Datsun 240Z Barn find Restoration! cont.

[J Shara]

That z of your is looking pretty good, floor pans are pretty dingy like mine though, i posted some pics of my car at the body shop getting work done

[mattbibbey]

Yeah i looked through all your pics. As you can see from my pics I haven't taken the body panels off yet but i can feel that something underneath the top of the wings is about as sound and strong as wet toilet paper so that will get me down a bit!

[J Shara]

Haha, how does the rear hatch area above the tailights on your Zlook?

Edited September 6, 2009 by J Shara

[mattbibbey]

BAD. REALLY BAD! The tail gate needs replacing, and there's a few patches of rust on the edges of the rear quarter where they join the tailgate. I'll post a picture of it if you're interested. the locking mechanism is unreckognisable, it's just a mass ball of rust. When they're all striped down, can you see any of the actual chassis?

[mattbibbey]

does anybody know a cheap place i can get replacement seats from, mine absolutely STINK!!!! Can't get rid of the smell! I also need something doing to the dash board, it smells too but it also looks very dirty and i can't make it look ok.

Any ideas?

[EScanlon]

a small patch of rust on the bottom of the right side one

Sounds like your cowl drain has dumped trash behind the sheet metal and it has accumulated over the years... and kept it nice and moist against the back of the metal. Result? Rust through.

When you remove the wing (fender for US folks), you'll probably find a glob of some sort right behind that rust.

Check these photo's out for what I did, which updates the Cowl Drain Tube to properly drain OUT of the fender.

http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=3542

HTH

E

[mattbibbey]

Does anyone know about having my dash re-skinned? or whatever? The cover of it stinks and is dirty and uncleanable (if that's a real word) and right hand drive dashes are very expensive from what i can find online so far.

[J Shara]

Does anyone know about having my dash re-skinned? or whatever? The cover of it stinks and is dirty and uncleanable (if that's a real word) and right hand drive dashes are very expensive from what i can find online so far.

you could get a half or a full dash cover, or you could get a colorbonding spraypaint for interior trim peices in black, like this stuff, although i dont know about how to eliminate the smell

http://www.blackdragonauto.com/icatalog/z/images/0065.jpg

Edited September 7, 2009 by J Shara

[HS30-H]

Matt,

Enrique ( EScanlon ) is giving you some very good advice, so please be sure to take notice of it......

As for your dash - I would recommend that you put it to one side and deal with it occasionally whilst you pay attention to the other ( BIG ) jobs that need doing on the car first. From the looks of it, I don't think you are going to need to re-fit it for a good while yet....

I had a similar problem with a long-stored RHD dash that smelled bad and seemed to have all sorts of microscopic life growing on it. It was not cracked though, so the incentive to reclaim it was high and I persevered. After several months of occasional washing / intensive cleaning and feeding with Johnson's Baby Oil ( believe it or not ) it looked just great and smelled, well, of Baby Oil.

You can get dashes re-skinned, but you can always tell ( and it's expensive ). I suggest you think about other more basic things on the car - like the structure, mechanicals and paint - before you worry too much about the trim and cosmetics that you will be re-fitting to it some time down the line.

Have you got any literature that pertains to the cars? I'm talking about a proper Nissan-issued Factory Service Manual, and/or a Nissan Parts List? Both would answer a LOT of the kind of questions that you have already asked and will probably be asking here. There's also a really useful book titled "How To Restore Your Datsun Z Car" by Wick Humble, which - even though it is specific to the north American market models - can be a great aid and a good source of inspiration. Many of the parts and techniques in the book are also applicable to your UK market RHD car.

You might also like to sign up as a member on the UK Z Club forum ( www.zclub.net ) for RHD-specific advise, parts and sympathy.

And don't throw ANYTHING away yet!

Alan T.

[mattbibbey]

yeah i think you're right! There's a lot of crap that i can sense although i haven't seen it yet! The inside of the car is stripped now except the wiring at the back and i've even got all the sound deadening crap out too!

With regards to the book mentioned, "how to restore your datsun Z car", where might I find this book, as you can tell, i am in need of direction on the order in which things should come off and stuff.

I have the Haynes manual and the factory service manual/ workshop manual.

I've also removed the carbs and manifold with all the stuff attatched to it today (took some doing) and i've loosened off the cam cover, i took it off briefly to have a look and it all looks good, no signs of wear or lack of oil, odd since the car has done 126,000 miles!

the intake manifold was full of some crap that looked like sand and bread crumbs, it was going into the engine too.

What am i to do if the chassis is rotten when i finally get to it? This is my biggest worry!!

Cheers again guys

Matt

P.S. posted more pics.

[mattbibbey]

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattbibbey/3913385806/" title="Oh dear, I think this is bad. by matt bibbey, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2555/3913385806_17ea043583.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Oh dear, I think this is bad." /></a>

[mattbibbey]

can anyone tell me if this bad? (the picture above that is) I think it's the front sway bar, where it joins the chassis? Please correct me if i'm wrong, I still have an awful lot to learn!