gav240z

Hi Cuong, Good to see you signed up here. Interested to know how things are going with your Z. Its been a few years since we have seen it. Can you perhaps post some pics or give us an update? Thanks, Gavin.

Sounds like its giving you more stress than stress relief. Perhaps it is time to sell and consider looking for an already completed car for sale in a year or two, whenever one shows up. Although I haven't seen an RB26 powered Z for sale, ever! Might be able to convince someone to part with one if the budget is right. I myself had a good think about my car and all the things I wanted to do to it. I figured I still had a few years of work to do and I'll keep fixing it, till I'm happy. So for now I wanted to travel and get that out of my system and decided I'd resume the Z upon return. You can always get another one, its just what you'll be willing to pay for the right car.

Yeah I can see your dilemma, I'm lucky in that I have my mum to look after my Z in her garage while I'm away on holiday. Infact time away from my car has made me more motivated than ever to get things done on it. I used to waste weekends (well depends on how you look at it), when I could have been working on getting things done. Sometimes it feels as if there's too much work to do on old cars, but I've loved Zeds for the good part of 8-9 years and I can't see myself in anything newer to be honest. I was thinking earlier today an S15 or Mazda RX7 would be a nice daily driver, but they just don't have the styling of the early Z. I myself enjoy fixing the little things on my car, things that arn't working or something as simple as replacing the carpet makes the car a nicer place to be and isn't too expensive or time consuming. I suggest writing a list of things you would like to do that arn't that difficult. Put a time line next to each one or set a date and see how you go, before you know it 10 things will be done and you'll be happy with yourself.

This thread gave me an idea so I started a new topic here: http://www.viczcar.com/forum/index.php/topic,2789.0.html

Well he got it cheaper than I got my LD28 crank. Mine was about $800 AU all up.

Sounds like a really good idea. I've thought about this a few times myself as has Sulio and another guy I knew called Kuan. I'm sure you'll find some takers. If I was in Australia right now I'd probably jump on this, but for now my car is stored in the parents garage.

Yeah I agree mate, I have been thinking of doing a custom stripe to accentuate the bonnet hump. It was a very popular thing in the 70's and I've got some images somewhere of Zeds with the treatment. I have a vision in my head of a Silver Z (since mine was originally silver) with a burgundy red stripe down the side of the car and around the bonnet. I also think a cool pinstripe would look good too. This is a good idea getting custom stripes made for the Z. I was going to do this myself. I like the one Gavin Strongman had on his Silver 260z. Don't have a pic handy though.

Dazzed I'm very confused by your posts sometimes. I sometimes think you mean to say one thing, but end up saying another and perhaps don't express yourself in words as well as you would like to. I'm not sure what relationship you have with Alan, but perhaps as I think you are trying to say you should reserve the more personal comments for the personal message (PM) system.

I'd rather not delete it to be honest. I think most can view the situation and decide for themselves to be honest.

Thanks David, as Sulio said that's really appreciated.

Hey Steve, not a fan of the velour either. I much prefer original vinyl. Queensland is a tough one - wearing shorts and all and the heat and sweat make for a not so comfortable ride. Might be worth saving a few pennies and putting some nice Recaro's or Sparco or Bride seats in. Just depends on what you are after I guess.

Hi mate, I don't think of myself as a boss, more like the site administrator. I look after the website and that kind of thing. I have help from Sulio (toecutter), Dale, Lurch, Craig ZZZ8 and a few others. There are pics of my car in the gallery section. I haven't done much lately with it as I've been on holiday (well a working one) in Europe. Not familiar with Sydney myself, but I saw you posted another thread hopefully someone can help out with a reputable shop in the area.

Awesome cars, both with cool body kits. There can't be that many Z's with the Panterra kit floating around now. Of course the black one is very unique also, I've seen pics of it on classiczcars.com has a mean V8 under the hood if I'm correct. Glad you stopped by, if you want an article done like those on our front page let me know I'm sure people would love to read about those cars.

Guys it would be good if we can get these into our gallery to keep our events gallery up to date. I've been a bit slack in this department. Any of you guys good with FTP? I can set up an account so you can access a folder to bulk upload images. That way I can then go into the photogallery and add the entire folder. Should save us loads of time. I'll try look into this tonight and I can give you guys a username / password for FTP access.

Yeah although to be honest, I would like them to stay down in value for a while. I want to acquire a second one before the market goes stupid .

Just goes to show though, if the Z experts in Australia were a bit more active on this forum and posted things about rust repair etc.. then they would probably pick up a bit of business from it.

E88 manifold is found on the 240z. N36 is found on the 260z and 260z 2+2. The N36 is rumored to be a slightly better design and increasing even fuel / air mixture across all cylinders. 3 screw SU's are found on the earliest 240z's. 1970 - 1971 (exact change over dates vary), but generally the 240z's with fluted hatch and hand throttle console had the 3 screw. The screw reference is to do with the dome tops on the Hitachi SU's. For a 72 240z E88 Manifold and 4 screw SU carbs. Good luck with the restoration, glad to see more being returned to original condition.

Some more tips on the topic of engine conversions. I know of far too many people who have shopped for the cheapest quote and ended up disappointed by shoddy workmanship. If I was going to pay someone to work on my Z I would do the following: 1.) Speak to people who have had conversions done in the past. If possible the same swap and their experiences with the person who they got to do it. 2.) Find out what your local laws say about the conversion. Speak to your local road authority. Ask the engineers who inspect cars what would need to be done. Take all this into account before speaking to a shop. Get an idea of what you think it will cost, perhaps even ask the road authority. 3.) See if the shop getting it done will guarantee their work and ensure it will pass engineering. 4.) As said above when speaking to these people remember they have a business to run. Taking up loads of their time without spending cash is a good way to ensure you rub them the wrong way. Having said that, anyone who isn't willing to give you 10 mins is probably going to dick you around. 5.) I myself will never choose the lowest quote. I'd rather spend a $1000 or so more on a conversion if I know it will go smoothly and no shortcuts will be used. I'll also always look for people who have done a conversion before or have experience in this field. Ideally someone who knows Z's backwards but doesn't have to be. Just make sure they have happy customers. Car magazines often name workshops that carried out work, so that can be a good start. Steve you have a nice stock looking Z. I suggest you enjoy it as is for a little while. Save some cash on the side, I would personally put away $10k before doing an engine conversion. This will allow you to do suspension and brakes (brakes probably most important to me). Making your car handle and stop quicker is one of the best ways to make it faster on a track. You may also find that some minor mods to the old L-series really transform the car. I know that a mild cam some early 240z SU's and remapping the electronic dizzy really makes a difference.

Seems they have vanished a slow and painful death. Most have probably been sent to the crusher by now. If you hang on a little while - I'm building www.vintagejdm.com which will cover this kind of JDM machinery. Its very close to being launched I just need to finish getting the design looking right. If you want a sneaky peaky www.gavindoolan.com/vintagejdm/ .

Fair enough to each their own. Anyone who builds a car for others approval is seriously in for disappointment. Although its nice when other compliment you on a good build - you also have to realise if you customise it won't be everyone's cup of tea. I think it looks alright for the most part. Its a little bit show boy for my taste but I still like it.

Guys it is my understanding that this mesh grille was fitted to all Japanese Market Vehicles. Except of course the ZG (HS30-H) version. You will find this grille on everything from the basic Fairlady Z-L S30 to the upper market 432r race version. On that same topic the slotted grille was to extend all the way to the bottom below the bumper, however the bean counters at Nissan decided to not extend it all the way down as it wasn't all that visible and it would save them a few pennies. You can still get these grille's and I often see them on Ebay. I know that Eiji at www.datsunspirit.com has often posted these on ebay and can probably obtain one for you. As Lurch said though they are fairly basic in construction and shouldn't be too difficult to make. @Hunter if you do get one made up, can you try and document it and share it with the community? I think the biggest challenge is getting the Mesh to match in terms of pattern and the center bend in it. On another side note I'm told that many Japanese owners seek out our version of the slotted grille. The grass is always greener I guess - although I personally like the mesh version more myself.

Hi everyone, I just received this email today. Of course we already know the Datsun 240z is the best Japanese car of all time, this article just confirms it. Articles like this will cement the 240z's influence on automotive history and ensure it becomes a desirable classic in years to come. Hang on to your Z's guys!! Hi, I wanted to take this opportunity to let you know that AskMen.com recently published an article entitled "Top 10: All-Time Japanese Cars" that I think would be particular interest to your readers. Here’s the linking URL: http://www.askmen.com/cars/car_lists_200/212_car_list.html Here are some other articles you may be interested in: http://www.askmen.com/cars/car_lists_200/224_car_list.html http://www.askmen.com/cars/car_lists_200/225_car_list.html http://www.askmen.com/cars/car_lists_200/219_car_list.html http://www.askmen.com/cars/car_lists_200/215_car_list.html Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions. I look forward to hearing back from you. Regards, Johnny Testa AskMen.com