gilltech

Ouch. Very sad. Actually, it looks American?, going by the number plate, and the bumper guard. Those are steel wheel rims too. Yes no doubt many classic cars will have been lost or seriously damaged, with people having to evacuate with little more than the clothes on their backs.

Yes please!

'Frost Fighter', now that's the go. You'd think they'd do defroster lines to order, if they are in the business of providing OEM replacements to a wide range of vehicles in the market place. Factory tint on the Zeds is blue not green. They'd need a sample to match to though, it's only a very pale blue tint.

Or horizontal defrost lines. My NZ-new 260 hasn't got them, IMO a dumb omission for a colder climate. (Seems we got the hazard switch instead). The wiring is there, & I got the correct switch from a US supplier, but I had to add one of those stick-on defroster elements which lasted a few years but after it died I peeled it off again.

Those that want 240/260 door glass should check the bolt pattern and lower edge shaping will match, but it may be just the track that changed. But the 2-seater glass did change for the '77 model. Mixing and matching doors and their internals can be a PITA for those buying project cars in bits. I've been in to Autoglass and my impression from talking to them was that the glass is Australian-made to our own standards. I was told that as long as they have a pattern they can make most auto glass. One of the guys there is a Zed owner himself. Unfortunately for those of us who have the light blue tint glass (generally imports from overseas markets?) Autoglass will only do the clear at this stage.

Interesting, but nah, that place just looks like a new car showroom and a place to show off excessive wealth. I like the old tumble-down barns like you often see on American Pickers, full of old cars and motorcycles, chock full of dust and grease and plainly down-to-earth. Someone's collection of Studebakers, or Indians, or whatever has sparked their interest over many decades.

FWIW, 260Z rear glass is slightly thicker & heavier (stronger) than 240Z rear glass, so you might want to check the thickness you'd be getting. Q. Is all door glass the same across 240 & (2-seater) 260Z? I ask because there are several different window winder mechanisms used across the years, I don't know if they all bolt up exactly the same. I'd be interested to know why the AutoglassWarehouse rear screen is $725 yet their front screen is only $135.

I have struck the same problem. The old antenna had seized with the plastic wand inside the telescopic tubing detached rendering the unit unrepairable. So I bought a new 'modern' one which looked almost identical but couldn't get it to operate in both directions via the factory switch no doubt for the very reason you describe. Your solution is well planned and executed but way over the head of this non-electrickery person!

I take it you are referring to the bondage handcuffs? Cheap, only an eighth of the price of the inspection lamp.....

Definitely. The urethane is a cheaper material and flexes less and will provide a stiffer and harsher ride.

Question is: Do you really want urethane, or the original rubber type?

Further to my above, IMO Nissan painted the absolute minimum on our Zeds, well on my early unrestored 260 it was the case anyway. Remove the guards and scuttle panel, and the interior trim panels, and there's only the cream coloured primer (with a minimum of red overspray) to be seen. So not much paint protection from new. IMO those who restore these cars do a far more thorough job of it.

+1 to the feedback given to you above. The sound deadener pad is a bitumastic matrix type of product which after 40+ years has simply dried out; as bitumastic products whether used on vehicles or buildings in all their various forms must surely do, none of that stuff can last forever. Time to replace it at a time to suit you. Any of the cavities and hollow sections making up the body shell are liable to attract crud and moisture and will rust. The automotive industry didn't pay much attention to rust prevention way back when our Zeds were built (no dipping back then). Some areas of the Z shell were lucky to even get a single thin coat of primer, and hidden areas where paint mist couldn't reach got nothing at all. So the more you can do to preserve the shell the better.

IMO they are late 260Z (2-seat not 2+2), therefore approx '77-'78, going by the large notch-out at bottom rear corner which is to suit the taller rear struts of those later cars.

So, your '73 becomes a parts car for a '72 once you obtain one?

Well done Jeff. A donation to a very deserving cause if I may say so.

And how much original metal would be left after it's been stripped? Not much. Tell me that surely to god it's a parts car, nothing more. In the ad: "Blue tape holding panels down during transport..." Really?

How much of a crash? Should it go on a chassis machine to check that the 4 struts are all in correct alignment in all 3 dimensions? I suggest you first brace the front before drilling out all the spot welds to remove the radiator support. Once things are separated panel beating is much easier. You'd need a radiator support from either a 240Z or early 260Z, the later 260Z ones are quite different. Good ones are not easy to find though, the X-member is usually well rusted on cars being parted out.

Why do you want to get rid of the stub axle? Is your car an auto with an R180?

Ouch. Double-ouch. Suit panel-beater-come-miracle-worker perhaps...

Yes. All an S30 evolutionary process. Some parts were carried over for several years, others were short term. Factory literature is useful to a point but it can still get tricky if one's project car is likely on the cusp of a change-over period and/or one doesn't have much if any history on the car. Buying Z parts from anywhere, new or second hand, it's a case of buying 'like for like' via visual identification. Not hard if you have the original part to go by. Difficult if one has an incomplete project car, or missing parts, which is where one needs help from others with same-year / same-market cars to compare to.

It is bizarre. Hey Linton, sorry if this got a bit off track. Do you know when your car was first registered, new in Australia?

Further to the 240-to-260-upgrade which I regard as a myth, IMO for the Z assembly plant to decide whether an upcoming Z body shell was destined to become a HS30, or RS30, they would have to make the call very early before the taillight panel and door shells were installed. Never mind all the accessory attachment brackets. And for which market? And all before the VIN was stamped into the firewall. I've seen a 240Z where someone had fitted a complete 260Z dashboard. It was an insecure mess as it wasn't a simple bolt-in job although to be fair one could be forgiven for perhaps just assuming it would be. Added to that, many of the wiring loom connectors at the dash area differ between 240 & 260, so that part wasn't a simple plug'n'play either. Yes my car unfortunately has the short shallow rather weak under-floor stiffener rails as per the 240. Which have had to be repaired.

My 260 is even earlier, #115, one of a number in that number range sold new in NZ in '74, I've owned it since '84. These 'early' 260s have some commonality with the last of the 240s and yet differ in many details (bumpers etc) from '74 US-spec cars - plus their early-'74 cars differ in some respects from their late-'74 cars - so perhaps that's where that 240-to-260 upgrade idea has originated, I've heard it before. In fact my car is a bit of an orphan, caught between the two with its own specific parts & running changes made as the Z series developed. But I don't think it would be much different to the later '74 & '75 cars sold in this part of the world. Albeit there are differences under the bonnet between NZ-spec and Aus-spec cars too. Compared to a 240, my 260 has so many differences in the metalwork, such as the taillight panel, the inner door skins (window winders are different), fixing brackets for interior trim & dash & console, has a pair of hatch struts, bracketry in the engine bay, etc. The floor structure & suspension appears the same as a 240 (51mm struts) but then it has the bigger R200 diff. It just wouldn't be practical to 'upgrade' a 240 to a 260. And certainly mine has had no such alterations. Although I have collected a lot of spare Z parts over many years I don't have any spare interior door or rear trims. I have seen NOS and repro 240 rear trim panels advertised at times and have been somewhat tempted as I think push come to shove they could be adapted to fit my car were I to somehow damage mine but haven't taken it any further. Were I to stupidly break a panel I would probably just get it plastic welded. My 2c worth anyway.

FWIW. From what I've observed on my own car, the early 260 2-seater side panels are pretty much the same as for the 240Z, but one side has an extra cut-out & shaping for the 2nd hatch gas strut bracket which the 240 didn't have. Also, I'm not certain about the similarity, or not, of shaping around the gas tank filler/vent pipe area on the RH panel. Later 260Z 2-seater side panels of course have a taller cut-out at the front to suit the taller rear strut housing. The 260 panels do seem more robust than the 240 ones IMO, thicker plastic, and more texture. And venting / speaker patterns of holes where applicable (front & rear). If you strike out on a set of 260 panels but can find a good 240 set I think you could make them work without too much trouble. Or maybe take base moulds off them. The 260 2-seater taillight cover panel is more problematic, different to the 240 due to having separate back-up lights (larger inspection panels), and to the 260 2+2 panel which is slightly longer and taller. I don't know if the latter can be modified, but I'm sure someone will have tried as they are the easiest to find.