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

[jdmjunkies.ch]

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!

Edited May 21, 2016 by jdmjunkies.ch

[jdmjunkies.ch]

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!

[jdmjunkies.ch]

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  

[miky360]

You lucky son of a gun. I can only imagine the cost of those seats! Great pickup!

[jpndave]

Nice! Love the seats!

[jdmjunkies.ch]

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.
 

[jdmjunkies.ch]

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

 

[ditto64]

Your attention to detail in this build is astounding.  I can see you aren't cutting any corners, whatsoever.  Looking forward to seeing more progress.

 

Seeing how much you love JDM, I'm almost a little surprised you didn't try to find a 432 fairlady!

[jdmjunkies.ch]

Your attention to detail in this build is astounding.  I can see you aren't cutting any corners, whatsoever.  Looking forward to seeing more progress.

 

Seeing how much you love JDM, I'm almost a little surprised you didn't try to find a 432 fairlady!

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

[jdmjunkies.ch]

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

[munters]

I just replied at jdm

The problem is at the back there are a few "Distanzscheiben" shimms between the rear bearing and the "Flansch" they get stock at the "verzahnung"

If you hammer it out you will brake the shimms and need tou have them made in pcks of 25 pcs. You can ask me why i know

I still have some left if you need them later

[munters]

Oh now I just saw, its not the back case... uups

verget what I just said.

You have the metall balls and springs out ?

 

And something else. I do have a Original typewriter paper (from the 80s or so) how to rebuild the FS5C71A trans. I could make you a copy if you want.

Edited August 6, 2016 by munters

[jdmjunkies.ch]

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

Edited August 22, 2016 by jdmjunkies.ch

[Ereschkigal]

Thanks for sharing the manual. I will likely never use it but you can't have enough of these old documents.

[munters]

Hello Nils

This Paper was written for the Original owner of this paper (the handwritten name you took at least off on top of the first page).

He did not publish it but gave the original to me.

 

I made a pdf and gave it to you without asking him if i am allowd to. (I have to live with that.)

 

But publishing it and putt your www. JDMJunkies . ch on it without asking me is wrong!

I can not allow you to keep it online without the permission of the original owner.

 

Thanks

Marcel

Edited August 22, 2016 by munters

[jdmjunkies.ch]

Hello Nils

This Paper was written for the Original owner of this paper (the handwritten name you took at least off on top of the first page).

He did not publish it but gave the original to me.

 

I made a pdf and gave it to you without asking him if i am allowd to. (I have to live with that.)

 

But publishing it and putt your www. JDMJunkies . ch on it without asking me is wrong!

I can not allow you to keep it online without the permission of the original owner.

 

Thanks

Marcel

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.

[jdmjunkies.ch]

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.

[jdmjunkies.ch]

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...

[jdmjunkies.ch]

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  

[jdmjunkies.ch]

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