Newbie help

[phyreangel]

Hey guys,

First off i'd like to say i'm a complete newbie with the z-cars. I've never worked on such a presitge car before. The earliest car i've worked on is a 1990 Honda CRX which is my current baby. Might have to move over for a 240z though!!!

So i'm asking for some help here. This car has been sitting for 15 years and has never been run in that time. The body looks pretty damn mint. I looked underneath and hardly any rust except for the exhaust. Which I don't really give two $h!ts about.

My question is... Do any of you know any Canadian (hopefully in Ontario) places that sell parts for this car??

I'm pretty much looking for engine parts. I might try and rip apart the engine myself and rebuild it. So i'm looking for Cams, Pistons, Rods, Injectors, Turbo, Intercooler, Rad, Exhaust, intake, throttle body etc.

I'm probably going to need a new transmission too so ideas on where to get those would be awesome.

Now if for some reason I cannot rebuild it, what other type of engines are possible to go in there? I've heard corvette motor/tranny's are able to go in there with ease but what is involved electrically etc?

Any and all information would be MUCH appreciated.

Thanks for helping a newb out!

[EverRude]

Sounds like you have a solid project car. And there's a definitely a huge amount of knowledge and experience to be had here. A search in the various section can yield a alot of good info. Like doing a search for rear disk upgrades in brake section turns up a ton of good posts on swap for moderninzing the rear brakes fairly cheaply.

If you're seriously considering engine swaps and turbos you may wanna check out HybridZ.org as well. That's there thing over there. They love Z cars like us but have a more laissez-faire attitude about the originality of the powerplant.

I post a similar post a couple weeks ago. Here's a great post I was given then to read up on starting one of these cars that's been sitting for years.

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22619 post #8 really have a alot of info.

Hope all this helps and welcome.

Edited March 22, 2011 by EverRude

[easyguy71]

http://www.smokin-geez.com/test2ndhotdeal.html

He's in Hudson, Quebec. He will ship via greyhound bus. Probably your cheapest bet. His English is so-so. But if you use picture references, you're good.

Also, in Calgary is a user here named Jim. PM me and I'll give youhis e-mail addy.

And don't forget to go to www.xenons30.com - under the reference tab - you can download for free the factory service manual. It's ten times better than Haynes or Chiltons.

Wish I were still out there. I'd give you a hand to get her running.

Check out www.atlanticZ.ca under tech tips for the basics to cover. Sometimes (often) you get lucky with these old girls and they start up with little effort! Well designed.

Where abouts in Ontario are you? There may be a local Z club with someone willing to give you a hand. Search out Ontario Z car clubs. They exist.

Good luck, buddy!

[240260280z]

Join a z club

buy some books on restoring and rebuilding and hot rodding Z's

set priorities.

Lots of resources in Canada.

As well buying from USA is no problem. I think our dollar exchanges above par presently... just make sure the seller ships US Mail rather then FedEx or UPS (not sure about DHL)... UPS and FedEx have insane "brokering fees" you have to pay on your door step.... on top of their very high "international shipping to Canada" fees.

Edited March 22, 2011 by Blue
I stuttered.

[Gary in NJ]

If the car hasn't run in 15 years, why do you think that the engine and transmission have to be rebuilt? Was the car parked because the engine and transmission were not working or damaged?

Before dumping big money into the car, get to know it and discover what it needs. Address those on a priority basis.

[easyguy71]

Blue, the UPS people will explain customs to you if you ask.

You take care of going to customs with a copy of the sales slip/packing slip and the shipping invoice, pay your tax on it and customs contacts the shipper to tell them it's paid.

Then there are no brokerage fees because you brokered it yourself.

[phyreangel]

Awesome! Thanks for all that information guys! I'll sift through everything tonight since i'm currently at work.

If the car hasn't run in 15 years, why do you think that the engine and transmission have to be rebuilt? Was the car parked because the engine and transmission were not working or damaged?

Before dumping big money into the car, get to know it and discover what it needs. Address those on a priority basis.

Y'know i'm not actually sure Gary. I went to take a look at it yesterday night and from what my friend told me, it hasn't run in 15 years and it was never winter driven or beaten on. I hopped into the car and i tried to put it into gear but even with half my strength I wasn't able to put it in gear. The Clutch pedal seemed really soft too. I assumed that these cars are like my CRX where it's cable driven clutch so I thought i'd have some sort of resistance but barely had any.

I'll have to go take the boxes and stuff off of it and inspect the engine. The only reason I want to replace things is because if i'm taking the engine apart to see if anything is busted and re-greese everything, I might as well make a few modifications.

I'm pretty stoked with this project. I'll be taking a lot of pictures to help me remember where everything goes. Maybe i'll create a build thread and see how that goes.

[Bruce Palmer]

Just a short list of things you need to do BEFORE you do anyrthing else.

Pull the plug on the gas tank and see what comes out. Don't put any gas in it until you see what's in there. One of the biggest problems with these old "sitters" is the gas has gone bad and sending or trying to send it on through the rest of the system will only create work elsewhere.

Pull the plugs and oil the cylinders and pull the valve cover and get the top end oiled up before even attempting to turn the engine over. Cranking over a dry engine with pressure on the bearings before oil pressure gets through the galleys you will more than likely be going through the engine whe you may not have had to. Get it running before getting all excited about tearing it down.

Z car clutches are hydraulic. I highly recommend you bleed all the crappy water soaked brake fluid out of that and the brakes and then test for whether or not either will hold pressure.

Unless I missed it what year is this beastie? Carbs, fuel injection, soft coal, what?

You have a looooooot to do before even considering what to throw money at and most of it is not at all glamorous......

[phyreangel]

Thanks guys. Really appreciate all the help here.

I'm going to try and get my friend to clean up the boxes in and around the car so we can have a better look at it.

Don't know what year the car is but i'll run the VIN when I get it and let you guys know.

I am definitely going to take my time with this puppy since it is not mine and i'm doing this for my friend. Apparently he would like it done for his father as well so this needs to be near perfect.

I'll probably create a new thread once we get started on it and document what we do. This should be an amazing project