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.