RESTORING IS A KIND OF ADDICTION

Where do you start and when do you stop? That’s the question, if you start taking something apart you can not stop anymore. The highest level Datsun 240Z restoration we do is an “as the Datsun 240Z left the factory”, every part, if you see it or not, went through our hands. We do everything to give all the parts the treatment it had in the 70’s. In this case it is extremely important to know how it was when new. Our collection first paint Datsun 240Z cars, our project Datsun 240Z cars and all the NOS parts we have to help us to create “Datsun 240Z cars as they left the factory”. Sometimes you have to compare more cars to understand which part was on which car. Most of the time it is very logical. It is always important to imagine how it was made to be able to give it the same appearance.

Light weight car

When the Datsun 240Z came to the market it was an absolute light weight car. Expect of the Z432-R all the first cars had an overall sheet metal thickness of 0,7 mm. And also all parts were made as light as possible. So repairing the body means you have to use the original thickness of the metal that was used for that part of the body. Repairing the body you can do in many ways. We prefer to do it in a way that you can’t see that there was a repair. And to use stitch welding so that it really looks like it came out of the factory.

Contacts all over the world

A lot of the knowledge we have comes from all over the world. We have contacts in the USA, Japan, the UK, all over the world with Z people from there. But real knowledge you only get by taking them apart with your own hands, and compare with other cars, and that really makes the difference for us. Doing that the car becomes like a puzzle. It really helps a lot that till today we restored or customized more than 50 S30’s, so there is already a lot of experience.

Availability of parts

Another big challenge at Datsun 240Z restoration is the availability of Datsun parts. Some parts are still available from Nissan, although the way it is plaited or produced is different. But depending of the restauration they can be helpful. If the original parts are still on the car we try to restore them. These parts survived almost 50 years and the build quality of the components on the car were very good. Parts like a brake master or brake cylinders have to be restored for an “as it left the factory” restoration. Aftermarket parts are available but quality is less and doesn’t have the appearance of original. We have started producing fuel tanks because they cause a lot of problems and they are not available, either original or aftermarket. In case you have an uncracked dash you are very lucky. A dash can be a bottleneck, a perfect replacement is difficult to find, and is becoming extremely expensive. Other solutions are a dash cap, cheap but always visible, a repair if the cracks are small or an aftermarket replacement cover. And so has every part its own story.

Datsun 240Z restoration: custom rebuild

Keep the shape and make it more to your own wish. An S30 is very easy to transform in a performance car. The total structure of the car can be reinforced with or without a roll bar and if you want to transform it in a performance car we can stitch weld the whole body shell to make it stiffer, a roll bar gives more protection and helps to make the car even more stiffer.

Brakes, LSD’s, transmissions wheels, driveshaft upgrades, engine upgrades naturally aspirated, or with turbo.In essence, we can build YOUR car!