gav240z

Brand new rear hatch. http://www.buyee.jp/item/yahoo/auction/f134393478 Can't tell if it's the type with the vents in it though. Carbon rear hatch? http://www.buyee.jp/item/yahoo/auction/f83897526 L-series head cutaway for D.I.Y porters. http://www.buyee.jp/item/yahoo/auction/e114549565 Expensive OEM gearknob http://www.buyee.jp/item/yahoo/auction/r103578704

I like seeing budget builds like this, showing what can be done for not a huge outlay of cash.

Could you offer it up to the car in position to get an idea of how they might look when fitted?

No, I appreciate input but it's fair to say I have a vision in my head of where I'm going and I often stick to it. Although I originally wanted to turn HS30 150 into a rat rod type build. I don't know if I'll end up doing that now, I think I'll restore it, simply because keeping the patina seems to be more effort than actually doing things properly .

Actually I do wonder how many of those heads are out there? Can't imagine many were made.

I'm OK with it, better it get used than sit around in some guys shop. I doubt it is the best head design for turbo work though. I also like the look of that s30z with gnose etc..

For sake of completeness and for others attempting to restore their early console. The ash-tray lid has a couple of pins that hold the lid in place. If you don't notice this you're going to probably have a bad day and crack the lid. As I'm sure many have been over the years as a result of missing this detail. You can see on the sides of the ash-tray there is a couple of screw heads. Undo them and you can remove and install the lid correctly without damage. Now you can see it installed nice and flush. Also note how the difference in colour isn't as obvious in this lighting, with the flash on it shows up more than it really would in reality as I mentioned before. I also tried to fix the inscriptions on the console finisher piece. It looks ok, but you can see the 'ghosting' left over after I used some mild abrasive to remove the paint that was 'overspray'. I'm thinking I'll get some blutac and cover the white indents then repaint with the vinyl paint to get that nice satin black look again. I don't know if there is a better method. I would assume there is, so my method of paint, wipe with damp cloth didn't work so well I'm afraid. I had to use a bit of steel wool to remove the excess which left that ghosting.

Because there was complaints about lack of content I thought this might get some conversations going. I came across s30zcar.jp - a website for the Japanese S30Z owners club and from there I found this link http://www.ssfalcon.com/lytwin/ly7.htm You can hear the grumpy dog box on the thing here: Massive turkey noise at this point in the video More here: Now discuss.

Thanks Pauly, but I have my plate full with 3 cars already. As much as I'd love an old S600/800 I have to be realistic. I even think 3 is too many to be honest. I just wanted to share the website more than anything as I thought it could be useful for keeping track of values of cars that go to auction. I don't know if there is any similar sites that perhaps help for the Aussie market though? Would certainly be helpful for those buying an S30Z in terms of determining values and what to pay but also for insurance purposes and getting the appropriate agreed value etc..

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Datsun-240z-70-71-Console-Choke-Plate-w-Series-One-Defrost-Switch-RESTORED-280z-/261475307029 240z center console trim piece. Seller calls that 'restored' Other switches. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Datsun-69-6-71-Series-One-240z-Hazard-Lights-Switch-RESTORED-/141281703747 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Datsun-73-240z-Hazard-Lights-Switch-RESTORED-/141281699509

Nice - always liked that shape of Ford Escort.

Yes if you're worried about time and money I think you need to re-evaluate when you want this car back on the road. You can always stretch the project out over more time, don't feel you need to finish it right away. Of course you could go the other way and spend 10 years fixing it. I think finding a happy medium between being in a rush and pulling the finger out is the best way to go. Just focus on doing 1 thing at a time. Yes you could find another car, yes it might appear to have less rust, but you'll never know till you strip it down and check. Hence work with what you've got and don't worry about finding another 'rust free shell'.

Cheap 260z 2 seater. http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/Datsun-260Z-1975/SSE-AD-2738615/?Cr=3&sdmvc=1 Rust in common places. $9k

I think it's a combination of things. 1. Seasonality - I notice certain times of the year the forum has more traffic and activity. 2. Same old content - same old question. This can be addressed (see below). 3. People are just busy working on their cars. Which comes back to #1 4. Technology - people are using mobile devices more. #2 - We can address this by better structuring the website, I've considered if we should start pruning old forum topics or merge similar topics into the same thread. But also creating a set of F.A.Qs (Frequently Asked Questions for those that don't know the lingo). Admittedly I've started this a few times but never finished it. #4 - My main concern is that right now the site is not optimised for mobile from a user experience perspective, I need to find the time to move the site to another platform, but I'm selfishly using my spare time to work on my own Z and trying to make an effort for more downtime of my own. I know I know I post links to car parts 24/7 but I really should stop or build a tool that does it automatically. The problem is how do you teach a computer to know what is an interesting or unique car part for an S30Z? That was a rhetorical question btw. If we make mobile easier and image upload / sharing easier then I think people will share more content. Unfortunately lots of people watch but don't share or don't contribute to the forum. Either because of time or because they would rather view from a distance than get directly involved in creating how-to's etc.. Overall traffic seems to have remained the same year on year, if not dipped a little lately. But here's a curveball question, how would you guys feel about more Classic Datsun or even Classic Japanese content on the site? I mean I love my Z's but sometimes I'd like a bit of variety like discussions on 240k's, Roasters, Honda S600's, Early Mazda Rotary's, Early Celica's and Corolla's etc.. Do you think the site needs to evolve? Do we need to start covering 300zx's or even 350's and 370's?

Lol @ Golf but the man has a point. Have a few gin and tonics and think about the situation. It is not that bad. You could buy another shell and find more hidden gems. If the chassis is otherwise straight it is well worth saving. It is all about perspective. Having seen a lot of Zeds this looks relatively normal. You are better off fixing this and doing it right than selling at a loss and buying into the unknown. Have you considered doing a TAFE course like I am to learn some new skills? It isn't easy, at least I don't find it easy, others seem more naturally gifted than I. But well worth doing if your passionate about old classics. Otherwise I'm sure we can recommend some experts who will help you fix it. Looks like it was originally blue. Not many Blue 240z's around. Not many 240s around in general. Well worth fixing in my opinion.

Anyone see the value in these? http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/DATSUN-240K-1200-1600-240Z-PAINT-CARDS/121336535907

I'm trying...but I'm only 1 guy. We need more technical how-to's and fancy stuff with pictures I agree. http://www.viczcar.com/forum/index.php/topic,4300.msg151150.html#msg151150 Are you not entertained? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsqJFIJ5lLs

Bump updated contact details.

Hamish - please post some photos of what you have, we may be able to convince you it's not so bad. Unfortunately at this stage they all have rust in some way shape or form and if not often the repairs were suboptimal, unless as George said someone has thrown good money at it + time and restored it properly in which case the asking price would reflect that. I doubt the Gumtree car is still hanging about somehow, probably the ad hasn't been taken down?

Hi guys, I came across this website, which is an idea I had a long time ago myself, create a website that keeps track of collector car sales on the web for later reference. So anyway I saw this cool little Honda S600 was listed at some point a 1 example. http://collectorcarpricetracker.com/auctions/detail/121245375782/ The only downside is that it appears to only work for North American market eBay and hasn't captured AU market cars. Which is a shame because you could literally walk through and see what 240z / 260z's have been auctioned recently and what kind of prices they got. Hmmm - I happened to come across it because I was thinking about how many early S30Z's are left in the world. I found this topic but sadly, like many things it's North American centric and ignores the most important markets in the world http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/open-s30-z-discussions/36686-how-many-series-one-240zs-left.html#post311216

Thanks Lurch, I will be speaking with the cylinder head specialist about it, if she's junk I'll take you up on that offer (unless they think the E31 is viable of course or I find a P90 at the right price etc..). I don't see corrosion around other parts of the head so not sure how that damage occurred in the first place. Quite an unusual place for it. Anyway that reminds me, must get a valve spring compressor.

So to add further to this restoration thread. I finished off the smaller pieces of the console last night, although there is 1 or 2 minor things to resolve still it's 95% there I'd say. Step 1. Clean everything thoroughly. I used dish soap and an old toothbrush and warm water to get into all the little crevices and clean up all the accumulated dirt that's got into the console pieces over the years. The finisher piece and ash-tray in particular have lots of little crevices and grooves so be as detailed as possible. You can see my finisher piece was previously repaired at the bottom (tiny crack). But this is a minor fault I'm happy to live with and I didn't even notice at first anyway. Cleaned up Step 2. Once it's been cleaned up, hit it with a rag and grease remover / white spirits etc.. to remove any oils, left over crap that might prevent the paint sticking. To speed up drying I used a heat gun. Step 3. Hit it with the vinyl paint (satin black finish). Following the instructions on the can of vinyl paint, apply thin even layers with 5 mins drying time in between. A heat gun can also help speed this up a little but do it from a distance on a lower heat range setting. Step 4. Ash tray. Although the 1 on the right looks great as it is, it's been cracked in half (it's a clean break so should be repairable) but I decided to use the original ash-tray surround from the car as that was in better shape on mine and the lid was broken into a million bits. So combining all the good bits I could make 1 good ash-tray. The chrome trim ring on the donor surround was also in better shape. Step 5. Removing the chrome trim ring. I used a flat edge like that on a flat head screw driver to slide under the tab on the reverse of the surround. Be careful not to bend these too far or they will fatigue and break. As I found out I broke 1 tab off this, but thankfully it was on the original trim ring that wasn't in as good shape. To help prevent over-bending it bend up the tab and use your finger to prevent it folding more than 180 degrees. Hard to explain but I hope that makes sense? How it looks with Chrome Trim Removed. (Before cleaning) The tabs that can break if you over exert on them. Just be careful and don't force them if you can avoid it. You can see all 3 are good here, the other I broke 1 of the tabs, which you can still fasten it on ok with, but if you're anything like me it will wreck havoc on your OCD LOL. Step 6. After cleaning surround. Use painters tape to mask off areas you don't want painted, in this case the chrome ash-tray piece and hinges. You can see how aged the ash-tray looks, this was after cleaning it. The plastic has faded and gone this horrible brownish colour. I hit the surround and lid (painted separate) with the black vinyl paint, light coats and put about 3-4 coats in total on it. Probably 2 coats more than it needed to be honest. Step 7. Detailing finisher piece with white outline. Many don't know and I certainly didn't that this piece had white outlines around it when new, over the years most of them rubbed off and so it was only when I saw photos like those of Kats Lovely S30Z's here that I realised they came this way from factory. For the white outlines I used a white permanent marker I got from Office Works. I did try a fine paint brush and touch up white paint but it was too fiddly to do an even job. You can just see the marker in the top of the photo. Refer to the vinyl paint photo above also. You can see I went outside the lines a little here on the right side of the inner piece: To get around this use a black permanent marker to touch up the places you go a bit wonky. I haven't done the defogger and parker light insignia's yet, but I'll update the thread when I've done those and how I did it. Step 8. Finished look. I haven't fastened / glued everything down yet, but that will come later. The photos were taken in poor lighting and the flash seems to make the satin finish on the plastic parts seem a lot different to the rest of the console, but in reality when you see it in person they are not too different and once installed in the car it will make hardly any difference I'd say. To see how different the console looks compare with these pics.

Turrrrrboooo valve cover for L28 . http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/adelaide-cbd/engine-engine-parts-transmission/l20-l24et-l28-l30-turbo-rocker-cover/1045023674

260z 5 speed box - apparently. http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/buninyong/engine-engine-parts-transmission/datsun-1600-260z-5-speed-g-box/1045178552 Obviously you should verify yourself.

Thanks Linton, I have some white touch up paint and small paint brushes. I tested it out on the spare garnish piece and found that you kind of have to paint over the area, then quickly wipe with a wet rag. Since the area is indented like you mentioned it removes the paint from the top layer but not the grooves which is what you want, but it's a little tricky to apply an even covering. These fiddly jobs are quite time consuming but also quite rewarding at the same time. Will post up a how-to follow up shortly in the relevant thread.