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1/12 Tamiya Datsun 240ZG


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  • 9 months later...
  • 3 months later...

Dave, Santiago, Bryan, Darren, Richard and Gary, thank you ALL ever so much for hanging in there guys. Your comments and enthusiasm is overwhelming and truly appreciated. :wub:

Well, after what seems like an eternity, work has begun again......slow, but it is work.

I picked up this handy little tool a few years ago and finally got to using it the other day. A tiny tap and die kit, from very small up to 2mm it caters for.

I wanted to make the front suspension a lot more solid than it was, the lower control arm had too much movement forward/backward as it was, so I turned a thread onto some 1/16 aluminium tube.

This enabled me to add a nut, front and back of the rubber grommet that attaches to the chassis.

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It all holds together much firmer now.

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Assembled the rear sections of the suspension and added some brake lines.

The tops of the struts have been modified (lowered the ride height by approx. 4mm) and done away with the Tamiya rubber grommets that locate them in the chassis.

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And all in it's proper location.

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The front struts also got the lowering treatment, plus a new set of strut "tops", complete with mounting bolts.

The disc brake calipers were glued together (halves) as I didn't want a visible seam showing, this lead to dramas when it come to mounting the calipers.....as the instructions call for them to be added in parts.

I overcome this by sanding off the original mounting points and adding some .5mm bolts, literally bolting them on, as a real caliper would be.

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Also got the wheels going......at last.

Only have 2 painted so far, though all 4 are now glued together. Gave them a coat of Tamiya Gunmetal and topcoated with a flat to yield a finish I'm happy with.

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And a test fit, blurry sorry.

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Thanks again guys, and I hope to have some more for you soon.

We have a Model Club meeting tomorrow where I hope to show the guys that I really do work sometimes. :lol:

Next weekend my Club is holding our second East Coast Hobby Show, an event we kicked off this time last year. Last year we successfully raised approx $1000 and donated a load of toys and games to a local Hospital's Children's Ward. Not a huge amount, but they (kids and Staff) really appreciated the gesture.

This year we hope to better our efforts as we have doubled the floor space and all allotments have been filled.

I'll be sure to take some pics at that too so you can all see how we go down here. ;)

Cheers

Greg

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Greg, this is a lot of outstanding and inspiring work.

I only mention this because like a few other builds on this site, you build could eventually be used as a "real or model" subject based on your current progress.... the edge bead on the wheels seems a bit thick as compared to what I've seen on full size wheels.

Have you considered making any adjustments/improvements to the wheels?

Oh yeah,...who makes that nifty tap & die tool ?

I WANT ONE!!!!!

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  • 6 months later...

Hey guys, hope it's not too late to drag this old build back out......

Figured I should do a re-update, seeing as how the forum had a small hiccup back around Nov-Dec last year...(server change?)

Guys, your kind words and encouragement are truly appreciated, thank you.

Kenny B., thanks mate, I'm pleased I've settled back in and have it on the bench once again.

Mike C., you are far too kind mate, I'm not so sure it would qualify for a "real or model" segment.

With that bead.....yep, good eye. Not sure what went on there....they do look better in person, or at least not quite so noticeable...if that makes sense?

The outers I used as masters didn't appear that bad to begin with... :unsure:

Ralph, Dave and Mike B., thanks so much guys.

This will need to be a multi-part update, as there is a good bit to get through.....

Some time back I had a mate in Italy hit me up for a dash assembly.

I figured with having 3 on hand and only 2 really started, parting with 1 dash will not hurt for now, so I packed it up and posted it off....

I knew I had a "spare" dash from an old abandoned build from eons ago, that one will do me.

So, once I finally located said dash, I soon found it was in way worse shape than I'd remembered...... Oh well, plan B....... lol

Out came the large Fujimi GTR box again. (doner for the motor)

Hmmmm....GTR motor, GTR dash. :)

Some careful measuring and checking showed that it would fit with minor tweaks....So it was notched for roll cage clearance and test fitted....

I also grafted on the tail section from the stock 240Z console.

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In the following pic, I added a plate to the strut tower tops.

This enabled me to mount the top strut mount some 3mm inboard, giving an instant camber adjustment, but also allowing extra room for meaty tyres....

The rear struts also received a makeover, and had some smaller diameter springs added, again, more tyre clearance.....

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Giving me the desired look I was aiming for....Too much camber? Nah, I didn't think so either. lol

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Continues.....

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After researching some more, I found a lot of these cars running aftermarket alloy radiators.

So, instead of gluing the two radiator halves together, I separated them with some 2mm stock and filled in all the gaps.

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Also knocked up a small overflow container for water and oil.

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Just a general test fitting session......Lucky for me, this also pointed out a few areas which need sorting some more before I'm done....

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Continues......

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Mate... thats looking very very nice.... what tyres are they ????....

P.S. ... think your model bench needs a clean ??? hahahah

Clean? Please explain............................... :lol:

Thanks Todd.

And this is my new favourite toy.......A good mate gave me these for my birthday last year.

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Complete new front lower stabilizers from ally tubing.

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Oh, also fabbed up a new dump pipe.

With some test fitting exercises, one thing become quite clear, I was running out of room.

The new thicker radiator squeezed things a tad, so the whole motor was moved back around 2.5mm.

New engine mounts were made, along with a new gearbox mount, and this then necessitated a new dump pipe. (it was now hitting the firewall....) :(

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Continues.....

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Oh Todd, these tyres are from the Tamiya 934 Porsche kit.

So it was getting time to sort out some electrical stuff.....off to the auto sparky I went...... :)

Cables for battery connections and alternator......

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Ground lead for battery complete with clamp and tiny screw connection... (what a pain that was...)

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The battery actually went through several builds along the way....I had this one finished and mounted, then it moved (glue came un-glued) when fitting it... :angry:

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Final build....installed....

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And lastly...I added a couple of water connections to the firewall, even though they will not be connected, I thought they'd add a nice touch.

Just to the upper right of them is the rubber grommet for the wiring harness to pass through.

I made an appropriate sized hole to match some heat shrink tube I had, heated it and squashed the end, giving a kind of grommet appearance. :lol:

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And that should do it.....More to come, once I figure out this darn wiring.......

Stay tuned guys and thanks for stopping by..

Cheers

Greg

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Thanks so much Preston, Ben, Ralph and Scott. :)

Scott, most of the small nuts (bolts too) I get from Bob @ ScaleHardware.

Sizes start as tiny as .5mm from memory.....most of the ones I use are .8 and 1mm. ;)

Cool, great resource bookmarked

Thanks for that, loving the build of your Z car, has always been one of my favorite shapes

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Thanks Scott, glad to help mate, and your very kind comment is truly appreciated man. :)

A "mint" 240Z is still very much a grail of mine in 1:1......whether I ever get one is an unknown...They are getting pretty high $$ for a good one down here in Australia. :(

I make do with having 4 of these things in scale for now. :lol:

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Thanks Scott, glad to help mate, and your very kind comment is truly appreciated man. :)

A "mint" 240Z is still very much a grail of mine in 1:1......whether I ever get one is an unknown...They are getting pretty high $$ for a good one down here in Australia. :(

I make do with having 4 of these things in scale for now. :lol:

So many gorgeous cars that I will never have, might as well make scale models of them

As a kid in the '80s, I can remember an orange 240z parked in our driveway friend of my brother owned it

It was in rough shape, leaked oil and had a strong gasoline smell....a diamond in the rough and I was smitten

Keep going on your build, loving every bit of it!

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