gilltech

Dito Mr Camo, you're missing the thin plastic washer that stops the winder wearing a hole in the vinyl. You can make your own, or scavenge a couple off some old car laying about. They're not seen when the winder is installed. If you need to make some then try a black ice cream container as a resource. And yes I agree with enzo250GTO & think the circlip is most likely fouling on the door card, & ditto the circlips lose tension & have to be reshaped to grip tighter.

The chassis is different from the earlier cars with respect to the rear strut towers, & therefore some differences in the internal trim.

Suggest you post the VIN# (as stamped on firewall - & see if that matches the data plates) & then by comparing to other cars with documented history you may find you can narrow the car's age down to within a month or two. Don't go by the vented bonnet unless you're sure it's original by paint coverage, like any bolt-on panel it could have been swapped out. The body shell will provide some clues if you know what to look for, but easier to start with the VIN# & more precise.

Chartoo, provide the first part of the VIN# & those on the forum will de-code it for you. Presumably the car has data & ADR plates?

The 'Fairlady' name was used on the early Nissan sports cars too, SP311's etc. I suppose to the Japanese all our 240Zs & 260Zs are Fairladies, just not badged that way for export. As Gav240 says, the home market Zeds generally ran the 2L motor, for road tax reasons as I understand it, which had little commonality if any with the 2.4, 2.6, 2.8 series. As Gav says, probably by now most used imports into Australia & NZ will be running 2.8s by now. The VIN nos also distinguish between RHD & LHD too. So check your VIN # (stamped into firewall) & the data plate for starters. And the engine #.

41,000km??? hmmm..... if the paperwork's there, then a nice unmolested car it may be...& how many of those are left now? Not many..... And that's a very neat trick (see below).

'Fairlady' & 'Fairlady Z' are Japanese home market badges for various Nissans. They would be on the guards, rear hatch & dashboard. Your car may be a used import ex Japan, so 'Fairlady' is original, or an export model in which case a PO most probably added them in place of the 260Z badges as some people prefer them. Check the backs of them to see whether they have pins, & do they match with the holes in the panels. Or have the pins been removed & the holes filled in, all by way of a clue. What does the dashboard badge say? Also, AFAIK the VIN# differed between home market & export cars. Someone on the forum would be able to comment, & there has been discussion on that topic before.

MIKE260LW is correct, the early '74 cars (all 2 seaters, the 2+2 didn't arrive until later in the year) are pretty much the same shell, incl doors & suspension etc, as the '73 or the last of the 240's. Lots of different details to the later 260's, which themselves had various running changes during their manufacturing era. So be careful with buying 260 door cards sight unseen.

The nth American delivered cars had a turn-knob on the gas flap, whereas many of our cars had the locking flaps using the same key as the doors, not the ignition key which is a different shape. Plenty of 260 2+2's are being parted out at present, suggest you contact someone doing that to see if they would be prepared to post to the USA, try via the local gumtree.com.au or ebay.com.au If you bought the gas flap lock & door/hatch locks with key at the same time you'd then already have a matching set & it might make it more attractive for someone to post overseas.

FWIW I echo comments above, the Zed cars as designed do not need power steering if they are set up right, and I'm including female owners & drivers in that. My advice is to renovate the front end with new ball joints & tie rod ends, check & lubricate everything, make sure the steering rack is travelling well & not binding - as in slightly bent, & get a good accurate wheel alignment done to factory specs. And keep to factory or close to factory wheel widths, don't run wide tyres & rims!!! (You run 7" rims, & incorrect steering geometry, yes your wife will find the car heavy going). Get the above sorted to specs first, which it needs to be in any case, for a few hundred dollars, before you go looking at 3K power steering set-ups which just may be trying to compensate for geometry or mechanical problems or wide wheels.

My original '74 260's motor has dished pistons. AFAIK the 260's didn't have flat-tops as they ran lower compression than their 240 predecessors.

Sorry, but FWIW it just doesn't look quite right; too plush & comfortable, the original S30 interior is quite Spartan & looks more sports orientated with minimal creature comforts all part of the look of the day. Do they do a fabric that is flatter with less raised padding?

What do they look like? Do they mount behind the 'holes' in the rear side trim panels? My '74 260 doesn't have them. FWIW, digressing here sorry - I think my car was sold NZ new without even a radio, as there was no antenna when I bought the car in '84, just an aftermarket stereo retrofitted; I had to later form an antenna hole in the correct location measured off another car when updating the sound system. Would the factory radio have used the same speakers as the factory radio cassette? Anybody know?

FWIW, 260 struts vary. Early 260s had struts like the 240s, whereas later 260 ones were shorter & larger diameter on the front, different again at the back.

Yep I had one in my R200 diff shear many yrs ago, result was that the gears carrier would slide & contact other parts, lots of metal filings inside; replaced unit with another from a parted-out low mileage 260 as was way cheaper than having original diff rebuilt. Don't know why it happened, I hadn't been rough with the car in the 12 months I'd owned it, but maybe a PO of which there were many, was.

I've got one up here in Brisbane, but given size & weight probably too expensive to post.

And does the OP realize that there are both 2-seaters and 2+2 seaters in the 260s? Unlike the 240 which is 2-seater only. The 2+2 has a different roof line to accommodate the rear seat, and is a little wider across the back than the 2-seater. Actually the two models are completely different from the windscreen back. The 2+2 cars are far more numerous than the 2-seaters, and can be had a bit cheaper.

So were the Z31 seats a bolt-in? Any clearance issues? Interested because I'd like to use substitute seats for the thin factory shells in my 260 but it only seems proper to use Nissan seats not some other brand.....

Well, for the right money I might be persuaded to part with my '74 260Z 2-seater, owned for 29 yrs, but been in storage for a decade now. As per my avatar but with a black bonnet. Contact me via email gilltech@bigpond.com & lets have a chat if you're really serious. I'm in Brisbane though.

Thanks for all your input guys. I've now got hold of an old 215/65 tyre so will get that put on to a factory rim & see how it looks, as dat2kman says rim might be borderline narrow. Failing that I'll go with a 195/70, hopefully there are still 'performance' tyres available in 14", Tyrepower list a couple. Many thanks!

Thanks for going to the trouble on my account Triptych, much appreciated, yes they do run rather close to the spring perch.....I would have expected more clearance. Whether the springs are lowered or not wouldn't make any difference would it? Unless you've moved the spring perch..... Looks like I'll have to try a 215/65 tyre on a factory rim myself.

Thanks Tony, yes I can organize a test fit if necessary. I've got a set of bare factory 14" rims & want to put tyres on them, that's all. Just thought I'd ask if any other 260Z owners still run 14" & if so what tyre size(s) suit.

Does anyone know from experience if a 215/65x14 tyre on a factory 5.5" 260Z mag wheel will have sufficient clearance to the front spring perches etc? If OK then that gives me a couple more options - very close to the same rolling diameter as the usual size 195/70x14 - as the 14" tyre range is rather limited these days. From what I can deduce I don't think a 5.5" mag wheel will suit anything wider than 215 in any case. Feedback on this query would be most appreciated. I've dug back through previous posts but all the chat seems to be about larger rims & what max will fit under the guards!

Nah, Option 1 looks correct as the way they were with '70's technology; Option 2 just looks wrong like it hasn't been fitted properly.

Well, I'm up in Brisbane but if you get stuck then I have a spare pair of 260Z strut legs. I just sold the hubs off them & posted down to a Zed owner in Vic. To give you some idea they weighed 6.5kg which cost $20.20 parcel postage. If you're interested I'll dig them out, photograph & weigh them & get back to you. My email: gilltech at bigpond dot com Cheers, John