Hardway's 1971 240z #8011 - Build and Repair Thread

[Hardway]

With the holes filled I went about removing the rest of the old paint and surface rust. Once clean I laid down a few light coats of Rustoleum satin black.

Unfortunately the paint did not setup properly as various imperfections made themselves known. Since this side would be facing visible to passengers I wanted to make sure it was right. I took scuffing pad to flatten and remove the paint. After another clean up I tried again and it came out much better.

While the paint was drying I cleaned up and resealed the vent assembly that sits on the back of the motor housing. I chose not to fully disassemble and paint this since it would have been very labor intensive and 99% of it is hidden behind the blower housing. It was still in good shape so it was best left alone. The new seals will help insure it functions properly for years to come.

Now that the blower housing was dry and looking good it was time to install the Honda blower motor. The gold cad screws that came with the Honda unit was course threaded and could not be used. The original screws that were in the housing were in sad shape so I sourced the replacements below from Home Depot along with some rubber insulated washers. I could have used regular flat washers as I have a million of them but these seem to fit the best.

I reassembled the blower motor box and wired up the new motor. Again, everything is serviceable and no original connectors were cut or altered. I think the end result is quite nice!

[Hardway]

I wanted to do a trial fit of the blower motor assembly to ensure the top cowl seal was the correct thickness. Before I could this I discovered the mounting holes has been a little chewed up, probably by whoever messed with the A/C before and sprayed foam fill everywhere. No worries as a few minutes with a tap and some oil cleaned everything up.

A quick test mount showed everything was good so I moved back to the heater panel and cables. Since my cables were not in good shape I sourced a used set on Ebay. They were exactly what I needed and cost me $40 shipped.

I picked up a used dash HVAC panel off the Datsun parts Facebook page. It was pricey at $110 shipped but seeing that new ones are $300 and my old one was toast it was a good deal. It is in very good condition and had already been cut for a modern stereo. I chose to hold off on touching it up until it was installed.

Then I went about the task of reinstalling everything on to the back of the panel. Before I installed the control lever assembly I cleaned and re-greased the lever pivot points. This should help to provide years of smooth action.

I carefully went about the process of reinstalling it the panel in the car, connecting the fan speed motor, and hooking up all the control cables. The blower motor assembly was reinstalled for the final time and everything hooked up to it.

[Hardway]

After all that was done I finished wiring up the new stereo. It is an Alpine CDE-143BT. I had installed a model very similar to this in another car and really liked it. Given all the features it has plus Alpine’s high quality I think it is the best value in car stereos.

I ran the mic over to the driver side visor. It is just clipped on and nothing was cut or altered to install it.

For right now I am using 2 Pioneer 6x9’s from a previous stereo installation project. The boxes are from Custom Sounds and ran $30. It is not the highest quality speaker setup but they get the job done for now. Down the road I will install some kick panel speakers and re-locate the rear speakers to they are not so visible.

That is all for now. Due to my current budget limitations and the peak driving season upon us in Texas I have no more plans at this time. 2015 will be the next time any projects are undertaken on the Z. For now, it’s time to get out and enjoy it.

[grannyknot]

Great job on the blower box, isn't that fun connecting up those 4 hard wire/cables?

I've done that job 3 times now and hope I never have to do it again.

You'll like the Honda blower, I found it moved about 2x as much air as the old blower.

Chris

[240260280z]

I like seeing you use the tap set young grasshopper

[Zedyone_kenobi]

Bravo man!

 

I have been thinking of doing this mod (blower) myself one day.  Probably when I try to redo the dash..... so many projects.

 

But great work and VERY clear pics...this should be a sticky.

[Hardway]

Thanks for the compliments guys.  It has been good having the car back together.  Now that the weather has turned a little cold down here I am planning to drive the car to lunch today and really test out the heating system.  Hopefully I won't encounter any suprises.

[dtshaw66]

This is one of my favorite threads that I've found. You are doing an awesome job! Thanks for the great photos and posts - and enjoy the drive!

[Hardway]

Thank you Dtshaw66.  Half of the adventure in owning a vintage car is working on it.  For so much work having already been done to my car there are still numerous little projects to do on it.  Next up is a tranmission drain & fill with some Redline MT90.

[motivealloy]

WOW, great info on the radiator. My son and I just recently bought an early 1970 Series 1 and your pics have really helped us figure things out. 

[Hardway]

Thank you MotiveAlloy.  I see you are in the Austin area.  I am up north in Pflugerville.  If you need a hand with anything just let me know.

[Hardway]

I have been hammering out some odds and ends on the Z over the past few weekends.  On a recent trip to a local car show a few weeks ago pecan and walnut debris started shooting out of the passenger side fresh air vent.  When I was installing all the new blower motor components I vacuumed the opening out several times but once I reached 70mph it started shooting out.  The image below is probably a familiar site to anyone that has owned a classic automotive that has spent time outside.

 

 

[url=http://s87.photobucket.com/user/camaroguy1969/media/1971%20240z/Nov%202014%20Work/Pecans02.jpg.html]

 

I popped off the cowl panel expecting to find more shells and debris but to my surprise everything was now very clean.  I managed to vacuum up a few leaves of other things but that was it.  With the inside vac'd as well I crossed it off the list.  A quick project done!