Deja Vu: 1971 Restoration

[Carl Beck]

Looks like an exceptionally clean 240Z - always far more fun to work on well cared for Z's.  Somewhat odd to see the bolts for the tie downs sheared off - far more common on the lower bolts on the front fenders..  Bummer any way you look at it..

Amazing how much work could be saved - if people would only use a good penetrating oil on 20+ year old nuts/bolts/screws - before they start twisting on them. This is especially true on 40+ year old cars.  Kroil is one of the best "tools" in my garage. 

[motorman7]

2 hours ago, Carl Beck said:

Looks like an exceptionally clean 240Z - always far more fun to work on well cared for Z's.  Somewhat odd to see the bolts for the tie downs sheared off - far more common on the lower bolts on the front fenders..  Bummer any way you look at it..

 

Yes, it is definitely well cared for, things are coming apart nicely.  Even the exhaust system came out without a sheared bolt head.  That is pretty impressive.  

Today I pulled the motor, transmission and exhaust system.  The motor is really pretty clean.  I will check through the receipts and see what was done to it.  Obviously the head was done.  Also has a new water pump and looks like a new smog pump and alternator.  I will eventually check the cylinders and see if a block hone and rings would be in order.

It looks like the clutch and transmission have also had some work done.  There are some markings on the transmission and flywheel that are from a machine shop.  Those both look to be in real good shape and probably just need to be cleaned up

The fun part in all this is the Z CSI.  Interesting to note what items have been worked on, and which items are original.  All the little details tell a story. 

Anyway, here are some pictures from the tear down.

[motorman7]

Made a lot of progress this week.  The outside of the car is just about stripped (only a few items left).  I spent most of the time removing items in the transmission tunnel.  I removed the differential, half-shafts and drive shaft.  Also removed the fuel lines, clutch lines, brake lines and parking brake system.  That 10mm flare nut wrench is absolutely incredible and is a must when removing brake lines.  If you use a regular wrench, you will round off the nut flats. 

  I also removed the heater panel and controls, and the radio. I put several layers of blue tape on the center console near the dash and heater panel to prevent scratches.  That area is always a very tight fit  I noticed the heater valve was stuck and pretty corroded.  No problem there as I have an extra (new) one laying around.  Should have the dash, seats and other small items out by next weekend, then it will be time to start the body work.  I will leave the glass in till last the help reduce the amount of dust in the car.  No broken bolts in the disassembly to date.  That is pretty good.  Some pics are below 

[Zup]

That water control valve may be the grodiest part on the entire car Rich!

I'm enjoying your tear down with photos and eagerly anticipate the put back shots in the future.

Jim D.

"Zup"

[motorman7]

Made a little more progress tonight.  I got the dash out.  Woo-Hoo!   I took lots of pics of the wiring as that is a bit funky under the steering column. Also took out the steering column, brake booster and clutch; so now the engine bay is stripped of parts.  I think I just need to take off the rear view mirror and then I am ready to start body work.  I will remove the instruments and harness from the dash and send that out to get repaired professionally.  I will send that up to Just Dashes in Van Nuys.  They did the dash on my orange 71 240 and it looks perfect.  The brake booster looks ugly, but will clean up nicely.  Here are a few pics.

[Pop's Z]

Rich, if you need a complete heater assembly I have one I took out when I did my HVAC system. It's out of my '73 and it had about 70,000 actual miles of use...no leaks.

Cheers, Mike

[nix240z]

I like seeing these photo's of what it originally looked like coming out of the factory, can you take any photos of the doors so I can see how the factory placed the clear plastic film and the locations.

 

[motorman7]

 

1 hour ago, nix240z said:

I like seeing these photo's of what it originally looked like coming out of the factory, can you take any photos of the doors so I can see how the factory placed the clear plastic film and the locations.

 

Most of the car is original, however the doors have seen some work done to them.  As a result the plastic is not in great shape.  The drivers side is just a small rectangle near the door handle.  The passenger side is a bit more complete.  I will try and post pics by tomorrow.

2 hours ago, Pop's Z said:

Rich, if you need a complete heater assembly I have one I took out when I did my HVAC system. It's out of my '73 and it had about 70,000 actual miles of use...no leaks.

Cheers, Mike

Thanks for the offer.  I think the heater core is OK, but I will check.  The coolant was a very clean green, so I am optimistic.  It just seemed liked the valve was bad and I have one of those already.

Anyway, the fun part begins soon.  The tear down is not that exciting as nothing is really made better.  Hope to start doing some of the body work this coming week.  That is a bit more useful.

[motorman7]

Cool, check out the dash restoration video at Just Dashes....its a Z dash

 

 

[Carl Beck]

Great Pictures - keep them coming! The wiring harness on the steering column might be very useful to many in the future as well.

Carl B.

 

[motorman7]

Here are some pics of the door plastic.  Neither one appears to be original.  I will re-do these when I start doing the interior work.

Was short on time this weekend, so did not get much done.  I did get the bulging dent taken out of the passengers floor board.  Looks much better now.  Before and after are shown below.  Too often mechanics stick there jacks under the car and just start cranking.  It causes the severe dents seen here.  The 4 pound hammer and 2X4 did a nice job of putting things back close to normal.  I will use a slide hammer to smooth out the rest of the box beam. AAaaahh, and a picture of the twins.

 

[Namerow]

That's a nice result for your floorboard, considering how badly caved it was.  Amazing what you can accomplish with a BFH and a piece of 2 x 4.  I wonder what the garage guys had to say to the car's owner when they returned it to him after 'service'.