gav240z

Peter and I are on the freeway heading down from Sydney in the 260z 2+2.

Something I forgot to mention was that the car came with original books, including owners manual, warranty/delivery card and Hitachi TM-1081ZB operating manual. I was always wondering if the AU market owners manual was different to the US spec manuals, but unfortunately they are the same. So any old US manual will do for those wanting to have the original look for their cars. I haven't scanned the entire manual in because it's quite a few pages. Warranty card - Capitol Motors distributed the car, which is of Arnold Glass fame. and Hitachi manual.

If it had Tesla's powertrain and Mazda's looks, it would be the best sports car I've seen in the last 10 years. I'd sell my soul to own 1, Mazda makes some fantastic handling cars to boot! I've seen the new AMG GTS getting around in Sydney (in a colour similar to Safari gold too!) and I love it. http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-reviews/mercedes-benz/mercedes-amg-gts-2015-review/ I feel it looks like an S30Z/FD3S hybrid, so probably why it tickles me..

Yes I plan to, Charlie is a great teacher and if the Tafe courses are no longer offered my plan to is to go to Seven Hills. http://motorretro.com.au/ Which will be far more expensive.... I took some photos of St George before I left.. last time there Even got my Suzuki Jimny in there Bit sad to see the classes there end.

Hey Odinz, The plan is to certainly bring the car and drive it! I haven't driven it since it had the Triples fitted, the gearbox rebuilt (260z close ratio) and now the exhaust change. It's going to be a completely new car. The only S30Z I've driven with Triples was a friend in San Francisco's 280z with 40mm webers. I didn't really stretch it's legs because it wasn't my car and I was still getting used to driving on the wrong side of the road. Locky says the car goes pretty hard now! I know on the SUs it used to feel flat above 4000 rpm probably because of the high compression and I am guessing the old SU needles were still for an L24 not an L28. I still haven't checked. So I'm really looking forward to it actually. And there it is...all these years I was wondering what the tube coming out of the firewall was about, I thought it had something to do with the battery acid drain from the original plastic tray, but it never made sense it went into the firewall.. Now I know, it was part of the AC fitted many moons ago!

I wasn't sure where else to put this, but some really good info in here. http://datsunzgarage.com/weber/

I might be able to answer that. Previously the exhaust was completely split between 1-3 and 4-6 left and right. No gas flow was shared between them. We knew this was probably reducing power, so having them merge to a collector at the end of the headers was a good idea. However I wanted to retain the twin set up but also tone is down but I didn't want to completely kill it. Since I got it, it's always been really loud the previous owner who had the set up made used to stuff steel wool down the pipes to shut it up. That was ok, but it eventually blew out and would be about twice as loud without it. I kind of liked the 1-2 sound between the pipes at idle as it would sound nice and grumpy like an old race car, it was just at anything about 4000rpm as Locky once described it, it would turn to white noise. ? So the center muffler is an attempt to reduce the sound a bit as twin cherry bomb style hot dogs didn't do a whole lot to dissipate the sound. I am curious if the performance has improved and dyno before and after would have been ideal, but I still think it will be loud without any form of resonator. I'm sure it's not the ideal set up but it was a compromise to keep the twin exit exhausts.

Yeah for sure, I am interested in seeing how many blue interior cars are left. There cannot be many. Interestingly I was speaking to someone from NZ who is almost certain he saw blue interior 240z's before the days of Japanese grey imports. Which would have meant HS30s interestingly he didn't like non black interior cars. So ignored them. I was going to try and start a new topic actually on interior colours for HS30s. It could undercover some interesting stuff. For example I had never seen a 907 Green car here with tan interior but I have a photo of such a car on NSW registration. Thought it might have been HS30 00051 but it wasn't (car had vinyl roof also).

All typical rust spots really.. battery box is probably the worst section. Rear hatch slam panel should be easy fix (most of it still exists!) unlike mine. Shame about ding in rear 1/4 but with a good panel beater should be able to massage it out with minimal filler. Dog leg section isn't too bad, seen far worse.

I have the flat black bonnet in Sydney at the moment (reproduction hood) which I was contemplating putting on the 72, but from the looks of it, might need some tweaking.. But yes I'd like to do the flat black bonnet and possibly top of fenders too. The real problem I have is deciding which "works" rally car to emulate. It's hard to pick a favorite. I actually managed to find the Kobe Seiko rally wheels, but I'm a couple of rims short of a full set. https://goo.gl/photos/rjYX5j9Fbyiejuox9 I was going to contact Alan Stein in Queensland, but it appears Rajon1972 beat me to it and probably had his eye on them longer than I did... there is reproductions available but still expensive.

Actually MK63's is already on the list of things I'd like to do with the brakes, LY head would be a dream, but might have to settle for an RB30 wannabe... factory coil overs if I can find a full set... I also bought some spare pedals recently, might have to replicate the "works" pedals at some stage. . Halda Trip Master also, the list goes on...

Welds look good, it was so loud before but I kinda liked how much of a nuisance it was. But it certainly did get a bit on your nerves on a long drive or high rpm. I recall going under a bridge at Swinburne University in Hawthorn years ago and giving it a bit of beans, the noise was so loud that the sound waves refracted off the walls and I hurt my own ears. I think it's going to be a whole new car now with the gearbox changed, triple Mikunis and now the exhaust change. Looking forward to driving it and seeing how it behaves. Now to put the rear bumper back on and add some stickers . I also recently got some Chrome Trim ring headlight cover pieces (sans plastic covers) but will be adding that onto the car in time also!

None mate, not my thing. I prefer to keep them vintage, if I was going to modify 1 I'd probably get a later 2 seater (74+) and do a ZG conversion.

So last night at Tafe for the year 2017, only got 2 small patches done. So on the right hand side here I added the new piece, but left a bit of wiggle room (excess metal) in case I need to make adjustments later. Rather than make a new section in the middle where it was severely pitted, I used a 260z donor panel, problem was it had a load of bog on it, not even sure why it was required the panel didn't look badly dented..? The following photos show the sort of process of lining it up to cut out the old section and weld in the new piece. As you can see I'm going to end up with a patch work quilt by the time this is done and likely (or hopefully) I'll find a better valance section, but figure if anything it's a good learning experience and practice.

Donation received, thanks Mick and Richard..

That's interesting, I never knew that actually. I would have thought the auto and hand throttle would go "hand in hand" so to speak, but perhaps too dangerous, given you can't put the clutch in to cut power to the wheels as easily? Do you know the rough date that Nissan introduced an automatic? So few S30Z's have been left auto these days they are quite rare to find. I am under the impression that this car would have been an early automatic for a 240z delivered to Australia.

You shouldn't encourage . Happy to discuss it in person with anyone interested, I've learnt a lot about old factories / warehouses and what they can be hiding. . Sounds good, I think this car is currently living next door to a Prince Skyline GTB! Another car I've always wanted. I'll fill you in on the details of the property on the drive to Melbourne for Gordo's BBQ. It is a 12 hour drive after all. Without derailing this thread too much I'll just say I'm happy to share details next time we meet. I use a combination of techniques (I guess kind of like searching for rare S30Z parts) to find properties.

Nice looking 260z 2 seater. Asking: $55k https://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/_/SSE-AD-5106445

In a rush, but the series 1 vs series 2 nomenclature is rubbery at best. Your car is a 71 and didn't have the vents in the hatch. For Australian market cars the vents in the hatch ended with HS30 00500. Cars up until that no. had the vents in the hatch and sold 1/4 panels.

And the only prescription is MOAR cowbell. Obviously I know you're just having fun, but actually I did try buying 2 houses in the last couple of weeks, the first place I signed contract and agent used it as a way to canvas another buyer in, sand-bagged on deposit details etc..I wasn't happy to say the least.. The second place I was an under bidder on an Adelaide place that was very unique (yes garage was too small), however got beaten by another Sydney bidder. I literally saw this place last minute and registered to bid, not expecting to even get a bid in before I was blown out of the water by another bidder, but in actual fact it was just myself and another bidder through most of it, but it just got too rich for me. Shame, it was awesome.. Probably would have had to stick to a diet of only Avocado's if I bought either though! I also thought I was going to have to sell this car too if I bought either (or at least see how things went) but since I missed both I'm keeping it now. Yep, looking forward to the T-bar experience, full Grandpa spec. Thanks, this is how I justify such madness also. Fair...I have toyed with the idea of selling the RX-7, but it's only really 2 years away from Historic Registration, at which point I suspect insurance and registration costs will drop significantly...so probably a good idea to hand onto it. They are also trending up in value as of late.. Close, see the properties I mentioned above, I like old stuff. That's a bit too modern looking, but the idea is correct. Actually I was looking at this 1 in Warragul (Just to annoy Lurch all the time), it was originally listed at $250k-$275k but I had to sign a non-disclosure agreement just to read the contract of sale and let's just say that, having to sign something like that before seeing a contract of sale usually isn't a good start. I was shocked at it's sold price. I think that will be an expensive white Elephant for someone. I'm about done dealing with Real Estate agents, I'd rather have to deal with Edward Lees buying 1 of his Jalopy van's with a haircut than another agent.. The hunt will continue however and while the property market continues to look weak I'll just wait and see how it pans out..

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F202106493190 Not a bad price for a 510.

It was actually more tongue in cheek than anything else, but there is 1 particular 73 240z I would definitely buy. Hint is in the signature but current owner is not selling.

So what am I going to do with yet another 240z? Well the first thing to do is figure out why it's not running, as mentioned Luke installed an electric fuel pump but said they were poor quality and kept failing, so I am gong to keep it simple and return the stock look with the factory mechanical pump. I do have an aftermarket mechanical pump which I might install for now, although it looks 'incorrect' aesthetically. I need to source the fuel pump insulator and pump bolts to attach it however, if anyone has spares let me know? The fuel lines are also dry and hard and will need replacement. The cooling system and hoses (as much as I want to keep the braided ones) will need to be replaced for maintenance reasons. I will try and source braided ones where feasible. A complete degrease and clean up of the engine bay, remove all dirt and debris from crevices etc.. check for leaking gaskets (there will be a few), tidy up the wiring it's a mess right now, remove immobiliser and return loom to stock. Amp gauge is apparently giving issues and was bypassed, replace with another. Tidy up interior, put stuff back together (should be easy enough, but fasteners are all over the floor and were not kept ordered etc..) and perhaps re-dye faded blue interior bits or source second hand replacements (I'm going for the survivor look, as opposed to restored / new). Which is a good segway, basically for this car at least in the short term I plan to keep it as "original' and patina'd as possible. There is of course a trend towards unrestored examples these days and I want to really tidy this car up, but retain the patina. Very much like this Mazda R100. There is of course a couple of rust spots, the front headlight bucket (easy to find replacements, although painting without setting off alarm bells will be a challenge), the rear slam panel will need some patching and the rear valance below the tail lamps will require some skill to repair without removing the rear valance section itself (maybe not within my skillset to do the way I want it done). I will replace worn seals (doors), will give the chrome on and stainless trim a clean up and in time put the Topy's back on (maybe sans D caps for the period look) with some nice "Good Year" tyres with white lettering (vintage appropriate). The interior has suffered a little water ingres and the floors have surface rust, so I'll try and detail all that and make it a bit more presentable. The seats are split at the bottom, I will remove the ghastly covers and see what I have to work with, may try and find some second hand blue trim in better shape to replace with. Now for the transmission, at least for now I'll keep it auto, but as time, money permits I'll look to convert it over to manual. Of course condition of the auto will also accelerate or delay the conversion. Yes, it would be more original to keep it auto, but I actually think it will be a much more fun car as manual and can just imagine a 5 speed gear knob in the interior with the blue interior and early console etc.. looking the part. This means I'll need to find a 3.9 gear r180 diff also (shouldn't be too hard). I think there is 1 cut needed to go manual to the trans tunnel, but I don't think this will deflate the cars value overall in future. I'm pretty excited about this car, as it's far less work than HS30 00150 and HS30 00051, I've probably spent the same amount on HS30 00150 and feel I have far less to show for it at this stage, I hope I can get HS30 01415 on club rego and be able to go on some more club drive days in NSW and get it out and about. Sadly I have no room for it where I live so I'm paying for storage until I find a place to call home with a big enough shed/workshop etc.. I can see a time where perhaps a set of Triple 40 or 44mm Mikuni's are fitted to it, but that's a long way into the future. I do apologise to anyone else who may have been bidding and had their heart set on it, I feel a little guilty owning 4x 240z's now given that some can't find 1, however it was such a great original example I just couldn't help myself, what can I say? I just need a 73 model now and I've got 1 of each year.

So I want to prefix the next part of this by stating that Luke was a really nice guy and a good person to deal with and made everything go smoothly. But unfortunately under Luke's care the car deteriorated quite a bit from the state that Laurie had kept it in as the photos will demonstrate. Many of you would have seen it on eBay a month or so ago and we chatted about it here. Well since the car was about an hour out of Sydney I took a Friday off work and decided to go have a look-see (probably never a good idea) since the car looked honest and I was wondering how "honest". My first reaction was "oh no" (probably because I had seen the photos above), followed by - actually this is quite good...and I could still see that good car from when Laurie owned it under all the dust, dirt, grease and pulled apart interior. Luke must have left the car outside for a period of time, which is when the rust you see in the photos developed. He also installed a few electric fuel pumps that kept dying and had to pull the amp meter apart chasing an electrical fault. That's when the interior sort of got pulled apart and never put back together. Luke put the car in his garage at the top of a steep drive (see photos) where it sat for a number of years off the road. He did tell me he took it to Wakefield once and it went ok with the auto box. He removed the fresh air duct in the engine bay to replace with a "cold air" intake which I'll be promptly removing when time suits. I'll also be putting back a mechanical fuel pump. The car has suffered a small ding here and there and the rubber protective stripping on 1 side of the car has come off. The original wheels were replaced with these "cobra" style wheels, which I haven't been able to find much information on with a few quick Google searches, the originaly Topy's and D caps were included with the car (sans 1 cap that fell off and was driven over by another car denting the cap and ruining it, good thing I have spares!). However remarkably the car still has almost everything original, it's the small details like: Original undertray still in place (bit dented - but fuel tank is not dented!). Original antenna and radio (plastic faceplace unbroken!) Original ashtray (unbroken) I was hoping exhaust was original, but I think the backbox was replaced - I do have an original S30Z muffler tip though! Original L24 block and automatic transmission - But I will eventually put a 71A box in it. The rear 1/4 panel joins (lead joins) are not even cracked on this S30Z, which goes to show it hasn't been hurled about. Likewise the drivers door often get a split where the stainless trim meets at the front A-pillar, on this car no such thing! Chassis rails have no rust and are very straight. Dog legs (1 tiny rust bubble on passenger side) No bloody sunroofs! Tail lamps and front indicators have no hairline cracks or UV stress cracks in them, indicating it was garaged for a long time. It still has a Koito headlight lamp on 1 side (the other was replaced) Topy steel rims, but 74 date stamped. I think Laurie may have wanted wider 5j wheels instead of 4.5j (which would have been the norm for 71). All OEM panels! Panel gaps are perfect, drivers door closes beautifully and I believe the car has never had a hard knock anywhere. The passenger fender was replaced with an OEM Nissan 240z guard (with no indicator cut outs) in the 70s when you could still get them new. Due to a light scrape with a light post. The paint I believe is still original in many places, although there is evidence of some touch ups (overspray where windscreen cowl panel is). It was dealer fitted with an aircon unit and I plan to retain or refurbish this at some point. Interestingly the center console has NO hand throttle and I believe this was the case from new. Since the hand throttle slot has a plastic blanking plate there, I've never seen this on AU market cars with early consoles! However I may be cheeky and fit the hand throttle at some point in future. Luke was sad to see the car go, but needed the money for house renovations as he was planning a career change and to move house. It's fair to say he didn't really present the car in it's best possible light. Even so I was expecting the car to go for a bit less on eBay than it actually did, but after seeing the car I kind of likened it to my 72 240z body wise (solid but minor rust spots) and I don't think it would take much to return her to the road. So that brings me to my plans for it..

So here are some photos from 2005, which show the interior, engine bay etc.. Hopefully you can get a sense here that the car was really well cherished and the kind of car you'd love to find now in original condition (unrestored etc..). Joe actually saw the car back in 2006 or 2007 and said the only thing he did NOT like about it was the auto, but that was really the only issue it had. He also told me it had been given rust treatment in cavities etc.. and that's what in my opinion has really helped the car hold up over the years unlike so many other S30Z's. At the time Joe looked at the car Laurie was residing in an apartment complex at Spit Junction the car was advertised in Unique Cars magazine and seems to think it was advertised around $14k AUD at the time. Expensive for 2005-ish but theft by today's prices. The car was stored at Laurie's holiday house on the South Coast and he would retrieve the car and bring it back to Sydney to show it to potential buyers. Actually it's easier to quote Joe.. The new owner Luke took possession of it from 2007, which made him the official second owner. That's where this story takes a slight turn.. *RE: Metal headlight buckets, I believe this was normal on a 71 model such as this and only pertains to the early 240z's with the vents in the hatch. The collision was a minor altercation with a light pole that meant the front passenger fender was replaced with an OEM Nissan panel. No serious front end shunt.