Today i got a special package from germany with an old dusty “thing” The thing is an stand for microfiches for various datsun cars. I think this was never an official stand, but one that the dealership probably set up themselves: It includes 16 different chassis types plus a german price list from 1979: A closer inspection turns out that the S30 chassis microfiches which i already have are from a different date. Nice to have two sets 🙂 The 6/6 fiche btw, is from the GRLS30 btw. The second item i got is a rallye clock replacement oscillator box by E-ZA in Japan. The original one often fails when…

KFVintageJDM has been pushing out new panels almost weekly. i saw they now even released a whole damn reproduction rear quarter panel! Something many people have been looking for for a long time! One of the lately released parts are the inner rocker seatbelt mount’s. I’m  not even sure if i need those, but since they were available, i added them to the package. I got myself a partial firewall. I only need the lower section, which is quite messed up in my car, but thought it might be easier to have something to work with than make it from scratch: As you can see on the left the part…

This is the seventh part of a multi-post series about the (hi)story of Datsun, Prince and Nissan in switzerland.  Check out the other parts HERE. In this installment we have a look at probably the least interesting part of this all, but in my opinion still an important part of the Datsun / Nissan Switzerland story: Industrial service and commercial vehicles. This includes small trucks, Transporter buses, forklifts, pickups and much more. This story has two different starting points than the normal datsun / Nissan car business and is slightly complicated, because the brand names switch from Nissan to Datsun to Nissan again and commercial vehicles (busses, pickups, etc) are…

Long story short – i got a new panel beater aka Bodyshop to finish this project. He visited today to check out the car and panels and see if this project would fit into his schedule. Luckily he approved that the previous one did a good job mostly and he only needs to refine a few details. The reason i was looking for a new one was mainly the time. In the previous shop, the car spent more than 5 years with only half a side done and a lot of money spent, before i suddenly got a call to get my car back from the shop because he needed…

Good news. The Z project is back! Well it was never gone and i’ve been continuously working on it, but due to an management education i had on the weekend for the past two years, a big step forward in my job and many other things in life, the project was progressing much slower than i wished. But i’m a guy to make long-term plans and i’ve always had the plan to get things done when life allows me to. So here we are. My school is completed. Well i still have my exams in mid april so i’m working hard on that, but until then that and my job…

When i got my “west germany” Spec turn signals last week, i went through my own parts to compare them, and realized i have everything ready to assemble a nice pair of restored ones. A perfect task for a saturday morning. so i got everything ready and started the project: From the three complete sets i have, i realize only one of the amber lenses was still without cracks: What a difference a little cleanup in warm soap water makes: Then i cleaned the rubberpieces and chrome trim with a bit of warm water too and had the rubber seals greased up with a bit of petroleum grease (Vaseline) and…

Today i got an odd little NOS piece set in my mailbox. I found these turn signals a while ago in Germany. When i checked the part numbers, i realized the European Microfiches say it’s a “West germany” Spec part. 1x Left side 26165-N3600 and 1x right side 26160-N3600. This made me even more curious, so i got them. I’m not sure why they’re different. Must probably have been some local law or regulation (Similar to the french taillights), which required different blinkers. Here is a comparison of three different types. Left: West germany”.  It has a tilted rubber piece, for a more angled turn signal, and a long tail…

This is the fifth part of a multi-post series about the (hi)story of Datsun, Prince and Nissan in switzerland.  Check out the other parts HERE. In this post we take a deep look at the Datsun Suisse headquarter in Urdorf and how they were organized. Where did the new cars come from? Where were the spare parts stored? How did they operate? That’s what we answer here and i’ve got plenty of rare photos and internal documents to prove it all… 1. The Location. In April 1972 DSSA relocated from the former Location in Zürich (see part 3) to the new and bespoke built Headquarter in Urdorf , A quick…

This is the fourth part of a multi-post series about the (hi)story of Datsun, Prince and Nissan in switzerland. Check out the other parts HERE In this part of the story, we’re having a closer look at the inside of Datsun (Suisse) SA, starting from 1978 until it became the Nissan it is known today. The times between 1978 and the early nineties were quite a bit hectic and sometimes hilariously comical to say the least, but lets dive straight into it where part three ended. 1. The unfriendly british takeover, Octav Botnar & Silvio Cereghetti In the late 1977, a certain Mr. Octav O. Botnar, a german with romanian…