcardepot. And today i had another package in the mailboc: A set of custom made braided steel brake lines with Rubber insulation to look a bit more OEM. From Left to right: OEM Front brake line, 2x custom made steel front brake lines, Fastener kit, 2x custom made rear brake lines, OEM-replica rear brake line (i sent them for reference) and then the most important part: Homologation documents for my car. Which means i can run these brake lines totally legal on my car. Yikes!

Yesterday after Work i hopped into my car and after i spent some time in the Traffic jam i finally found the Speed-Industries Workshop. Speed industries is a Car-lovers allround business. Tobi and his crew import Cars and parts from Japan and install the parts, organize drift and trackdays in and around switzerland and they do some drift-shows as well. Their workshop is full of goodness, like this AE86 Corolla Levin Hatchback: The only Non-japanese steel at their shop was this BMW. I'm not sure but i guess it's used for some drifting Keen-eyed readers can see Tw S13's in this picture. one of them also known as the 180SX in other countries: And i can't get any more JDM than an R32 Skyline and a JZA80 Supra under the wraps. As i understoud these are customer cars waiting for some maintenance and updates: At the bottom of t he picture there's a secret upcoming project which i wasn't allow to show you yet But what did i do there? First of all it was a long time since i met the Owner Tobias, so it was nice to say hello. First time we met was at the RHD owners meeting i organized many years ago But the real reason was because they had a S14 (200SX) FS5W71C Transmission for a good deal on sale which i bought for my 240Z Project Now last post i wrote about i want to keep my original FS5C71A transmission. Why this now? Well i just bought because it was a good deal and these trannies are not too easy to find these days. So i have it as a Spare-option. If the original transmission is beyond repair i'll use this one (a post about the swap in theory will follow soon). If i can reuse / Repair the original one i already have a friend interrested in this one so after all it was a good backup-opportunity for me which i just couldn't miss. Thanks Tobias for your hospitality!

Yeah this Transmission thing took me a while to figure out. It turns out again there have been plenty of different transmissions and even more possible swaps. But let's start with this: Why do People swap Transmissions? There are three main reasons: - American guys running lame US-Spec 4-speed Manual or Auto transmissions - People doing High-power engine swaps where the OEM 5-speed is too weak - No Spareparts available for the original EU / JPN / AUS Spec 5-Speed Since the FS5C71A seems to be one of the most desireable original early gearboxes of the Z-Chassis (Porsche style "competition" steel synchros, 5-speed and all...) i would like to keep it if possible. But i'll talk about possible swaps and "upgrades" in the next post... First a few Facts about the early european / Japan spec 5-speed: - The FS5C71A was carried over from the Datsun Roadster, but with changed bellhousing, gearing and rear end so it doesn't really have too much in common except the Name. - The FS5C71A in the Z was used up to late 1971 at least in the USA, but maybe a bit later on EU-cars since i have two early 1972 cars which still came with that box. - It was sold in the USA As a "competition parts" Option but was standard in most other markets. - There were different gearing Options available through Nissan Japan, Datsun (competition) USA etc... - According to some swiss People the original gearbox is nice for 270hp street use. So what's my desicion? I'd like to keep my original FS5C71A Gearbox, It's the easiest and cheapest Option, will not ruin the car's value (keeping it "original) and so on. But what if the gears and synchros are worn out? www.swmotorsport.com.au carry some spareparts but not all of them are available. So my desicion is to open up the original gearbox and have a look. if everything is still nice or fixable i'll do exactly that and keep it. If not i will go for a swap with someething more modern, but still close to the family. you'll see

Despite the fact this week was super busy for me, i still managed to get some stuff done and i can't be happier Yesterday i picked up my original Trunk spoiler / Rear wing which i left at R-performance for repair. It took them a bit longer than expected because the aged early kind of fiberglass material was realy weak and brittle so they decided to improve the design a bit by adding a new structure at the ground. here are some work-in-progress pictures i asked them to make for you (my followers): New fiberglass layers beeing added to the bottom: This is how it looks finished once the rest of the fiberglass was cutoff. And i also asked them to replace the sheared off and rusty bolts at the bottom so the made put a complete new set in place, Should be bomb-proof now This is the fitment now. Much better then before and should last for many years to come Since i finally got my hazard flasher switch and the Brake light switch i decided to use a few free minutes today to complete my Pedalbox. Had to redrill and tap all th e holes after Powdercoating first Then i installed all the missing bits and pieces. And this is how my pedals ended up: Left reworked pedal box and throttle pedal, right the original one from the other car. The one to the left was about the same state before i reworked it. All genuine and NOS or refurbished / Re-plated parts on the left! And another shot. Love it. Just needs some adjustment once it's in the car One more thing completed! Someone in the DPAN group posted about these shirts with the original "Elephant" Oil filler cap design on it. I loved it and just had to get it. If you want one, get them here: www.redbubble.com/de/people/pootermobile04/ Great quality and i love the design

We currently have the best possible spring weather with nice temperatures and blue skies. So Istead of researching the specs of my Z in front of the computer i decided to rather do some physical work in front of my garage. Has been a while since i did some work there . This is how the garage currently looks with no chassis inside Got straight to work with removing the springs using my new spring compression tools and some high-tech stuff The reason why is, because i wanted to do some measurements on the original springs to get some specs which still are missing. You'll see in a following post, once i have all my data. still need to remove the dampers... While at the garage i remembered i never actually checked if the second motor is turning so i tested it and it turns brilliantly. Perfect More to come soon

thanks for the input, allways appreciate I figured out that kameari Japan now also makes these for about 350 USD. so i probably go with these, just because japanese http://www.kameariengineworks.co.jp/KAMEARI-nikki-2016.html we'll see

While im still investigating and reading a lot i got a Delivery from MSA today which i made a while ago. Still some parts are missing but it's allways nice to get new parts 1) Drum Brake Hardware kit 2) Brake and Clutch line mounting clips (inner and outer) 3) Rear brake lines. Somehow got two slightly different ones, but will just use them as a template for braided steel hoses anyway. 4) Brake light switch to complete the Pedalbox. 5) Hazard switcher unit. was quite surprised to see it's a "Niles" Company item, because the company was sold in 2011. Have been looking for these parts in a while and probably will do a post about it. still waiting for a few answers from the current owners... 6) Last but not least i got the taillight replacement center chrome bezels / trims. My tailights are in great condition except these so i plan to refurbish them. Still waiting for the rest of the parts and a big delivery from japan...

I'm at home with a flu. While this is generally a bad thing, on the other side i have plenty of time to do all the meticulous research on Suspension, Transmission and differential Options available. And the good thing is i'm seeing the light at the end of the Tunnel. Suspension wise i still miss some small chunk of information so i got myself this spring compressor to remove the old ones and measure them a bit: However The most important part is: I made a deceision when it comes to the Differential. I'll go with the Subaru STI Hitachi R180 Differential. This one is similar to the R180 From my datsun and looks absolute OEM from the outside. The main difference is the "K" casting on the top which indicates that there is a 115mm inner ring gear diameter compared to the 110mm of my old one. Now is this worh a swap? No. The main reason is that there are plenty of spareparts available and even optional parts Like limited slip Units. The good thing is that Torsen-type (Helical) Limitied slip units (LSD's) come factory from subaru in some applications so its even better I decided to go with the torsen type since i drive the car mainly on th e street. German readers might want to check out this page about the different LSD types: http://www.limitedslip.de/varianten.html The bad thing is that the Subaru Differential has a 27Spline (teeth) side axles while Nissan had 25spline axles. Beta Motorsports made some adapters but from what i understoud the owner died a while ago and now they're available through wolf creek racing: http://www.wolfcreekracing.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=22&Itemid=31 I hope to get my questions regarding the suspension answered soon. so the next steps will be more about collecting, preparing and assembling these parts. It can get a bit boring in front of the computer

Remember when i removed the Waterpump from my Motor (it's already 4 years ago. Damn, time is running), it looked like this: Ever since then i knew i need replacement but it's on the bottom of the priority list. However a while ago i made an order at a supplier in Japan and figured out they'd sell a waterpump for 35USD. So why not give it a try? When it arrived i put a picture in this blog and a lot of people mentioned the poor quality. After going through the Kameari catalogue i figured out they sell something from a Manufacturer called "Aisin". A quick search and i found the catalogue online with the Partnumber WPN-013. Available for 80 Bucks on the web. Just out of curiosity i bought it. I also figured out that Aisin Seiki is a Huge OE-supplier in Japan and used to belong to Toyota in the past. and that they're really big in the water-pump business.. Googling the partnumber on the Cheap pump's box i figured out it's coming from a Chinese Company Called Wenzhou Aobon Pump industries: So here is the comparison: Left Aisin, Right Aobon. Aisin has a classic Cast pattern while the Aobon somehow has a much smoother surface. The Sealing gasket of the Aobon item is more or less a piece of thin cardboard and the bolts / Studs are completely missing at the Aobon item. But the main difference is on the inside. You can clearly see that the Aobon shuffle wheels are not cast but somehow a bent metal piece. Some people pointed out that the bearings are really bad on the chinese product and that it will rust much faster. Aisin Claims on their website that their products have been treated with anti-corrosion stuff. Also the Aisin item comes with an installation manual and lots of informations. Here some more information of the Aisin pump. So i definitly will scrap the Aobon Pump and run with the Aisin Pump. More than happy to support a japanese manufacturer istead of the cheap chinese Copycat product

So after researching a lot lately i knew what should theoretically be in my car, but since i never had a look at my second car, i thought it might be the best idea to just go and check all the numbers and identification marks. Motor: The engine is clearly an L24 (2,4L), using the P30 block: While the head is the E88 head: Also found a few interresting casting-marks and stamps on the front of the head, but not sure if this has any information behind. maybe someone knows? (#3 to the left, 30 on the top and something like 8.21 to the right) So i guess these are the specs of my Motor. There are (depending on the source) up to three different E88 heads around and it seems like i have the first version which seems to be the best one, performance-wise. Transmission: I cannot confirm what it is inside, but what i know is, i haven an early 5-speed transmission. So it definitely has to be an "A-type" which is indicated by the 3-piece design, the cast-pattern of the middle-piece and the "monkey motion" shifter design: Various sources tell me that european cars came with the FS5C71A Transmission, which means: F: Type of Control, F= Floor (direct) S: Transmission Style, S = Special overdrive top gear 5: 5 Forward speeds C: Servo Synchros 71: Gear-pair center-to-center spacing in mm (distance between centershaft and countershaft = 71mm) A: Continuos numbering of model version, A beeing the first version I also found some castings on the bellhousings and middle piece but i guess they don't give any information..? Also found this cast on the transmission. One seems to be the manufacturer's logo but wasn't able to track it down. Can anybody tell me which manufacturer this is? Also found this "5.17" casted below the logo. Anybody knows what it means? This shot is of the rear piece and if you look close you can see it in the first picture of the transmission, above. Differential: The last bit part of my investigation beeing the Differential. According various sources my car came equipped with an R180 Differential from the factory. Means an outer ring gear diameter of 180mm. Some say it's manufactured by Fuji Heavy industries (the mother company of subaru), since subaru used the same Differentials later, but if you have a close look you can clearly see the Hitachi logo on the bottom left. There are lot of numbers cast on the bottom of the differential but i doubt these indicate some useful information. Same on the bottom. The only thing i can say is there is no big "K" casted somewhere, so i have an early type R180 without the 110mm Ring gear (inner diameter), which means my plan to install an OS-giken LSD (made for 115mm ring gear) will not work out, unless i swap something. Here is the second (similar) Diff from the second car. I guess they sprayed it in some kind of nasty rubber to seal some leakage back in time. Similar casts on the second Diff, with probably no information behind, except the Hitachi logo on the bottom left. Unfortunatly all the important information is inside the Diff, so i drained the oil and had a closer look inside... Surprisingly i found this yellow "29" mark. Not sure if it's from factory, but for me this looks like some replacement part or something? Can anybody confirm this is a factory marking? But here we go. Not sure what the rest means (let me know if you know). but the first part 39:10 is what i was looking for. It means that i have a Final drive ratio of 39/10 = 3.9 Which is recommanded for "allround driving" with a 5.gear. Also you can clearly see it's an "open Type" differential. Still need to decide which route i go, but at least i know what i have now. Next up will be some informatino about the Suspension

thanks for your feedback Check out infos about the event here: http://www.jdmjunkies.ch/wordpress/2015-12-19/event-japaner-old-youngtimertreffen-bleienbach-ch-2016/