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Hi all my rear tail light garnish do not have the stainless steel metal trim on them that surrounds the rear tail lights. If you have either a custom rear end, or a racer, there is a strong chance you might have a set of rear taillight stainless surrounds? Anybody got a set lying about that I can use on the Hornet? I am trying to get all the little bits, and the main exterior one I need are these stainless trims for the rear garnish. drop me a PM if you have/ know where any are lying about. Cheers Adam

Hi Gong welcome to the site ... all the blokes are really helpful, and have all the clues, so you should find the forum a good source of info and there are some great events too. I am rebuilding a 71 zed known on here as 'the brown hornet' and I have found an e-bayer called 'reddat' to be very helpful, and he had loads and loads of OEM parts. The other guys I have used include Stockcuz, and Z-connection. I typically ask for a discount, and typically receive one as some of the prices are a lot, given most of the stuff are 40+yr old NOS inventory. Good luck getting the old girl back on the road.. for what its worth, I think those jellybean wheels and 65/70 series tyres look really great on the early zeds ... Lurch has some photos them on his earl red car. Cheers Adam

Does anybody know what clips / fasteners were used to hold the kick panels in the 71 240Z? I note there are two types available on ebay, the two piece type with the plastic pin, that is used to hold in the plastic panels, and there is another type of clip that is wider and appears to be only a one piece construction. If your original 240Z has kick panels, can you please help me with what exactly are they? As you can see, i'm putting in all the last little OEM bits to the brown hornet, and I need to know exactly what to get. Many thanks. Adam.

Hi Pete, can you please stick a photo of the 240Z ones that you have? I need one of the blade type switches that fits into the hole in the dash to the left of the steering wheel. I think it has 'FLASH' written on the actual switch. Cheers Adam.

Agree with Scoot. I am not a mechanic, but have some experience with these things. From my understanding, the best colour for your plugs is straw colour or slightly darker. These plugs are showing signs of oil, which is either warn rings, valve seals or both, and probably too much fuel. If you lean the carbs out, some of the mess might disappear, but this could be at the risk of cooking a valve or two. I would get the carbs checked for accurate setting, and maybe try an oil additive (such as Nulon or STP or other) to plug up the motor a little, or do what I did and go for a rebuild. Best of luck with it. Adam.

Hi Steve good luck with it .. that car looks virtually identical in condition to my car before the resto started. If you want some clues as to what / how we did my car, have a look at my forum; "The Brown Hornet". It has been an awesome task to get the car in the state it is now in, so be sure you are comfortable with your budget before you start. It might pay to do one of those metal / body work courses that I have seen mentioned on this site and others, particularly if you plan to do much of the work yourself. Drop me a PM if you have any specific questions. Cheers and best of luck with the resto. Adam

Hi All I have put the dash back in my 71 240Z and there are some cut outs in the place for the usual hazard switch holes, but I have not got switches. Can anyone tell me (Lurch or Allan I'm thinking you guy's will know) whether the 71 model Aussie delivered 240Z actually had a hazard switch, and where were they located (as in the top hole or bottom hole) and how did they work? Was it a switch at top and light below, or the other way round? OR was there just a switch and no light, or what? Lurch, given you have recently bought the 'new' red car, I thought that might still be set-up in its original format and you might know. Regards Adam.

Hi Lynton, Yes, as Mossy suggested that is a Nissan Compe 'handle' as they are referred to in Japan, and I bought it on yahoo Japan one night after several glasses of wine (literally!). I remember seeing one of these about ten years ago and I thought it was fantastic, and for a pure sport wheel, I think it will be. To me, it looks very much like the Momo Prototipo (see the Porsche 917 wheel), but ultimately is a factory shortened version on the original 240Z wheel, in leather patterned vinyl, as opposed to the 240's factory wood finish. The steering wheel was fairly used, and required a re-spray and tidy up. It cost me $680, delivered to Australia. With patience, and money you can still get them.

Thanks Gareth. On the headers... yes, Andy is still going to be doing the firing order set of headers, but given i've had a break and need to finalise with Nat before we move the car out, it might be a few weeks, if not a month or two to get the exhaust done. Not sure if I mentioned it, but i'm getting a custom 1 5/8" ceramic coated mild steel header, with 2.5" mandrel bent stainless system with mid resonator and rear sport muffler from there back. Yes, must say I have taken a little more than some inspiration from your car, its a monster! Cheers Adam

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Its been about three months since I went down and had a look at the Hornet .. it was a much needed break for me, and by bank account. Nat's been busy though .. and I took a few photos. The car is very nearly ready to be driven now. All we really need to do is complete the interior (seats are done), balance the wheels, add a battery and exhaust and the car should be right to go. A few more things like the correct length of door seal rubber, aligning the rear hatch, putting on the bonnet, and finalising electrics. Here's where its now at; 1) Selector is now installed with 4 speed gear knob (i will be chasing up a 5 cog number in due course). This was just done by gently heating and bending the rod back dramatically from the centre point, as was done in Lurch's red car. I have a photo with the console in place, and the car in 1st gear, to show how much room we have left, not much, but sufficient. The transmission feel is genuinely like a rifle bolt, given the tranny is rebuilt, and there are all new bushes in the selector. The shorter shifter feels rather more like an MX5 too, which is not a bad thing, 2) Dash is installed, including the magnificent Cali-clock from my very good mate Mike. All the dials have been disassembled, cleaned, and the lens cleaned. They really look impressive in the flesh, and like new, 3) The Compe Steering Wheel is on and looks just perfect.. Old School Fast look 4) All electrics are now operational, and the centre console is all connected, with new rods for the air vent and heater controls. The fascia is the original one, and is a little shabby, but does remind me the car is a 71 model, and not a 2011 model. I restored the side vents (with super fine steel wool that made them like new) but have yet to complete the middle vent, 5) Centre console fits perfectly, but will need the small holes drilled for the rear following my refurbishment of it last year, and we'll be re-spraying it in the correct 2-pack paint to ensure it wears better than the cheaper canned stuff that's on it now. I think it looks great, and given it was a busted up mess when I got it, it really looks the part, 6) Fuel lines are in, including elec fuel pump, and regulator (see photos). We went for a simple type single line and have not put in a return line yet, but should there be an issue with this, we'll add a return later, 7) New door cards are in, and they look brilliant! - still available last year so if you have the means, grab a set via Nissan while you still can. 8.) Seats are recovered, but as I was not happy with the tension of the fabric, they'll be going back to be re-done. Enjoy the photos. Shouldn't be too long now! Cheers Adam

Thanks for those comments Gents, appreciated. yes, I just wanted to keep in the loop. I reckon I might be able to get that exhaust done in Feb ,,,or that is my hope. We are doing a knock down on the house, so the Wife has finally taken control of me and the finances ... and NO she has not seen the bills to date ! Thanks Loui on the feedback, I think you are the only person other than me and Nat to have seen the car. I really love the colour, although recognise its not your typical blue, silver or red. Had lunch with a mate today who has a Jensen Interceptor in as new condition .. I asked him; "when was the last time you saw an 'as new' 240Z on the road"? he just shook his head and said the could not remember seeing one in literally years. I guess once its done, there will be a market for this kind of thing (and NO I am not thinking of selling - yet!) anyway, pop on by my forum occasionally, it might be going in the not too distance future !! Cheers all. Adam

in case you wondered... The Brown Hornet is sleeping under a sheet .. I am yet to have the exhaust made up, but its surely getting close. I needed a self imposed break! Adam

I bought a Swiss cheese 240z, despite being told it was rust free. My advise, unless you're a panel beater, or have heaps of money to waste...... Avoid really rusty Zeds! Life's too short!

Hi Lachie I had my car 'the brown hornet' shipped from melb to Sydney for about $700. The car was not a goer but did have a working hand brake which was essential. I had a heaps of parts inside the car too which was ok. Cannot remember the company, but there were literally dozens that were avail when I had it done, so no shortage of options. Good luck with it mate. Adam

Hi Gareth FWIW, James Flett made me get one of the Twin Idler's for my L24 hotty. Rationale was that with a mildly shaved head, its insurance for the rest of the motor, particulalry given the ease of external adjustability. They are not cheap (i think mine was about A$600) but with the A$ where it is now, you can get via USA for less these days (maybe $450 or so). It is an extremely well engineered part that boasts of being able to handle 13000rpm!! (presuming its even possible). If you are in doubt, call James at MIA in Sydney and ask him. On the rods, I note that James typically uses OEM rods for most of the L race engines, but he does do some work on them. Its also worth pointing out he uses new OEM rods, which gets to NZeders point about reliability. I actually asked the question at the time about light or titanium rods, and he said they are available, but at $2000+ a set and well up on that for titanium, its a huge investment for something that ultimately is not massively better than a well sorted OEM rod. My engine has OEM L24 rods, with some TLC lavished on them, that he suggests would handle ~8000rpm. Suspect i'll chicken out well before that.

Hi there, Does anyone have a tidy looking 240Z Jeco clock? I was trying to fix mine last night and completely cooked it. Pls PM me Cheers Adam

Hey Mike. Those seats look fantastic, and will make for a very rewarding drive. The reason I went for multi-point harnesses in the Hornet, was to stop me sliding all over the place .. something your very cool and very unique seats will do in spades. Well done mate .. keep the photos and info coming. Cheers Adam

and these., The last one is Derek Bell and me at a function last weekend. If you don't know Derek, he is a five time LeMans winner from 1980, having driven 917, and 956/962 with Jacky Ickx. If you have seen Steve McQueen's movie LeMans from 1971, Derek is one of the main drivers of the Ferrari's in the movie (who was almost incinerated in the car), and remained very close friends with Steve until the end. I won't go into all the detail, but it was an amazing night, at which Derek told many stories from the old days, including that of how he was chosen by the factory to test the 917 body configurations, that had him driving at 396kmh in the rain, with experimental aero packages! Pretty awesome stuff, if you're into it. If you want to see Derek in action, here he is at LeMans in 1983 in the 956. Top speed was 246mph, where he had his foot to the firewall for over one minute (at 0:31-1:34). This car was making 850hp, and weighed about 600kg.

Week 68... Not much has happened these last few weeks, but today I went over to Nat's shop to have a look at the re-skinned dash. Before we opened it I was pretty skeptical as i've seen some really poor dash restos before. On opening the package, this was anything but shoddy. The fit and finish is perfect, as is the way they matched the new skin to that of the factory finish glove box lid. Nat hand painted the glove box emblem too, and from my perspective, that looks excellent. We pulled all the gauges apart, cleaned them, polished the lens and re-assembled. Aside from the clock that is not working, all else is a perfect fit and to me looks factory fresh. We'll paint the centre console in the coming week or two, and with the new choke and throttle levers, the interior should start to look as fresh as the outside. I'm awaiting another shipment of parts from the US this week, which includes F&R strut top caps, and new gear shift bush, and a set of OEM exhaust/inlet man washers so we can send the car off to the exhaust place. Hopefully more to report in a week or so, when Nat will have the dash, door linings and maybe centre console in place. cheers Adam

Hi All For all you guys that have removed your hand throttle and choke assembly's, I am looking for a plastic hand throttle knob for the centre console of my 71 240Z. I have added a photo of exactly what I need. In this photo, the actual knob I need is the one on the right hand side, I have the left hand (choke) one. Note also, it has a screw in the side, so if you have the knob, its likely the screw will be there too. If you have one lying about the shed, or know where I can get one, please PM me. Many thanks, in advance. Rgds Adam

Hey Rev As a Father to two young Kids, the thought of anyone being cruel to them is not something I like to think about. As I can't make the walk, I have made a donation to the site. All the best with it, you have my support any time. Thanks for making such a difference. Cheers Adam

Hi There. As the header says, who is it on the forum that is selling the anodized vent pipe for the top of the rocker cover, so one can change the direction of the vent pipe? I have seen these in blue or red anodized finish and am interested in getting one to suit my L24. Cheers Adam

Thanks MaygZ .. As for the cost of the hand built 'extractors', that will be around $1200+, but then comparing to SWR's $1660, or importing a set of left hand side Stahl, it is OK for what I'm getting. The cost of ceramic coating is typically around $300-$400, then there is the balance of the system. If you want to save money, this approach is not the way to go, but if you want to maximise your engine's potential, then these mathematically modeled and calculated bespoke units are available. As for running off a few sets, I don't think that is an option (of course Andy will keep the design of my set), BUT Andy did explain (as did Nat later on) that inputs such as; 1) cam duration, 2) valve size, and lift, and 3) CR and detailed nature of the porting all go into making a unique set. Andy did say, that every 5 degrees of cam duration beyond a certain level leads to a ~1" difference in primary length. As for the mathematics, Andy uses his original text book from his mechanical engineering degree that was written in 1920 and applies to all engines. This specific book is also mentioned in "how to modify your Datsun Engine and Chassis", so its not just a load of bollocks, I actually know of this book, and can confirm it is what Andy is using to run his calculations. So I guess in summary, if you want a set of these extractors, then you'll need to build the same engine spec as the hornet, which I'm sure James' will be happy to assist with. I look forward to getting this thing done, and then letting you all know how it goes. Thanks for your feedback and interest. I just found this Video actually showing this scavenging effect of a set of 'firing order' headers for a Merc C63. Cheers Adam.