gilltech

Yeah there are a number of them in NZ, so check out that market too.

Peter t, what condition are the rims in? Garks, gutter rash etc...

I had my screen replaced under insurance (can't recall who by but it was an Australian made item apparently), but was disappointed in it not having the slight overall blue tint of the factory so it's typical glass slight greenish tinge I think clashes with all the rest of the car's glass. Does anyone know if the factory blue tint is available?

Exactly as Gareth.J says. Always use sealant, plenty of it, seal to body & seal to glass, non-hardening type, & allow for plenty of messy clean-up afterwards. And use a second person to push the glass in as you work the seal over the body lip from inside.

Scottz, sounds like your car was originally a Japan home market late-spec L20 Fairlady sometimes referred to as a '200Z'. I've seen quite a few of these cars in NZ, brought in by importers there during the late 80's as part of the flood of used 'Jap imports'. Many succumbed to rust, but some survived & were typically re-engined by their owners with L28 motors, the original L20s being a completely different engine incompatible with the L24/26/28 series. The 260s were replaced in '75 in the North American market by the 280s with fuel injection, due to emissions regulations as I understand it. Europe got the 280 as well. The 260's continued in other markets in carburetted form. I've got my original NZ-new '74 2-seater manual, & also 1 each NOS USA-market '73 240 & '74 260 manuals. The NZ & USA 260 manuals are quite different.

You should be able to find a pair of cranks somewhere in the USA, most of the Zs made were sold there. Bear in mind that they are 35-plus yrs old now, so unless you happen across some new-old-stock somewhere then you'll have to obtain used. What year car? 240, 260, 280, 2-seater or 2+2?

Yeah the ZG has quite a 'busy' exterior what with the flares, bobtail etc, so understandably the sunroof will go. Can you get hold of a replacement roof skin panel? Would be handy if that firm in the USA or Thailand or wherever that makes the replacement bodyshells for 60's Mustangs & Camaros etc tooled up for Z shell components. Roof skins, RHD firewalls, rear panels for starters. But of course there would have to be enough demand.

Could be. But I'll be keeping my sunroof when I eventually restore my car, as for me it's a needed improvement.

Stirrer! Ah, but did he in actual fact design it? Now that's another debatable topic.....

Why should it date the car? The car, & sunroof, are contempory products of the 70s. Why should it lower the car's value? Only to the fussiest of collectors, & he'd want everything else factory-issue too; & no faking to a different S30 model included! (Don't take that personally, I'm a great fan of the ZG look as you are). The roof lining panel doesn't sag, in fact it is better supported by the sunroof frame lip. They can leak if the closing clamp weakens, or seal perishes, but those can be attended to. Agreed a breakage could be a problem..... Personal taste; some like their S30s factory plain, others like all the period add-ons like spoilers, flares, bob tails, wide alloys, etc etc etc. Looks like it's a 50/50 split thus far!

FWIW I have what looks like the very same sunroof in my car & I wouldn't be without it. The purists will cringe but I had mine fitted back in the early '80s after agonising over doing it for a very long time, & I certainly haven't regretted it. It transformed the black dark interior with more light, the interior feels less claustrophobic as I'm tall, & best of all the ventilation is much improved as my early '74 2-seater doesn't have AC. And I think it looks perfectly fine. First thing I do when I get in the car is pop the sunroof up just by habit. As to whether the car is devalued, why? Are you building the car for you or sale to some future owner who may or may not care either way? I say keep it & have voted as such! The very best of luck with your project.

Rockhampton is getting a lot of mention on the main networks, as are a number of other cities & towns. Also Lockyer Valley, Ipswich & Gold Coast, plus northern NSW too. Our thoughts to all those under seige by weather events.

peter t, Mine's installed on my car but I think I could pop it out & unplug it without too much drama, just don't want to have to remove the console as I've only just installed it which was a bit of a PITA! But if you get stuck then let me know, happy to help. I'm in Brisbane but north-side. My car is an early '74 that uses the square beige-coloured plug, the type you need to see I think. I also have a spare switch from a '76 car which uses the rectangular white plug, by way of comparison. Cheers, John

Looking good! BTW I grew up in Wgton, got to know the Kapiti Coast area well. Personally, having owned my only Zed for 28 yrs now, I much prefer my Zed with a sunroof, it's way more fun to drive than others I've driven without one. Much less claustrophobic; ventilation is vastly improved; & cabin benefits from improved lighting especially if the interior is all black as mine is. I'm sick of hearing all the negativity towards them, it's a personal choice. The only downside that I consider valid is that over time the 70's era clamp-shut mechanism tension can ease off so that the glass panel might pop up at speed, but that can be corrected. So I'm with you zrevival.

The hazard switch plug only connects to its matching opposite, as all the plugs in that area of the loom differ in shape so colour coding isn't strictly req'd. peter t your eBay switch will be USA spec, their wiring loom was more complex & lighting arrangement differed. Can you borrow a local spec switch from someone & use that as a guide to amend yours? The wires can be tracked at back of switch.

Makes sense. Maybe keep them & duct air downwards to the brakes instead?

The R180 is lighter than the R200 for starters. FWIW many many years ago I knew a guy who regularly raced his 240Z in club competition & with R180 & R200 diffs being difficult & expensive from dismantlers back then he just used a succession of R160 diffs (out of 180 or 200Bs I think), at least they were dime-a-dozen therefore cheap & expendible. He just put a new one in every so often! But then his car wasn't modified for much more power.

I'd always thought they were deleted after the last of the '76 models, at the same time as other changes were made to the '77-on body shell. I don't really understand what their purpose is in any case, they surely can't shift enough air to actually do much of anything?

I think all the Australian & New Zealand market 240s were in mph, unless the very last ones were metric? but certainly the 260s - '74 to '78 - were all metric (we didn't get the 280 motor you north american blokes got). White on black background. I've seen various Z cars that have been imported as used cars from other markets, such as the UK, USA, Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, Philipines, Europe etc, & the type faces do vary somewhat.

FWIW an R180 fits in place of a factory 260 R200 installation using longer studs & some spacers - I've done it yrs ago as a temp measure to keep my car mobile until a replacement R200 came available - but not the reverse obviously. I recall having to slot the R200 moustache bar diff rear mounting holes slightly to get the studs through, & that reversing the bar wasn't going to work with the driveshaft. My manual 2-seat 260's R200 moustache bar is slightly dished towards the front of the car, curled ends facing forwards. I also have a spare just the same, which came out of a manual 2+2. Auto equipped 260's typically came out with R180s, so the bar must be deeper dished?

+1 dat2kman - leave diff mounted as far back as possible & alter driveshaft if req'd; early Zeds notoriously suffered from vibration & shortened-life halfshafts, this was corrected by the factory in subsequent years.

Yes I have a spare 260Z speedo & tacho set, came out of a 2+2 about a '76 model as I recall, a lowish-mileage car that was parted out to make a race car not due to an accident. Speedo is in kph not mph. Typically I had hoarded them away as spares but realistically I'll never use them so am happy to on-sell them, I'm in Brisbane but can post out if required. I also have the clock from the same car, but not the other two small gauges. Send me a message if you wish to proceed. Regards, John

I bought a set from a NZ importer via TradeMe about 5 yrs ago, cost then about 700 bucks NZ$$$, origin was from the USA. Dunno if he's still around? None of the sets then available in Australia included the quarter window seals, so actually weren't complete sets, & some bits like the door seals looked far too generic to me, just as some others have already found to their disappointment. I'd get a set in from Motorsport Z Auto in the USA, tougher with the exchange rate I know but it's not worth trying to save 200 bucks & ending up with an installation that is quite unsatisfactory. Rubber stuff for car resto work is never cheap if it's any good & that is the fact of the matter. BTW Motorsport Z Auto currently have their summer sale on until 21st Jan, so would be worth a look.

Ditto I'd be keen for one of those should you get to it, my early 260 is the same as the 240 one. Mine's dented & out of shape so I'd rather replace it entirely rather than fix it. And I wouldn't be too fussy about the exact shape of the slots at the back, either, they're mostly covered by the radiator.

Road testers at the time dubbed it "Japan's first supercar". 1967-70, just 337 I think it was produced. Awesome to see one in the flesh Mike! I've heard that there used to be about a dozen or so in Australia, but all have by now been sold to overseas collectors. I think they command around 400 grand these days. Looking forward to seeing more photos.