Hi all!

On an impulse I bought a '72 Datsun 240c. My previous car (a white '94 Hyundai Sonata) disappointed me frequently. The last straw was when the door handle broke as I getting out of the car to look under the bonnet. The car wouldn't start and it was parked in an automatic car wash on my way to visit my parents (who bag me out if I drive around in a dirty car). After I pushed it out of the soapy car wash machine, I left it behind and caught a cab. Next day I found the little grommet that sticks to the back of the clutch pedal and drove it to the tip.

Anyway.

The 240c is very clean with 30k miles on the clock. Almost pristine interior and not-too-bad paint. I've checked for rust and I'm yet to find any. The first thing I noticed on test drive was a scratchy sounding rear left brake drum, but otherwise functioning brakes. I'll post some more and better photos soon when it's back from the shop... and that leads to my problem.

I've taken it in to have the rear drums machined and new shoes put it, but it turns out the drums are utterly cactus. I'm glad I took it in to get check out now rather than later, but I've run into a snag. It's seems than replacement drums are hard to come by. If my mechanic can't source new drums, are there other options? Are the drums from other models that'll fit? Does anyone have a set they'd like to sell?

I hate to jump into a forum and start begging for brakes, but I've been ghosting about here for ages. There's a huge wealth of knowledge in some of the other pages here so I thought there'd be no harm asking.

Cheers,
Snuh

Nice car!
Would have to be better than a Hyundai
I checked the Disc Brakes Australia cattledog and they don't list the 240C
That infers that you may have to buy genuine Nissan parts.
If you can post the diameter of them I might be able to find a suitable substitute.
Just about every other Nissan model uses the #1700 drum.

_________________
Regards, Graeme
Just trying to help...
http://nissanman.shutterfly.com/
graemes@internode.on.net

Thanks mate, I'll post some more details as they emerge. Fortunately I've budgeted for something like this, so modification/fabrication of a similar drum size is definitely on the cards. At the moment the closest I have to a garage is a strip of on street parking, which limits the work I can do myself. That and the lack of tools and know how
On the plus side, the blokes at UMR engines in Slacks Creek are yet to fault the engine, so i'm chuffed about that.

More to come!

Thought about a rear disc conversion?

_________________
Regards, Graeme
Just trying to help...
http://nissanman.shutterfly.com/
graemes@internode.on.net

I have, but I don't have any plans for performance upgrades as I'm happy to keep it stock. Forgive me for being naive, butmy uunderstanding was that the number of holes in the brake drum would match the stud pattern. This set of brake drums on ebay

http://m.ebay.com.au/itm/290362794314?c ... C&gxo=true

have 4 holes, whereas the 240c is 5x114.3. Am I missing something?

No, you are correct.
If the brake drum sits between the flange and the wheel, it must have the same number of holes as there are wheel studs.

_________________
Regards, Graeme
Just trying to help...
http://nissanman.shutterfly.com/
graemes@internode.on.net

Where are you located?

I know a few guys on the NZ forums have wrecked some 240/260c's.

I'm in Bardon, QLD. It's still in the shop. At the moment they are still hunting for the parts they need. They've got a pretty established business, so I reckon they'll have a better chance of coming across something. I'll definitely be willing to ship 'em over if need be. Thanks for the tip!

Hey dude,

What are the Max diameter measurement on the drums - ive got a few drums lying around here - both 230 and 330 model - they all have H190 diff's and should be fairly similar.

The measurement should be stamped on the inside somewhere - otherwise have the shop measure them for you and ill try get some that are smaller (less wear)

Cheers
Brock

Ps - one very cool looking car

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Currently own...

B210 120Y Sedan - FJ20ET Race Car Build
H230 Wagon / Van - LD28 Turbo powered - restoration to start

Hi Brocky,

Thanks mate! I'm dying to get her back on the road. I spoke to the mechanic today and got the dimensions:
Inside diameter: 240mm
Outside diameter: 285mm

It's a 230 from what I can tell. I'd be super keen to get a set of drums off you if you're willing to let them go! Let me know how much you want for them. I've had a very very hard time locating anything in Brisbane. Which is fair enough I suppose for a 40 year old car. If you have any ball joints I'll take them off your hands too.

Cheers!

Your only chance for drums will be second hand (typically from a wrecker), or importing from Japan possibly. Doubt there is any old stock but you MAY get lucky. Finding parts like this is the trickiest thing with these cars. Hope the NZ guys can help you out. I'd guess 330 series drums would be the same although I can't say I'm aware of any at wreckers currently.

Worst case scenario you could do a disc brake conversion, and the easiest one would still require access to a 430/Y30 Cedric.

Welcome to the forum, cool 230!

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1973 H230 Wagon, 'ILL-260'
1975 911S Targa
1978 Torana Hatch
1999 GXE10

All good - i found them today - ill take them into the drum brake machine guys i know and see if they are still in spec - sorry for the delay.

_________________
Currently own...

B210 120Y Sedan - FJ20ET Race Car Build
H230 Wagon / Van - LD28 Turbo powered - restoration to start

That's awesome news Brocky! , let me know if you need any more info.

I did see a diff with disc conversion on ebay
Not sure if it's still there

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1976 260C Coupe- Colour TBA

I checked on ebay and I couldn't find it. Found a rear LH wheel cylinder on import monster though. I'm not sure if these can be easily replaced with a similar part though. The 240z rear wheel cylinders seem very similar