Hi Guys,

I bought this car off the first owner back in 2007 and let it sit under the house until last month. I went to start it and found a healthy rats nest sitting on the manifold. He had also decided to snack on my leads and hoses. I cleaned it out and decided that it would be good to take it to the Motorfest 2012 which was just over three weeks away. Since the car was stuck in the garage (it wan't running) I decided to try and become a newbie mechanic and do as much as I could myself. I want the car to be as orginal as possible. I borrowed the tools from a mate because an adjustable wrench only does so much and used the manuals to help explain everything to me. I used photos to make sure I remembered where everything went and worked by handheld light. It is all I had at the time.

In the three weeks leading up to the show:

- Took the carbies to have a refurbishment, clean and adjustment.

- Stripped out the engine bay and hired a hoist to remove the engine.

- Delivered the engine off to get a stock rebuild (Mainly rings and bearings). I matched the Nissan blue on the block to the alternator arm.

- Redyed the original rear deck carpet.

- Painted air cleaner, fan and splashpan to original specs.

- Repaired the original antenna buy putting in a new mast.

- Refurbished the alternator, manifold, distributor and anything else that could be ripped off the engine.

- Reconnected the muffler assembly from engine to tip.

- reconnected the engine and clutch and connected everything back together.

- Replaced the original steel rims with a set of polished Shelby 500's from the early 70's. I am old school.

- Replace tyres from 180/175 R14 to 215/60 R14 to keep the same rolling diamter and stock ride height.

- Replaced any busted or aging hoses.

- Bunch of other minor stuff to boring to mention.

- General clean and polish

managed to get her going on the day before the event.

Thanks to all the members and forums for helping me with those anwsers that just don't come in a manual.

Enjoy the images:

Beautiful early z!!! Post more pics!

Looks great, and I can't believe you got all that work done in just three weeks! I feel like a real slacker now. Is that the original paint? It's great to see such an original and early HS30.

-Mike

That's an awesome car Craig! Thanks for sharing with us.

Robert S.

Thanks Blue,

Any particular pics you want to see? Most of the ones I have are of the crappy condition during the three week refurb.

I also had the radiator stripped and cleaned. Still original though.

I tried out this engine swap but it ran rough after an hour so decided to use the original engine. (Actually my wife helped with cleaning the engine bay)

Note the hand held lamp on the fender. I did all the work at night after work.

Cool wife!

Please post all pics you can. Details of cable routing, parts colours, stickers, etc. are valuable to all who restore...take the underside of your bonnet/hood for example.

btw here is my boss ready to rope the window http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/attachments/48359d1317607771-window.jpg

Edited July 16, 201212 yr by Blue

Ok will do. In the meantime, here is a sample of some other cars from the day. (Thanks by the way for your help with the release bearing).

Wives, you gotta love them. I also had mine help with the fan and connecting the starter motor. She now loves this car.

Wow very clean Z's. I think I saw the yellow one on autospeed many years ago?

The blue gnose looks interesting. Thanks!

Looks great, and I can't believe you got all that work done in just three weeks! I feel like a real slacker now. Is that the original paint? It's great to see such an original and early HS30.

-Mike

Yeah the paint is original but I believe the fenders have been resprayed at some stage. I can flake it off to see the original paint under.

There is some rust looming around the sills but mostly it is on the surface around the car (perhaps a little more where I can't see it). When I pulled off the internal quarter panel to do the antenna I noticed surface rust near the taillight. Next stage I think will involve a refurb of the body and brakes but I need a rest for the moment - too many late nights.

Yeah, now that you have it running again you should enjoy it as is for awhile before doing anything major, like a respray. No point in burning you or your assistant out.

-Mike

Hi Webmanic70

Great pictures and thanks for sharing them. Nothing like a goal with a deadline to get things moving and done. Nonetheless that is an amazing amount of work to get done in three weeks. The results look super to say the least.

FWIW,

Carl B.

Thanks Carl,

I appreciate the knowledge you have passed on over the years, truly inspiring.