fly-s30

Nice! Can you get close up of what you have done? Soooooooo....then console fits fine then? Woot!

Could that be an early vs late 260 change or even an option? The old console in the pics actually came with a lid but the locking tabs aren't existent like the 280z images, so I figured it was an aftermarket add-on and so wasn't worth mentioning. The car this old console came from was a 12/75.

As promised RE: console http://www.viczcar.com/forum/index.php/topic,14324.msg151715.html#msg151715

Hey everyone, as promised this thread is to see the visual similarities and differences between an RHD ADM 260z center console and a LHD USDM 280z center console. Right off the bat the differences are obvious. There is a ~10mm flare added right around the lower section of the console, presumably to add a bit of necessary rigidity to the console, as most now show signs of warping due to heat, time, sunlight, so on. 260z 280z 260z no arm rest 280z With arm rest 260z Choke slot 280Z Choke slot with blanking plate: This is a poor fit, but can be massaged into place. This is good for those running Auto choke or EFI systems as the lever becomes redundant Ill let the rest of the pics speak for themselves Ashtray area: If you look closely the mounting points on the body forward of the shifter under the defogger switches/ radio fascia are are pretty much in line. The rear mounting holes were aligned in roughly their correct position to give this location. I couldnt find the bracket im supposing will be here to confirm that. Final location: Just a word of caution if you were to purchase a new one of these. The only parts that come with the console are the blanking plate for the choke, and the arm rest. Everything else needs to be brought over from your old console The last price for this was $US 164 with $US 60 postage to Victoria from ebay seller: http://www.ebay.com.au/usr/nissanofchesapeake?_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2754 The seller was really good to deal with, and allowed for combined postage. I had checked with other ebay sellers and none were happy to ship to aus. Please do your research to make sure it fits in your car 100% as i hadnt mounted it in any of those pics. In saying that, I have checked with local nissan dealer and this is NLA to Australia since the Jap tsunami; so this really looks like our only option if you going to replace the tired and twisted examples us aussies have. Kudos Darius

As the topic suggests here is a link to a tuning website that seems to have new L&R door cards for early(?) 240z in japan. The other stuff on their site is of interest too. http://store.speedshopkubo.com/products/detail.php?product_id=336

I have just finished reading your thread in its entirety. Mate well done! You have reset the bar on the level of quality one person can do, with persistent aspiration to achieve the best results possible. I certainly have taken heaps on board, and ideas that I have for my build have been confirmed and good to see in solid form. Thanks for sharing so far! Now I must demand video of the beast running with the exhaust!... please Regards Darius Edit: if your looking for heat shielding, this mob might be able to help: http://www.dci.com.au/performance

Yep I'm down! Either one

Good luck to you George! It looks like this is leading up to be a great start to a build. Waiting for chapter 1 of the build thread too! Kudos Darius

Howdy! Update time... Started the week(end?) by grabbing some Cold Reduced/Rolled steel in 1.2mm for the floor and seat mount rust repairs $55 later: I always get stuck into something, half finish...then the idea of taking progress pics comes to mind...damn... But i got tucked into repairing the forward seat support, and it came up well. Dummy install of the outboard support to measure the section required for repair after being cleaned up, due to a previous owners shizen rust repair. That made the leg of the support too short to be reused after it had to be removed to be able to replace the floor pan. Inset piece measured and cut: Plate section inserted: Finished article: Now snooping about o the net has it drawbacks...antisocial behaviour, isolation, lack of sunlight yadda yadda yadda...but the up side? New OEM original LHD 280z center console delivered from the U.S of A I took a gamble on purchasing the center console by eyeballing some 280z consoles from images, and comparing it to that of local RHD consoles for the 260z Seeing the hand brake location hasnt changed on either platform and after seeing that the trans tunnel area is rather symmetrical; I went for it. Damn its nice, clean...new Fingers crossed as i have yet to dummy fit it up. I will post up pics once mounted. Part number 96911-N4725 On the SR side of things i went and picked up some parts for the shift lever as the gearbox never came with any of the shifter assembly parts. Parts were a wave spring washer # 32876-03G61, and retaining snap ring #32204-V5004 Bolt #32152-89F05 is NLA from 2011. Ill have to get something similar. Stay tuned for the next episode: Inexperienced restorer goes rust hunting. "It'll be riveting i tells ya!" Ahem Darius

These look similar to the reference shots: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Datsun-240z-Drivers-Side-Door-Mirror-1970-1973-NEW-OEM-/281329836231?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item418090a0c7&_uhb=1

^ Damn! not bad Thriller! Gav, i agree on the diversification side of things; and would be great to see but that would have downsides, namely....Aus...Z..car, its in the name lol If diversification was planned, could i recommend to have the core structure around the L6/ L4 then subsections on body style, how to section, and then if you wish, other marks. Basic engine specs, user observations on local and export model variations and years, small things like decal placement, mirror location, sound deadening? standard colour selections with links to see that colour on a painted car not just a colour tab...yadda yadda yadda I personally believe that the classic chrome bumber japanese cars dont have stout coverage in Australia, except say 1200, 1600, zed's, celica's rotors and so on. Lesser models tend to get pushed to the wayside, end even once proud cars such as the prince and 240k's get minimal coverage. Having an Australian site much like japanesenostalgic.com may well have a positive effect (if it has the user base) on local enthusiasts to build and share their experiences and bolster the ranks and keep our old cars on the road. The F.A.Q is a really good idea, and would be a good go to for nubes. Maybe having a "initiation" for nubes, if thats at all possible to funnel them through the F.A.Q list, and basic site introductory thing (much like a workplace induction) may save from asking repetitive questions. Im guessing this must be in the form of a mandatory checklist...didnt tick box here, here, and here, so potentially doesnt understand site. dunno. ZZZZED totally agree, am a big fan of full sites, even on mob, but more mobile compatible photo upload would help in that regards for this particular site and this particular user My 2 cents. Darius

Thank for sharing your ride, it looks great in the blue, plu the wheels and flares tops it off! Well done on a good purchase. Also what are you planning on doing to do to retain the flares? Nutsert? Rivets? Double sided tape?

Great work and your plans to aim for a modern rebuild is great to bring the old girl in line with todays standards of outfit and electrical intergration. Hats off on the CAD of the gauge in your earlier posts. How did this go? Kudos Darius

Yep got me in! Good video, good quality too! I adore that dash and its details, thanks the link but now I'm stuck on a mental loop...

Stainless does that as you have already found . Either bracing prior to welding or block tack in place with packers to maintain dimensions. Either way when dealing with 1.6mm stainless nothing is guaranteed. Tucked for the win!

Update Its been close to 3 weeks since I've updated, and the holiday period was put aside for the 260. Now that the rails are parallel, the next item was removing dints from the under cabin rails. This was a slow and tedious process, and took over 4 full days to complete. I'm glad its done now, but i don't want to have to do it again. Whilst working on the belly of the beast i noticed surface rust under the passenger seat mounts, and under closer inspection i found the previous owners repairs were really substandard. Essentially, not even a steel cutout and repair, just a patch plate over the existing rust, and under the forward mount, next to the tunnel its a 3 sheet sandwich!!! This means that new steel will be bought and a fresh floor made up. So out came the tools that my dad made up for the task: From the left its a spot pin punch, 2mm drill on a long shank for locating the spot cutter, a 8.3mm drill but fahioned into a spot cutter, and a punch to separate the two sheets once cut. Closer one of the spot pin punch, what you will notice is that this has a square shoulder on it to locate the punch in the weld depression: I found this tool and "the body shop" Its a flanging and punch tool, and i believe once underway this will come in handy with the new floor install This is what i saw down on the floor pan: The rear seat frame: Close-up of the inboard rear seat mount In lighter news a package with my nae on it came knocking on the door, this was a welcome delivery from japan courtesy of RHDJAPAN.COM This website was a good tool to help with OEM nissan parts and aftermarket parts, and can be quite cheap on some things. The turn around was about 2 weeks, and this was in the middle of the easter period, so ill say thats pretty good. RHD is an excellent source for modern jap stuff, not so much earlier models, but you can be surprised. What i got was a s15: URAS 6 speed solid shifter, and CUSCO engine mounts. The mounts are a beauty to look at, captive and well isolated on 2 bushes. Its a really well made unit. The solid shifter is good to get the final height of the lever location, plus it doesnt have a rubber isolator, which is a bonus if it needs to be bent. The mount speak for themselves as i cant start the engine install with out these. Family shot together: Now just the mounts...pose... Today is the start of the floor cutting, and what the plan is is to make it in 2 parts; the first being near the chassis rail inboard to the tunnel in 1 piece, and the second piece being the part that extends to the inner sill. Remember this in on a 260z with a non flat floor pan. The only saving grace is that this side is that the repairs are on the passanger side which doesn't have a rail with different flange lengths. I have an idea in mind on how to make it, and this will require a pan folder and a bit of sectioning and development... aka CAD...aka project Binky he-he. So stay tuned, ill let you know how this turns out! Peace out Darius Edit: sorry im struggling with imgur and all this photo upload stuff, but its sorted now.

Half inch is nothing really! Score! you won't have any probs with hitting it in real world scenarios. Again well done on the system and hats off to your project as a whole, there is a really good thought process that has gone into your build.

Job well done! BMW themselves couldnt have done a better packaged system. Just a few questions; where is the lowest point of the exhaust oo the car, my guess is under the diff? if so how much lower is it than the chassis rails? Cheers Darius

Yep i checked it out, good work! Really drives home how much work we have in our garage. I checked out your mounts and it looks like your very fortunate to simply use the stock crossmember as a mounting location. On a side note, it looks like the facebook page is a really easy tool to visually see a build in process; unlike threads which demand one sifting through pages. Thanks for the offer on JTR,but ill have to kindly decline. Peter, your spot on with this one. I have been toying with the idea after getting recommendations from several users. Though for my application, with the club/ historic rego scheme (Victoria), I was under the impression that an engineer is no longer required as the car is inspected by the club signatory. On the plus side (for the engineer) there is always the ability to get full rego, and insurance.... Feel free to share your experiences!

Thanks for your reply! Im interested to hear more about your engine conversion. Were your engine mounts welded to thechassis rails or bolted in? Im asking because for my conversion, im going down the path of bolt in engine crossmember and installing crush tubes as internal supports, with the bolts going in vertically. Cheers Darius

Welcome! Thanks for the good news! I think the first question would be when can you start? joke But seriously, the details we would probably need are: Are these doors going to be made with cutouts for door levers, mounting bolts and replacement upper mounting rail? For those going the speaker in door route; can you make the speaker mount/cutout with provisions for other sized speakers, or are these left blank for the installer to work? Can you provide a link to the electric window install? Can you host images of your work to date? What would be the shipping costs to major cities in Australia? After all that, I'll take a fibreglass set with speaker mounts please!

I would like to open discussions to what experiences people have had regarding mods to their rails and the authorities like vicroads and or cops. This is either due to engine swaps or strengthening for circuit use but primarily for road use. Any of these mods engineered? If your on club/historic rego what where the limitations?

Sounds good!

Haha! Gold!

Yup, me too. Still down as of a minute ago...