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Thanks a lot Mate. Nice to know people in the same country Motor-wise i haven't decided yet but the plan is for sure to beef it up a bit. If you know my other projects i'm quite a bit experienced in registering non-conform (16B for example) Motors in switzerland. took me three years but it's done and so far the only one running here Back to topic: I appreciate all your feedbacks and confirmations. So what i can say for sure now is that i have a FS5W71A Transmission and a R180 Diff with 3.9 final gear. that's allready good to know. It seems like the transmission was also used in the Z432 and the Z432-R so i guess it will be able to handle a bit of extra power. I found several sources for rebuild-kits but so far i'm not sure if they're all good quality or not. Thanks for your input with SWMotorsport. Regarding the Diff i feel like the stock R180 with an OS-giken LSD would be my kind of choice, but still have to decide on that. R200 seems overkill and too heavy. R180 off a suberu seems the next best option. Btw, where are you from? Maybe we kan meet? will you be at the japaner old and youngtimertreffen in a few weeks?

Istead of fiddling around with all the small bits and pieces i decided it's more important to get the subframe parts ready so i can assemble the car back to a rolling chassis once the shell is completed. The reason this has been a bit on the low-end of my priority list was the fact that i just had no clue what to do. But lately i read a lot and now i'm even a bit more confused. Same goes for the suspension which i will dedicate a separate post to soon. The main problem beeing i have a EUROPEAN 240Z, which suspension- differential- and transmission-wise is totally different than US-Versions and therefore useful information is rare and sometimes appears to be wrong. Ask three people and you will get three different answers... I cannot confirm any of this Informations but so far what seems to be the right data (maybe someone can confirm?), is this: Differential now: I'm running a 1972 EU-Spec Datsun 240z. It seems like all 240z's worldwide have been delivered from the factory with the R180 Differential (Anybody knows the original manufacturer / designer of these?). European-spec cars seemed to have a 3.9 Final drive (Ring gear). The good thing is i will be able to confirm this, as soon as i take my Differential apart and read the numbers on the ring gear (Picture shows a 49/12 = 4.08 Ring gear, not from my car) Differential Future Options: Now it seems like i have many options: - R180 Stock differential, with upgraded LSD (OS Giken, Nismo, Quife, Cusco, ....) PRO: Direct fitment, lighter compared to the R200 CONTRA: Depending on the original LSD relatively weak and oldschool design - R190 Differential (Option from various Competition catalogues, Nissan Z432, etc) PRO: Direct fit CONTRA: Relatively rare to find. - R200 Differential PRO: Widely and cheap aviability, quite Powerful. CONTRA: Relatively heavy, extensive modifications needed on the stub axles. - R180 Subaru Differential Pro: More modern design and quite a lot of parts available, Lightweight Contra: Again a lot of modifications needed on the stub axle side. Transmission now: Comparing images, datasheets etc, it seems like my car came with the first generation FS5C71-A type Transmission. Definitly i have a 5-speed manual like all european cars and according to the cast-design of the housing it must bee an A-Type (First version), But i'm still not sure on that one. Can anybody confirm this? The similar 5-speed transmission from my other 1972 240Z: According to some information on the Interwebs it seems like these are my gear ratios (Still need confirmation on this one): FS5C71A1. 2.9572. 1.8583. 1.3114. 1.0005. 0.852RearGear 3.900 Transmission Future Options: Similar to the Differential i have a bunch of options. - FS5C71A (Keep it stock) PRO: keep it original CONTRA: Oldschool design - FS5C71B PRO: Slightly more modern design CONTRA: maybe slight modifications needed? (Shifter kit?), Small advantage compared to stock - FS5C71C PRO: Most modern design with much better synchronization etc. CONTRA: Modification of the propellar shaft needed, etc. Since i'm planning to run a modified L24 or L28 for street use and the annual trackday, i'm really not sure which option is the best for me. I don't want to run any overkill setup with huge heavy differentials and a gearbox with a lot of modifications needed for installation, but since i'm planning to take apart everything anyway, it would be great to upgrade it at the same point. So i'm really thankful for all information i can get from the pros. Let me know your opinion.

I'm currently planning my next steps, doing a lot of research and ordering small parts here and there to contiue with work. One of the things i wanted to do is to decide wether if i really want to go my planned route with adding 52mm Oldschool Omori Meter gauges to the interieur or sticking with the OEM 60mm gauges. I once ordered a nice 52mm Fuel gauge with the correct resistors for my Z so i will probably give it a try soon and decide if i search for more (now discontinued) Omori gauges or not. First i tested my gauge but that means i had to translate the Japanese only drawings: Then finally i was able to connect it to the 12VDC supply and check it out. the needle turns to max at the startup and lighting works so i guess it's ok since it was never used in a car. Really like the oldschool look and the fact i can rock some more authentic and oldschool parts in my Project. To make them fit into the original 60mm housings, the internet had all kind of funky solutions ready, but none of them seemed to be as professional as i wanted it to be. So i ordered these ATI 60 to 52mm Gauge adapers made out of rubber. they look nice but i'm not sure yet if my plan will work out. will have look soon i guess.

Since there is no out-of the box solution and not a single internet-thread on this topic i had a hard time completing this step and therefore the lack of updates. It seems just a turn signal switch assembly, but i spent several hours on this one to finally get a clean and well working result. And had to buy several stuff while doing it so that allways gave me a little break inbetween. Anyhow here is how i went: After four attempts i managed to remove one of the four plastic handles (the last one) which i had without braking it - success!! Cleaned the switching lever with some scotch and brite pads and you can see the copper where the corrosion started: Painted it with some gloss black rattle-can spray: But was disapointed by the result, so i removed the paint and sprayed it again: This time the result was much better. Time to assemble things again: Wire and positive pole back in: Bought this plastic polishing / Scratch remover stuff and cleaned the plastic knob: Not perfect but much better than before: Wasn't able to find anything near the original brass thinky to mount the handle back into the base so i got a little inventive and used brass nails istead. Looks like OEM, fits perfect and is more stable than the original design: And than the rest of the parts came back together: Final result. only need to connect the wires back together. but otherwise super happy with the result:

Yeah it's not like i've been not doing anything on the car lately but im corrently working on what is probably the most complicated assembly on the car and it needs a lot of time to figure out how to handle the adventerous electronis design of the Niles Electric company from 45 years ago. As you might know I'm a senior electronics engineer in my daily job so it's kinda fun and i want to do it right. However it's a bit tricky to get such an weird and oldschool design "right". So it needs time. But let's start with something else: Last week i loaded the hatch into my car: Brought it over to R-performance so they can add new studs to the rear spoiler and he asked for the wing so he can align the studs to the holes in the hatch. Good idea This time they were busy preparing the full-carbon bodied K24 Turbo Integra for the coming time-attack season. This car is serious business! What really gave me headaches was the turn signal switch. After days of trying different things i finally brought of the switch knob from the turn signal arm and was able to disassemble everything: Here you can see how the (what the manual calls) Dimmer switch works. Contact open: Contact closed (the wire is short circuited to the turn signal arm which is mounted to the body, so basically it's connected to ground once the button is pushed): Of course i broke the plastic knob while attempting to removing it. either i manage to remove one of the other two i have without braking it or i will need to have one 3D-printed for me since nothing is available.. I decided to exchange the old and brittly cable whilte at it so today i took two of the switches to my office and soldered in new wires. Before: After. Tried two wires with different stiffnes so i can see which one works better. You can see the original wires on the right side. That's it. next step is getting a good turn signal switch knob and assemble everything back together since everything is clean and all the contacts nice now

Just got a Delivery from the great guys at MSA today. First of all a new rear weld-in valance: And a set of rear lower corner valances. They're from a 280Z since none are made for the 240Z. All of these panels are not the best fitment and quality but the best available ones. So my panelbeater has to use them just as base for his final product. I wonder why nobody makes better quality panels sine these would sell like hot burritos and there are so many of these cars around the world beeing restored currently... Last but not least some small bits like the dustcaps, cotter pins and some washers. Now almost have all parts together to get the wheel bearings installed back to the strut housings...

This post is going to be a little summary of the weeks happenings. I have some more good and bad news from the bodyshop first: The good thing: My Panelbeater yves put the door back in for aligment and thus it still has a lots of panels missing, a door already makes the car look like - ummm - a car again Then the bad news: Someone crashed into his car (the one below is the one who hit him), so he's currently suffering from a whiplash injury and of course his recovery his priority first. Not sure what that means for my car. probably will not be worked on for a while again... The very next day my Buddy Stev visited a guy who is currently selling a lot of NOS datsun parts: He brought this little Oil pressure Sensder unit for me, but i have to check if it's really for the Z since i have the feeling my ones look more cylindric istead of this "Church-bell" design. And then i reworked the new Blower motor (See last post), to fit my needs. First removed the old Motor cover which was silver. Painted it black with some rattle can spray: Ordered some new rubber grommets which will fit since the old blower has different hole sizes. Here i have them installed together with the metal sleeves from the old blower inside: Here you can see the old insulationg foam ring and i wanted to recreate something similar. And here's my result. boaght some foam-tape and installed it. Doesn't look as nice as the original one but since it will not be visible once installed im fine with that And last but not least i had a little running-test with a 12V DC supply just to see if everything's fine. and it is - Blower motor: Completed!

Last friday i spent a visit at the Bodyshop. Mainly to bring him the Passenger side door so he could check fitment after he's done with welding in that area (some parts may have moved a bit and need adjustment). I also asked him to close the original door mirror holes in the door as i will switch to the JDM Fender mirrors And i had to bring him some cash as well And then i have some good and bad news. The good news is that work in the front right (passenger) sode is almost completed and the work looks fabulous. To the untrained eye it may look a bit patchy but after everything is primered and has the same colour it's almost factory-work - maybe even better since factory welding from datsun was really crappy in some areas Now the bad news. Specially in the passenger area behind the seat there has been copious amount of cheap patchwork repairs and way more rust underneath every panel which was removed, than initially expected. So well - yeah. the whole thing will be a bit more expensive and take maybe another two years at the bodyshop until completed.. but i'm still happy with the fact i will save one of these fairladies... Inner wheel well has been removed and he's currently fitting the new one from tabco.. Also the old sparewheel well has been cut out and the new one placed inside just to save some space. hasn't been welded yet... The car looks a bit like a swiss cheese currently Here's a good example. I wouldn't have noticed but as the bodyshop explained and showed me the patchwork under the gas filler thingy i understoud where there has been cheap repairs in the past. so this one has to go out as well and fixed nicely... many small bits which will take up a lot of work at the end... Anyhow, looking forward for updates. And while i was there i also ahd a look at this almost finnished (has been in the works there for a while now as well!), Toyota KE70 Corolla "Kesser Sport spezial". This was a swiss homologation special as far as i understoud (wasn't able to find anything about it on the web..) in all it's early 80ies boxyness. Love it and i'm pretty sure this will be a rare gem once completed!

Thanks for the input I bought it on ebay. I haven't tested it so far (and it probably will take a while until i have it installed, but i'm pretty sure it's the one everyone is using. I bought mine on ebay

One popular upgrade for the 240Z seems to be swapping out the lame Original Heater blower motor to the one coming from some 80ies or 90ies Honda. Unfortunately all the manuals i found for this swap mentioned a different Honda model as source for the Blower motor so i was confused. They all looked the same in the pictures and some guys on Ebay even sell the Blower swap for around 90$ + shipping. I thought that's too expensive and did some research and figured out the one blower everyone is using is the TYC Genera Model 700077 which is an aftermarket replacement for the aforementioned old honda motors. Funnly this blower is sold for only 23 Bucks so i went the direct route and ordered it This is the old Nihon Radiator / Hitachi Blower: And here we have the new one. Brand new and factory fresh As you can see the shape is slightly different (left new, right old), but it wil fit perfectly. I compared with the drawing on the TYC website and many people in the internet told this is a 1:1 swap except for the rubber gromments which need to be changed due to different mounting hole diameters (other people probably will enlarge the holes). Also i recommand to paint the now Silver motor cover black as this is installed right in the foot compartment of the passenger and will stick to the passengers eye According to the poeple in various forums the advantage of the new Blower is: Much more powerful, much more silent, lighter (Due to the plastic squirre-cage compared to the metal one in the old design) and draws less current. Overall it's much more effective. can't wait to install it. Of course i will write about it once i get to that point

I guess that's my advantage from beeing an electronic engineer mainly repairing old electronics from the last decades. i Know my wires but that's the problem. i know more about wires and contacts than about cars

Made some progress again First i cleaned all the switches and buttons by hand so the white texture finally came back to life and is visibla again. worked surprisingly good with an old tooth brush and some dishwashing water Well and then assembled everything back together. not factory fresh but as nice as an 44 year old switch can get Then started with the turn signal switch on the other side. seems a bit more tricky... The contacts had massive burn marks So this is after cleaning Who needs puzzles when you have cars? I never realized how complicated these switches are until i took it apart Then got some updates from the bodyshop. Rear lower side cowls (before): And after: And that "triangle piece" inside the rear fender well... Tomorrow i will visit a shop to repair my wing and on friday i'll drop by the bodyshop again. hoping for some updates again

Today i spent a wile rebuilding / refurbishing the headlight switches. The problem with the Original wiring design is that the full headlight current runs through the steering wheel multifunctional switches. This causes contacts tu burn, specially when upgraded to H4 headlights. I decided to refurbish them before putting it back on the steering column. In future i will run a relay, because the original design is not very long-lasting, nor is it very safe to have 20 amps in your hands when switching on the lights Started with choosing the best of all four switches i had (one beeing a later model or something different): Disassembled everything following This great manual: http://www.doyouevenhoon.com/datsun-240z-gtr/how-to-rebuild-datsun-240z-headlight-switch.html and ended up like this: Removed the old contacts and as you can see they're pretty urnt and carbonized: Used some "relay contacts cleaner" Fluid and after a bit of rubbing looked like this. Also but the switches back in reverse orders to make sure the "weak" part will be on the opposite side and last longer Will continue with the rest of the switch next week. need to buy smaller pliers first In the meanwhile i got an update from the bodyshop. Before: after: Now work on the passenger side floorpan and rear quarter as well as the small storage compartment started. More rust than expected. but yeah. t hat's how life is Also ordered ordered the rear lower valance and rear corner valance so basically i will have an almost new chassis at the end *lol*. more updates soon i hope

I Decided to visit my Bodyshop and talk to my Panelbeater Yves about the progress of my car. Remember it was more than 15 months since he last worked on it, because it's still a side-project. Lucky me he just began working on the car today. Not a lot to show you but i hope for some updates soon. And i'm more than happy with any progress As you can see he just started work on the floorpans. And the good thing is i already have another apointment with him for the next week. so pretty sure there are some nice news

Got a bit bored from all the reading an investigation in front of the computer, so decided for my own pleasure to test-assembly my rebuild steering colum together with the HKB Steering boss kit and the RS-watanabe falcon steering wheel (Horn button not installed). Nothing big, but enjoyed how it ended up. Now trying to figure out how i can clean the multifunctional steering wheel switches to get them back on the column

Unfortunately not

The 240Z Project has been really cooking on a low flame last year. I was too busy with my Job and travelling. Luckily this year started out smoother and i'm really working to get back on the Z-Project. I Ordered one expensive part which will show up in a few months but so far i started reading a lot about the Z, because i forgot most of the things i knew maybe two years ago since i never used them However im starting to make plans for the next small projects of the Project and i'm super excited about it. However before i started to work on car bits, i had to get rid of the mess in my home-workshop (aside from my garage i have a little hobby-room for small work and parts-storage at home). So i bought some new shelves, moved everything and this is how it ended up. I'm super happy with it I can finally work without searching for the right parts and tools for half of the time Then it was time to complete a simple but not-so-simple job i've started a while ago. Before i had the Door locks replated a while ago i removed the old damper rubbers and after i never figured out how to get them back in, i never did it. Today i decided it was time to complete the job So took an old toothbrush and scalpel to remove old glue from the rubber. then washed it in the sink with some warm water and dishwashing soap. worked fine Then took me quite a while to figure out how to get the Rubber back in without damaging it, but finally got it after 30mins of fiddling around. Added some of the Super glue like it was from factory, but the rubber sits so tight, i doubt the glue is really needed. Just a small job, but one more box ticked on the 2-do list

After i was on a long vacation and visited tokyo auto salon as well (see tons of pictures on www.JDMjunkies.ch) im finally back at the project.. Good news guys. I thought it's about time to get the project rolling a bit faster again. that's why i'm currently preparing a few things. However thanks to my buddy stev (big thank you again, buddy!) i was able to get hands on another NOS piece: A New-Old-Stock Datsun Front lower center valance Panel thingy. Probably the last Bodypanel which was missing. Well i had one but it was rustend and totally crushed so this came in handy With partnumber and everything Oh and last week i got this picture from my bodyshop, letting me know that the car is back at the main workspace and ready to crank work up again. Hope to get some updates from him soon :)IMG-

Hi there, i understand your doubt and let me explain it: 1) I got told this by a guy in the USA who's into historic datsun racing and intended to sell me a set of MK63 solid calipers first, which never happened. Me too thought that story was quite bizarre, that's why i wrote "i was told" into the sentence because i was not really sure if that is true. didn't really make sense to me as well. 2) According to your text i guess in the past the solid type was much common compared to the Vented type. But if you check Yahoo auctions now there are allways a few sets of MK63 vented types for sale while this was the first set of solid type within two years i gould get hands on. Maybe i don't know where to look but it was much harder for me to find a set of original solid type calipers than a set of vented ones which is even available as reproduction in japan. I know there are other options which would also work but i wanted to have the real deal. I guess the reason for aviability is because everyone is looking for the vented type and nobody wants the solid type. thats why vented ones have bevome more common and are usually sold. maybe i'm wrong, you're the expert 3) Now why i went for the solid type istead of the vented ones? That's not because i wanted to. i would have preferred vented ones for sure. but due to the fact that nissan in germany (which is responsible for switzerland as well) destroyed all records on old option parts (according to the guy at their office i had on the phone), and due to the swiss law regarding registration of after-market parts and cars i cannot switch to vented disks without an official german or swiss certificate. which is not available anymore. I decided to use the stock solid disks with the MK63 calipers and hope that nobody will notice the brakes are "wrong". So for me that's actually the only option to upgrade the brakes without (hopefully) running into trouble. that's why. not my first choice but the only one i have

Yeah i know - the pace is quite slow lately, but im still working on the project silently in the background. But today is the day i have som GREAT news for you. I got a Package delivered from Japan with some parts i've been looking for over two years now until i recently stumbled across them finally I'm talking about the Sumitomo MK63 brakes. But what's so rare about them you might ask? they pop up every now and then on the internet. But this is not your standard MK63 for vented disk, but the very rare first gen. version for OEM Nissan disks, which are FIA homologated and were used in various ex works racing cars. I've even been told that nissan asked them back after the races from their teams.. wow Here's a comparison between the standard brake (Also sumitomo manufactured) and the MK63: I plan to restore / rebuild the new brakes before they go in. And here's some specs from the NISMO homepage and the old Datsun performance catalogue: Later NISMO offered the same brakes under their brand but they're obsolete since a few years.. Oh and while ordering parts from japan anyway i decided to order all available maintenance and refurbishing parts for the brakes from the NISMO / Nissan catalogue and got them delivered from a local Nissan dealership from Yokohama

I have a truckload of parts on my way from Japan, but other than that i don't have too much news. Im going to be out of country most of the time of the rest of the year for some business trips and some long-needed vacation. However i wanted to get some stuff done before i leave and mainly it was about cleaning up the mess in the garage. I've collect parts from two chassis and the internet and put them in various boxes but somehow i lost the overview over time so i wanted to have that fixed. this is what it looked like before i started cleaning yesterday: So i started sorting all parts from various boxes to other ones and marking everything nicely to find the parts whenever i need them And while in the garage anyway i decided to remove the old brake calipers from the front struts And out they are And then also removed the moustage bar from the rear diff and figoured out everything was covered in a thick layer ouf some rubber-stuff. Probably the diff was leaking at one point and they putt this nasty stuff on it to get it fixed cheaply. Anyhow the diff will get a full rebuild or R200 swap (haven't made any desicion yet). so that won't be a problem

A while ago i started the assembly of the Pedalbox. While i still wait for some small components like the flasher unit and the Brake light switch i couldn't resist assembling all the shiny new zinc-plated and powdercoated parts After putting the new rubber to the pedals i installed them to the box with the fresh plated bolts. Then the stopper bolts and springs came in. Looks brilliant, doesn't it? here's a comparison between the old crappy one (right side) and the completely rebuilt one, left. Oh and while at it i did the throttle pedal as well Oh and then i have some good news from Japan again soon

A while ago i wrote about different intake Manifolds and that i probably want to go for a FET (Better known as "Far East Trading" Japan) Manifold. But as i have other priorities at the moment i wasn't really looking for one. Well untill my Friend Stefan remembered my Post when he scanned the Internet for some Kenmeri parts and stumblet upon one. He immediately sent me the link and because it was a Steal of a deal i had to get it. Today i had something in the mail Thanks to the finned or striped design i think it perfectly fits the Kakimoto intake once it's painted in the same wrinkle-paint colour. And yeah i know the balancer tube might make everything a bit mor difficult to adjust, but i'm sure there's a way to work around it (like plugging the holes going to the tube or so...) And because it's too expensive to only send one single part from Japan to here i ordered my self a set of Projectu Drumbrake shoes which will go nicely together with the hayashi racing drums The other set is for stefan's Kenmeri Project. Thanks again, mate!

While i'm waiting for some parts from japan and for some answers from USA i realized i never showed you some pictures i made a few months ago (Only a teaser shot for my FB-followers was published). I made a mock-up of the Front axle and steering setup to see how everything fits together and get the idea. So first i adjusted the steering rack according to the manual: And then mounted it the the front subframe: Next was the stabilizer bar, steering knuckles, tierod endlinks and new bushings allround And then while at it i decided to add the Doglegs. Seems like everything fits as it should. perfect What you see here is: - Nagisa NAMS adjustable tierod endlinks - Kameari engine mounts - Rocky auto adjustable doglegs - 555 Ball Joints - Autorefine ARC stabilizer bar - Datsun competition short steering knuckles - Rebuilt steering rack - All new energy PU bushings - All other parts have been sandblasted and powdercoated - All new OEM Nissan Screws, bolts and nuts used whenever available, otherwise replated original bolts! oh, and then this:

Nothing big, just spent another two hours at the garage compling the sanding down of the wing. Before: and done there are a few damages in the FRP surface like it's normal for a 40 year old FRP-item, but no problem. i know a good FRP-specialist and will bring it to him for repair. Also needs new studs in the bottom end as well as a new foam-sealing