gav240z

Pistons out, no sweat really. #4 came out just as easy as all the others to be honest. A cup of tea inspired by project blinky. The end caps were even harder to remove than the pistons. I struggled with the second cap for ages, then there is the center and rear main cap. I got the center cap off using the technique outlined in the how to rebuild your L-series book. Stuck a timing cover bolt in the thread in the cap and used a piece of wood as the fulcrum and leveraged it out. But I couldn't for the life of me get the rear main cap off. Just in case you didn't realise it, that's a hammer I bent trying to get it out! They don't make them like they used to. So any tips other than a whole heap of swearing and yelling? I'm thinking a longer crow bar - hammer was all I had. Now I have none lol...

Dam you but thank you. I wanted these also.

To answer your query yes callipers can fubar themselves. If the bore / piston has significant wear you'll need new calipers. I heard the same as Alan though these are quite heavy and increase unsprung weight. If you weigh up cost of doing these with say a set of Wilwoods these might not be such great value. I've driven a Z with them and they do pull up better but I never pushed them and you do feel the additional weight in the front end.

There is even a 260z / 280z example here: http://www.retrosoundusa.com/products/details/id/372

Even if it doesn't I was thinking of getting the original faceplate for a 240z 1 (HItachi unit) and then somehow putting a vintage sound system behind it like this: http://www.retrosoundusa.com/products/category/id/14 I just want the look of the original, not so much the technology lol..

Ok so a quick update for now, I'll take more photos later on when I have got the pistons all out of the block. Last week after my Tafe class I picked up a dashboard off Geoff. It came with a set of gauges (which are the slightly later ones), a fabricated alloy glove box, the cowl piece that sits near the windscreen and some wiring and plastic ducting pieces etc.. Here is a photo of the early Z speedometer gauge. Note it starts at 20 km/h instead of 0. A bonus was finding a map light also with it, my current one in the gold car has crazed and gone to shyza over the years. Amazingly the map light 'hood' isn't cracked so I'll be careful removing it, but the map light plastic itself has crazed to the point where it can't be repaired as far as I'm aware. So this will make an excellent replacement. The dash has a couple of minor scuff marks from storage over the years and could use a general overall clean up. I'll probably get some vinyl paint and go over it again to re-touch it up and give it a newer fresh look and I'll need to swap the gauges over to retain the early style ones in my car. Here is my current dashboard...as you can see only minor cracks. So why did I bother getting a second dash? Well it was already re-skinned for a start, when you factor in shipping the current dash to Melbourne + Insurance + getting it reskinned I would have been spending maybe close to $700 on the existing dash... I also thought hard about the pro's and con's of dashboard repair vs reskin. My plan is to attempt the D.I.Y dashboard repair method. http://www.viczcar.com/forum/index.php/topic,1618.0.html Then I'll post photos to compare the 2 methods side by side. The advantage of the D.I.Y method is that it's cheap, but also you're not adding material to the dash, so the gauge hood's have the original contours and things like the glove box fit properly. The re-skin dash has a slightly mis-alignment on the glove box caused by the extra padding - although I may be able to adjust this. I also tried to win this parts lot on the weekend (as I really wanted the center console facia piece) and the rear light for the licence plate. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/171274166873 But I didn't want to spend that much, so whoever won it (Probably George *shakes fist*). Well done. The sum of all those parts is worth more than the total sale price. The next update is related to the engine, I decided I'd pull the finger out and go strip down the block and get the pistons out. I removed the timing chain guides and tensioner, removed the timing chain and the distributor drive piece from the crank snout (use a block of wood and mallet to do this - so you don't damage the drive), then I removed the caked on sump. I tried not to make a mess, but what do you know it's oily and it's a sump and I think it's the 1 job I hate most on cars. Anything to do with the sump means you get oil on you, the ground and anywhere else - even if you try not to! I was wearing rubber gloves to avoid having to scrub under my finger nails for hours to get all the oil off them, but then the Dog ("Datsun" - yes that's his name) decided to try biting my hands and tore them....and he was trying to taste all these old oily parts (the fun of having a small pet around). But how can I stay mad at that face? I figure if I post some intermittent photos of "Datsun" you'll see how as the project progresses, he's getting bigger and bigger. The next step was to have an L-series BBQ. Using a mixture of kerosene and Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF) I poured them into the #4 cylinder bore and using a piece of old clothing as a wick I lit the thing on fire and let it burn for a while. The theory is that the kerosene fire causes the expansion of the bore and the ATF fluid can seep down between the bore and the piston rings breaking the rusted seal and freeing up the frozen piston. I managed to get the #2 piston out last night, before packing up for the night. I'll continue working on the rest tonight and let you know if my 'red neck' method of piston removal for #4 works. I'm actually looking forward to re-assembly when everything is clean, the tear down stage only sucks before it's such filthy work.

Bunch of 260z parts on Gumtree. http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-seller/David%20Browne/1003911527 2+2 interior trim. http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/westbrook/other-parts-accessories/260z-original-interior-trims-not-240z-trims/1042845739 N42 Head in WA. http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/applecross/engine-engine-parts-transmission/datsun-l28-cyl-head-suit-240z-260z-280zx-n42/1042856203 Looks like L26 motor with flat tops. http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/westbrook/engine-engine-parts-transmission/260z-240z-motor-carbies/1042846464 L6 Extractors. http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/applecross/other-parts-accessories/extractors-suit-datsun-240-z/1042852711 Original head unit for 260z console. http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/westbrook/audio-gps-car-alarms/260z-240z-original-radio-stereo/1042801119 Lots of panels etc.. (Adelaide). http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/surrey-downs/auto-body-parts/datsun-240z-parts/1042766345 From the photo of the 1/4 window I suspect this is 2+2 body parts, so the rear hatch and doors won't fit a 2 seater.

Yeah looks good in black if red doesn't look right on my valve cover I'm going black. I also like them polished though.

Meh I don't work on maps. I also find street view frustrating at times.

LOL I thought he meant chassis rails also. I don't need seat rails at the minute.

Just as well my wallet can't pay for anything through a virtual tour yet. http://www.kameariengineworks.co.jp/Google1.html

The screws are not standard but the 240z ones do have holes for screws there. Looks like the 260z ones are flush. So yes they are different. I saw a cheap 1 on eBay with buy it now but already gone and won't fit a 240z without modification. Now we know.

Check the L28 compression and see how it runs first. If it is a solid motor and running about 8:1 compression then you should be fine if you tune within correct parameters. Definitely get a modern ECU. I would intercool it as they are cheap and you live in a hot climate. If no intercooler go for mechanical water injection. P90 is good for its chamber design being good for knock resistance but you only need that if your going for bigger power. P90s are hard to find in Australia these days.

LD28 crank. http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car-parts-accessories/nissan/engines/auction-710250832.htm Guy won't separate out parts from motor though...

LOL, with the auto-backup you can choose if you want it to be visible right away or not. So if you moonlight as a stripper it won't be an issue unless you decide to take an additional step and share those photos.

Hi guys, Anyone know if the rear licence plate light is the same between different S30Z models? I know the garnish panel is different but did the light plate change also?

I posted a link to 1 on Gumtree in the eBay thread have a look there.

Lol mate your first inline don't worry.

Interested in pics of rails also please.

260z 2+2 it's JDM Yo! http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1977-DATSUN-260Z-2-2-NISSAN-JDM-DRIFT-S13-AE86-FAIRLADY-Z-240z/271430773076 Ebay says there is 81 watchers (at the time I added it to my watch list), if that doesn't show demand for early Z cars is going up - I don't know what would?

240z with a V8. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1971-Datsun-240Z-Red-4speed-V8-/301136417907 Buy it now: AU $14,990.00 It's a bit 'Mad Max' dashboard looks good though

Yeah I think they have fallen in love with the Z to be honest. It's got all these shiny parts. Still funny to see it set good times against the other stuff that was there. .

L28 Motor cheap. http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/leumeah/engine-engine-parts-transmission/datsun-l28-engine-and-gearbox/1042112513

LOL George, I don't even know how to respond to that without taking this conversation to an even lower level .

These are designed to fit the Wrong Hand Drive American cars and not get in the way of the steering rack. Why don't you fellas go for the Stewart Wilkins ones? Buy Australian made and save on shipping costs. Also Peter Mac has said that they are a good set up.