My Swiss 1972 S30 240Z rebuild project

[Eagle_Adam]

Those are some damn sexy seats!!!

[JDMjunkies.ch]

Those are some damn sexy seats!!!

thanks man - i just HAD to have them :)

[JDMjunkies.ch]

I'm working on a huge post about Z Factory transmissions and options but i decided myself i rather get some physical work done on my transmission. The goal is to check the state of my original FS5C71A factory five-speed (non-US-spec) and then decide if i'll stick with the stock transmission or switch to the FS5W71C transmission from the S14.
So this is how i started on saturday:

 

Decided to give the transmission a little cleanup with some engine cleaner first:

 

Then drain the transmission oil before proceeding to avoid a huge mess in front of my garage:

 

The magnetic Oil drain plug has surely collected a few metal-pieces showing some wear to the transmission:

 

Then the sthifter stick pin had to be removed from the gear-selector rod:

 

Next was to get the flange-connector of. Was quite a bit tricky without air-tools but a trusty hammer, a big ratchet and 30minuts later i was able to remove it without any damage to anything or anyone :)

 

Next i removed all the bolts to the rear extension cover. Note the smaller bolts on top and bottom and the larger ones on each side.

 

Before proceeding further i thought it might be a smart idea to remove the reverse switch as well:

 

Then i carfulle hammered the rear extension housing off using a wood piece to prevent damage to the housing:

 

So far it looks promising. wasn't able to find any damage on the gears but as soon as i have the clutch bell housing and the front cover removed and all gears are visible i will have a collegue of mine check through all the gearing, synchro rings and so on. Will get the covers repainted and all the seals replaced.

[JDMjunkies.ch]

So before i went to vacation i ordered a lot of stuff from japan and elsewere and when i returned two days ago i had a load of boxes and envelopes waiting for me. that's how returning from vacation makes fun :D So what was inside these boxes and envelopes?
A lot of reading material:

1) Brian Long's Fairlady Roadster to 280ZX book. Probably the most complete Z-book i've come along so far.

2) Original JDM HS30 sports option parts catalogue

3) Original JDM sports option parts catalogue 1979

4) Japanese S30 Fairlady Z Complete book, by "Nostalgic  hero" Magazine.  Basically a small Mook that includes scans of all original japanese catalogues and so on. can be quite handy sometimes.

5) Original JDM Fairlady Z Sales brochure

cool thing is if you unfold it completely and turn it around it's a Poster of a Fairlady Z :)

6) JDM Service manual for HS30, PS30, and S30

7) Only Z Book (Japanese). Probably similar to 1) but in Japanese, tons of informations about Z's with many spec-tables and so on!

8) then got the JDM Parts list for the S30 on a CD. already have an other one as PDF file but this one is searchable so probably more handy...

9) Now to the non-readable parts :D Since i decided to go the Subaru-R180 route differential was wondering what adapters i should use. Wolf creek, Beta motorsports or some others. until i figured out that Kameari makes them for the same price with import and the somehow look a bit more appealing and more OEM to me with the darker material used and so on. and then it's Japanese too which i always prefer for personal reasons :)

10) and since i have a passenger seat now for the Z i also neaded a seatrail, and here it is :) 

[kneesamo]

 

 

 

 

I want that bumper!!!^^^^^^^^

[petercscherer]

I want that bumper!!!^^^^^^^^

Looks to me like you could make one, cutting the center from an OEM bumper, and lower it to the bottom of the bumper-guards, and re-attach. Then off to the chrome shop for refinishing!

 

~Peter

[kneesamo]

Looks to me like you could make one, cutting the center from an OEM bumper, and lower it to the bottom of the bumper-guards, and re-attach. Then off to the chrome shop for refinishing!

 

~Peter

The thought has definitely crossed my mind.

[JDMjunkies.ch]

i never noticed that bumper. looks strange to me. not sure what was the purpose of it - probably better cooling? :w00t:

[JDMjunkies.ch]

Finally i found some time to go back to work in the garage. unfortunately i wasn't that successfull. My goal was to completely disassemble the main parts of the 5-speed original transmission to check the gears. As you remember i have already removed the rear extension, so i started by removing all the securing bolts from the clutch housing:

Then it was easy to remove:

And off it is:

Next i removed the stopper ring on the main shaft bearing as suggested by the SR311 5-speed transmission manual.

Unfortunately i wasn't able to remove the gear xase for whatever reason. it will move slightly but it's somehow stuck. tried to hammer with a rubber and copper hammer as suggested by the manual but wasn't able to remove it without hammering too hard. any suggestions here? i'm thankful for any useful input :) 
BTW: rear extension is only put back to prevent the gears from damage during work ;)

[The Engine Room]

If you are sure that you checked everything else, push the trans back together and sand the edges of the snap ring grooves. The ring is hardened steel and it causes the softer shaft metal to flare where they touch.

[Doraemon]

Great parts you got there ! Will S14 gearbox fit L series engine?

[JDMjunkies.ch]

sorry, double-post.

[JDMjunkies.ch]

If you are sure that you checked everything else, push the trans back together and sand the edges of the snap ring grooves. The ring is hardened steel and it causes the softer shaft metal to flare where they touch.

 

ah you think there is an "extended" shaft stopper ring groove? this might be an idea. thanks for your input sir ;)

 

Great parts you got there ! Will S14 gearbox fit L series engine?

Depending on what version it will fit with more or less modifications. what you need is a "B-type" Bellhousing from the original S30 gearbox. check hybridz.com plenty of information on swapping to new gearbox types ;)

[JDMjunkies.ch]

Some exciting news! First i was able to finally open up the FS5W71C 5-speed Transmission. Turns out the reason i wasn't able to open it earlier was because had removed the wrong locking spring *lol*. Small part - big problem.
This is the one to remove on the main shaft bearing, not the small one in front of the bearing :)

Finally disasembled and ready for checking.

My unprofessional first check revealed that it's in quite good condition and no need for a big rebuild, but i will have a professional look over it and definitly will replace a few wear-parts anyway and have the housing repainted.

 

Even better news - I was able to source a complete NOS (New Old stock!) Rear quarter panel from the Z. It's the US-edition with the cutout for the rear sidemarkers but otherwise exactly what i need. Man i've never seen something like this for sale in the last years and it was a reasonable price too!!

It already arrived at my export agent and will be loaded onto the next sea-freight container to switzerland soon - should arrive here in about 6 weeks :)

And then i bought this so i have a bit of extra reference and documents probably 50% of the bulletins are about the S30 chassis or L2x Motors ;)

[kneesamo]

That's an awesome find!

[kneesamo]

i never noticed that bumper. looks strange to me. not sure what was the purpose of it - probably better cooling? :w00t:

 

You see that bumper on the old rally cars.

[kneesamo]

Like this one.

 

Historic-Marathon-Rally-Show-2015-Datsun-240Z by Benjamin Scott Cook, on Flickr

[JDMjunkies.ch]

It has been a while, i know. I'm still working on a few big things which need their time but you'll see :)  But i have some good news:
1) I had my original 5-speed transmission checked by a Pro. Aside from new seals and stuff it seems to be in outstanding condition and doesn't need a big rebuild. I'll keep the original one and sell the spare S14 transmission i secured a while ago. But don't ask me i already have a buyer :)

2) I got an update from the bodyshop on friday and hopefully more will follow soon :)
- The sandblasted and primered Battery tray got welded back in again (not completed yet):

And the finished area of the car got coated to be proteced from rust.

[Draker]

Keep it up! 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

I hate visiting my bodyshop guy because everytime i go there he reveals some more rust he found. But then again i love it because the work he does is clearle a work of art not many people in the world can do... But let's start from the beginning of t his week. He finally started to work on my car again and kept updating me with whatsapp messages about every step he did. Well most of them were more problems discovered:


 

Dents and cheap-ass unqualified rust-repairs everywhere.  Here's a closer look at the right rear corner. seems like it got a hit at some point:


 

He asked me to bring the rear lower corner valances and the rear panel today so he could prepare the rest of the repair and when i arrived there i was greeted by this. Jup- not much of the original car left :)


 

But the good news is as you look closer the dents in the rear area right from the taillights have been fixed and the area below the trunk lid has been fixed as well:


 

This was the patch panel he cutout below the gas lid:  


 

Here the custom panel is welded in. We tried to install the gas-lid today and it fit perfectly. Quite impressive for a custom-made piece! I made even more pictures but for some reason my camera lost them

Expecting big updates soon but as you look close you see there are still a ton of details to be fixed...

[JDMjunkies.ch]

On Thursday i was finally able to pick up the NOS rear quarter panel, which i found online a few weeks ago. I wanted to thank the guys from http://www.swissconnection.us/ for their superior shipping service and the seller of this item for his great support. Thanks!


 

Unfortunately it got a slight dent during shipping, but still a lot easier to fix compared to creating this complete panel from scratch and sheet metal :)


You can still see the sticker of the original Nissan Spareparts delivery back in the day:

 

Beautiful to see all these original welds and shapes. I guess my Car is reaching Concours level soon with all these originanal bodypanels beeing put together :)

 

Oh and then i got this from Japan. I asked hayashi to reprint an old catalogue for me with all the NLA Fairlady parts. they agreed but unfortunately we probably got lost in translation a bit and they sent me a new catalogue istead. well who cares still nice to have a new Hayashi catalogue :) 

[JDMjunkies.ch]

So here we go again. Last week i visited the Bodyshop to bring him the rear quarter panel as a reference for the other side he's currently working on and while there i had a little chat with him and a look around.  The rear quarter is coming along nicely and i love when you can see the rare and pure metalwork with all the bondo and stuff gone. It proves that the car is in brilliant shape after work is done :)

 

As you can see he also started work on the rear end. The bent rear lower panel was gone.

 

What you see here is the panel inside the rear quarter panel where the tank lock is installed. he makes a new one from scratch since the original is scrap.

 

Today i got another update. He also started work on the rear upper end (lower hatch area).

 

I thought at least that area was rust-free in my car, but iw as wrong. This is how it looked after the upper panel was removed:

 

My panel beater immediately started to create new ones from scratch:

 

And while i write this topic just some new Whatsapp messages with Updates dropped into my phone with some detailed view of the final panel in one of the corners from the lower hatch area. Before (top panel already removed):

 

Original panel cutout and rust protection applied:

 

Final Panel welded in. Still needs some details but already i think this is a work of art. cant wait to see the rest done. Hoping for more updates soon :)

[JDMjunkies.ch]

While i'm working on a big, new, exciting project (I'll post about it in a few weeks or months i guess) the bodyshop keeps me updated and has some nice progress on the rear end
1) The top of the rear lower hatch Panel have been remodeled out of sheetmetal and looks absolutely stunning. Raw naked steel. I have the NOS top panel which will be added, once everything is completed.


a closer look at the craftsmanship:

The lock mount and upper panel mounts have been removed, sandblasted and welded back into position. the red colour is just temporary rust protection primer:

On the new rear quarter panel the rear corner piece has been removed (for easier installation):

And been spotwelded into the correct position:

My bodyshop told me he h as some spare time at the moment and i guess there will be much progress over the next few weeks :)

[JDMjunkies.ch]

Recently i was bidding on some bigger parts on yahoo auctions in Japan and thought, while at it, why not order some smaller parts and get them shipped for free in the same package? unfortunately i didn't win the auctions on the bigger parts so i just ended up with the small bits and pieces. which are still good to have :)
1) R180 Differential oil seals

2) R180 differentil cover seal

3) Fine auto japan Polyurethane shifter bushings:

[JDMjunkies.ch]

Got a little update from the bodyshop. he started work on the LH inner hatch area.
Before:

 

After (Custom made panel from sheet metal):

Welds and corners still need to be smoothened out but otherwise it looks like OEM :)

Oh and got this book a few days ago: