Bringing back the RedZ

[DaveR]

Hello all, been preparing and searching for a 240z for the past year or so, and finally pulled the trigger. I am in Milford, CT, and have met a few of the local Z enthusiasts at a meet earlier in 2015.  I am a mechanical engineer, and come from the world of Subarus, my 2005 STI has been with me since early 2006. First car I bought myself out of college, and learned everything I know so far working on it. I probably won't keep it too much longer, with a family in the future (I am 31) and it not being terribly practical now that I have the Z for my project/fun car. It's in terrific shape, and hopefully the Z takes its place in my heart so I can let it go.
 

 
I now own HLS30-27581. Manual 240Z, 905 Red with 29000 original miles on it. I am the second owner, the original owner living outside of Chicago, after receiving the car as a graduation present from his parents afer completing college. The car has been in storage since 1981, but comes to me in phenomenal body condition. This is exactly what I was after, as I am very mechanically inclined, but do not yet have the skill or equipment needed to do extensive body work. Some day I will repaint it, but as far as I can tell that is a long way away and I may never need to.  I specifically wanted Red, and was very impressed with the quality of the paint.  There might be some evidence of touching up here and there, but I have a hard time believing it was ever fully repainted. If it was, they did a pretty good job in my opinion.
 







 
 
Because of its long duration in storage, it needs a bit of mechanical work to get things running smoothly again. I will spend the winter going through each of the systems fully (hopefully with everyone here's help) and plan to be on the road in the spring with it humming nicely.
 
A quick primer on what I am after with this car. It will be a fun weekend car, to and from work once or twice a week on nice days during the warm months (<15 miles, no highways on that route) and possibly the occassional meet up. I'm not wanting for it to be a show car, although I do keep my vehicles in the best shape I can manage.
 
I want to keep it in the Z family for parts, so here is my "end goal" on an upgrade/maintenance path that will stretch out long into the future. (this is my forever project car)
-L28 (possibly rebuilt myself or by Datsun spirit)
-Ztherapy SU's
-5 speed from 280z or 280zx
-matching diff for the new tranny
-stock brake system
-electronic distributor and any other quality of life ignition upgrades
- Panasport FZ (16", possibly 15" but not sure about tires for 15)
 
Mostly I want to keep it looking stock and feeling stock, just bumping up the quality of life bits here and there as it makes sense.
 
I look forward to getting to know all of you better, and hopefully finding ways I can contribute in the future for all of the advice you will surely provide along the way.
 
-Dave

Edited November 30, 2015 by DaveR

[DaveR]

Onward with the big posts!

 

State of the car:

For a short duration before my purchase, some friends of the original owner were helping to get some life back into the car to help in selling it. So a few parts have already been purchased, and while I will make use of them where I can... I do not plan to use anything that will not be a smart part choice in the long run. While the engine is in good health to the best of my knowledge, a lot of the other mechanics need work. It's difficult to start it now because of the fuel pump and carb issues, so that is why i want to start by addressing those areas.

 

Since I will be replacing so many filters, hoses, and other connecting bits, any general advice on where to find all these little pieces would be greatly appreciated. 

 

Fuel system:

Everything is original in the car, and likely been sitting for a long time with gas in the tank. The owner kept good care of things, but I have no idea of the status of the fuel tank at the moment or if there was fuel stabilizer in it while stored.

 

I plan to replace all of the hosing with new and current fuel compatible replacements. Additionally, the fuel filters and anything else you guys suggest. The original mechanical fuel pump has a diaphram leak, and I have a carter mechanical fuel pump replacement ready. I have to dismantle the A/C system to install the new one, but that is in the future. 

 

Useful advice would be appreciated about where to source the replacment hoses, and bits I need to get things flowing smoothly. Also any tips about fuel pumps (I do not want to move to electric right now, and if I ever do... I will want one that is not obnoxiously loud.)

 

Carburetors:

Things are pretty sticky right now, so I will have to break them down and clean and lube everything up. I plan to get the Just SU's DVD to learn my way around as I try to free everything up and get them tuned decently. Since I ultimately want to obtain Ztherapy carbs (TBD next 1-2 years), I want to limit the amount of money i spend to rebuild the stockers if possible.

 

Ignition:

Really want to move to an electronic ignition in the near future, probably the PerTronix one. I will obviously replace all the plugs and wires along the way.

 

Clutch:

Recently the Clutch slave and master were replaced. I have yet to troubleshoot it all, but hopefully not much is required besides bleeding everything.

 

Tranny/Engine:

Hoping not to touch these for a while, maybe some tune up valve clearance checks on the engine. Compression tests pre-purchase were solid across the board.

 

Cooling:

Probably need to investigate the status of the water pump and seal, probably replacing both. Hoses as well I would imagine. Radiator is original, not sure how it is currently performing or if there was damage from sitting so long. It doesn't appear to leak when its running.

 

Suspension:

No idea, seems okay for now but because of the other issues I haven't had a real test drive. Appears very stock, but again... only 29k original miles.

 

Wheels/Tires:

Stock 14" steel rims with hubcaps.  Tires are from the 80's and rotted and badly flat spotted. Will be replacing with 15 or 16 panasport and new rubber.

 

Brakes:

I think I will need to do a lot of work to get the brakes in order. A new master cylinder was installed, and from what I understand many future replacements require some repiping for front/back brakes. New front pads and calipers were purchased and installed, but I think i need to deeply investigate the status of the rear cylinders and drums. I expect to be rebuilding everything and replacing the hoses and such along the way.

 

 

 

AC System:

We'll see what I can do about this later, for the moment I just need to get it out of the way so I can work on other things more easily.

 

 

That's all for now I think.  I plan to start fully removing everything and thoroughly documenting it as I go. Then starts the slow replacement/installation of everything.  Hopefully I can get this thing all squared away by summer 2016.

 

Thanks all

-Dave

Edited November 30, 2015 by DaveR

[Patcon]

That's a nice looking car. What were they asking for it? I would just rebuild the mechanical pump, there is a thread here on how to do it and source pumps. The mechanical pump is robust and simple. All of your upgrade ideas seem inline with a car in this good of shape. Just remember to keep all the old bits and pieces, these cars are beginning to appreciate rapidly and a purists will want to be able to return it to stock form if you ever decide to sell...

[DaveR]

Thanks, and yes I will keep all the original stuff. Wherever I can I will attempt to rebuild and reuse them. As for asking price... I paid a bit for the time capsule aspect of the car, and for the quality of the paint and body. I do wish the mechanics were more sorted out, but I don't mind rebuilding things. Just stinks to add $ to the pile before I can drive it.  The time spent on it is the fun part

 

I saw that thread about the fuel pumps, and even have all the parts written down. I wanted to confirm I had a Nikki pump (which I do) So I can do that if need be. Seems a shame to waste this aftermarket fuel pump, but like I said above... I don't want to take any shortcuts I will regret later. I figure I'll get it out, and take it apart and see how things look.

 

If things look mostly good, and the shaft seal is good, then I may follow steps here: http://woodworkerb.com/home/datsun-240z-rebuild/datsun-240z-mechanical-fuel-pump-rebuild/  and just get a new diaphram and check valves.

 

Now about those fuel lines... where do I acquire those?

[Patcon]

I was asking about price mainly for a point of reference, these cars are appreciating quickly right now and you could have easily paid close to $20k. Just trying to keep tabs on what cars are out there, condition and price...

 

What fuel lines are you looking for again?

[DaveR]

Yea no where close to that, asking was right around 10k.  I acted very quickly and I believe there was significant other interest that I edged out.

 

So my plan with the fuel system is to first empty and drop the tank and take a look at things there. Hopefully the inside is good enough as-is (not that I know how to actually look inside), and I may repaint the exterior with por15 just for safety.  From there I'll do my best to clean out the hard lines under the car, really hoping they don't have to be replaced, but I don't have a good idea for what is acceptable for them. If I can get fluids to run clear and the outside doesn't look too bad, I assume they can stay?  

 

I could be wrong on this next bit, but I've been operating under the assumption that any rubber hose that carries fuel I should probably be replacing. The car has been in storage for 30 years, and all the rubber on the car is pretty pristine. (at least all of the weather stripping)  So I suppose the first question is, how thorough should I be in their replacement? or is it more of an inspection thing versus an across the board approach. 

[Zedyone_kenobi]

 

Hey Dave (SCRAPPYDO here from the Subaru board), Zedyone_Kenobi on this board.   Welcome bud!  Great to have you and your beautiful car here!

 

I think you got a great car Dave. It is scary how much you and I have in common bud. Let me recap.

I am a mechanical engineer as well.

I have a  71 240Z as well,

When I bought it, I had a 2006 STI that I had to sell because I had a family on the way ( I was 35), and the Z replaced the STI easily.

I was great with mechanicals and but not good at body work either.

Seems we are living parallel lives.  I really hope myself as well as the fine men and women of this site can help you. You will NOT find a better source of great knowledgeable people than on this classic Z board.

 

Send me an IM here or on NASIOC. I have a couple of copies of the Just SU's DVD. I will send you one to get you started

[siteunseen]

There's a evaporation system in the hatch, passenger's side.  The hoses get hard after some time so that makes dropping the tank a little more of a hassle.  You should replace those as well.  Nissan hoses that are still available are HIGH DOLLAR.  I bought all mine from O'reilly's for $60.  There's a good thread on here showing what I'm talking about.  Let me see...here it is, http://www.classiczcars.com/topic/24181-rating-the-factory-240z-fuel-vent-hoses/

 

Here's another good read, lots of info towards the end on hose sizes and ways to make the 180 degree bend, http://www.classiczcars.com/topic/17542-treating-insideoutside-of-gas-tank-with-por15-products-and-removing-evaporation-tank/page-3 

 

Some photos of mine after sitting with a half tank for many years.

 

[DaveR]

How were the hard fuel lines in the car with the tank damage you had?  Did you have the tank professionally reconditioned inside?

 

That's a good tip about O'Reillys, definitely trying to limit the damage here. 

[siteunseen]

The hardline under the battery is pretty bad on the outside from battery acid dripping on it I suppose.  I'm just going to cut off the last few feet and clamp on some rubber fuel hose up to the fuel filter.  I have a clear filter right out of my gas tank's supply hose, Fram G2 worked best for the 240's smaller hose.  I ran a glass filter at the beginning of the fuel rail for a month or so and changed the stock filter on the passenger's side a couple of times.  It took about a month to get clear fuel up to the glass filter at the rail, I don't drive it much.  If you're brave enough to try it, blow some high pound fishing line through the hardline and pull a .22 caliber brass gun cleaning brush through.  I was too worried about it getting stuck, that's an old trick my Dad told me to do.  I think blowing air and maybe some lacquer thinner through there should be adequate.  I just put extra filters on mine and changed them when they got dirty.

[DaveR]

Mostly I was just wondering if replacing the hardlines was a common thing with a car that has been sitting for so long. I guess since the fuel shouldn't ever be sitting in them if they are parked for a while, there isn't a big reason they would be rotted out. Maybe just gunky and in need of a good cleaning.

 

Good to know.  I was planning to pump some aerosol injector cleaner through the hard lines to get the process moving along quicker, and of course keeping an eye on the filter once it's running again.

[siteunseen]

I had cleaned my 280s a few years earlier and learned a few tricks that made it easier.  Muriatic acid cleaned it and Red-Kote was what I used to line it.  Cost about $50 for everything to clean the inside of the tank, $30 for the red-kote, $10 acid and $10 for a quart of acetone.