Jump to content
HybridZ

Rear hatch swap


Guest RXO510

Recommended Posts

We just went through the search for the rear hatch swap and didn't find anything on it. We did see an earlier post stating that everything can be swapped other than the doors. We just wanted to know if this was true for the rear hatch as well. Can we just get a rear hatch from a 260Z minus the emblem and swap it onto our 240Z? We saw that it can be swapped from a 280Z. We are assuming that since the 280

Z can; the 260Z should be a bolt on swap. We just want to be sure. We would rather do this than get body work done to that rear hatch. Saw a few 260Z's at a local JY. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Please let us know. Thank you. icon_biggrin.gificon_biggrin.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest KraZ4spd

What year is your 240?

There is a concern with the early 240's, 69-early 71.

They have vents in the hatch under the window. These are important because the early models didn't have the pillar vents in the body.

If you were to get a later hatch and put it on an early model you wouldn't have much air flow. the air in your car would grow stagnant when sitting.

 

There is an other concern with the 240-280 hatch's, the 240 has a single strut for support, to where the 280 has double struts.

I'm sure this could be made to work though. icon_wink.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Nemeziz.

 

Thanks for the information. The production date for our 240Z is 11/'70. The current hatch does have the vents in them. So these vents are very imortant obviously. Since we are in CA, we were planning to get a sunroof in the future. Do you think that would work as far as air circulation? We usually have the window opened anyways. But we will keep the info that you provided us in the back of our heads. I think that hatch is just a pile of bondo. I got the hatch lock from the JY. I tried putting it in but there was too much bondo or something around the hole in our hatch. I would have to get my die grinder and open it up for the lock to fit. I got it from the 260Z at the JY. Do you think this hatch lock from the 260Z is bigger than the 240's? Well thanks again. J & G icon_biggrin.gificon_biggrin.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Anonymous

Davy, I'm on the same wavelength as you on aftermarket sunroofs. Particularly when your talking about a V8 Z, structurally I'm sure it doesn't help, A good many of them leak and add the possibility of rust in the roof, and some add a buffeting noise to the car when open that drives me crazy personally) and unless they're shaded, they get hot in warm climates baking under them.

 

The factory spends alot of money to design the sunroofs, but some of the problems still are there. I had a 318ti that had the factory retractable sun roof in it, it would tip up, totally close or totally open, and when opened up, a air dam flipped up on the front lip.

 

Well, even with that, the wind buffeting was brutal on the ear drums, if you pushed down on that spring loaded air dam, you could see why they used it, it was 10 fold worse. Just an opinion, but a flat sunroof sticks out like you know what in a punchbowl on top of the Z's roof IMHO.

 

Oh well, as Davy mentioned, I wasn't asked an opinion on it, and wasn't taking a shot at anyone that has one, but that usually doesn't stop me from at least saying my bit. icon_razz.gif

 

Good luck with your project,

 

Lone

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Anonymous

I was thinking about doing this swap myself on my '71 as I prefer the look of the later rear hatches without the slats and the vertical window defroster. Besides, I want to minimize the smell of exhaust fumes in the car and that early rear window doesn't help... However I do realize that

I don't have the side vents by the rear 3/4 window, so there would be no outflow of air if I did this swap. Now I'm totally with you guys on the sunroof issue, and don't want to drive with the windows down all the time, so where would be a good place to make my own vents without it being unsightly? Any ideas/suggestions?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Davy, Lone, and Omar.

Thanks for the information. I saw the sunroof on a 260Z at the JY and was thinking about doing it because the rear hatch for our 240Z does have the vents. I can get some nice rear hatches at the local JY without the vents,(260Z's). But we understand now, and WILL NOT get a sunroof. We'll just wait on fixing the rear hatch for now. Thank you for letting us know. icon_biggrin.gificon_biggrin.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Anonymous

I would not soil the purity of my car with bondo and such shifty.gif but seriously now, you don't you do the hatch swap (or If you want, I've got a '71 in excellent shape for you) and we can work on the ventilation issue together... Cuz like I said I'm concerned about the early hatch drawing more exhaust fumes into the car, its bad enough as it is, and I don't want to kill the remaining 3 brain cells I have! bonk.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

haha I hear you Omar. icon_wink.gif I'm going to take a good look at the way this hatch is made. I'm sure we can think of something. I'm going to see what the guys at the paint & body shop think. Thanks again. icon_biggrin.gificon_biggrin.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest KraZ4spd

I have a 2/70 240. I also have the rear vents. One of the things I was looking at (for looks) was the louvered look were the vents are, but I think this would be more work than it's worth. Another thing could be pop open 3/4 windows. Something kinda like a minivan or a VW bug has. This, I think, would be a good idea if someone could make it work. icon_confused.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Nemeziz.

I looked over the Z's at the local JY for a long time. I think the 260Z's have the rear corner widows that pop out on some hinges. I'm pretty sure those just popped out to the sides. maybe I can get the body shop to install them somehow. Has this ever been done? That would be another good alternative to the vent issue. That's a good idea! icon_wink.gif Thanks. I will be looking into this tomorrow. icon_biggrin.gificon_biggrin.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Anonymous

Did 240's ever come with factory sunroofs? I have a 240 made in 2/71 and it has a sun(moon?)roof. It has two pieces of glass that pop up. I never thought it looked bad or out of place, but I never really looked at it. I assumed they were stock. Also my hatch does not have the vents. Is this normal for my year?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest KraZ4spd

No. The 240's never came 'stock' with any sun/moon roofs, although it could have been a dealer add on. As for your vents, do you have the round emblems or the 240 emblems behind your 3/4 windows. If you have the 240 emblems or nothing at all(it's flat due to no emblems) you should've had the vents.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pleeeeze think very long and hard BEFORE you cut into the roof for a sunroof. Once you do it, there is pretty much no going back easily. The roof of the Z is not really flat, but has a slight curve, while the glass they use for the moonroofs are flat. To me it does not look right--in fact, it looks unsightly. Yes, you did not ask for my opinion, but I have to chime in, because I loathe the idea of cutting into roof sheetmetal; it's just something I wouldn't do. Just my $.02

 

Davy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wouldn't waste a minute worrying about the hatch swap. IMHO those vents on the early cars were unsightly and more trouble than help (read rust magnet). Nissan must have agreed since they removed them on subsequent years. Lose the bondo and the rust and get a clean straight hatch. If, at sometime in the future, you need the one or two CFM those ugly vents provided crack the window a 1/4". You'll be much happier in the long run.

Wow, that was pretty "in your face"! Lone, you must be rubbing off on me. shifty.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

quote:

Originally posted by RXO510:

I looked over the Z's at the local JY for a long time. I think the 260Z's have the rear corner widows that pop out on some hinges. I'm pretty sure those just popped out to the sides... Has this (install/swap)ever been done?

 

 

RXO510, if there are any 260Z's with this feature, they are 2+2's. You know, I love the pop-out windows in the rear of 2 door cars, and I'd love some on my Z.

 

You have given my a good (??!!??) idea about adapting this kind of mechanism to the rear quarter glass of the Z. I'm sure the 2+2 glass is too big and would have to swapped for the 2 seater glass, and the frame would have to be modified to suit the smaller window. Hrm. The mechanism to pop the window out (and hinges) is all I'm really after...I just need to see how the windows compare with each other. This could be a very cool swap indeed; thanks for the idea! icon_smile.gif

 

 

Davy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest KraZ4spd

I know that they seel a kit that makes this modification for the older bugs. Might be a good place to look an idea on how to make it work. Maybe even some parts that might be helpful. coollook.gif

 

 

The rear glass on the 2+2 is completely different from the coupes. As a matter of fact the entire roof line is completely different. I dont believe that you could make them fit. I think that a modification to the coupe's rear glass and some swapping of parts and this could work, if the 2+2's really did have the pop out windows.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We will go back to the JY on tuesday (only day off) to check out the Z's we saw with the pop out windows. We will take the hinges and the catching latch from all the pop out windows we find there.

We just checked the pop out windows on my 510 and 1200. The latches are just bolted on and can be easily taken off both of these cars. We hope it's the same for the Z's. We will let you know as soon as we can.

Thanks, twak.gif J & G

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...