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There's a shop near me that has been advertising pre-buys for these bodies(and others). I get the impression that they're working with the manufacturer.

I answer questions whenever I've got a good answer, but I haven't tried enough different sealers to be comfortable risking your engine on my recommendation.

He does mention having to trim his stock valence a bit with the 245s, but 225s and you having an air dam is more clearance in two ways. Small chance of rubbing though.

Here's a link to pictures of @ktm's car that has 245/50R16 tires, so you can see the diameter.

You could step up to 225/60R15. They're a inch larger in diameter than your current tires, but I think stock diameter tires are a little small for the wheel wells anyway. Some guys run 245/50R16 tires, and a 225/60R15 is the exact same diameter, so I don't see why they wouldn't work.

Please do post updates! It's always great to have another project thread on the site

This is awesome. We haven't had a good engineering project on here in a while, so this is a good to see.

Actually, it appears you can still buy kits! https://www.dkhardware.com/asp-a-16-105-auto-keying-kit-product-4838272.html?srsltid=AfmBOopXhi66Ub5objUsVLlPIOtGXJCK2Tf8aZSSusaSLkTvPvIAvVgg https://www.locksco.com/buy/product/New-keying-kit-for-Datsun/CLENC8ae41abfed476c50acd2d7916a7fb627 If neither of those are in stock or don't ship, Star Road sells a kit with blank tumblers and a file. https://jdm-car-parts.com/products/key-cylinder-re-key-kit-for-datsun-240z-260z-280z-make-matching-key-on-your-own

Original locks can be rekeyed, but I know at least in the US, there are very few locksmiths that still stock the tumblers. If you're lucky you could maybe find an old school locksmith, or if you're very lucky you could find an old kit. If not, you can always file your own tumblers out of some brass sheet. Here's a write-up on the process of rekeying Datsun locks. https://ratsun.net/topic/47412-how-to-dissasemble-datsun-510-ignition-switch-and-rekey/

I'm sure I'm far too late, but taking a magnet with to check for structural bondo is a good thing to do. You never know what someone has hidden behind paint.

What is the name of the company selling brand new timing covers?

A little more clearance wouldn't hurt, but I think that's fine if it never gets any closer. You'll have to periodically check that the line hasn't sagged or moved due to being under load and things expanding due to heat. What did you bend? The fitting?

Close is one thing, but resting directly on the header isn't good. What's the line routing look like from factory? Does the header manufacturer have any pictures of it installed on an engine that you could use to figure out where they intended the drain to go?

A single page is easy to do by just downloading the html from the menu. Doing the whole site you need to use some tools that will go through the whole directory and do each page individually for you. I haven't done it yet, so I haven't worked through it fully. If/when I do, I'll make a post so others can do the same.

Yeah the broken thread links stink. The pictures might be even worse. I always upload my photos to the site rather than link to a hosting service. Threads that are 20 years old still work great if the poster did that.