Introduction and questions

[Kubus]

Hi,

My name is Kubus and I dont currently have a Z-car. My dad is thinking about buying my uncle's car. Im completely new to the Z-car world and I have absolutely no previous knowledge of these cars.

Here is a photo of the car in question:

It is the orange car hiding behind my LS1. Its there under the blanket.

Im assuming the car has to be from between 1969 and 1973 since my uncle has always referred to it as a 240.

He disassembled this car in the early 80's as far as I know and it has been sitting in pieces in his garage ever since. All original parts are still there. He saw a tiny bit of rust and felt that it warranted being disassembled.

Now here is where things begin to get complicated. The car is in Pennsylvania, I live in Ontario and my dad lives in Poland. My dad would be interested in finding someone who would do a full restoration for him somewhere in and around the Pennsylvania area. He unfortunately doesnt have the time to tackle this project himself. I think he hopes to keep the car either in Pennsylvania or in Ontario.

Would you guys be able to direct me people who would be able to undertake such a project? We're both fully aware that its going to be a lengthy project and that its not going to be too cheap.

This car has quite a bit of sentimental value to my dad. It was the first car he drove when he visited America for the first time as a 20 year old. He loved it so much then. I wasnt alive yet when this car was still together so I only remember it being in a box always hoping to put it back together and it seems like it might be a possibility now.

In the meantime Im going to spend some time on the boards here and learn a bit about the history of these cars and what the scene is like. My dad is heavily into German cars and out of highschool I was into American (however my next car is also going to be German since Ive fallen a bit out of love with the American cars and now more into love with the Germans). This scene will be completely new to us.

And two pictures of our current rides

Mine

Dads

Any help, tips or anything at all will be greatly appreciated. If things move forward on my side I will do my best to keep the Z-car community updated.

[Kubus]

A buddy of mine has put me in touch with guy at Tempest Racing in Maryland who seems rather keen to do the mechanical aspect of this car.

[sblake01]

Welcome to the site.

Let's see: no actual photo of the car you're referring to, but it's in Pennsylvania at your uncle's house, your uncle dissassembled it in the 80s, you're in Ontario, Canada, your dad is in Poland, and the two cars you posted pictures of really don't have anything to do with any of this other than just to 'show us what you got', the car has sentimental value to your dad and, with that thought in mind, it would be okay to put an engine in it that didn't even exist when the car was dissassembled and comes from an American car?

Sorry for my digression. I was just trying to take that all in. The only person I have have knowlege of that has done such a swap is 77ZETA, who is, or more accurately, was a member of this site. I say it like that since he hasn't posted here since 08-18-2006. And he's from California so that should fit right in the rest of the complications. Here is his CarDomain site:

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/438021

Copy and paste those videos to your browser window, they do work.

Good luck!

[Kubus]

Welcome to the site.

Let's see: no actual photo of the car you're referring to, but it's in Pennsylvania at your uncle's house, your uncle dissassembled it in the 80s, you're in Ontario, Canada, your dad is in Poland, and the two cars you posted pictures of really don't have anything to do with any of this other than just to 'show us what you got', the car has sentimental value to your dad and, with that thought in mind, it would be okay to put an engine in it that didn't even exist when the car was dissassembled and comes from an American car?

Sorry for my digression. I was just trying to take that all in. The only person I have have knowlege of that has done such a swap is 77ZETA, who is, or more accurately, was a member of this site. I say it like that since he hasn't posted here since 08-18-2006. And he's from California so that should fit right in the rest of the complications. Here is his CarDomain site:

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/438021

Copy and paste those videos to your browser window, they do work.

Good luck!

Im not interested in putting in the LS1. The LS1 is in my Camaro. We are looking to do a stock restoration of the Z. I dont have any pics of the Z since it never occurred to me to take pics of it. Sorry about the confusion.

The only pic I had of anything pertaining to the Z was when my uncle took a picture of my motor when he picked it up and the Z happened to sneak into it.

I was hoping for some help locating shops in the PA area that would be interested in undertaking various aspects of the project since I really dont know the area at all.

So far I have a buddy in Canada that knows an engine builder in Maryland that was interested in the engine work but that still leaves me with looking for a bodyshop and someone to put together the interior.

Thank you for the welcome.

[bigoak]

I would suggest bringing it up to Canada assuming you have a clean title on the car.

If you are in Toronto, go to Whitehead Motorsports as they will be able to do all the work (Greg Whitehead is the owner and Mike is his right hand man, both great guys).

They will be able to suggest a body shop that knows Z's. When I was in Toronto a few years ago, their consensus recommendation would have likely been Luciani Auto collision. They were doing some very good work on Z's and everyone seemed very happy with their work.

[Kubus]

I would suggest bringing it up to Canada assuming you have a clean title on the car.

If you are in Toronto, go to Whitehead Motorsports as they will be able to do all the work (Greg Whitehead is the owner and Mike is his right hand man, both great guys).

They will be able to suggest a body shop that knows Z's. When I was in Toronto a few years ago, their consensus recommendation would have likely been Luciani Auto collision. They were doing some very good work on Z's and everyone seemed very happy with their work.

Thats very helpful. I'll see if dad wants to bring it up. Thanks a lot.

[70 Cam Guy]

Clean 3rd gen! I used to own a '70 Camaro, my screen name goes way back. It is very different from the Camaro but it is a fun car in its own way. It's light, handles well even in stock form, has great lines, and the stock L24 sounds great. Coming from domestic muscle cars, side draft carbs will likely be pretty foreign but they are not that bad. If your dad was into old school BMW's then you may have experience with side drafts. There's a little process to synchronize them but it's all manageable, especially if you've swapped the LS1 into your 3rd gen. Parts availability is still pretty good but not as abundant as the classic American cars.

The Z cars are pretty universally liked from my experience so far. I enjoy hearing the muscle car guys tell stories about their first experiences with the 240Z. One of my friends seems to always have a new story about his buddy's old 'scarab z'

Edited July 1, 2009 by 70 Cam Guy
proof reading is good

[Kubus]

Clean 3rd gen! I used to own a '70 Camaro, my screen name goes way back. It is very different from the Camaro but it is a fun car in its own way. It's light, handles well even in stock form, has great lines, and the stock L24 sounds great. Coming from domestic muscle cars, side draft carbs will likely be pretty foreign but they are not that bad. If your dad was into old school BMW's then you may have experience with side drafts. There's a little process to synchronize them but it's all manageable, especially if you've swapped the LS1 into your 3rd gen. Parts availability is still pretty good but not as abundant as the classic American cars.

The Z cars are pretty universally liked from my experience so far. I enjoy hearing the muscle car guys tell stories about their first experiences with the 240Z. One of my friends seems to always have a new story about his buddy's old 'scarab z'

Thank you for the compliment on the Camaro. Im completely new to carbureted motors but Im hoping its something I'll be able to pick up. When my dad was growing up he was around Fiat 125p's, Fiat 126p's, Warszawa's, Lada Riva's etc. I know the Fiats had a manual choke and stuff.

Im really glad to find out that parts are still available for these and that they have a pretty good approval from people. Do they get a lot of attention when driving down the street?

[beezee]

Hi Kubas, 3rd gen Camaros are getting to be a rare site. Check out Ontario Z Car for membership and events happening . Eastern chapter meeting tonight in Scarborough and a drag event this Saturday, try the Zapper beside a Zedder. http://www.ontariozcar.com/

[Kubus]

Hi Kubas, 3rd gen Camaros are getting to be a rare site. Check out Ontario Z Car for membership and events happening . Eastern chapter meeting tonight in Scarborough and a drag event this Saturday, try the Zapper beside a Zedder. http://www.ontariozcar.com/

I will definitely check that site out. Im in the UK at the moment just finishing my work term and will be back in Canada in August. I'd love to pop by a meet and learn a bit more once Im home.

[sblake01]

Im not interested in putting in the LS1. The LS1 is in my Camaro. We are looking to do a stock restoration of the Z. I dont have any pics of the Z since it never occurred to me to take pics of it. Sorry about the confusion.

Sorry for jumping to that conclusion. I'm actually relieved that you're not doing that swap. Hybrids aren't really to my tastes. Since I thought that was what you wanted to do, I tried to link you to the only example I know of. The Canada guys will steer you in the right direction. I've always been a fan of Camaros. I once owned a 68 RS/SS 396. How do you like that LS1 in your Camaro? I recently bought a 2005 GTO and love the LS2 that's in it. I guess I don't have to tell you how sweet that R8 is! Get us some pictures of the Z when you can.

[Kubus]

Sorry for jumping to that conclusion. I'm actually relieved that you're not doing that swap. Hybrids aren't really to my tastes. Since I thought that was what you wanted to do, I tried to link you to the only example I know of. The Canada guys will steer you in the right direction. I've always been a fan of Camaros. I once owned a 68 RS/SS 396. How do you like that LS1 in your Camaro? I recently bought a 2005 GTO and love the LS2 that's in it. I guess I don't have to tell you how sweet that R8 is! Get us some pictures of the Z when you can.

Its cool. You guys have been quite welcoming and Im really enjoying my time here so far. Its a very different place than the other forums I frequent. Im very happy that someone pointed me here.

I am completely in love with first gen Camaro's. One of my dream cars some day. I think I would probably drop a LS motor in there as well if I had one but Im not a big fan of cross brand hybrids.

So far I've really enjoyed the LS1 swap but I have run into some problems on the way. I guess its been a bit of a learning experience for me. I did the LS1 swap when I was 19 and Ive had it in there for two years. The uncle that has the Z is the one that helped me with it. I've been mainly having fueling and electrical issues but a buddy of mine who is a mechanic is looking after my car at the moment and doing a fuel system upgrade so I hope it will be good to go when I come home.

If you're interested, this is what it sounded like last summer after a cam install.

Im hoping to be in Pennsylvania at the end of September (passing through for the VW/Audi show in Ocean City, Maryland) and hopefully I can get some pics of the car then.

We've had the R8 for about half a year so far and have about 1200 km on it. My dad is really enjoying it but it is a bit of a pain to drive on Eastern European roads. I've had some time behind the wheel and all I can say is wow. It doesnt feel as quick in a straight line as my Camaro but it can turn I cant believe how well it hugs the road.