gav240z

Ashley at Moorabbin Auto Spares has a 1976(?) date stamped Topy spare wheel from memory.

I know I know "don't mention the war!" but I have a soft spot for this. Lovely 1965 Porsche (RHD) and interestingly the original guards were re-fitted after a flare job done previously to it. Something just right about the original hubcaps and wheels too!

The bodywork will be done by a competent boiler maker / welder who is well known to this forum. I'll let him announce himself, but right now his schedule is full up. So it's in storage until he can take it on. It is a significant workload with 2-3 project cars, hence why I don't plan to rush things. It's also why I decided to keep my engine build on #150 very modest. I also have told myself, NO MORE CARS! . At least not until I own a warehouse or something to store them all in.

Disassembling the original seats I found this date stamp today. 46-12-22 46=1971 and the rest is self explanatory. So the car was made right at the end of 1971 more than likely.

I've found quite a few cars I really like in the old 907 Green. https://goo.gl/photos/LdN9LBLf4h3x4TU56 There's a "that's what she said" joke in there somewhere. You're correct though it's not too bad (it's all relative isn't it?), Vince asked me if I thought that by him pulling it apart he had ruined the value of it. I said on the 1 hand yes, because it's hard to see what's missing and know that it's all there, but on the other hand I said, at least this way I don't think I'll find too many more surprises stripping the paint back. Since it already came with a roof turret, rear beaver/valance section, decent bonnet, guards are ok and doors etc.. the worst part really is the rear 1/4 panels. Not long ago I was bidding on some early S30Z rear 1/4 panels - NOS (solid with no vent hole etc.) on Yahoo! Auctions but from memory they went up to $5k AUD and I decided to let them go. However it sounds like a lot of coin, but I figured that was at least 1/3 of the car taken care of in terms of rust repair. The rear quarters will get whipped off during restoration anyway and we'll see if it makes sense to source better ones or repair what we've got. Since it sat under a tree that's why I think the roof got rusty (leaves and debris) probably held water etc.. So it's kind of odd where it's rusted out. The sills are pretty stuffed, but again tabco makes aftermarket pieces. If at all possible and I can find them, I'll try and use NOS panels. On a positive note (if there is any when you own multiple income draining devices) the fact that I've got a few of these cars means I have spares floating around. So they will all get put to good use. The radiator was already re-cored but I didn't want to use it the Safari Gold car, it's a bit like robbing Peter to pay Paul. So I'm trying not to swap stuff amongst the cars unless I'm stuck. At some point I'll have to buy my own place with a large enough parcel of land to build a decent garage or a large garage already on it etc.. That's proving a little more difficult than I'd like though. So like I say, I do think this project is going to take me a while as much as I'd like it to happen quicker I just have to be patient. I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank George for finding HS30 00019, since I dodged that bullet. If I had of found that car I would have gone through with restoring it, not sure I would have managed it like George has. .

Quite possible, I think Alan would be able to verify though. From what I understand he had some involvement in the restoration of these cars. http://japanesenostalgiccar.com/motorsport-nissan-prince-r380/

Prince R380 in car video.

Triple Manifold for L-series. http://www.trademe.co.nz/a.aspx?id=1278625663 Start Price: $500 NZD.

Hey Jason, No I haven't managed to really go further back than Martin DeSilva, I'd love to find more info on it, if at all possible. Vince also regrets not trying to track down more info on the car. But back when he bought it, these were not that desirable as I mentioned he paid $1,200 for it. It was sitting under a tree for quite a while I suspect, which is why it's rusty in odd places up top and the floors are solid in comparison for example. Apparently it was on a council estate in Dundas Valley NSW. Vince reckons even though it had never had an oil change, it still ran sweet as a nut and he would drive it up and down the driveway to keep the motor running etc.. before it was taken apart for restoration. Any chance you could reach out to George and ask him if he's aware of the car or it's potential history or even has some leads on where to possibly look or ask about it?

Amazing you are able to get that paperwork. Do they keep records that far back in a government department? What kind of info can you obtain?

Here are the faceplates I bought. https://goo.gl/photos/f9sRqTuqTP1U7q669 You can see the grey coloured inlays. Here is a NOS radio I should have bid on. https://goo.gl/photos/sXHcEMFqGQPd3K5ZA You can see the plastic chrome inlays. So I believe they are the original finish. I think the Chrome flakes off over the years and leaves the grey outline. Most probably wouldn't notice or care.

LOL, yes - although I didn't know that at the time. I just knew if I didn't jump on this car that I'd regret it later, even if in the short term it would sting my wallet and cause me a few sleepness nights (it really did).

So you may be wondering how does 1 find an early 240z or how did I manage to get hold of this car? Well interestingly when you've been in the S30Z scene for some 17 odd years you start to build a network of contacts and people you know and what they have / don't have. Vince told me about this car a while ago and said he was thinking of selling it. I was busy with #150 so I made a mental note of it and thought it sounded like a great car and project but I simply didn't have the time and 2 240z's were enough for any man. So around August 2015, Vince calls me and invites me around to take a look at this car and offer my opinion on it and what it might be worth etc.. When I first saw it, I said to myself "don't take on another, this needs a lot of work etc..". I actually brought my partner Maria along with me and before I got there I said "now don't let me do anything silly". Well after I saw it and thought I can't really take it on, as much as I'd like to. My partner said to me. "I think you should buy it". Well if I was in Z rehab before that and going through remission, after hearing that, well...I regressed and was back to bad habits . Vince and I came to an agreement on price and then I started plotting what the hell I was going to do to get this car done. A few phone calls and I had decided I'd outsource the bodywork, since as much as I love to do the work myself. I had to be realistic and outsource work on this car to get her done. Well... as somewhat expected she's on a waiting list for now and I'm fine with that too! To me the important thing is I have the car, it might take me 2 years or 20 but it will be done someday and it will be as original as I can make it as a sort of time capsule example. Although there is likely to be far better investments out there in terms of ROI etc.., I kind of view this car as a form of investment. At least that's what I told myself when I bought it, the reality is it's hard to see me ever selling it or any of my S30Z's. So it's not really an investment if you never intend to sell is it? Interestingly watching prices go up since I got it, it has actually been a sort of speculative investment, but I'm wary about classic car values in general and the bull market around them lately and wouldn't be surprised if at some point they normalise or undergo a correction. But that's another topic.. Full disclaimer of course, but I'm bullish on S30Z values because I've got skin in the game as you can see. Money and investments aside (because it was never really about that), my real focus at this point is the other 2 240z's, but when I see a part I need for this car I grab it and if there is something I can do or a part I can work on for this car in my spare time I do it. In the interim my panel beating skills are slowly improving and I may get involved with the bodywork at some point depending on how things go and how long this waiting list is. But I'm conscious also of over-burdening myself. My original intention was to keep this car a bit of a mystery on the forum and as it progressed I was happy to sit back and watch folks speculate as to who might own it, just for a bit of fun. But now the cats out the bag, just happy to share the news and give people a deeper look at another early car that will eventually be saved and turned around. Just don't expect much progress in the near term.

Haha, yes good shape.. I guess it could be worse. It's good it was in storage for the past 15-17 years and not on the road I suppose. It's sort of prevented it getting worse. I'm sure you'll get to see it at some point. Still got to transport the engine and gearbox down to reunite them!

Not much has happened since I got the car, in fact we can actually determine when I acquired it because that's around the date I started the "Early Girl Bingo" thread on here. Mainly because suddenly I had a horse in this race and I was curious to know what's left and how many lower # 240z's in Australia I could find that were matching #'s and original. I say this with a bit of a smirk, but thankfully not many! I always hold hope I'll find a few more early early 240z's like sub #50 chassis no. cars but so far I keep turning out later cars and I'm actually shocked so many have survived. Vince was kind enough to drive the car to Victoria when picking up another car and here's a photo of her before the trip and on the road.. As mentioned the car was mostly complete in that all the original bits were there, a couple of exceptions were: a.) The original steering wheel (solid spoke) because a sports wheel was fitted. I've since restored 1 I got while I was in the US. Although I feel the restoration job was not as good as the first 1 I did, perhaps because I rushed a little this time? b.) The flat style AU market fender mirrors. - I visited Len Brennan yesterday and collected these off him. They were on his first 240z back in 1970. Very rare to find now, so happy to have them and will put them on this car. c.) #51 didn't have the Topy steel wheels or hubcaps, because it appears to have been re-fitted with peanut style alloys at some point. Which I actually quite like and will probably polish up and fit or rotate between these and the original steelies. I have a set of "early fewer tab, D caps" but not the Topy steel wheels yet. I'd say it's got 95% of the important early "240z" parts and features still with it, there is some bits and pieces missing. I might be missing a tail lamp, front turn signals, window regulator on driver side(?), and I'm sure other little bits and pieces but most of that stuff is still accessible and wasn't specific to the very early cars.

Hatch is not original but in "ok" shape - bit of rust on underside. Not great photos of the doors, but they have some rust in the lower section, but really not that bad. Skins can probably be saved. Fiberglass headlight scoops still present. Original metal fan. Quite a few boxes that look like this.. It has the original 71A gearbox and R180 3.9 diff. I took a photo of this but (Vince) the previous owner kept it for his own car. I do however had a few of these radio's. Sadly this is the MOST complete photo I have of #51, Vince didn't have many photos of it before he took it apart. As you can see the 907 Green was painted over by the previous owner (before Vince, his name was Martin DeSilva). Vince and I joked that maybe Martin was trying to preserve it like Jam, since it was hand brushed paint. I have the receipt showing that Vince paid the princely sum of $1,200 for this car back 2001? I think.. And here is a good photo of an AU market 240z with the early style fender mirrors. By some miracle of Zeus this could actually be the same car? But I have no way to verify it. Still there cannot be too many early 240z's in 907 green used in promotional advertising that were early cars. So I like to think it is indeed the same car.

Very good, no complaints. I bought 3 of them. The only thing you might want to do is get the chrome vacuum plating done on the inlays for the perfect OEM finish. But yes very happy with them.

More misc photos of areas of concern or parts.. Floors are fairly solid, apart from a couple of spots. So wouldn't warrant ripping out the old ones completely. Instead better to patch them. (Frame rails are incredible straight and not beaten up). You can see the original exhaust system. Floor rust cut out section. Boot floor is a bit rough in this area though! Lower radiator support. Firewall rust. Roof rust is pretty bad in this area. Floors are mostly solid. Little bit rough here. Bonnet is actually pretty good apart from some dings.

So here is some of the more nasty rusty parts. Sills and dog legs are bad. Window pillars Wheel house is in the dog house (Tabco makes these though!) Slam panel area has seen better days. Tyre well is "rooned" but I have another spare with 0 rust. However it may be easier to repair existing section rather than undo spot welds and replace entire tub.. We shall see. Battery tray isn't completely toast but not great either. Boot floor you can see is dead straight.

The radiator support areas are very straight as the car has never had a front end shunt. The only evidence of previous accident damage is the driver side rear 1/4 panel. A couple of folks may have seen me hunting for rear 1/4 panels, and this is 1 of the reasons why, the ones on the Safari Gold project are actually very good, but on this car could be better. Still has it's factory front fenders with fender mirror holes in place. Interestingly the roof on this car was quite bad (no sunroof) but quite a bit of rust. So it came with a complete roof turret as a donor. It also came with a rear beaver/valance section in near mint condition. Radiator support is mostly solid, but has a couple of rust spots in it. Upper rust spot.

Hi Folks, I figure it's about time to let the cat out of the bag on this 1 officially. It was somewhat hinted at the other day by Peter in the 72 240z build thread. However I did have a couple of others question me about it before as I was a little bit cheeky and placed a reference to it in my forum signature and was wondering how long it would take people to ask about it. It's probably 1 of the worst kept secrets going around, as I had told a few people "offline" about it and the only reason to keep it on the down low was that I wanted to have some progress being made on it before announcing it. Well as Mick Jagger says "you can't always get what you want." So project 51 is in reference to it's VIN #. The car is HS30 00051 and it's 907 Green in colour, matching number engine and it's mostly complete original and free from a major bust up (accident), since it's a very early AU market car, it has the Nissan 2400 OHC valve cover, 71A gearbox, twin choke console, vented hatch, no storage bins etc.. A good thing about early AU market cars is that unlike the L24's produced in late 1969 that has the counterweight issues-which were later revised. The HS30's didn't receive the early L24's with these harmonic issues (well apart from HS30 0004 - which may have been 2 engine numbers before the change over). So anyway, you might be thinking this sounds like a great project? Truth is, my first reaction upon seeing her on a rotisserie in a garage was "Oh no.. I can't take this on." But let me show you the car first and I'll continue the waffle after. Start with the basics. It's nice to have so many leading 0's Still got the factory colour code sticker. L24 engine no. Nissan 2400 OHC cover (expensive on their own these days!) E31 code head. Chassis plate confirming no.s match.

2x NOS radio's. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/272582661157?ul_noapp=true http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/311818984202?ul_noapp=true Not original equipment for an S30Z but with a reproduction faceplate would literally look the same..

I've met Mike in San Francisco helped him find a 610 SSS coupe. Nice guy.

HS30 103407 Just double-checked yes it was indeed $65k previously. So $10k reduction. $55k for this car in my opinion is a good buy - although I've not seen the car in person. I just know a bit of it's history. If it's as clean in person as photos suggest and relatively rust free then it would be great to own a rare 240Z-L. http://www.viczcar.com/forum/topic/1924-cars-for-sale-3rd-party-sites-ebay-carsales-etc/?p=187893 Previously collected photos are here: https://goo.gl/photos/ouLBkiFBY2c2SkbL9