1970 240z uk project

[Jason240z]

Hi all.

This is my 240z, its a 10/1970. Spent its life in Arizona till November 2011, now its in sunny Lincoln, England.

Due to the 'wetter' weather we have here I intend to strip it down and sort out any rust/body issues before giving the whole car a refresh.

A great guy in the UK told me about this site, he just happens to have more than a few lovely z's too.

This is the car when it arrived..

Its one of the later series one car, an early 12,000 chassis number.

So far i've been stripping it down to find any of the dreaded brown stuff....

When scraping the factory sound proofing off i've found a few small holes so i'm very pleased, also a bad dogleg repair that i've got to sort too.

I'm also trying to build up a stock of parts to make her like new, so far door cards/seat covers/dash cover and engine parts.

Getting LHD parts isn't that easy over here:ermm:

A total refresh is planned expect exterior paint which will have to wait a few years due to cost.

[RIP260Z]

Welcome Jason, seen this 240 on the UK z site, much more friendly here... good luck with the work

[Jason240z]

Cheers, I'll need it!

Plenty of questions to ask too

[Ray Martin]

Hi Jason,

I've also seen you on the UK Z site,you've found a good one and enjoy using it. There's a wealth of quality info over here but don't be afraid of using the search function.Keep the thread going with plenty of pictures,hope to see you soon.

Ray

[grantf]

Nice car. Ditto keep us updated.

[Jason240z]

The stripdown has continued well when I've had time! I've found zero issues regarding the bodywork, just very light surface rust that comes off well. The engine came out so easily comparted to UK cars of the same age, all the bolts/fasteners came off so easily.

Still showing original paint in the engine bay/under the exterior panels.

Worse part was where acid had leaked in the battery tray area, luckily its all surface rust. I've invested in a pot belly shot blaster to get it back to bare metal. A messy job but the only way to do it!

I've been gathering some parts as they come up....

Webers 40mm and a l28(f54 flattop block+p90 head)

Heads in great shape.

NOS kmac ARB's - sway bars

Also i've got a 4.44 subaru r180 LSD.

I've got these wheels, 15x8 but i'm not sure if they'll be too wide yet so might get some others, 15x7 maybe.

I'm going for a s14 box/subaru 4.44 lsd/l28/cam/40mm webers/1+mm forged pistons and a full rebuild. All when time and money permit. I'm keeping the standard engine and doing a standard rebuild on it too(there's a tiny bit of smoke you see).

Plan for now is to get the car on a roll over jig and clean/derust/re seal+paint along with new stone chip. If I can get the car better than new underneath then at least it should last another 40 years.

Long term is a 'classic' type upgrade, just like you could do in the 70's. L28 engine with modern box/diff. The rest will be a full interior resto, externally the car will be on 15" wheels(55 or 60 profile tyres), looking like it should do;)

Edited April 25, 2012 by Jason240z

[Jason240z]

Slow progress here, body strip is in progress, its timing consuming though and sometimes I wonder why i'm doing it, however it'll be worth it to have a proper rust free shell.

The car's now on a spit which makes things easier.

The inside of the car is getting there, the factory sound proofing is difficult stuff to remove. I've found a few bits that need repair on the floor, I think this is just trapped moisture combined with the fact that from the factory the sound proofing was put on bare metal!!!!

A small bit of Datsun cancer

Under the car the chassis rails are looking shabby from years of thoughtless jacking, new ones needed.

On the mechanical side i've decided to stick with the 2.4 as i want a fairly original car, also going down to 7J wheels.

[PatriciaGetna]

Outlook of the Car body seems to be very nice,well keep working hard.

http://www.salvagereseller.com

[hr369]

Looks like the previous owner got the hi-centered and pushed in the floor pans or placed on a lift and lift points pushed up the floor pan.

Are you the gent that bought the 70 240z radio from me on ebay?

[Jason240z]

Yep, very pleased with the body

Hr369: It wasn't be who bought the radio off you, I take it you've posted one to the sunny UK? the floor is pushed up, in the area in front of the seat bracket, it is now flat again after removing the damaged rail. I'm having a local place bend me some new floor rails in 1.5mm, so just a little stronger than the standard 1.2mm

Once i've done the welding repairs its going to get media blasted inside and underneath so I can think about getting some paint on her

[EuroDat]

Looking good Jason. Nice to see a workshop just as tidy and organised as mineLOL

You mentioned its hard getting LHD parts over here. You can just say "parts". Just about everything I want is in the US. Buying it is generally not the problem, its getting it over here. Then the taxes and import duties on the price and shipping. A lot of e-bayers dont want to send overseas and then they send it UPSS. But then Im just winging because Im jelous of the guys over there;)

Looking forward to watching it develop.

Eurodat

[Jason240z]

Looking good Jason. Nice to see a workshop just as tidy and organised as mineLOL

You mentioned its hard getting LHD parts over here. You can just say "parts". Just about everything I want is in the US. Buying it is generally not the problem, its getting it over here. Then the taxes and import duties on the price and shipping. A lot of e-bayers dont want to send overseas and then they send it UPSS. But then Im just winging because Im jelous of the guys over there;)

Looking forward to watching it develop.

Eurodat

I'm still going through the process of getting it tidy...... may take a while!