New Zealand Datsun Club

Hi guys,

I'm a New Zealander that's been living in Melbourne, Australia for the last four years. I lived in Christchurch prior to moving and had a Datsun 1600 project (as pictured below). I always like to keep an eye on people's Datsun projects on this website - so I thought would add my current project.




The pictures reflect the state of the car when I left for Australia. I stored the car in my parent's garage with the intention of eventually completing it, but after a couple of years I decided to part with it. A guy from Hamilton purchased the car excluding the turbo and had planned on finishing it off and using it for some drag racing I believe.

After a year in Australia and having attended the Datsun Nationals, I wanted another Datsun project. I set my sights on finding a 240Z which I could modify to use for road and club/track events. After 18 months of searching I found a suitable candidate and bought a very original looking 1973 240Z which had been recently refreshed body wise. I was very tempted to complete the restoration to original, but I couldn't help but modify.

Here are some pictures of the car as I bought it:







My plans were centered on converting to a RB turbo engine to retain the 6 cyl heritage of the car. I thought the best option for me was a R33 S2 RB25DET so I found myself a halfcut from Japan via a importer on the Gold Coast.



The conversion began with getting the R33 engine and gearbox in the car. The actual engine conversion is not too difficult - change to a front pan sump and oil pickup to clear the crossmember (from an 200ZR) and new engine and gearbox mounts. There's no modifications required to the steering or tunnel, and amazingly the original shifter hole aligns perfectly for all movement.





Drivetrain: I use the R33 turbo gearbox, I have a custom driveshaft running to a R200 LSD from an R31 Turbo. The CV axles use the Z31 300ZX turbo CV's with a shortened centre shaft and billet adapter flanges.

Suspension: on the front there's sectioned struts converted to adjustable platform coilovers with Koni adj shocks. I use adj lower control arms and tension rods from Techno Toy in the US. I like these ones as they are adjustable on the car. On the rear are 260Z adj platform coilovers with adj Chromoly lower control arms. I still need to get front and rear sway bars.







Brakes:
15/16" 280Z master cylinder
Front - Porsche 4pot calipers with 330mm Brembo rotors. I managed to get them from another 240Z owner so they came with alloy adapters/hats to mount to 260Z hubs/struts.
Rear - Skyline R31 calipers and slotted rotors. This is common conversion as these brakes are pretty common over here in Australia.







Engine:
It's all stock at the moment apart from the front mount intercooler which can be hidden behind the front grille. They are a bit tougher on emissions over here in Australia, but I intend to put his car on a 'club' registration, and as it's also pre 1976 the emissions laws should not apply. I'm currently sourcing a front facing plenum to eliminate all the plumbing. Once the car is certified I'll fit the GT30 and external wastegate from my old 1600.















The wheels are 3 piece 17x8 Simmons FR.

Electrical/Interior:
Interior wise it's all original apart from the gauges which I've changed. I've rewired the whole car to a more modern electrical architecture. The next steps are to add a rear cage and race seat/harness (and a smaller steering wheel!).









There's still a bit of work to get it on the road, but it's very close to driving under its own power. Here's a link to a video of the engine running:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INrys74Z190

Craig

Welcome to the site Craig.
Good lokking datto you have there. I remember your 510 from years ago whan I bought a motor off you.

Hey craig, nice 240Z....where in Aus are you living now?
I have to say....im not a fan of your intercooler piping!....why do you have it like that?

Hey Dan - I'm in Melbourne. I've lived here the whole time since moving over due to my job.

I totally agree with you on the piping - it's purely like that to get it running and test a couple of things. I used whatever odds and ends I had around to essentially join it up to the stock plenum. As I mentioned in the post, I'm currently sourcing a front facing plenum which will eliminate all of the mess. I may need it there for certification if they don't like the front facing plenum but I don't think it should be an issue. I also didn't want to go too far with the turbo side piping as that will change when I mount up my other turbo and exhaust manifold post certification.

I can assure you it won't be staying like that once the car is on the road!

Welcome to the site Craig.
Good lokking datto you have there. I remember your 510 from years ago whan I bought a motor off you.

Thanks Bart - I also remember the L20 from years ago!

Hi Craig,

I'm Mike who had the 240Z on the Targa Tour when you did it in 2008 with your father.

Love the look of your car and you are doing a fantastic job. I take it those electrical bits are sourced from the Ford parts bin!!

Are your rear control arms the ones you can buy in the States or did you make your own?

Awesome Zed Craig!!
Will you be fitting a front lip??? I think you should......

Hi Mike - Thanks for the comments. I would love to do another Targa in the future. My parents returned to NZ earlier this year, so my Dad has been out doing a couple of local club 1/4 miles in his car. I noticed that you're selling your 240Z on trademe - what are the plans for your new projects?

Both the internal fuse box (R33 Skyline) and engine bay power distribution box (S13 180sx) are from Nissan! The Ford parts (as with most modern vehicles) are a lot larger and also have other integrated systems which make it near impossible to setup nicely in another car. Mid 90's Nissans offered exactly what I was looking for.

The rear arms are the older design from Arizona Z Car in the US, prior to them going to the Alloy ones they currently sell. I bought them from a guy in Melbourne who had them on his car. The weight savings are great, but they do have to be taken off the car to adjust which is not ideal.

Awesome Zed Craig!!
Will you be fitting a front lip??? I think you should......

Thanks! - I'm planning to go for a front lip and the classic rear spoiler lip once the car is all finished and on the road.

Hi Craig,

No plans for the next projects until the 240Z goes. If it does then probably the Datsun Roadster will be next as it is a relatively easy restoration, needs a bit of panel work and then a paint and then I can start putting it back together. The other 240Z will wait until I have plenty of time as that will be back to as close to original as possible and I have been collecting parts over the last few years to achieve that.

Sorry, my Ford reference was a bit tongue in cheek because of your employer. Interesting know what you have used though as if the 240Z doesn't sell then a rewire could well be on the cards.

That Arizona Z Car stuff looks great. It would certainly be something I will look at if I keep the 240 and decide to do anything else to the suspension. At the moment my thoughts are to make it softer rather than harder though, must be something to do with age!