Goodbye 240Z

After much consideration, I have decided that I simply cannot have two Z's in my life. Last week I put the 1972 Rebello 3.0L Stroked Datsun 240Z on Craigslist. Almost immediately I received some interested buyers, but none of which could fork out the $25,000 asking price. I arrived at this price for several reasons... mainly because I wanted to recuperate my costs, but as we all know, that is often not possible.

A gentleman in Atlanta, Georgia sent me an e-mail stating he was very interested in the car. After much price debate, of which we could not come to an agreement. He made the offer of just buying the body, without the engine, transmission, electrical, and differential. He made an offer I simply just could not deny.

So yes, you may have figured out where this is going. The 3.0L Rebello Stroked L28 will go into the Fairlady 240Z :) The Fairlady will receive the badass stroked motor with the 44phh Mikuni Carburetors. I will keep the '82 280ZX one eared 5 speed transmission as back up, as I think the Datsun Competition 5 speed is a bit more of a JDM cool factor. I will eventually swap the Subaru STi 3.9 Clutch-type Limited Slip Differential, after I purchase a set of sturdy Wolf Creek Racing CV Axles. This will insure that I never have to mess with the crappy half-shafts again.

All these mods are reversible, as I can always go back down the road. I also have purchased a Fujitsubo Super-Ex Stainless Steel Header to match with the Fujitsubo Legalis R Exhaust. I CANNOT wait to hear the Fujitsubo system, Mikunis and Rebello motor together!!

One last picture of the engine bay of the Rebello 240Z!



On a brighter note, look at this goody I picked up on Yahoo! Japan Auctions at 5am Pacific US time this morning!!




A super rare and early Nissan Fairlady Z/240Z 5 speed shift knob! To my knowledge these knobs came on non-North American vehicles only. It will be a great complement to the Fairlady's Datsun Competition 5 speed transmission. You may also notice that the body of the shift knob is a lot slimmer than aftermarket ones.

JDM exhaust fever :)

240Z.... Yahoo!

Just thought I'd quickly post this beautiful find on Yahoo! Auctions Japan. I love the perfect stand and bright orange color. The car has a huge list of mods, including some sweet Watanabe RS 15x9 and 15x10 wheels and a OS Giken Roll Bar!

See Auction at: http://page10.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/m78562982

On a side note, the Fairlady Z is pretty much set for the time being. I am, however, having small ignition/fuel delivery issues. Whenever I rev it past 4.5k RPM the car somewhat bogs... I am going to do some diagnosis this weekend, and if I can't find the problem I'll be bringing it to Dandos Automotive on Tuesday.

Few shots of the Fujitsubo Legalis R Exhaust

Lazy night shots

I had the front Rota RB-R's mounted on to 215/45/16 Falken Azenis RT-615K this weekend. Unfortunately these pictures were taken on Friday, the night before. Anyways, I thought the lighting effect was pretty cool so I took some quick snaps with my crappy Blackberry Torch Camera. I promise to get some Canon 40D pictures in soon!

Authentic Nissan Rear Wing & Fujitsubo Legalis R SS Exhaust

This weekend I spent some time installing an authentic Nissan rear wing to the Fairlady 240Z's hatch. It was definitely a challenge, as the installation required drilling and some rust prohibiting painting. I am very satisfied with the outcome:

Unlike the U.S. domestic BRE wing, this wing features the JDM embossed plate for OEM badges. I did my best after reviewing several pictures of Fairlady 240ZG models to identify the exact location of the factory badging. I had to wear a gas mask to prevent myself from inhaling fiberglass too! The wing was painted with Classic Datsun's (Les) rear tail light panel / hub cap gray paint. I really like this metallic paint since it is not too dark nor too light. You would be surprised how the repainting of the tail light panels and adding the wing have prettied up the rear of the car! :)

As you can also see from the rear, I installed a JDM Fujitsubo Legalis R Stainless Steel Exhaust and had the final tweaking done by Dandos Automotive. This exhaust is no doubt THE BEST sounding exhaust available for our Z cars. The small dual tubing through the rear leaves a very nice sounding tone, without sounding like a 70's truck. The exhaust tone is smooth through all RPM's, quiet at idle and loud when stepped on. It is quite a pricey exhaust I must say, and a PAIN to bring over from Japan.

Is your head working?

The Fairlady 240Z has been in the shop the last three weeks due to some head problems. One of the valves was almost pulled through the head, and a good amount of black gunk developed inside the cylinder head and block. My trusty mechanic at Dandos Automotive, Benjyee, concluded that it was probably from running bad gas at some point in its lifetime. The head was taken off and sent to a machine shop for regrinding. Unfortunately the machine shop, who quoted them 3 days, had spent over 3 weeks on it... and it had just finally arrived at Dandos a few days ago. The machine shop also failed to mention they were replacing the springs and rocker arms with new ones, which ends up being okay I guess...

Anyways here's my new spiffy toy :)

Datsun Competition Steering Wheel from Japan

These steering wheels were available only on special models of the Fairlady Z, Skyline, and other vehicles of the Nissan “Competition” production line. Nowadays you can see them ranging from 500-1000 US dollars for a used piece, depending on the condition. Often new and 10th anniversary editions reach denominations of 1500-2000 U.S. dollars! However, in the United States they are extremely rare… as they need to be shipped over from Japan.

I was lucky enough to pick one up here in the U.S. for a decent price, which is a rare treat (picture is not actual). I will update with the installed pictures once I receive this beauty. Unfortunately upon receiving the steering wheel, it had been rewrapped with leather at some point. The original steering wheels had some kind of urethane material as the handle, but this one was wrapped in a pretty good quality leather... so I can't say I am disappointed. The one thing that bothers me is that the leather goes too far down the spoke from the handle, leaving one spoke hole half covered. MEH!! I'll probably have it taken off at some point to check out the original material and see if it needs to be redone.

Here is also a few special items I will be putting on eBay. Please contact me if you are interested.

NOS Series I “240Z” Quarter Panel Emblems:

These were snatched off eBay a few months ago. Series I 240Zs (VIN < 10000) had these emblems placed on the quarter panels opposed to the vented “Z” emblems. Finding these emblems in metal is a real treat, not to mention NOS!!

NOS Series I Ignition and Door/Hatch/Glove box keys:

The one labeled “Z” is for the ignition switch, and the one labeled “NISSAN” is for the doors, hatch, and glove box. Series I cars have two separate keys whereas Series II cars have only 1 key for all locks. Super rare NOS; MSA sells Series II key replicas.