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

[rcb280z]

Yeah I figured you wouldn't want to part with it. I am looking for one now that I can refurb. 

[Hardway]

Jeff - your work on the car is awesome, congratulations on a super effort and an outstanding result.  The next time you expect to be in the Dallas area, give a shout - maybe we can get together for a cold one and swap some stories.

 

Jim

 

Thank you so much Jim!  I am actually planning to bring my Z up to the Dallas area for the October C&C in Plano.  The original owner of the car lives in the Dallas area and I am planning to have lunch with him and show him the car.  He owned it for 25 years so it will be interesting to gauge his reaction to it.  As it gets a little closer I will reach out to the North Texas Z guys and see about coordinating at C&C or something afterwards.

Edited August 10, 2015 by Hardway

[hls30.com]

Beautiful car! and Very Nice work!

Will

[Gav240z]

On 9/9/2014 at 11:30 AM, Hardway said:

I must admit, the mysterious front brackets have me intrigued.

I also am not sure of it's purpose. I haven't read the entire build thread but was your car automatic by any chance? Or fitted with air con?

HS30 00836 has seen better days but it also has those brackets. But this is the exception as opposed to the rule, other early HS30's don't seem to have it.

However my later 73 240z didn't have it. (HS30 102895)

So at least it doesn't seem like a production change, rather perhaps an optional equipment bracket of some sort? What I don't know...

[Hardway]

Hey Gav.  My car did have air conditioning at one time but it was a dealer installed unit.  When I got the car there was nothing left but the under dash unit and the controls mounted on the side of the console so I unsure if any components were ever mounted to those mounts.  The mystery continues!

[bartsscooterservice]

Yes Valvoline is good oil.. I use it to for my work.

[Hardway]

It has been several months since I posted anything about #8011 so I figured an update was in order.  A lot of big changes have happened but not necessarily to the car.  On 10/30/2015 my wife and I moved in to a new house.  The house and the property are great.  We still live in the Austin area per se’ but we are now in Hutto which is about a 20 minute drive to the Austin city limit.  A big selling point of the new house is the workshop that came with a two post lift.  The previous owner was an auto-X racer and used the space for his C6 Z06 and Porsche Cayman.  For any of you that have outfitted a shop from scratch you know it seems like forever until you can really work on stuff again.  After many weekends of unpacking, organizing, installing shelves, positioning lockers, etc. etc. I finally got to get to do some real work.  Not surprising the Z has not really needed anything but I am working on a ’98 Honda Passport/Isuzu Rodeo that I picked up for $500 for one of my new neighbors.  It is currently receiving a new alternator and battery along with a thorough check up.  Needless to say the lift is a great tool to have and I can already envision what this additional capability could mean for the future!

Once the holidays came and went and I had a free weekend I took the Z out for the first Cars and Coffee of 2016.  It was a brisk 30 degrees when I left the house in the morning.  As I rolled down the street and on to the main road I quickly realized my heat was not working.  To make matters worse the fresh air door was blowing in cold air and I could not close it.  I was tempted to turn around and just not go but I was already on the road and the local Z Car club was doing a Z invasion so I pressed on.  After a quick meet up in a Target parking lot we headed out to C&C.  There were a lot of late model Z’s but only two classic Z’s, mine and Mike W’s gorgeous 260Z.  Once things warmed up the crowd at C&C reached capacity so all in all it was a successful morning.

[Hardway]

Ever since I bought my Z I wanted to get the two missing series-1 specific components, the non-flapper air cleaner and the “2400” valve cover.  Prices for both of these items have gone up significantly over the past few years.  Luckily, after some patience and persistence I found both on Ebay at “reasonable” prices.  The air cleaner needs to be stripped and repainted along with some new decals which I plan to get from Mike at Banzai Motorworks.  The valve cover won’t go on until the air cleaner is done.  My goal is to do this in the spring once I get some consistent warm weather.  For now, they are in storage for safe keeping.

That’s it for now.  Once I wrap up the Honda Passport I will jump back in to the Z and document my various projects and tasks.

[EuroDat]

I can't see the gasket on the air cleaner, but after 45 years it probably wants replacing. There is a thread on this site with someone making the gasket. It was in someones restoration thread, can't remember who it was.

[CanTechZ]

14 hours ago, EuroDat said:

I can't see the gasket on the air cleaner, but after 45 years it probably wants replacing. There is a thread on this site with someone making the gasket. It was in someones restoration thread, can't remember who it was.

I remember that thread as well, but I couldn't find it. However I did remember that @nix240z makes them, here's a link to his website:

http://www.240zrubberparts.com/apps/webstore/products/show/5696404

[bartsscooterservice]

44 minutes ago, CanTechZ said:

I remember that thread as well, but I couldn't find it. However I did remember that @nix240z makes them, here's a link to his website:

http://www.240zrubberparts.com/apps/webstore/products/show/5696404

$ 125... pfff  these things would be a few bucks back in the day   They are sure making a business out of it !

Edited January 29, 2016 by bartsscooterservice

[bartsscooterservice]

On ‎16‎-‎7‎-‎2015 at 9:53 PM, EuroDat said:

It was probably over adjusted when someone maybe tried to raise pedal height. The self adjuster shouldn't do that if working correctly.

The FSM mention several methods to adjust the brakes. In the later 280Z its by activating and releasing the handbrake.

Dave did a very nice job restoring it

I remember when I did mine, the only way I could get it right was to follow every step in the FSM ( Factory Manual ), only then I got a full lock at 3 clicks