Swiss two-become-one 240Z Ground up restauration / JDM mods

[jdmjunkies.ch]

I knew my Parts will be back from the paintshop and powdercoating company soon so i wanted to make sure as much as possible is ready for assembly when the parts are here.
So ever since i read about it on the internet. something i wanted to do is clean and refurbish the steering colum bearings..
Before (everything nasty and filled with old, dirty grease):


Here i have one of them pulled apart and cleaned all the balls (30 total) and shells and the securing ring. I have a total of 4 bearings because two from each Steering colum from each car, in case you're wondering.


I reworked all four of them because that gave me the opportunity to choose the best two at the end (to the right on this picture), rather than replacing the Bearing balls with some generic bearing balls as some others have done before..:


While i was at work in my basement i decided to finally hang my 1/50 limited Starroad picture with the Inoue-san (from starroad) handsign on the wall as a bit of motivation and inspiration:


And then my friend Nadya at the Industrial paintshop sent me this photo of my steering colum parts drying and told me i can pick them up on friday again. Seems like i have some work for the weekend

 

[Datz44]

Nice progress and work. You are my inspiration!!

Where did you order your OEM Nissan bolts and nuts?

Im having trouble finding some, most Nissan dealer's have discontinued some of the parts.

[jdmjunkies.ch]

thanks for the Kind words! I actually ordered them at my local Nissan Garage.
Many of the (mostly the Special sized bolds and bits) parts are obsolete with no replacement, but most of the Standard bolts and stuff are replaced with newer partnumbers.
Just check the partnumber here and it will give you the replacement number: http://www.online-parts.co.uk/Nissan

But also my local Nissan Garage was able to tell me the replacement numbers (sometimes they had different numbers). also you might note that Nissan Japan and Europe sometimes have different item availibility so maybe also Nissan USA hase different availibilities on parts i guess...

Thats how i did: I made a list of all the bolts, washers and nuts from one certain assembly (lets say the front subframe), checked every single part number in the link above for a replacement number and sent the list (including original and replacement number) to a number of Nissan garages. Few sent me Feedback, some None at all so i Chose the one who was most willling to help me and they were forwarding it to the Nissan parts HQ in Rotterdam (NL) to check availibility and Prices. after i got the info i just ordered all the available parts and got them a few days later.

all the not available parts i will / did zinc-replate or replace with similiar specified bolts from the Hardware store.

 

hope this helps. good luck with the bolt-hunting
 

[jdmjunkies.ch]

Last few evenings i've been working on the assembly of the steering column. Started with the delivery of the freshly sandblasted and painted housing parts:


The steering colum mount still had the old glue inside so i tried a few methods to clean it but figured out the "solvent cleaner" (which is actually an industrial grade label-sticker remover) works brillant compared to the dremel-and-wire-wheel method


this wass the result after wiping it a few times. see before picture above:


Next was glueing the old and cleaned rubber insulators back in. they where still quite nice and soft and no new ones available so i decided to reuse them:


Put the plastic piece from the steering lock and the two bearings into the fridge to get them minimized a bit and at the same time put the housing on my radiator to warm and expand it slightly for a few hours:


After that it was quite easy to hammer the bearings and the plastic piece back into the housing carefully with a wooden hammer and the professional tool (aka the big wrench nut and expander)


After cleaning all the small bits and regreasing them i had them back into the housing as well (thanks to the help of my girlfriend, because it's impossible to compress the spring and at the same time install the lock-ring - trust me. i tried for about an hour


The result:


So  here we have the steering colum minus the mounting bracket:


but i've installed that shortly thereafter thats it for today. Have a last small bit of work tomorrow and hopefully more coming soon


In case if you've missed it, i bought a new car for replacing my daily Civic which i now drive since 12 years, but ineed something more practical so i have another project now because i'll modify it slightly. just so you're warned but uf course the fairlady has priority

[Ereschkigal]

Sehr schönes und gewissenhaftes (und teures) Projekt.

Dein Blog hat mir auch schon bei einigen Fragen weitergeholfen.

 

Pflegst du eigentlich eine Liste mit den Teilenummern bzw. welche Teile es sind?

Edited March 24, 2015 by Ereschkigal

[jdmjunkies.ch]

Seems like i do a little bit on my car every evening lately and that's so much fun
1) Went to the local hardware store and picked up a few 10.8 grade bolts for installing my JDM three-five Pillowball mounts:




Of course i had to install them directly after coming home. One more part instaleld on the front subframe




2) Today i went to the Sandblasting / Powedercoating company to pick up my parts. The battery-mount and the Sparewheel-well only got a sandblast and primer so the bodyshop can weld them in and the painter paint them:


The rest of them got powdercoated RAL9005, Satin black. I don't need all of the parts but i thought while i'm at it anyway why not throw in a few spare-parts? No big price difference anyway. Most important is the pedalbox and -parts. But more on that soon


3) And last but not least i went to the local rubber-shop and had them replicate that rubber-insulator between the steering colum and the firewall according to my shitty template i made from the old seal. howefer, the result fits niceliy and it was cheap so i'm happy

[Datz44]

I'll try this method, Thanks alot.

Keep up the nice building progress.  

[Nelsonian]

JDM, your build and consistent work ethics are inspiring!

[jdmjunkies.ch]

Spent a few hours in my Basement-workshop and at the grage yesterday. but let's begin with a parts delivery from MSA. Sadly they forgot a few small bits so i have to wait for the rest. Mainly pedal parts and aftermarket tierod-endlinks in OEM-design. Just because of the fact that my NAGISA tierod endlinks are not street legal i ordered These to install for for Registration testing purpose

 

Of course i had to install the Rubbers imediately to my fresh powdercoated pedals - Looks so nice

 

Then decided to enjoy the beautiful spring-evening in front of my Garage and disassemble the doors from Chassis Nr. 2. I plan to bring some bodypanels (Fenders, doors, hatch and Hood) for paint removal to a specialized Company next month so i want to have all the parts ready. Before:

 

And approx. an hour or so later. Second door followed. I figured out that various bolts and parts where missing on each door, so someone did a horrible Job Assembling them in the past..

[jdmjunkies.ch]

Sorry for the lack of updates lately on the 240Z project, it's not like i've been not doing any thing, just was enjoying my EK9 in the nice weather, and had a lot of other stoff going on. Here's a little teaser of an upcoming EK9 wallpaper from a recent shooting. still need to complete a few details in photoshop.


My bodyshop man has a lot of daily-business-customers wanting to have their american cars ready for summerseason so  he's busy working on small projects currently and my car is on the backburner. Also did a lot of research and ordered a lot of parts. currently i'm awaiting 2 shipments from Japan and a big one from USA and still need to order a lot of tools and small bits to complete a few things. however, let the pictures talk:

1) As mentioned before started with the assembly of the pedal box. This is just a little teaser shot as i'll go more into detail when it's completed. still need a lot of parts and tools to get it done:


2) got these mudflaps from MSA which were on backorder:


3) I'm trying to get my bodypanels ready for paint- and rust-stripping at a local specialized company soon so i'm currently stripping all my parts. Completed the second set of doors, as well as both trunks. Still need to do the service flaps, the hood cowl, the hood and two sets of fenders:






4) then made some research on rare JDM intake manifolds. Let me share my results with you. As there are many different L6 intake manifolds from japan (aside from the other brands like Cannon, etc..)
- Sanyo Kiki: Japanese brand which still exists but changed their business. Here you see an early casting version:


- SK Sports kit: Was a complete Kit sold with a later Sanyo Kiki design but also came with the carbs and everything. Quite a popular choice and i like it:


- Tomei powered. Was available until maybe 2 years ago, not now any more sadly. Design looks quite close to a lot of other Manifolds, like the datsun competition etc.

- FET / Far east trading / Kyoku-To
Here we have an early Kyoku-To Design Intake manifold (Kyoku-To = Far east)


- Later versions came branded as F.E.T and had the additional Balancer tube on top. My favourite design so far, will probably look brilliant together with the striped Kakimoto intake manifold:


- Mikuni
Famous Carb manufacturer (actually they built Solex carbs in licence) also had their own intake manifolds:


- Harada Shokai.
Looks pretty similar to many other designs but is still manufactured and probably the technically most advanced and best engineered design. I love it but it's probalby a bit too modern for my car and i somehow prefer a more oldschool design even if the power-gain is not the same..


Others: Well there are others like Datsun competition, Hayashi racing, Ohtsuka and so on but sadly wasn't able to find any pictures of these. if you have some, i would be very interrested!! get in contact if you have some pics

That's it for now.  Need to prepare a few things before recceiving my new daily car and getting rid of the old one including all the parts (already sold most of it) and so on, but i never stop thinking and researching on the Z so don't worry if updates are lacking doesn't mean i don't do anything

[jdmjunkies.ch]

Well yeah, had some big plans this week for the Z, but unfortunately a Flu hit me and i'm lying with a cold and fever in the bed fourth day in a row. However i got so bored of laying around all the time today i HAD to do something so i decided to finally unpack that roof that is standing in my entry hall since a few weeks. Before:


And after unbolting a couple dozens of screws:




While at it anyway i decided to strip it as well so i have that done too:


Found this old matchstick box underneath the roof skin. Always fun to find old stuff:


and also removed the "pockets" for the hinges:


As soon as i was complete my favourite guy rung the doorbell. The Postal delivery guy
Thanks to golden week holiday in Japan my package was slightly delayed, but however i got some stuf from japan again:
1) A Cusco ST-Type front strut tower bar. Not sure if it will clear the kakimoto valve cover and if i will use it anyway, but i thought it's never wrong to have the parts ready in stock. Like the oldschool tubular design


2) A set of super rare NOS genuine Datsun Competition Short steering knuckles straight from the Datsun competition catalogue.


In case if you're wondering here's the description from the datsun competition catalogue:


And here is a comparision between the Standard knuckles (black) And the Competition knuckles (Silver):


More parts are on the way and im starting to feel better again so i hope to spend the afternoon tomorrow at the garage     

Edited May 8, 2015 by jdmjunkies.ch

[jdmjunkies.ch]

While waiting at the garage for a guy to come and pick up one of my spare-engines and a transmission i decided to get some work done. Unfortunately the guy never showed up so  i had plenty of time to get some stuff done. Mainly preparing more panels for paint stripping
1) The hood - before:   


Hinges removed


done


2) Completed the second pair of doors (from the white chassis):


3) Decided to also split the fenders from the second car. as you can see they're quite rusty but some stuff like the lower cowl-panels / Corners and the headlight-surroundings seemed pretty nice, so i decided to take it apart anyway and then i can choose the best from all the single-parts and scrap the rest of them


Before:


and after:


Meanwhile i have almost all the bodypanels ready for paint stripping:


And while at the garage anyway i removed the trunk hinge mounts and rubber-pockets from the white chassis:


And decided to do a little test-fitting of the new cusco strut tower brace i got yesterday

Edited May 9, 2015 by jdmjunkies.ch

[jdmjunkies.ch]

Not a big update, but an important one: Today i got a FedEx delivery from USA, bringing  me a nice set of Tabco Repair panels:


I decided to buy them directly at Tabco because they're the main manfucturer of these. All the companies like zcarsource and MSA only sell tabco parts so why not get them directly at the source? Service was fine after a few mails and superfast shipping i had them at the door today. They may not be OEM-quality but i guess it's the next best thing you can buy at the moment. because i tried to source OEM rear quarters first but they seem a) impossible to find and if you find them super expsensive. so i'm happy with this solution and i'm sure my bodyshop guy will make them look like OEM panels when installed More to come soon

[miky360]

Exciting ass build! Glad you're still pulling through with this. Wanted to do something similar but I personally don't have the patience or resources to source out rare things like the Datsun Comp steering knuckles.

[jdmjunkies.ch]

Exciting ass build! Glad you're still pulling through with this. Wanted to do something similar but I personally don't have the patience or resources to source out rare things like the Datsun Comp steering knuckles.

Thanks mate yeah i give my best to keep it going but things are going a bit crazy in life at the moment However the datsun competition knuckles are available through a number of sellers so no big deal to get them

 

No big news currently since works keeps me occupied like crazy at the moment and a lot of other stuff going on. like for example got my new daily ride home:

 

And then got a package from japan with the seatrail for the bride histrix seat into the 240Z:

 

Next update this saturday i hope

Edited June 3, 2015 by jdmjunkies.ch

[jdmjunkies.ch]

As regular reader, you might know i plan to bring a few panels and stuff to professional paint stripping soon so i'm preparing a few things. Talked to my bodyshop guy yves, about this and he recommanded me to open the fold at the bottom of the door to get all the rust removed and see how it looks inside. As he's the professional and i'm not i do whatever he says. First i needed some special tools. An Unfolding plier for bodyshops and a spotweld-romver drill.


So this is how i started. Rusty buttom of the door but otherwise nice (note pictures are mixed up from two different doors, so don't be confused, one is a lot better then the other door is..)


First removed the rubber sealing above the seal / fold with a small spatula. Then it looked like this:


Then decided to remove old rust, debris and paint with a scotch and brite CSD disk. This are brilliant for that kind of work:


This was the result:


Next i removed all the spotwelds with the drill (sorry, forgot to make pics) and then started to unfold the fold with the special pliers:


Worked out really great and after only 30 minutes the door looked like this (after another cleaning with the CSD Disk). So the doors are ready for paintstripping now

[jdmjunkies.ch]

Yeah i know, progress is really slow tue to the fact i'm leading a training for engineers since three weeks and that means im working all day long. however it's done soon so i hope i find time to work on the lady again. And it's also very hot these days. exceptional hot so i prefer swimming istead of working   However, got a package from japan today with some nice goodies:
1) M.Speed japan Water pump pulley:


2) Aftermarket waterpump from M-speed:


3) And a nice set of corner-lights including the pigtails and seals. great deal

[ls240z]

Where did you get those corner lights? They look mint!

[jdmjunkies.ch]

I Bought them at http://www.mspeed-japan.com/ . I was looking for this Corner lights for a while but they're hell of expensive. now These (i think replicas) are OEM Quality and a lot cheaper. that's why i had to get them directly even if i don't Need them right now

[jdmjunkies.ch]

I've been working for my job like crazy lately and now i have a lot of overtime. So i decided to take one day off and spend some long overdue time in the garage
I've saved some money lately for bringing parts for Chemical dipping (See details below).
However i had to spend two hours yesterday preparing everything. removing small bolts and bits like the chrome trim on the taillight panels:


And removed:


Then i collected all t he parts from My garage and my second workshop at home and somehow felt i need to make one of these cool "exploded view" pictures. Always wanted to so this was a great opportunity




So i collected the parts from my two chassis and some more i bought. therefore a lot of different colours What we have is in total 23 pieces:
2x Doors
1x Roof
1x Front center valance
2x Front coner valances
2x Metal Headlight surroundings
1x Hood
1x Trunk
2x Taillight covers
1x Taillight center cover
2x Fenders
2x Access-flaps
2x Toolbox flaps
1x Hood cowl
1x Dashboard cowl
2x Mudflap metal pieces

And another pic:


Finally loaded and today i brought them to the specal company:


Compared to most of the companies they don't use Acid for dipping but a own mixture of Solvents. Different kinds of alcohol (Rum, Tequila and Whiskey maybe? ) and they're quite famous. The advantage is that this solvend is 100% neutralized when cleaned with water at the end. so no corrosive leftovers are there at the end.
The friendly staff was quite nice and told me a bit of their process. they are like 4o people and a big part of their business they're dipping complete cars and a lot of big parts. My car will get a Complete paint- and rust removal, a rust passivating as well as a cleaning and then a be primered with Doltan 2k Washprimer to prepare from new rust while waiting to be worked on / painted.
I managed to take a shot from outside where you see a dipped Chassis from a different customer. It's not cleaned or primered yet. Should be able to pick up my parts within a month. This brings me a big step towareds the completed project, while this is still many years away...