The Lime Green Machine Restoration Thread - 1972 240Z

[Patcon]

How do you know when the carb dome is centered?

Charles

[Hardway]

How do you know when the carb dome is centered?

Charles

As you are installing the dome and tightening it down keep pushing up on the piston. If you feel any kind of drag or interference, stop and start over. Before you take anything apart push up on your pistons a few times to verify they are in good shape to start with. Once everything is apart check for any signs of wear on the piston or the dome as the fit is meant to be near perfect. It took us a few tried to get each dome on correctly but patience and persistence paid off.

[Patcon]

Thanks,

I have never done it that way only check for clunk when dropping. I will have to try that next time...

Charles

[Travel'n Man]

Great thread and pic's - can't believe I am just now finding it. Keep on keeping on.

[Hardway]

This weekend I finally got around to a project I had been wanting to do for quite awhile. Ever since I recovered my driver side seat, the passenger seat not only looked worse but just really brought the car down. The cover and new foam has been sitting in my office closet for months so I decided to get to it. I am not going to go in to full detail like I did for my driver seat. Instead I will point out some lessons I learned when I recovered the front seat and carried them in to this rebuild. If you want to see all the details of the driver side seat recover project, check it out here -> http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/interior-s30/47221-diy-how-recover-your-z-seats-lots-pictures.html

First, as you can see the seat was in sad shape and begging to be rebuilt.

Once everything was apart it was nice to see that the back seat pan was in excellent shape so no welding or repair was needed. In order to make the top cover easier to install I decided I would glue the foam down this time. I started by cutting the headrest off and gluing it down using 3M spray adhesive. Once in place I let it sit with the dumbbell and clamp to ensure it dried correctly.

Once the headrest was dried in place I covered it with a plastic shopping bag. The original was covered with plastic as well and I knew this would make it easier to get the cover on around the headrest.

I slipped the top of the cover on and hog ringed it in to place.

Once that was done I glued the lower back foam in to place and weighted it down accordingly. This is where having lots of weights comes in real handy! I really should be utilizing these more their intended purpose. One day, one day.

Next, came the task of getting the rest of the top cover on. This part takes lots of patience and persuasion. Taking time to get the fit just right results in a great looking final product. Gluing the foam down made things easier as well so definitely lesson learned there.

The bottom cushion was very straight forward and I installed the foam and cover in the same manner as I did the driver side. One tool to invest in if you do not have one is a pair of medium size needle nose vise grip pliers. This made the task of pulling the edge of the material over the spikes so much easier and faster. Also, since I had everything off I cleaned up all the hardware and painted it. I am missing the plastic lower hinge covers so I will be on the look out for a used set as new ones are too pricey right now.

All in all the end result came out great. The seat is nice and firm and looks 100% with everything being new and detailed. Plus, it matches the driver side so all is good. As with doing anything the second time around this seat only took me about 4 hours of total labor time. No shot of it in the car yet as I plan to pull the carpet out and inspect the floor pan before putting it back in.

Since I had some time and energy left I cleaned and re-oiled the K&N filters that came on the car and gave their housings a good clean and polish. I know the factory style air cleaner is technically better than these style air cleaners but this is all I have right now so why not make them look good.

[EuroDat]

Thats a good "How to" on recovering seats. You make it look easy. I have never done it, but its in my wish list.

I don't work on the car much in the summers months. The winter is project time. Next winter will be the dash, the 71C transmission and maybe the seats.

How did you go with the camber issue? Btw the 905mm measurement I posted was across the engine bay.

Chas

[Hardway]

Thank you for the compliments EuroDat. The seat recover project is definitely a DIY job. Just takes a few simple tools and plenty of time, arm, and hand strength. Its a project that when done really helps to transform the car. Plus you back and butt benefit from the support.

I don't know if I really solved my camber issue. I posted an update on my Chevette springs thread yesterday as well. Right now my plan is to get the front aligned and just drive it. It looks like the springs may finally be settling a little so I am going to leave them alone for now. With the Texas heat I don't see myself working on them again until the fall if I should decide to do so.

[240260280z]

I saw the first seat in person. It looks fab and is very comfortable too.

[Hardway]

With it being so hot right now in Austin I have been doing small projects that I can either wrap up during the morning hours of the weekend or bring stuff inside to work on. This week I got to work on painting an original style air cleaner box that I picked up on Ebay several months ago. If remember correctly I think I paid $50 or so shipped to my door. It was in good shape and even included the hardware which I needed. The only problem, it was fire engine red and not orange like it was from the factory. So I went about the task of getting it ready for a repaint.

Knowing that I did not want to drop $100 on a restoration kit for this I did what I could to save the original components. First, I gently scrapped the rubber gasket off, keeping it intact for reuse. Then I pulled out the hardened foam seal using a screw driver. There was no saving it and I planned to replace it anyway.

Using my Makita rotary tool and a 3” wire brush I took off all the paint I wanted. I did not see much value in removing everything since the paint was actually in good shape. In the end I regretted removing any of it as I could have just cleaned and scuffed it and I am confident it would have looked the same if not a little better. Oh well, lesson learned.

After a few wipe downs to ensure everything was clean I started laying down several thin coats of Rustoleum Chevy engine block orange. After the thin coats had setup I laid down a solid wet coat to give it a good finish.

I know the original finish is supposed to be satin or flat and this color has a hint of tangerine in it based on how the light hits it. However I am really happy with the result and even like the gloss of it. I also took a few minutes to clean up the hardware using the wire wheel on my bench grinder. While the paint dried I ordered a new Nippon air filter off Ebay from a parts dealer for $23 shipped. After several days in the garage and with everything nice and dry I glued the rubber inner seal back on. I used some 3/8 inch universal foam weather stripping from Home Depot for the outer edge seal. This worked okay but it tore easily as I was installing it so I may re-do it or find something better in the near future.

For now I am happy to have the stock air cleaner on the car. It looks so much better and the orange really pops under the hood. All total I have around $80 in this setup including the air filter, paint, etc. I am planning re-coup that plus some by selling the K&N pods that were on the car when I go it. That’s all for now. Stay cool guys.

[guaro]

This is pure vehicular porn , lots of work done, I wish I had the talent and patience to do this

[Mike W]

Jeff,

Really nice job. Looks awesome!!

Seems like you have been bitten again by the Z bug. I suspect the Town North event coupled with a few visits from Blue got you re-energized!

Will keep you posted on the drives that we have coming up with CZOT. They won't start until the weather gets a little cooler (September / October) and so hopefully by then you'll have the lime green machine ready to cruise with us.

Mike.

[Hardway]

Thank you for the compliments Mike and Guaro. Yeah, attending the Z event and having Blue help me has kind of reignited my motivation to work on the car. My new job has been very stressful so getting some little things done here and there has provided a nice relief. It allows me to start and finish a project in a very reasonable amount of time, thus giving me a feeling of real progress. Plus, the seat and air cleaner stuff was already sitting in the garage and paid for so I have not had spend any real money to get these projects wrapped up. Not sure what I am going to do next.