I have just pulled my 1972 240Z, of which I am the original owner, back in the garage to re-assemble for transport to Les Cannaday for it's rebirth (restoration). This has caused me to lament on the life of a car, an oddessey if you like. A car which has been part of some of the fondest of memories and some of the saddest of memories. I have decided to start a thread sharing the restoration and telling the story of the life of my 1972 Datsun 240Z. It will be a story of 4 years of the original fast and furious and 30 years of good intentions without results. Come along for the ride, if you wish, let me know what you think of the idea be it, in your opinion, trite or intriguing.

hello guys i m here because i like this one

Thanks Eugene, I have been working on the to do list. I was able to get the hood adjusted after reading a few post on the subject here. After returning the updated clock to Ron it now is back in and the quarts movement is working perfectly. I am still working on door adjustment, closing hard (any suggestions would be appreciated). Last night, first night cruise in the Z, when I put it back in the garage I noticed that the left front fender emblem had fallen off. I retraced my drive and found the emblem but it had been run over, very disappointing. I am looking for a replacement on ebay.

Hi Jerry,

What kind of door weatherstrip did Ron put on the car? Is it OEM, NOS stock weatherstrip, or aftermarket stock reproduction, or aftermarket with

generic profile?

I found NOS weatherstrip and welting for my car, and after installing, my doors were also hard to close. The composition of this weatherstripping

is a foam rubber type material and will take a SET, eventually. I loosened the door latches very slightly until the doors would close more easily, but

still very tight. I then used something like Armorall, or any other good rubber and vinyl dressing, and liberally soaked all of the rubber weatherstripping.

This not only lubricated the door/weatherstrip interface, but allowed the rubber material to be more supple and I immediately noticed an improvement

in the compression of the weatherstrip.

Although the door will gap a little for a while, if you repeat this process every month or two, tightening the door latches a little each time, you will eventually get the doors back to a flush profile with the body panels and the doors will thud like a Porsche. the warmer the weather, all the better.

If your weatherstrip is an aftermarket stock reproduction, a lot of these have a slightly thicker cross-section profile (sorry, I don't know which aftermarket product is the closest to stock profile) which will exaserbate the problem. If your doors close flush now, but with difficulty, and it is a foam rubber type of material, I think you will find that this will work well for you. I couldn't be happier with my Porsche...uh, 240z door closure thuds.

Let me know if this makes sense to you, Jerry.

Dan

Edited September 15, 201311 yr by AZ-240z

hmmm I jumped a forum somehow. ah I see, tried to reply to a page 1 post.

Edited September 15, 201311 yr by Mikes Z car

Dan,

I sent our a NOS set with the car. I will assume that Les used what I sent. I will try your process and see how it works. The door is binding on the weather strip at about 1 inch from closed.

Thanks for your advice Dan, I was getting very frustrated with the doors. I just took the car to a local cruise in;) and of course the Z was the only foreign car. I was amazed how the Z was accepted by the non-car owner people at the show. They liked the Z over all of the restored classic american cars and hot rods. I liked the turquoise Hudson myself:love:.

Hope It works for you Jerry. Is the weatherstrip the early style with separate welting, or is it the later style with the welting

and weatherstrip fused together in one piece? To see where it may be binding, sit in the car with a sheet of paper and concentrating

on the front part of the door opening. Place the paper against the weatherstrip, starting maybe at the top of the window frame, and hold

the door closed to the point it starts to bind and see if the paper slips out easily, or if that is the place it is binding. Do this progressively

around the front half of the door,weatherstrip interface until you find where it is binding.

Next, I would make sure that the welting is firmly seating on the body pinch-weld all the way around the door.

I am trying to remember another difference in early and late weatherstripping. I think that the one-piece, welting/weatherstrip combo,

incorporated a flap of rubber that covered the windshield post jamb area. If that is what you have, make sure that the binding

isn't happening in that area. I also recall that this later weatherstrip is a little thicker along the bottom door threshold. I think

that on later zs, the bottom of the door was shaped slightly differently along this threshold area, but I could be wrong, or that

might be a problem area. I believe that this one-piece combo welting/weatherstrip was using after 7/74.

Anyway, Jerry, I am just kind of brainstorming and thinking out loud. If any of this makes sense for things to check, I, again, hope

that my past experiences can be of some use.

When I read what you have done and how you have done it, I feel like I'm looking in a mirror.

Dan

... his wife live in North Carolina, where he is manager of a new Warner Gear plant. Gary and Rita recently attended our oldest sons wedding. When the restoration is complete a trip to North Carolina is at the top of my list. I can’t wait to pull up at Gary and Rita’s house in the Z looking as it did when we met.

hello jerry... great story. i just stumbled upon this thread while at work, and read most of the first page. i'll read more on my own time, but i was wondering if you ever got to make this trip..? best ~ rob.

hello jerry... great story. i just stumbled upon this thread while at work, and read most of the first page. i'll read more on my own time, but i was wondering if you ever got to make this trip..? best ~ rob.

Rob,

Not yet, maybe this coming summer when I have worked out all of the bugs and completed my reworking of some of Les's work to make the car as good as it can be. Thanks for asking and enjoy the story of my Z. JLP

Rob,

Not yet, maybe this coming summer when I have worked out all of the bugs and completed my reworking of some of Les's work to make the car as good as it can be. Thanks for asking and enjoy the story of my Z. JLP

i will indeed. it's a great story... and if either you or gary are ever passing through the raleigh area, and want to visit an early car in dark green just for the sake of reminiscence... z people are always welcome. best ~ r.

i will indeed. it's a great story... and if either you or gary are ever passing through the raleigh area, and want to visit an early car in dark green just for the sake of reminiscence... z people are always welcome. best ~ r.

Rob, Gary's Z was a 1970 in Green. Sooner or later we will be in the area an will definitely put you on the to stop and see list. Thanks JLP

It has been a while sine I visited this site. The Z is still asleep in it's winter cocoon . I have been working on the restoration of my 1972 Land Cruiser and just completed my first year in my new position at work. Busy times. I will try and update this post in the near future. Hope to get the car ready for this years Z Con. JLP

I have not posted since May. I just pulled the Z out of storage for the first time last week. Just in time to put it back in storage. I replaced the tubes from the float bowls to the carb. the others were collapsing making the car impossible to tune. I have been working on the restoration of my 72 Land Cruiser (see post) for the past year +. It is nearing completion. I either need to drive the Z or sell it, sitting is not good for it.