Finally got one...now to make it mine: 1973 240z Refresh / Personalisation

[73str86]

Hello All,

I got serious about buying a Z over the summer. I've been in love with them since I was about 8. I've been reading the forums for about six months and after test driving two found Layla three weeks ago. She's a two owner car, originally from VA but owned since 1976 from the guy I bought it from. He bought it from a Datsun dealership when it was three years old. He drove it around TX and TN in the 70s and 80s and into the 90s. 159,XXX original miles. He said the first owner installed a roll bar, chrome rims, and headers.

I have all of his registrations and most documentation of stuff he's done to it. It has pretty much sat in storage for the past 10-15 years with him spending $2,000 a couple years ago (have receipts) trying to get it back on the road. He said this car has outlived any relationship he's ever had, and backed out of selling it to someone else once before. I'm not going to say I stole it, but he gave me one heck of a deal in my opinion including a military discount.

Before I bought it I had it put on a lift and did a dry compression test on the engine. It is "virtually rust free," with the factory undercoating still on it. It was repainted 10 years ago in the factory silver color. There is a 3"x3" patch pop riveted onto the driver's side floor, and 2"x2" hole on the passengers side under the seat, likely from the A/C condensation. He told me he never looked under the car. Not necessarily believable, but I believe some people never do so. I also have the FSM and the Mechanic's manual, not sure what it's called, and the carb balance meter. There is also a 1.5" hole under the batter tray.

The interior looks great in my opinion; it has a dashcap with one crack, seat covers, stock floor mats, brand new carpet otherwise. Headliner is original and looks great.

The engine compression yielded 145-150 psi in all cylinders except one; 1st cylinder was 135. I would've liked higher numbers, but the engine has a good amount of miles so I'm happy at this point. When I test drove it, the car was a little sluggish, but the guy was just frustrated saying "it's not the car it used to be." He said his local mechanic refused to rebuilt the SUs.

Since I've had it, I've done the following things:

Things I've done thus far:

- Castrol high mileage 10w-30 oil change with "engine restore," Lucas oil treatment, and sea foam. Normally I wouldn't put this many additives in, but the car has basically been sitting for 10 years.

- Filled gas tank with 93 octane gasoline and fuel system cleaner to help burn off carbon deposits. (I think I'll go lower next tank)

- Adjusted intake and exhaust valves to factory specifications.

- Replaced rattling muffler with a Magnaflow Turbo XL model.

- Replaced 2 year old champion spark plugs with Bosch platinum version. I wanted NGK plugs to go with my wires but they weren't in stock. Plugs were gapped at the higher end of the factory recommendation to accommodate for the higher octane fuel to 0.035".

- Spent two hours cleaning the upper half of the carbs and balancing them to factory specs. I will rebuild them within two months.

- Cleaned/degreaser valve cover.

- Next steps are to put in new distributor points, condenser, and oil pressure sending unit. Flush transmission and rear end gear oil. Buy a timing light and dial in the timing. Replace/upgrade coil.

I have been meaning to start this thread since I bought the car; I am behind so I'll be updating the progress I've already completed on a gradual basis. The pictures are after the things I did listed above.

Thanks for reading.

[72 OJ]

Good looking Z.....

[SteveJ]

Welcome. Where in Georgia are you located?

[gogriz91]

Welcome from Warner Bubba.

[5thhorsemann]

So I guess you know where all the discretionary spending will be going. If I may make a suggestion, go Pertronics instead of points, set it and forget it. That comment will draw some hits I’m sure, but I love mine.

Nice car!

[SteveJ]

By the way, you can get NGKs at a good price through Amazon. I stock up on them, myself.

[Casey_z]

Welcome

Love the silver z:)

[kenz240z]

Welcome to the club. Looks like you got yourself one very nice Z car!

[73str86]

I'm in Augusta, GA.

Thought I'd take some time to show you guys where I'm at. I'm trying to not get too far ahead of myself buying parts, tearing it up, etc. Since I bought the car I've put about 300 miles on it. A complete joy to drive. It's funny how my Corvette costs 10 times more than the Z but the Z puts a bit wider smile on my face.

It ran A LOT better after adjusting the valves and doing the minor work on the carbs. I bought the 240Z Tune Up video from Z Therapy and that's helping a lot too.

The car has been on jack stands for a couple weeks now.

I installed a Sony MP3 CD Player with iPod input and amp pre-outs. Also a Boss Powered Subwoofer I originally purchased for a different vehicle. It's about the size of an encyclopedia. The car has 4x6" speakers in the rear body panel from the 80s. I have Planet Audio 4x6" plate speakers to install. The front had 4" round speakers in the front kick panels (80s too) but one wasn't there so the fronts aren't hooked up yet.

I replaced a blown blinker and map light bulb. Installed Sylvania "Cool Blue" headlights. Not sure how they look yet but are supposed to be a large improvement over standard headlights. I also have 55W fog lights to install, either below the bumper or the bumper bar.

I replaced to used oil jug caps on the brake booster with new Tokico caps (the first item with a price that scared me). I installed a new Nissan Oil Pressure sending unit. This also solved a leak I had on that side of the engine.

I soon realized that the engine bay was simply dirty. With some elbow grease the inner fenders, under the hood, etc., look as nice as the exterior paint. This led me to start to partially disassembling the engine for cleanup.

I have a Pertronix 3 ohm coil which from what I understand will cause me to lose the ballast resistor. Soon to be installed. The distributor cap and points were new (2 years old and hardly used) so I'm keeping them on but readjusted the points gap.

There was no smog equipment on the car. I took the carbs, linkage, intake, heat shield, header, and exhaust off. I've never worked with aluminum parts before, and it was amazing to see that a little bit of degreaser and a bench grinder with wire disk will do to old, dirty, oxidized aluminum.

I have spent a couple hours cleaning the intake and balance bar. It is motivating to see how good they look. All hoses will be replaced. Most broke or would not break free during removal. I took pictures of everything on the way, to serve me when I put it back together. Here are some shots of the teardown so far:

I'm going to get the header sand blasted and repaint it, then cure it on the car once the carbs are rebuilt. I purchased a NOS kit from Ebay, without directions unfortunately. I'm hoping with the FSM and mechanic's manual I'll be ok. I'm thinking about tracking down some SM needles.

My next steps are to finish the tear down on the passenger's side. I removed the remainder of the water/coolant hose going around the engine. I removed battery hold down, battery, battery tray. Next step is to drop the starter/solenoid to clean and repaint it.

The passenger's side is a lot messier thanks to the (factory?) A/C. For those of you who have been in my shoes, how did you deal with the original A/C on your car? I'm trying to be cheap nowaways due to the holidays and I've already amassed enough parts to keep me busy for a while. The PO told me the A/C works, it just needs to be recharged. I haven't tried it yet. It will be very difficult to degrease/repaint the block and leave all the A/C components (mostly the hoses are in the way) where they are. Advice? Tear it all out and leave it out? Tear it all out and put it back in? Leave it all in and work around it while cleaning that side?

[kenz240z]

You are making good progress with the cleaning and repairs. Degreasing/repainting the block will be difficult unless you can remove everything on/around the engine. Painting the block will require a lot of masking which is time consuming even with the engine out of the car, unless the engine is disassembled (no head/timing cover/oil pan, etc...). But, take your time and you should get good results.

As far as A/C, you can have your existing system recharged. May require some work to get good cooling, such as sealing any air leaks between the blower housing and the evaporator. There have been a few threads about this, do a search for more details. Another option is to install a Nostalgia Air or Vintage Air system. Again, there are several threads about these systems, search for more details.

[Travel'n Man]

Welcome to the site - pull that header and send it to JetHot for refinishing - you'll be glad you did!

http://www.jet-hot.com/

[Bonzi Lon]

Welcome to the club. You are making great progress. I agree on the Corvette comment, I had a 75. It ran like a scaled cat, but the rest was a piece of junk. Cost me a small fortune. I told everybody my Z was 10 times better than that 'squeaky Vette'.

I have a thing for 73's. What would be the VIN & build date be?

Bonzi Lon