gav240z

Do post a pic, I remember when these were new as a kid. My grandfather's best friend was Albert Tucker (a well known artist in Melbourne) and he had a copper brown 1 just like this. I distinctively recall seeing it parked in our street when he came around to visit. As with many other Japanese cars at the time I was always impressed with the amount of gadgets they seem to have. My grandfather was an artist also, but too shy to really show his work publicly like Albert he had a similar style a bit dark, odd and edgy. I always thought it was a shame he wasn't better known for it. But art is subjective and everyone has an opinion. My grandfather drove a Mitsubishi Magna of the same era with the digital dash which I thought was cool and made it extra luxurious. That's the thing about old cars like these they bring back a lot of memories and everyone has had different experiences around them. Kind of unlike any other kind of object you can own really.

If I look in the parts manuals I see a lot of parts listed as OP (Optional Part). However in reality I've seen very little evidence to suggest many cars sold in Australia were fitted with some of the more special and rare parts. If those cars exist or existed then it's likely they were scrapped years ago or the parts picked off them. For example the Rally Clock was listed as OP, but I don't know of many people who have Rally Clocks over here that were here because they were fitted to an AU market car. The clocks have either come from the US (and most of those were due to Fairlady Z imports) or from Japan. Likewise with optional fog lamps, wheels etc.. What I have seen relatively consistently though is parts that look dealer fitted. - Optional nudge bar - Peanut / Kidney bean style alloys - Pinstripes - although not sure if those came later after car was purchased. - Vinyl roof's (very rare thankfully, and I haven't seen many on 240z's here. On 2+2's though I've seen it). - Rear louvre's for the rear window - Rubber protective side strips down the side of the car (appear to be dealer fitted) I suspect a few cars came in with heater rear windows, but cannot be sure. It again was listed as OP but I'm not sure if the windows I've seen over here have been imported at a later date? Hazard switches were also OP but I've yet to see an AU market 240z with them fitted. I think some later 260z's had them though! The early style fender mirrors (flat type) are still a bit of a mystery to me. http://www.viczcar.com/forum/topic/11863-early-style-fender-mirrors-as-found-on-early-chassis-id-ie-up-to-hs30-1000/?p=173888 Initially I thought only very early 1970 models had them fitted, but I've seen later 71 model cars with them also. Yet looking in the parts manual I have (which was last revised in the late 70s around 79 I think) doesn't mention the part no. for the early style mirrors. Only the bullet style mirrors they got in the Japanese market. Yet as you see in the thread above there is evidence to suggest some cars sold new had the bullet style. So perhaps you could get the bullet mirrors as an option? My thoughts on this is that given that we likely received around 3,000 240z's back in the 70s and coupled with the demand for 240z's at that time. Most owners took what they could get (see Lurch's thread for example and his story on Harry and #149). Adding options probably meant waiting longer so maybe they were bought first and options added later? I guess the only people who could tell you for sure were the people around at the time and ordered them new. I know that Len Brennan was 1 such person, so when I finally catch up with him, I'll try and ask. He did show me some interesting brochures at 1 point, but it was really mostly promotional and advertising material like the brochure attached (nb: fender mirrors). As a side note: The red 240z photo above is my first 240z. You can see it had that nudge bar at the front and was a 73 model because of the indicators attached to the bumper and no holes in the fenders - which is a peculiar AU market feature.

Mikuni Sound Test. Yep works.

More proof that Mr Lee's was Playing Mr Baity Mc Bait Bait. This later PS30 1972 (PS30-10**** ) is now listed at (TAKEEY's) or FAKEEY's. http://www.goo-net-exchange.com/usedcars/NISSAN/FAIRLADY_Z/700060083430160418001/index.html Their website has it listed also. http://www.goo-net.com/usedcar/spread/0600834/15/700060083430160418001.html and it still has the dorky strut tower vinyl... PS: Mr Lee's seems to like taking photos of his cars for sale here. If anyone successfully photo bombs him, I'll chip in $30 so you can get a few beers for your effort .

Wrong thread mate. http://www.viczcar.com/forum/topic/14515-ugly-car-love/

So I actually tested another Hitachi radio (same model TM-1081ZB(S)) I have and the good news is that it works. However I have discovered that the auto-tune feature should go in both directions. In the video I show above you can see it goes all the way left and keeps going on an infinite type loop. However it should bounce back into the other direction (right) to seek a signal. The second radio I tested does this, hence the reason I know the first 1 is not quite doing the right thing. I will need to disassemble them and and see if there is a broken wire, some kind of broken gear or another reason why it won't return. But I might start a new thread on Hitachi radio restoration or just use this thread to document what I do.

Given what they can and do sell for in Japan and or the North American markets I'd say it's not a bad price. They look in good shape and have the center caps!

I've driven a 944 non turbo and must say I loved it. Certainly not got the grunt of the L6 in the 240z and a bit asthmatic as the revs climb but a lot of fun. I think Jeremy Clarkson said he ached for 1 after driving it. ""And then they fitted flared wheel arches and a new four-cylinder 2.5-litre engine to create the 944. I wanted one of those so much I ached. In fact, if I were to draw up a list of the 10 best cars I've ever driven, the 944 turbo would certainly be included. You can buy them these days for five grand." I have to agree with him, and if I didn't already have 2 many 240z's and an FD RX-7. I'd certainly look at a 944, probably the turbo if it was within budget. Honestly I don't even know what it is I like so much about them, it's hard to pin down 1 thing but I think the build quality and how solid they feel along with the noise, it just is a drivers car. It's the kind of car most people's girlfriends would hate, which is why it's so good haha. They did, and I'm not sure you'd want to cut that up either. It can be hard to tell the difference between a 924 and 944 kind of like the difference between an Early S30Z and a later S30Z the experts know, but Joe Public probably doesn't know what to look for outside of badges.

So last night I got around to testing 1 of my Hitachi TM-1081ZB(S) radio's. I'm happy to report it is working, but the front light isn't. I've got a video of the test and you can see the 'auto-tune' or as I call it 'ghost tune' function. Which I think is pretty cool for an OEM radio of that period. Sorry about the letterbox format of the video, didn't realise it would come out that way. Now to test the other ones I have and make sure they also work! Also somewhat embarassingly I think I managed to blow up the Clarion head unit seen to the right in the video. Before I tested the Hitachi unit I decided to test the Clarion first - just in case something went wrong. Sadly I didn't put an inline fuse in before I tested it (lazy I know) and I think I fried a capacitor in it, as a bit of a pop and smoke came out. I was a bit nervous testing the Hitachi radio after that, but it already had the inline fuse which made me feel better about it. I do wonder if the Clarion unit blowing up was just bad luck? Maybe the capacitors just get old and give up and when revived are not too happy about it? Either way it's a good lesson to be careful when testing stuff especially fragile old electronics.

Thanks Alan, I've found that the majority of AU delivered cars (240z) didn't have the heated rear glass. I believe it was listed as optional in the parts manual. The RS30's (260z's) seem to have been much more likely to receive the heated rear windows, but by then it was the vertical style defroster glass. I say more likely because even though most I've seen had it there has been a few anomalies I've seen recently. For example I was shown an RS30 (2 seater) the other day that didn't have air con fitted. Yet almost every 260z I've seen in Australia over the years had evidence of air con being fitted. Obviously some opted to go without. Like I'm sure some owners of 240z's opted for the defrost glass, but overall it was definitely a minority.

Ahhh I spoke to him the other week and didn't realise it was Isaac / same guy.

Agree it was generally better than most shows of this type. They mentioned the car being a 72 model, but I suspect it was more inline with 71 'features', given the early console, hand throttle and 907 Green colour (great colour by the way!). I suspect it's a relatively low VIN # in the HS30 range, as we know it would be greater than HS30 00500 and lower than HS30 01500 - probably. I'm not a huge fan of 'binning' the SUs because of 'hard starts' when in reality the SUs are fine provided you adjust the choke cables sufficiently and have them well tuned. But I guess they have to promote a product and the induction system would be a nice upgrade with fuel injection and actually looks ok in the engine bay too! I did notice when the engine bay was blasted there was evidence of substantial previous repair work. Check out 26 mins and 23 seconds. https://youtu.be/TF-qWo9if50?t=26m23s There was a big plate welded at the bottom of the front strut tower (which I've seen before!) and a long seam weld just above the chassis rails. Since it already had been patched up and the floors were shot, it does raise the question as to how much more 'rust' is hidden from view and how good the previous repair work and paint job was done. It certainly looked nice but what is hiding underneath? It looks like the car had the original optional fog lights also. (see attached) - which I thought was cool. I also noticed the rear defrost glass in it, I wonder if UK cars had that as standard? It would make sense given the weather...

Didn't someone post about a tour you can do organised by Dino from Speedhunters? They take you to various workshops like Fujita Engineering, Ando-San's TA Auto and a few other specialist shops in Japan? Check this out. http://www.viczcar.com/forum/topic/14287-new-z-for-perth/?p=170128

Minor update on the corner repairs. In some ways I feel like I've just kicked the can further up, but anyway here goes. Last night the regular teacher was on holiday so I decided I'd give it a go without consulting anyone and if I made a mess of it, well I tried. I figure at some point there might not be a teacher to ask so I may as well give it a go as if I'm working in my own garage. Step 1, I traced out / scribed the cut line. In fairness I made a bit of a mess of this because when I put the piece in place after cutting away the old bit I had a bit of a gap in areas. Given the complex shape of the item though I guess a bit of fettling was going to be required. I deliberately left a bit of excess around the lips so I could trim them down afterwards, since even when you have your measurements looking good it's always possible something is out when the time comes to marry it all up. Since the original hatch is quite thin, and a little oxidised from exposure to the elements I had a little trouble with blowing holes. Let's just say I got a lot of practice with the oxy / acetylene last night. I persevered though and I'm somewhat happy with the way it turned out. You can see the edge is now a lot better than before. But the messy looking area is the existing hatch where there were pinholes due to thin metal / rust. I might just use a hole saw and punch that area out and then weld in another piece, I've patched it with the oxy but we will see how it goes once I file it down a bit. This is what I mean by Can Kick, in some ways I moved the problem along to new spots. But I do think overall it's better to use filler on the flat surfaces than on an edge and it looks a lot sharper this way. Here is a comparison with the old patched up piece. There is a couple of spots I may need to go over again to make sure I got good penetration on the weld. I'll ask the teacher next week about this and then do the other side. Then I'll use some rust sealer on the inside of the hatch and fit the lower skin piece and weld that up also. So I'm in 2 minds about all this, on the 1 hand I'm happy I managed to achieve what I did without any help and given how complicated the section is and welding it with an Oxy welder is quite a challenge. On the other hand I've sort of moved the imperfection in and away from the edges. So I wonder if it was worth it? But if I nothing else my welding skills are improving and my metal working skills with it. So that's a positive.

HS30 01294 here. http://www.viczcar.com/forum/topic/1924-cars-for-sale-3rd-party-sites-ebay-carsales-etc/?p=177259

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/medlow-bath/cars-vans-utes/1971-datsun-240z-shell/1111958461 Medlow Bath, NSW Pretty rough, still has the 71A gearbox though! Rear quarters and roof look ok, floors gone and front end tap. Looks like it could be saved. HS30 01294

As the subject states I'm looking for vintage style automotive plugs to suit my Hitachi radio restorations. (see attached image - plug at top) After doing a bit of research it looks like these might be useful links. http://www.vintageconnections.com/ConnectorKits.htm http://www.cycleterminal.com/110-connectors.html I'm wondering if they have a more common name? *Edit 110 connector seems to be the family of connectors. It looks like the industry name is: 3 pin .110 - 2.8mm Male and Female locking connector As an FYI: This style looks like the Jeco Rally Clock connector style. 9 pin .110 - 2.8mm Male and Female locking connector Q. Does anyone know of a local website / business in Australia that sell these? I will ask JayCar but maybe there is another place where I can find this stuff locally?

http://www.viczcar.com/forum/topic/14505-260z-lhs-guards-nos-x-6/ http://www.viczcar.com/forum/topic/14544-nos-240-260z-head-light-cowls/ May get you started..

260z 2+2 74 model. Carina QLD http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/carina/cars-vans-utes/1974-datsun-260z-coupe/1111843919 $13,500.00 Negotiable Will add details soon.

260z 2+2 $5,800.00 http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/endeavour-hills/cars-vans-utes/1974-260z-datsun/1102957188 Endeavour Hills.

260z 2+2 in St Kilda. http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/st-kilda/cars-vans-utes/1975-datsun-260z-coupe/ $24,000.00 Will add details soon.

Member dattocam was selling some NOS Taiwanese copy guards that are apparently not a bad fit. Might want to look into that. Personally on a street car I'd avoid carbon / fiberglass guards etc..

I drove past there yesterday and it still has the Edward Lees imports placards up, the herd was looking a bit thinner than usual too! I'm sure it will be business as usual soon enough though.

Not quite... as Yoda says there is another. It's a double-edged sword, good on 1 hand, not so good on another. Prices for some rare S30Z parts are taking off along with the cars value, which means restorations are costing more and parts are getting harder to find especially for early 240z's. But this is the game we are in..

Ahh yes I recall this car, it was in Tasmania with a V8 in it and some horrid looking rear light modification. Good luck with it.