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...well not quite. But he may as well be, as his life is now over more-or-less. Yesterday, around midday, Gavin and Maria welcomed Achilles Van Doolan into the world weighting in at 3.73kg / 8.22lbs and 50cm long (Nort Bhad. Good Size). I'm sure you will all join me in congratulating Gav and Maria, and hopefully we'll see him again in around 16-18 years...

Before: After:

Update 17.10.20 - TOUCHDOWN! So my daughter is 1 month old today! What a blur and whirlwind the last month has been. Firstly, I won a pair of long champs off yahoo auctions Japan to go on the rear end, and had them air freighted over. They were at my door in 3 days. They had tyres on them, but shipping would have doubled to send them with rubber, they were new tyres and a good brand, but they were only a 185 wide tyre stretched over a 7.5 inch rim. i would have needed to buy new proper fitting tyres anyway, so i opted to have the tyres stripped off in japan and just have the rims sent. This left me with a dilemma of needing rubber for the back, oh, and the front, because the tyres on the front rims were 20 years old and dry rotted. So i went on book face and found someone selling 4 good year 215/60/15 tyres. I managed to get all 4 for only $80! Good size for the front, "ok" for the back, i will buy 225/60/15's for the back to make it abit more chunky, but wanted to see how this 215's fit first, and see how much clearance i have. No point spending $300 on 2 tyres to find out they rub and hit the shock and coil. So It dam near took me 1 month, but i was able to get the rear drum brakes assembled and back together, and got her back on all 4 wheels for the first time in over 5 years! . She is sitting HEAPS high at the back, which is strange, as i put in the 240z strut top mounts at the back, so it should be sitting about a inch or 2 lower. Is it because its still a empty shell, and when i put some weight in her, the rear will come down? I'm not convinced, because really, what is there to go back in? a fuel tank? some glass? The rear shocks were blown out when i removed them, so maybe that made it sit lower before, and now because i have fitted new KYB Excel G shocks, maybe that is contributing to it sitting higher? I have the standard rear springs in it still, I didn't fit the lowering springs at the back, maybe i should..... Anyway..... When Alexis was 2 weeks old my wife organised a professional baby photoshoot, My care factor about it was minimal, but when she came, i directed her into the garage for some snaps! here are a few of my favourites: . And i really like this one, might get it blown up and framed to put somewhere, maybe in my gaming room: New video will be done and edited.... lol.... whenever i get some free time! which is not often! HA! Rudolf

A section of quarter panel below the LH quarter glass had rusted out, so I fabricated a replacement section, cut the old section out & welded in the new patch: It just needs a little tapping about to smooth it up, so I'll come back to it in due course. The LH sill was rusted out at the front and back, along with accident damage. We decided to remove it & replace it with a new one, but as it was a Bus, it's not that simple... Cut off, de-rusted and KBS'd: I bought a 260Z/280Z LH sill from @kfvintagejdm, then cut the end off and fabricated an extension. This was then KBS'd inside and welded into position:

Lots of panel beating to get it back into shape and some time spent readjusting the panel gaps to make them nice, followed by a fresh coat of Epoxy. It's now back with Les Collins Racing for them to organize painting it - I'll update this thread once it has colour on it.

The RH A-pillar was still in good condition (apart from surface rust on the inside), so we kept it. However the bottom section was rusted out, so we decided to replace it. It's a slightly heavier gauge in 1.2mm, so it's a little harder to work, but we managed to fabricate up a replacement section in one piece. We then media blasted inside the cavity: Linished back and given a temporary coat of silver zinc.

Once the rust repairs were completed, the whole car got another coat of epoxy. Then the panels went on and they were gapped. Nek Minet - High build primer:

Finished the ITBs IMG_2526.MOV

After 3 years of waiting and waiting today I can say the 240z has officially headed home. What a wait and mission with many ups and downs and more ups and downs till it finally got done. Still have a few things I would like to get stuck into myself before I get the wiring and interior sorted such as brake lines, callipers, turbo hoses and what every I can try do myself. Hopefully after the 240z gets engineered I will get the car polished and ceramic coated to protect that paint. Sooo beautiful

Happy New Year Everyone

Hope everyone has had a great Christmas and are heading to a happy new year. Our son and his partner gave me a great Christmas present. Max arranged a local artist to draw the Z including an ode to my old mate Rocky (RIP). I will admit to having a tear in my eye. I also made a short video of the build from start to finish (6 years). Been out and about driving as much as I can and thoroughly enjoying the experience of driving the car and the reactions I get from people. Jeff

So after almost exactly 4 years of ownership I thought it about time to start a project thread and provide a little introduction to myself (seeing as I never did that either). I own a 1973 240z - one of the last of them too - complied in 7/73. My name is Alexander. I'm 26 y/o now and purchased the car at a time when a graduate's salary would still permit! It was a local Brisbane car and the previous owner said that he and his uncle had owned it for quite some time - about 15 years if I recall correctly. 10 years prior to selling, the car had been repainted and overall the body presented really nicely. The paintwork is still in fantastic condition and there are no signs of any rust at all. Unfortunately however I don't know details of the ownership history beyond that. The car was originally an automatic so one of the first jobs was converting to manual. I sourced a close ratio 71B and a 3.9 R180 and swapped both of these over with the help of a friend, sourcing genuine components where required. Somewhat bizarrely, the car did not have any mirrors fitted at all when I bought it (and all holes had been filled), so I also purchased a set of genuine S30 fender mirrors from Japan. Overall, I prefer the subtleties in styling difference that the Japanese market cars had and this is the approach I am taking with my car. For the roadworthy certificate, I also replaced the shocks and did a general tune up and service of the car. Engine is the original and very stock L24, although I've rebuilt the SU's and fitted a 2.5inch exhaust system and headers along with a Pertronix electronic ignition kit. I'm about to send off an E88 efi head to MIA engines which will receive a general service and mild cam after having been inspired by a couple other builds here, particularly WA240Z's 'A Lime 240z spruce up'. I also have some 44 solexes to go with it. Intention is to purchase a set of the Stewart Wilkins headers at some point however not in the budget just yet. Aside from the that, the last few years have really been spent just enjoying and maintaining the car. Oh and spending lots of money collecting parts. I've also disassembled and cleaned the contact points of my right turn signal switch at least 5-6 times. Every 6 months or so the right turn signal stops working and I still can't quite work out why. The car had 43,000 miles when I bought it and now it is up to 62,000. I was overseas for 1 year out of my current 4 years of ownership, so it sees about 10,000km of travel per year. A few big trips in there too, including a 2,500km long weekend in 2015 to Bateman's Bay and the Blue Mountains. I walk to work however it is the only car I own so for all intensive purposes it is the 'daily' driver. This week I finally pulled the pin and fitted a set of RS Watanabes I'd had sitting in my room for a good 6 months. I was a little nervous about what to expect to be honest, as I went with a 14 inch option. It's almost impossible to find any examples of good wheel and tyre sizing in the 14s as everyone typically goes to 15s. Couldn't be happier with the outcome however and I feel like I've fallen in love with the car all over again. Sizing is 14x7J+3 A-type (front) / 14x7.5J+1.5 B-type (rear), which is the recommended 14 inch sizing from Watanabe. Tyres are 195/65R14 (Dunlop LM704). It actually sits nicely with stock suspension however ideally a slight drop would be better. Next purchase will be some 30mm low king springs, if anyone has a set available. Oh, and the name Cecil. My housemate started calling it this out of the blue recently and it stuck. I think its a boy however she says its a girl, but that's ok in our new progressive Australia!

I reckon @gav240z leaned over to cover the rust on the roof line Big Congrats to Maria and Gav.

First day without rain and first day to go out for a drive. Jeebus it pulls hard! Once again, thanks to Locky Fowler at CAR for the entire project management of this vehicle.

Greetings and thanks for allowing me to add my car to this forum. After a few bumps and detours I am very happy with what I now have, being a Z that can be driven to, on and from the track that is also concessionally licensed! Special thanks to Gav, Lachy, Les, and Martin Falconer for their help in all this. Cheers from Perth Specs.pdf

Screenshot from Google webmaster tools report. Looks like Edward Lees is popular.

LH inner and outer sill assembly is now done. I can't do anything about the doglegs (rockers) until I receive quarters... The bottom of the LH A-post was gone, so I made a new section and welded it into place. And I remade the lower section of the LH rear door jamb area as that was badly repaired previously. Liberal application of KBS Rust seal: Outer sill screwed into position and the door fitted to check the gaps: Onto the RH side next...

"The Z looks great!" Evan said. "Would you be interested in restoring the body for me and painting it?" "Sure" I said. "But the mechanicals will also need re..." "I can take care of all that Locky - I used to be a mechanic in a previous life, and I'd like to at least do something on the 260Z. And I'd like to strip the parts off it myself, if that's OK with you? But with the current pandemic restrictions I'm not sure when I could make it down. I also have some family matters to attend to." "No worries Evan. We can store it until you can come down" I said. This conversation was in November 2020... In February 2021 I contact Evan to see how he was going, and he replies that he's not going to be able to come down in the foreseeable due to family issues. "Can you strip it for me?" Evan asked. "Sure" I said. "But it wont be for a few months are we are pretty busy at the moment. Mid year would be the earliest we could start". So in the second week of June we start stripping it down; cataloging everything, bagging and tagging, taking notes and packing everything away for safe-keeping. Up onto the rotisserie it went once it was a bare shell and we started looking at the rust issue - it didn't appear to be too bad. Rust holes in the floors, doglegs have been poorly repaired along with the slam panel. So the usual. Now to get it media blasted... And this is where we are currently up to - so more photo's to come...

Lighting in the workshop wasn't great and doesn't do them justice, but they are just too pretty not to share...

Well it's taken some work. I was very nervous with the first start up close. Having put many hours hand building the motor all I wanted was oil pressure and for it to run. What a great day it's been in lockdown. VID20200328161858~2.mp4

Some of you may know that I joined the BMW Car Club of Victoria as my chosen club for Historic or Club rego......for various reasons. Its a different kind of club with lots of late model BMW cars and I'm OK with that, however I was a little concerned they would shun some old modified Japanese sports car but seems they like it....... A couple of months ago they asked me to write an article for inclusion in the next issue of their club magazine.

Felt great to tick off this milestone. 5 years off the ground!

A big thanks to the Qld and Sydney guys for putting on a great weekend of racing. I've meet a lot of great people and thank you for your hospitality. And very surprised to come away with a trophy. I had a ball

Now that this car is almost finished it's probably time to start a build log... I picked this up about three years ago, had been crashed front and rear in the late 90's and then parked in a shed for over 15 years. The last two years has been the hard graft on all the usual rust repairs and collection of missing parts before handing the shell over to Mick for the bits I couldn't do (sunroof and well all the external panels really) and then finish and paint. It's an original 903 blue car with mostly black trim (blue seats though), was auto but now manual and is going back to mostly factory although I'm not fastidious so it will be done as a driver not a faithful concourse restoration. Have a collection of spare bits from the Targa car so this one is getting a warm L28 on SUs , Hilux front and R31 rear brake conversion and a 3.9 diff sitting on 16x7 Superlights. You can check out a small gallery of pics on our website here https://www.rally240.racing/build-log-gallery/ or a 20 min timelapse video here.

Pulled the LOLvo out of the shed so I could blast 33 years of crud out of the engine bay. Came up pretty well! The first cut......battery tray has to go to make way for forced induction device My nephew picked up the TH400 donor car on the weekend

Finally the 'piste de resistance'. The RH door skin was stuffed - dented to the moon & rust holes everywhere. I couldn't get a decent rust / damage free Bus door locally, so I repaired frame which only needed a small section at the top & bottom... ...then made a new door skin from scratch. I'm not taking full credit - my employee Paul did 75% of the fabrication. Taking a paper pattern off the old skin: Cut out some 1mm cold rolled steel: Wheeling & folding up the new skin: 'Blocking' in the handle recess: Ti And fitting the skin to the frame:

The hatch hinge pockets had badly rusted, so we made the decision to unpick the side panel & re-fabricate the hinge pockets:

Are you some sort of comedian?

Next, the doglegs got repaired. LH side was good - no internal rust: RH side needed work: The hatch deck was also warped from years of use, the that got a few shrinks and a good flippering, fettling and farnarkling:

And another

I sent the dashboard off to the Dashboard Doctor a couple of months ago, and it arrived back yesterday:

Just an FYI, everyone has messaged me about this. Both are spammers from Russia, accounts deleted and all messages with it. RaskM and Orange15. I will run some software updates soon(new release within the last week) to see if that will help keep them out for next time.

Hey good people. I am a long time (i.e. old fart) Z fan from way back when the 240z first came out. I currently own a Forester S edition which is super handy and a bit of a sports machine in its own right but prior to that owned a 2013 Magma Red 370z which was a beautiful car but sold it because I was doing a ton of driving between the Illawarra and Goulburn and the highway driving was killing the duco with stone chips thrown up by trucks etc, and couldn't bear to see stone chips on immaculate paint. So, stupidly, I sold it and bought the Foz which I still have today. A wonderful wagon and very versatile, but I am basically a sport's car fan at heart and am still considering going back to a 370z now that I work in the Illawarra. Prior to owning the Magma Z, I was very fortunate in buying a 2002 RX7 FD very cheaply. I'd owned a gorgeous red one previously about 15 years before and turned it into a rocket ship before some young guy made me an offer on it I couldn't refuse and sadly, ran it into a tree 12 months later, writing it off. I'll always have a soft spot for the old rotary, and I would have kept it except there are no decent mechanics locally worth a pinch who know anything about them. When I owned the red one, I had to take it into Sydney to have work done on it. However, most stuff on the engine I ended up doing myself. My introduction to the 240z happened around 1980 when I was still a teenager. I lived up in Moss Vale back then and there was a car dealership there called Giddings Datsun. Well, I remember one day driving past in my (not very fast but nice looking) electric blue with yellow side striped 1971, single webbered Ford Capri 1600, when I spotted a red with black bonnet 240z. I had to check it out, of course. I asked the salesman how much and he said probably three grand. He said it had just come in. I asked if I could take it for a test drive and he handed me the keys and said "don't flog it because we don't know anything about it". Well, I remember giving it a spirited drive around town for about ten minutes. I drove it home to my mothers and asked if I should buy it. She said if I can get a loan then why not. However, my brother, who was living a couple of houses up from me at the time checked it out and said not to buy it because it didn't have an original motor in it. It was a 280c engine with twin webbers (it may have had triples- can't remember) and holy shee-yit did it fly! Honest to god I have never forgotten how much fun I had in that ten minutes it that car. I have never been in a car that went that fast before. Even my mildly worked RX7 twin turbo beast didn't have that kind of neck snapping power. (At least that is how I remember it now. But back then, even my sisters Gemini auto was probably quicker than the Capri I was driving around in. I think the only car I can compare its speed to was when a guy took me for a drive in his worked XU-1. The Z was nearly as quick as that. So, why the hell didn't I buy it? Friends, that is the question I have been asking myself ever since. Maybe it was because my brother didn't think it was worth it (if only we had a crystal ball and if only I'd known at the time that a 2.8 litre engine swap was a desirable thing to do back in the day) , and maybe I wasn't working that much, and 3 grand in 1980 was still a lot of money then. But I have never forgotten that little drive I took in that gorgeous z car. I guess that brings me to the next stage of this rather long- winded story. I've been so fortunate to have owned a number of desirable cars that are now big dollar items but were relatively cheap back then. (I won't bore you with the luckiest find I ever had, picking up a beautiful black xc coupe 351 for $3000 in 1998 that was sitting on the side of the road in Corrimal. Sold it a year later, like a dope.) And I have imported a few cars from the USA over the years, starting with a beautiful 1955 Buick Century coupe that still ran its original 322 nailhead. Yep, sold it. If you look closely, to the right, you can just make out my beautiful red RX7 FD. Sadly, I lost virtually all of the pictures of it due to a hard drive failure. Are you getting the picture here? Anyone have a shotgun they can shove down my throat? My greatest achievement was taking a 54 F100 custom pickup truck from a non starting roller with a dead 327 Chevy and swapping it to a right hand drive with an xj6 jag front end, full disk brakes, power steering and added air conditioning and t350 auto, new dash, new wiring, gauges, the works and got it fully road registered when nobody in the family believed I could do it. Mind you, it took four years. And then sold it.... Sheesh. I am so pathetic! So now I am on the wrong side of mid fifty and thinking about reviving that old feeling from the 80's., and the only thing that can scratch that itch is another 240z. To be honest, I haven't even bothered looking locally. The prices being asked for a 240z just make my nose bleed, and I am not that scared of converting something to right hand drive. I am within a whisker of picking up a neat 1972 240z from the USA. It's gonna take a while to hit town, but I hope to document as best I can the story as to how it all pans out. Thanks for welcoming me on board. I have been here for many years, usually under a different username or whatever and mostly as a quiet observer and admirer, but I have really never left the forum. Bye for now. Wish me luck on the pending purchase, guys! Peter

We have it painted! It was a late night for my painter, but we have the whole car in colour now. It looks amazing and we can't wait to get stuck into reassembling it!!!

Thanks for sharing Alan, very interesting. I was lucky enough for visit Zama a couple of years back, the guides were super helpful, gave a parting gift on the way out and you could buy GTR water from the vending machine which I lugged around in my backpack for the following three weeks The journey there was a great memory also, for no particular reason, just stuck with me. Maybe it was the gardens, I've worked in the fresh food industry for many years!

Got some more photos from Locky of CAF. Check out these beautifully gapped panels! Bodywork is almost drawing to a close. Some beautiful work done to this shell thus far. looking on track, and in to paint when our guy is next available.

Finally... Into the paint shop! The body was rubbed back and was given a coat of Epoxy, then Primer. And then the colour went on in the engine bay, door jambs and the underbody was blown in, in 901 Silver: Then the scuttle gray and radiator black was applied:

Hi All, Just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Tim. I am no professional mechanic or anything of the like, only just like to get my hands dirty and dabble in some home DIY projects I bought my Datsun 260z 2+2 September last year and have been slowly working at getting her back on the road. By looking at the papers it came with, the last time it was registered was in 2010 in VIC. The car was rust proofed and resprayed by the previous owner back in early 2017 and only done a few bits of restoration since. Day of purchase Since I've owned it I have down the following: - Replaced the radiator as the original one was punctured and also added dual electronic fans as it was missing the clutch fan. (Radiator and fans came together) - There was weird sound coming from the front left passenger side when wheel was turning, so I replaced the front wheel bearings all together with so. (Yes thats me in the best PPE :P) - At the same time, ive replaced the studs with 50mm studs to give extra thread for aftermarket wheels. - Got Round Top twin SU carby - It was leaking from the rear main seal, so I took the engine out of the car and replaced the rear main seal. Although I dont have photos, but I purchased a VRS gasket kit so all gaskets have been replaced. - Welsh plugs are replaced with brand new brass welsh plugs - - Saw a bit of blue on the block so i assumed it was the factory colour so i cleaned the block and resprayed it. - Since it was out, I took the opportunity to machine the flywheel - Replaced the clutch with Clutch Industries Heavy Duty Clutch - Took the header off and cleaned the block (sorry don't have photos but you will see it in person) - VRS gasket kit. So all gaskets replaced. Once the engine was done, I turned my attention towards the interior. - The dashboard was severely tired. So I took it out and and spent a few days repairing it. Center console, seats and old mats taken out. The floor pan had the original sound deadening as well the sound deadening and rust proofing done by previous owner. I also removed that because I wanted to redo it all again. (Sound deadening took me a while to remove :P) - Sprayed Heavy duty rust proof oil (which is an orange to red in colour), left it overnight. Cleaned it up and sprayed a black rust proof enamel. - Rolled out new sound deadening with great coverage. Drivers side, passenger side and transmission tunnel. - New heat insulation. I used it to cut out the template for the carpet as well which saved me a great deal of time. Used the same template to cut out the new carpet. (Its one piece) Removed the old sagging head liner (dont know what happened here), pillars and lining going across the front. Have replaced the head liner with new sound deadening (sorry forgot to take a photo) and new leather vinyl. So now im putting everything else back together. Ive replaced many of the other bits bobs along the way like speedo cable, thermostat housing (and thermostat), all plugs filters, brake fluids etc have all been replaced drained and refilled. Car runs great! Just need to work out my electronics. Not sure where I am going wrong with my tacho as its hovers over 500rpm when started but it doesnt rev all seem like it is not getting a signal or reading a current from the coil at all. Not sure if if 75 260z 2+2 read the same as a 240z (current) or like the later models do signal (just encountered it yesterday) but will continue my research. But that is me and my z for now, Sorry for long post and but thanks for viewing and reading. Hopefully I can meet some of you in the near future! Have a great day! Cheers! Tim

Created a little abomination by sticking together ebay special retro style radio and original hitachi fascia, few finishing touches and it'll be only distinguishable by the little buttons instead of traditional ones. If there's any anyone on the forum with 3d printer the fascia could be easily printed and you have a good alternative to retro-sounds without breaking the bank!

Hi guys, it’s been to long and far between. The first Sunday of each month at Lilydale Supercheap Auto car Park. 8.30 chat, 9.00am drive. All cars welcome, but bring your best if weather permits. i would encourage the use of CB radios and we roll with CH 16. Make sure you arrive with enough fuel as it’s a big inconvenience to stop the group early. Augast 5th. Warburton, Reefton Spur, Lake Mountain if weather ok then coffee at Marysville. The standard Loop. September 9th. Worried Yallock. Healesville, Toolangi and across to Kinglake for Coffee. Head home through St Andrews and maybe stop at Dam for those heading that way. October 14th.( Date change because of Bathurst) Healesville, Woori Yallock, Cockatoo and Emerald for Coffee. Monbulk, Olinda to Montrose and home. November 4th. Cup weekend. Yarra Junction, to Noojee for Coffee, Neerim Junction and back to Yarra Junction. December 2nd. Yet to be determined.

TODAY, WORD'S ARE NOT NEEDED......... . . Rudi.

She runs, this is the first time this engine has been started in 13 years. Enjoy!!!! VID_20190224_174128000.mp4

Following this was the replacement of both floors. The last 45 years had taken their toll on the floors and the 'patch jobs' done sometime in the 90's wasn't holding up either - new floors & rails it was! This was under the RH seat mount! Installation of the floors is timing consuming as the RS pans are not perfect, but I managed to get them fitted to an acceptable standard. Biggest problem with the floor rails that are supplied by Rare Spares with their replacement floor is that they are too shallow and not wide enough to match up with the rail as it comes down from the radius rod mount. My solution is to make my own: One problem that did rear it's ugly head was that the RH rail section where it meets radius rod mount was badly rusted. I removed it, media blasted it but found it to be too far gone After some head scratching my only recourse was to remake it: Thankfully the LH rail was salvageable after media blasting & getting coated with KBS Rust Seal. Floors are now completed and I'm quite pleased with the result. Now they just need a bit of straightening where the weld join meets the tunnel.

Have done a couple of 100km on the OS Giken LSD and can confirm the awesomeness. Not a sound from it and cruising around you would think it was an open diff but when you get on it, it tightens up very quickly, smoothly and predictably. Expectations exceeded. Not a cheap option but worth the pennies. Very happy to have picked up the award for best car at the Melbourne Datsun Day today. Thanks to CSA for putting on a great event and good turnout from the #viczcar gang.

Wakefield in the A12 powered 1200 coupe. Wakefield. 1.03.4 Had a mate Jordan cox having a steer, and that.... He can! This lap was a 1.03.8 I think. AO50's and about 240Hp, 1171cc

Inside before clean. Two faced.

Fast forward a year and paint is long since done. Lack of a shed meant it moved into my living room. Paul and his crew did a fantastic job. I’ve been slowly sandblasting suspension components and just got my bolts back from the platers so I’ll start assembly soon. Almost too scared to touch it. And almost overwhelmed as where to start.