C.A.R.

NEW Datsun 240Z 260Z 2-Seater Roof Skins. Resurrected Classics brand. Price: $1650.00 + freight to your door (if required) or pickup from postcode 3825. They are arriving in 8 to 12 weeks, so PM to reserve yours now as I only have 10 skins.

123 is China junk. Buy Aussie: https://performanceignition.com.au/p/scorcher

Update time! Late last year (2024) we moved premises to a larger facility, so that slowed progress on the 240Z. However progress WAS made and the Z was moved closer to paint. Since the body was painted in tinted high build primer in October, it's had enough time to cure and we've assembled more of the drivetrain, so much so we are VERY close to starting the engine. But before we do, we decided to sand the primer in preparation for paint. My painter prefers to have the front guards and doors attached and the vehicle able to be moved under it's own power as it's easer to deal with once it's in the booth. So Graeme DRY sanded the primer to 240g with the splines then 400g on the DA: The grey patches are spot primer to cover any cut-throughs. Tony - the owner - wants to come down from Sydney to be here in person when the engine is started for the first time - I'll post a video when this happens.

Stewart at SW Motorsport - about $450 from memory.

They are all the same. It's probably leaking from the thread, so I suggest cleaning it with brake clean & then applying thread sealer.

lescollinsracing.com

Here are the part numbers for the hoses:

Sorry mate, but it went to scrap metal last year.

Next we set about refitting the fuel and brake lines with the new isolators, clips and M4 fasteners. This then allowed us to reinstall the front and rear brake & suspension assemblies: And then the engine bay wiring loom: Next we installed the engine, gearbox, diff & shafts, fuel tank & plumbing, cabin loom & dashboard: The original exhaust manifold and secondary's were also ceramic coated in black: As of the end of 2024 that is where we are up to. I'm waiting on some parts to come back from being plated, and once they are fitted we will fill all fluids and start the engine. Next the outside high-build primer needs to be sanded to 240g dry, then 400g dry. After-which we will paint the outside of the Z! My aim is to finish and deliver the Z back to Tony in the first half of 2025...

So with the bodyshell painted underneath, cabin & engine bay it was moved onto the hoist and the rotisserie removed. We could then set about installing the drivetrain in preparation for making the Z move under it's own steam... When I've seen other people restore early Zeds, they use a modern foil backed self adhesive bituminous sound deadener on the inside of the cabin floor. This works perfectly well and it's not seen once the carpet is in... buuuuuut it is not period correct. When I first starting collecting parts for this Z, I heard about a guy in the USA who was making sound deadening kits that were a perfect copy of the factory sound deadender. The kit wasn't expensive, but the the freight was... The freight cost was not much more expensive for 2 kits, so I ordered 2 kits and sold the second kit off to offset the cost. Graeme was tasked with installing the self adhering deadener kit and with a combination of a nylon roller and various sized sockets he had the kit fitting beautifully. The firewall matt was a bit of an issue. These are available in the USA for LHD Zeds, but obviously they don't fit RHD Zeds and no one until recently makes them. However through my contacts, I got onto a guy in Adelaide - who specializes in R32 Skyline interior parts - who started making reproduction firewall mats for early Zeds. He duly sent one over & it's pretty good! However we may decide to adjust it for 100% perfect fitment later on.. Then the painted pedal-box, heater box & fan assembly was bolted into place with replated fasteners:

With the top end complete, attention turned to the block. It was hot tanked, crack tested and then bored 0.5mm for new pistons. Then and given a lick of Nissan Blue. Unfortunately the crankshaft was toast, so a good replacement was obtained, but not before it was hot tanked and the journals were linished. A new OEM timing cover was fitted(!) A new OEM dizzy drive was purchased along with a SW Motorsport bronze dizzy drive. The oil pan was hot tanked and repainted, before everything was reassembled with new Japanese bearings and gaskets:

You mean this product?

So basically no care or attention? Gotcha.

With the head back at LCR, it needed to be assembled. 240Z's came with an oil 'spray bar' that bolts to the side of the camshaft towers, that sprays oil onto the camshaft lobes. This is a poor design as the tiny tube and orifices' can easily block up with gunk and worse, the bar itself can fracture over time & fall into the cambox... Nissan fixed this later in the bigger 2.8ltr engine (L28) with an internally oiled camshaft. Thankfully Les had enough junk L28 heads in stock, so the cam towers from one were used on the E31 head, as they are a direct swap. Because the top and bottom head faces had been decked, a set of cam tower shims were installed to bring the camshaft 'wipe' back into the correct geometry. Next a suitable camshaft was fitted. As the engine is relatively stock, we didn't want to go to wild. The grind is from Clive Cams, and is a direct copy of a Wade 733a. It's very very mild with just a tad more lift and duration over a stock grind cam. Unfortunately the original valve springs were worn out so a good set of used L28 valve springs were installed, along with new thicker lash pads/caps and refaced rockers. It was all reassembled, checked and pronounced good to go - it's almost a shame to put the tappet cover back on! The tappet cover was also given the Hydro-blast treatment.