Hello there!

I am honored too of found such an awesome forum that I shall be digging through for months! I can only hope that I can bring a wealth of mistakes and errors others can learn from and help the forum grow!

My Name is Alex and I am a very lucky complete newbie.

When I say Newbie, I mean I have some basic car knowledge, I could probably point and explain to you what each part in a car is and its function but with some minor difficulty. I've changed tires and oil by myself! Woohoo! :eek:

I will be learning everything from scratch about restoring and fine tuning.. but I am passionate. I have been reading, researching, youtubing, like crazy in the last couple of weeks now that summer is approaching and my other hobby will be placed on hold.

Before I explain the luck. Let me explain the family history.

Since I was very little I remember flipping through photo albums of pictures of Z's and muscle cars in the garage, driveway, and I eyed with envy how much fun he had. Out of all the cars I liked his Z the best. Hearing the stories of my young dad learning how to fix cars the good times with his rich friend, racing together brings emotions I cannot explain.

I have always wanted a Z car to do the things that he did with his friend

( which I do not think he knows ) The thoughts of best buddies swapping parts, swear words, and tears causes me to beam pride, and the history and rareness to boot! When I think that my dad was apart of that Generation. I cant help but think how lucky he was.

After 5 years of racing, interests changed, family's intervened and so on.

My dads cars were sold ( chargers, 240Z's, Tbirds). But Walter couldn't part with his Z. He threw a heavy duty cover over his Orange 72 Baby and parked it in front of his driveway for the next 30+ years in Mountain View.

He would religiously start it up every couple of months and kept driving mildly to keep it maintained. A religous log of repairs, upgrades, and so on.

Last year his health failed and he passed away. Sometime during that year he suggested selling his Baby to my dad. They agreed on a price but he just couldn't part with his rocket and changed his mind.

Walters sweet.. awesome.. incredible.. amazing.. gorgeous.... super dooper wife offered my Dad the Z for the same price they had agreed apon months before. Dad has given the car to me!

I am now the very proud, owner of a Z car. I will not be one of those posters that pretends they know what the heck they are talking about. Quite the opposite so patience be advised!

The engine is of a 280. I plan on repairing the interior, figuring out how in the hell the incredible carburetors get tuned, and repairing the paint.

I currently have no pictures but as the weather calms down I promise to post many!

Edited February 22, 200916 yr by ExtremZlucky

The Series III 240-Z's started production 9/71. All automobile manufacturers start producing their next "Model Year " cars ahead of the current calendar year for sale in the U.S. So YES it is a 1972 Datsun 240-Z, with most of the improvements for 72 included.

The Date Of Manufacture is on the car because the US Safety and Emissions Regulations are made effective as of certain specific dates. So any car made on or after that date had to be in compliance with the laws in order to be legally sold to the public here.

Early 72 Model Year cars did not have the retractable seat belts, nor the seat belt warning light on the center console that cars produced a few months later did.

The car still has the ARA - Dealer Installed A/C evaporator and thermo contol installed in the interior, but I don't see any compressor under the hood. So when you refresh the car, you can eliminate them as well.

Looks like the heater core may have been leaking, or one of the hoses let go. So the water inlet/outlet hoses have been cut off - and a loop put in the tubes on the block. When you take the old A/C evaporator out, you'll want to replace the heater core and get new hoses to hook everything back up. If nothing else you'll defrosters for the windshield in Northern Calif.

Personally - I like the 72 Z's about the best of any of them. I also like that color combination - so I'd strip that car down to a bare shell and start on a complete "refresh". It could easily be a stunning example and a wonderful car to keep for decades to come.

FWIW,

Carl B.

Edited February 23, 200916 yr by Carl Beck

Thank you Carl. That clears up the confusion completely.

Just a guess but those were probably removed to reduce weight.

Edited February 23, 200916 yr by ExtremZlucky