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


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Christmas comes one day early this year :) After a four-week long wait, a little Box from Japan finally arrived here with some Parts for my MK63 brakes:
1) Project u MK63 Solid disk type NS street brake pads:
P1190495-Kopie.jpg

2) NOS Nissan Sumitomo MK63 Brake pistons
P1190496-Kopie.jpg

I think i have everything ready now for assembling the Brakes over the holidays :)

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Last post of the year. Nothing huge, but wanted to share the progress.
This week i visited the bodyshop to pick up some unused parts and had a look at t he latest work: The rear quarter panel is in, as is the inner arch. The outer arch has ben reshaped to fit the original bodylines. The repair panels have a different "softer" shape, compared to the original lines. but only visible if you know the details.

DSC_1844-Kopie.jpg

Currently he's reworking the think soft "edge" (where the black line is). Most of owners probably haven't even noticed there's an edge. but my bodyshop guy is a perfectionist. that's why it takes  a lot of time. anyhow. The body is getting a concours level restauration :) Also the tank filler  "pocket" has been removed to get a little rust treatment, and to have better access to the inside of the rear quarters.
DSC_1843-Kopie-1.jpg
 

And at home i've been puzzling together various parts laying around. Like this Differential strap mounts: 
P1190437-Kopie.jpg

Now freshly assembled with fresh zinc plated bolts and tubes and powdercoated base mounts. Perfect.
P1190439-Kopie.jpg

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Woohow! Another one of these little long-term projects finally completed.
I failed several attempts to paint the ignition-switch surrounding ring and the Turn signal switch stalk by myself. The paint would be so easy to scratch off (with fingernails) afterwards that it would immetiately look terrible once you touch it with anything hard.
P1190410-Kopie.jpg

So after i realized i suck at painting, i decided to hand it over to René, the paint wizard at Autolackprofis which i know from the Honda-scene back in the days and is one of the most recognized paintshops in (and outside) switzerland. He's also in charge of painting the car once it's ready (if he isn't retired by then :P) The result is stunning. We decided to go for an industrial grade paint which is stronger and more scratch resistant compared to normal car paint. Perfect :)
P1190515-Kopie.jpg

So first in installed the painted ignition switch surrounding ring back to the switch:
P1190519-Kopie.jpg

Then started to re-assemble the turn signal switch (See previous steps here)
First installed the wire back completely with the switch contacts and the plastic spacer:
P1190520-Kopie.jpg

Added dielectric grease to all the contacts to make sure they will operate smoothly and contact well for a long time:
P1190523-Kopie.jpg

At the bottom end in added the little contact back to the spring and added dielectric grease as well.
P1190524-Kopie.jpg

Added the switch plastic housing and the inside mechanism back to the stalk and measured. Unpressed: Infinite Ohms (no connection)
P1190525-Kopie.jpg

Switch pressed: Zero Ohms (Short). That's what the switch does. if you press it it will short the 12V applied to it to the chassis-ground. So it works perfectly (Always check before doing next steps, you will hate yourself for not doing so if you figure out once it's installed)
P1190526-Kopie.jpg

Install the stalk back to the switch assembly. Since i wasn't able to find a similar bolt used in the the original assembly, i just took a zinc plated nail in the same dimensions, cut it off and made it fit :)
P1190527-Kopie.jpg

After that it's time to get the wires back together. Don't forget to add the heat shrinking tube before you solder...
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Soldered wires back together and heat shrinking tube is shrunk to the original shape:
P1190530-Kopie.jpg

And secured using the small little clamp:
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Think it ended up really well. checked all the functions and everything works, feels solid and looks great...
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and definitely much cleaner compared to the original dusty switch, which was completely covered in old dirty grease.  I'm super happy to have completed another little project that took my quite some time :)
P1190535-Kopie.jpg

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hi!

 

quick question, for the ring, why didn't you have it powdercoated?   Is it made of plastic?

 

as a side note, since you do so much yourself, you might be interested in cheap powdercoating guns, or even do it yourself kinds (my dad made one, looks about as nice as a a pumpkin someone droped from the 3rd floor, but it works really well, all for about 8$)...  

 

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Nothing big today, just picked up a bunch of parts at the paint stripping company. The green colour is wash-primer to protect it from rust.
The grille parts. have to straighten a few things, waiting for two small vertical parts to be fabricated and then it will be ready to get assembled back together:
P1190542-Kopie.jpg

And a set of front lower valances, the gas door and two front tow hooks:
P1190543-Kopie.jpg

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On 9.1.2018 at 5:37 AM, supernova_6969 said:

quick question, for the ring, why didn't you have it powdercoated?   Is it made of plastic?

as a side note, since you do so much yourself, you might be interested in cheap powdercoating guns, or even do it yourself kinds (my dad made one, looks about as nice as a a pumpkin someone droped from the 3rd floor, but it works really well, all for about 8$)... 

No it's made out of metal. THe problem with powdercoating is it leaves a quite thick coat on the ring if done proper and than it wouldn't fit anymore. at least that was my thoughts. i had plenty of parts powdercoated for my project so far and i have a good company local, but i thought in this case paint would be better. I'm happy with the result :)

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I'll write a huge Post about the MK63 brakes soon (just waiting for some details), but one thing i can tell already is that they're usually installed without the backing plate.  The brakes fit perfectly with the OEM Brakes (see below):
P1190549-Kopie.jpg

But don't fit with the bigger MK63 brakes anymore, due to their bigger size. (see below)
P1190551-Kopie-1.jpg

Also one of my backing plate was a bit denty....
P1190550-Kopie.jpg

So i decided to bring 'em to the bodyshop and have them modified to fit and straightened:
P1190552-Kopie.jpg

Also made sure he puts back the "lip" that was there originally. He told me the lip is there in case of someone gets into the disk so it's a bit of a protection and safety thing...
P1190554-Kopie.jpg

This is the result. Honestly i was hoping for a bit tighter fitment, but since you won't see it once the disk is installed it doesn't matter anyway. just my OCD calling here :)
Next i will have it sandblasted and powdercoated.
P1190553-Kopie.jpg  

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One common rusty area of most S30 Z's are the floors. The only supplier of floor pans i know is from zeddfindings  (http://www.datsunzparts.com/ ). The Problem is. they look good at first sight, but upon closer inspection they don't fit really well.
The main Problem beeing the longitudial Bump in the the middle which should be above the frame-rail isn't aligned proper. So basicall you have to cut it up and re-do most of the work. That's what the bodyshop told me when i brought them my floorpans for repair. And 240Z restorers told me the same. so it wasn't just my part which was bad.
P1190538-Kopie.jpg

So a while ago i looked for another solution and came a cross datsun Club Hungary. They restore a few cars a year and make their own floorpans. while not officially for sale in a shop or so, they offered me one set when i asked them. Not cheap, but worth the Money. and they appear to be mostly hand-made too. The reason i trusted them to make good Quality stuff is mainly because they make their floorpans for their own concours-Level restaurations useage and not just for selling them to People with no clue...

Here's a Little comparison. First difference you will immediately note is the size difference. with the Hungarian floorpans there is some spare metal to Play with.
P1190541-Kopie.jpg

Another big difference is the "dent" on the Driver side seatrail which is there originally in early z-cars, but non-existant in the american floorpans from Zeddfindings.
P1190539-Kopie.jpg

last but most important: The longitudial "dent" is perfectly aligned with the Frame rail and no additional cutting-up and welding needed aside from the usual fitment work...
I really hope with the increasing Prices of the Z that manufacturers start to build Quality sheet metal stuff. the parts available currently are sadly of terrible fitment and Quality...

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I'll have to check to be sure, but I'm pretty sure OE pans don't have that little clearance in the longitudinal bead roll for the seat rail like the new pan you show there. The seat rail itself is formed to have clearance for the bead roll.

 

Interesting to hear you had issues with the pans, because I've never heard anything bad about them. I think they might be the only replacement panel available that I've never heard anything bad about actually, at least until now.

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12 hours ago, grannyknot said:

I have installed two sets Zedd Findings floor pans and am assisting on a third set right now, never had any of the problems you are describing, all 6 pans have lined up perfectly.

 

11 hours ago, rturbo 930 said:

I'll have to check to be sure, but I'm pretty sure OE pans don't have that little clearance in the longitudinal bead roll for the seat rail like the new pan you show there. The seat rail itself is formed to have clearance for the bead roll.

 

Interesting to hear you had issues with the pans, because I've never heard anything bad about them. I think they might be the only replacement panel available that I've never heard anything bad about actually, at least until now.

 

1) Regarding the Floorpans: I don't want to offend anyone, but when i asked around how the fitment was at other People, most told me that the longitudial bump in the middle was not lined up properly with the Frame rail below. Also my bodyshop guy took measurements and confirmed that the Position was different in the ones from zeddfindings and the ones from hungary.
Maybe zeddfindings had a bad Batch or so? strange. otherwise they look pretty good if you ask me.

 

2) Im not sure if all the floorpans had the clearance in the longitudinal bead roll, but i double checked with my car when i was at the bodyshop and my 1972 Z definitely had it (on the Driver side only!). the floorpan for the passenger side doesn't have it, since the seateail-mount has a Little clearance for the bead roll on t hat side. thought it was strange. The floorpans from hungary were told to be for "early" models, so maybe they changed the design at one Point?

All i know is they fit perfectly and are exactly the shape which i had from factory in all Areas and that's whats important, right? :)

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I got a request for a 240Z Rear window for sale, so i thought it might be a good reason to get my small power supply and Multimeter out and check them.
P1190564-Kopie.jpg

Unfortunately i didn't even need my tools. It was already clear by visually checking them that both window defrosters are toast, even if the glass was OK on both. The resistive threads have oxidated and vanished in large areas:
P1190565-Kopie.jpg

It even seems like one of them had some kind of burn at one point:
P1190566-Kopie.jpg

You can't really see it bot some of the threads are almost gone totally and there's only some leftovers from the original glue. Really wonder how that could happen. but it seems to be a common problem.
P1190568-Kopie.jpg

One of them even had one of the bigger threads loose. I know it's all repairable with stock-on thread wires, but not sure yet how nice i can do it and if it's worth the effort. Either i need a new glass or have it repaired by a pro.
P1190569-Kopie.jpg

Strange enough i figoured out i have both a vertical and a horizontal wired hatch glass. even if both my cars were built in late 1971. so either they were used longer than mentioned everywere, or it has ben swapped at one point in the past. strange enough the one with the vertical lines (the earlier version)is in way better condition with only one small area damaged and the rest still quite solid...
P1190570-Kopie.jpg

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Sometimes you find the coolest things when you don't even search for them. I always thought the "euro" front lip / chin spoiler was cool but it's somehow rare these days to find one and i thought i go the route with the xenon front bumper. However when i was searching for some other parts i accidently stumbled upon a pretty rough looking but still salvageable OEM front spoiler lip. I contacted a few people to confirm it's the real deal and then made the payment. few days later and i could pick it up at the postal office today:
P1190573-Kopie.jpg

One of the mounting brackets is missing (broken off) and another one seems to have been replaced with a custom made piece over the years. but otherwise it's in quite good shape, as long as the old paint gets removed.
P1190574-Kopie.jpg

It's made from Urethane rubber so pretty soft and you can bend it like you want :)
P1190575-Kopie.jpg

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On 1/25/2018 at 5:49 PM, grannyknot said:

I have installed two sets Zedd Findings floor pans and am assisting on a third set right now, never had any of the problems you are describing, all 6 pans have lined up perfectly.

 

Let me know when you're ready to install another :D

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On ‎31‎.‎01‎.‎2018 at 9:16 PM, KevvinG said:

 

Let me know when you're ready to install another :D

Yeah ich heard both now. many People confirm they had the same Problems, w hile many confirm they never had Problems. I guess there was a bad Batch or maybe there was a difference on the cars depending on the year or something? Don't know. all i can say is there is an obvious difference between the two floorpans and if you measure the longitudinal bead rolls in the middle have a different Position. Strange :)
 

On ‎31‎.‎01‎.‎2018 at 10:43 PM, SleeperZ said:

Seems like all rear window defrosters of this era went bad quickly.  My 1978 rear window defroster never worked, and I bought that car in 1990.  Defrosters on vehicles manufactured in the 90s and newer still work fine in my experience.

Yeah let's say the design was a bit "fragile" i think it would be possible to redo it whit those appliable heating threads you can buy, but not sure if it's worth the effort and how it Ends up. since i drive the car in nice weather only anyway i'm not sure yet which route to go. of course it would be nice to have a working Defroster :)

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This is another little project that has been under work for a while and is finally completed :)
A while ago i wanted to re-assemble the transmission crossmember with the new Energy suspension polyurethane bushings. They're stated to fit all 240Z years on their website:
energybushings-Kopie.jpg
 

However, when i tried to install it, it didn't fit at all... The metal tube was too long to fit inside the outer mounting bracket and had a wrong diameter, the bushings had a completely wrong shape too and didn't fit anywhere....
DSC_1797-Kopie.jpg

It was only then i figoured out there are at least three different types of transmission crossmembers and they do not fit the type i got i got:
JDM-Parts-cataloge-rear-mounts-Kopie.jpg
 

I tried to find a supplier, but they weren't available. But when i asked Jakub Nurzaj from DPAN Europe he immediately told me that he could make a set for me... So i took some measures and we double checked a few things, before the first series went into production.
DSC_1845-Kopie.jpg
 

Yesterday i was finally able to pick them up at the postal office and the first look was promising.
P1190584-Kopie.jpg

 

Here's a comparison between energy bushings (left) and Jakub's bushings (right) the difference is small but i can assure you the ones to the left don't fit at all...
P1190591-Kopie.jpg

 

So today i was finally able to install them (use some bushing grease!)
P1190592-Kopie.jpg

 

Fitment is spot on and tight. perfect!
I cannot thank Jakub enough for the work he put into this and i'm happy i could support him. The bushings are now available from Jakub Nurzaj from the DPAN Europe facebook page. Contact him if you need these.

Here's how the crossmember looked before restauration:
P1050766-Kopie.jpg

And here's the completed, freshly powdercoated transmission crossmember with freshly zinc plated bolts and the NISMO / Kameari Transmission mount. Looking cood. Another Puzzle-piece complete. Thanks again to Jakub for the awesome work!
P1190596-Kopie.jpg

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How great to have that resource to make those bushings. Great work!  Can you tell us if he is casting them or machining them from a larger piece?

 

BTW,  the ES poly bushings fit the 73 and later crossmember (Item 24 in the diagram) with the horizontal mounting bolts.

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A while ago i discovered some NOS parts on a german Sales ad website and contact the seller. few days later i got some NOS parts in my mailbox :)
A 5-speed transmission clutch fork incl the retainer spring:
P1190588-Kopie.jpg

two drum-brake slave cylinders (keen-eyed readers might note that i got two left-sided items)
P1190590-Kopie.jpg

And a set of drum-brake hardware:
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More parts are on the way from japan currenty. and while waiting, i decided to strip the various layers of old paint from the Euro-chin spoiler with the simple use of some pressurized air and a spatula. before...
P1190577-Kopie.jpg

at least five layers of different primers and paint:
P1190578-Kopie.jpg

and here's the result. yeah, still two layers to go, but this one is tuff. even the paint stripper didn't work on this. wonder what it is.. probably have to sand it down by hand.. no hurry though, at least i don't have old paint peeling off from it and messing the storage space now anymore...
P1190579-Kopie.jpg

Oh, and almost forgot i had all the parts for the doglegs ready since a while but never assembled them...
P1190600-Kopie.jpg

So did that today, freshly powdercoated doglegs, zinc plated hardware and new Polyurethane bushings. next to a pair of old unrestored doglegs :)
P1190603-Kopie.jpg

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