Sorry it has been so long. I have had a bad case of the "Don't give a damns." Just to recap what is goin on here, I am posting up the log Tim is keeping about my "restoration," if you can even call it that. This should get you caught up with the latest "progress."
8/14/10: It has been over a month since I spoke to Jeff Sloan, and he still hasn’t come to look at the car, I'm going to assume he’s never coming and am moving on. Today I ground off the last few bolts holding the transmission tunnel in place and removed it. We took some measurements and it looks like the 240SX transmission is going to fit. The shifter will be about six inches further back than stock but that will make driving the car that much easier. We removed the driveshaft flange, the bolts holding the transmission to the cross member, the front cross member in front of the engine, and the bolts on the motor mounts. Now the only things keeping the engine in place are gravity and pig ignorance. We decided to postpone the actual removal until an evening so we will be in the shade while working.
8/21/10: Engine is out and on the floor next to car. Rear of “occasional seat” removed to access fuel tank. Lucas sending unit secured with six screws. Autometer sending unit secured with five screws. Not sure what to do about that.
9/11/10: Fabricated a new mounting flange for the Autometer sending unit.

7/9/10: Mom and I had dinner with Nadine and Willie Park, the source of the car. My guilt kept me from admitting that I am considering a Nissan engine swap. I did admit that the Lucas wiring is going away. I assured them that I am making progress, albeit slow.
7/10/10: The Prince of Darkness has been exorcised from Nadine. The only Lucas wiring left in the car, as far as I can remember, are the big cable to the starter motor and a single wire from the fuel level sending unit. The dash is completely out. The heater core is out. The wipers are out. All but three of the transmission tunnel bolts are out. The last three are so corroded that they will have to be ground off. I didn't report it at the time but the car will need new bonnet hinges since the existing ones stripped out when removed. With that in mind, we are now thinking that we will go ahead and put a “ten footer” paint job on it at the very least. I'm thinking red but John is concerned that the nose is too beat up for a “dark” color. Therefore, “BRG,” black, and dark blue are out. Yellow has been discussed but we’re of two minds as to which yellow. I'm leaning towards “Fly,” whereas John is pushing for “Pale.” I can't get him behind “Plum Crazy” though. I'm not feeling white or “Magnum Vanilla” but John is. Orange might be in the running, but I'm not sure. Guilt keeps bringing me back to “Nadine bought the car in red for a reason” though.
7/12/10: I have not heard from Jeff Sloan about his coming to look at the car. I am about to decide that since I am not building the car to sell, not to mention I don't have the $20,000.00 needed to make this a potentially $30,000.00 car, I will build it how I want it to be. If it turns out to be only worth $2,000.00 when I'm through, at least it will be on the road and fun to drive. Yes, that does mean a Nissan engine. I also like the idea of going bigger for more torque. I think I'm going to push for a fuel injected KA-24. We have the bits and the know-how. John is now on board for “Fly” yellow. I think if we don't go red, we will go yellow.

7/1/10: The fuel level gauge and sending unit did in fact arrive yesterday. Today was a slow day at work so I cut out early and had a chat with Jeff Sloan at British Automotive Specialist about the car. He, as a purist, was not on board with me “bastardizing” the car with a Nissan engine. He did not however have anything to say against the Hot Rod Wires harness. Of course he did not have anything to say for it either but I’m going to take it as not-disapproval. I promised that I would not do any bastardization until he has had a chance to see the car ans assess whether it is worth more to him as a “restorer” or to me as a “renovation” (bastardized toy). He has my number and directions to the shop so hopefully he will come take a look at it soon.

6/29/10: Hot Rod Wires wiring harness arrived. Will look at it on Saturday to confirm it is the same as the one in The Seven. Will begin the installation as soon as the Prince of Darkness, AKA Lucas Electrics, has been totally exorcised from the car.
6/30/10: Received tracking confirmation that the fuel level gauge and sending unit are on a FedEx truck to be delivered to the house today. I still need to make the final decision on engine choice. I have no faith that the Laycock/DeNormanville overdrive unit will function. Also, we cannot make the shifter do anything. These factors, along with my familiarity with the Datsun engines, are strongly influencing my thoughts.

6/28/10: Ordered a Hot Rod Wires 12 circuit wiring harness, 2 1/16” fuel level gauge, and universal fuel level sending unit. The harness is identical to the one in The Seven so I know it pretty well. Had given some thought to wiring the headlights to run when the ignition is on but with this harness it is no big deal to wire it up “properly.”

6/26/10: Worked on removing more wiring harness. Got very frustrated and decided that the Lucas design has got to go. (Six wires for a headlight dimmer switch?) I quit messing with it to prevent further damage to irreplaceable and/or sell-able items. Test fit AutoMeter 2 1/16” gauge in dash. It fit nicely. An AutoMeter 5” tachometer and speedometer ought to fit in their respective holes as well. So we’re now rethinking the stock engine. I'm leaning towards an L-20b or perhaps a Z-20.

6/12/10: Removed driver’s seat and finished vacuuming cockpit. Began the rewiring process. Have the old harness out up to the dashboard. Engine bay and rear of car are un-wired. Removed water pump to see what’s what. Removed wheels and two spline-drive adapters. Test fit 14” Datsun 280ZX six-spoke alloy wheels. They fit nicely and look good. I think we will go with them.