Hardway's Red Rocket 1972 240z Build Thread

[Hardway]

I am back!  After selling my series-1 240z on August 21st I picked up my new 240z yesterday September 11th.  To be honest, I did not think I would be in another Z so quickly but my friend Mike Cooper, who never sells anything asked if I would be interested in buying his red 240z.  He needed the room more than anything and had owned the car since December of 2000.  I had seen the car many years ago parked in the corner of his garage but never saw it up close.  After a trip to look at it and another trip to drive it, I knew it was the one for me.  When I sold the series-1 Z I had a goal of taking the money and getting my shop air conditioned before getting another car.  The next car would be a classic Z I could modify and not affect the value.  It could be a 240, 260, or 280 as I wanted to do triple Webers, springs, sway bars, different seats, etc.  Mike's car already had all of this and more.  The highlights include a 1mm over '78 2.8L engine w/an E88 head, triple Dellorto carbs, '83 280zx Turbo 5spd w/Hurst shift and custom shift handle, '85 Turbo differential w/Precision LSD, Susp. Techniques springs, front & rear sway bars, and seats from a Mitsubishi Eclipse.  The car is a 1/72 build and is number 65,283.  As you can see in the pictures it needs a deep cleaning, the paint needs a careful cut & polish, and there are lots of little things that need to be addressed, mainly just items that need to be replaced due to age.  The car was originally silver with a red interior and one day it may return to that color scheme.  For now, it will be tinkered with and driven alot!  When I first saw the shifter handle I thought I thought it looked a little ridiculous but I can testify it is totally functional.  It puts the shift knob right where you want it and the throws are short and precise.  I will keep this post going as I make updates and repairs.  I look forward to showing it to everyone at local events in Austin and at Atlanta in October 2018!

And it came with a few parts too!  Believe it or not 99% of what you see was packed in the car when I picked it up.  Who needs an SUV?

[charliekwin]

Looking forward to following along on this one too!

[grannyknot]

What a score, lots to work with, congrats!

[siteunseen]

Yes, great looking leap frog on your project plans.  Congratulations. 

I've finally seen my "unicorn", '72 240 splash pan.

You can still buy the door sill scuff plates from Nissan, I got two a few months ago.  They're no longer wrapped in vinyl but a nice thick coat of textured paint.  I'll put up the part number when I get back home. 

[siteunseen]

Can't find the price now but they were as cheap from nissan as any other vendors. 

[240260280]

All is right and good in the world again!

 

[jonathanrussell]

Looks like great fun. How is the rust situation?

[Hardway]

Thanks for all the compliments guys!  The car has certainly received a lot of attention over the years and in its current state is ready to receive some more.  The rust situation is  what I would describe as "typical".  It is primarily in the rockers, lower sections of the front fenders, one spot on the passenger side rear floor, a small spot on the rear hatch, and a little bubbling on the hatch panel above the tail lights.  All of this will be addressed in the future as rust never sleeps.  My immediate plans include adding some new weather stripping where it is needed, rebuilding the driver side door hinges, changing all fluids, the carbs need some tuning, clean, clean, clean, and polish.  I plan to make this weekend very productive.  In addition to the car itself I need to inventory all the parts I got with the car, decide what to keep, and decide what to sell to those that can use them.

[Patcon]

8 hours ago, Hardway said:

one spot on the passenger side rear floor

I have some partial panels from Charlie laying around. When you figure out what you need to fix it, let me know and I will see if I have that section...

 

[Hardway]

Thank you Patcon!  I will have it on the lift this weekend doing a transmission and diff fluid change.  Once I can get a good look at everything I will let you know.

[Hardway]

It was time to get down to business and start knocking out the to-do list on my new Z.  The Carter electric pump that was in it was noisy and upon inspection was one bump in the road away from burning the car to the ground.  The hose going from the tank to the glass Pro-Flo filter (hate these things) was leaking.  Add to this the positive bullet connector for the bump was not shielded at all.  If it had grounded against the chassis, it would be game over! 

First I got everything out and replaced the pump with a new Carter P60504 inline pump.  I have used these on all of my Z cars with great success.  They put out a maximum 4psi which is perfect for carburetored cars.  You could probably get away with not running a regulator but I choose to do so.  I found one of the original mounting holes and using my M6x1.0 tap, I cleaned out the 45 year old under-coating and got the threads ready to accept a bolt.

Using a long bolt and a steel spacer I had in my stash, I mounted the pump and plumbed it with new 5/16 hose and clamps.  Wiring from the pump to the original connectors is new and everything is covered protection.

Next I moved to the front and not a moment too soon as it was easy to spot more fire hazzards.  A lot of this is due to age but also lack of planning.  The original regulator had no gauge and the feed line was shot.   I tossed the filter but kept the bracket as I have the filter in the back in line with the fuel pump.

On the carb side of the engine, things were not much better.  The feed line just sat loose above the manifold and had become hardened with age and exposure to heat.  Again, its a miracle the hose hadn't cracked and spilled gas all over the exhaust manifold.  Interestingly enough the two smaller carb feed lines were newer and were fuel injection hose so they are staying for now.

I assembled and installed my Holley 12-804 adjustable fuel pressure regular and Fuelab fuel pressure gauge.  This is the same combination I used on my silver series-1 240z and was very happy with it.  All of the brass components ran me $30 at Home Depot.

Bolting it in was fairly easy as I used a pre-tapped hole in the inner fender.  Plumbed in new lines and it was done.

I replaced the carb feed hose with a new one and used some rubber insulated clamps to hold the line in securely in place.  The front inspection cover bolts seemed like a logical spot.

The valve cover bolts on the carb side seemed logical as well.  In the future I will come up with something more elegant but for now this is fully functional, serviceable, and more importantly it is safe.

A quick turn of the key and some testing revealed no leaks.  However, My fuel pressure gauge would not read more than 2.1 PSI.  Let the trouble shooting begin!

Edited October 5, 2017 by Hardway

[Hardway]

Knowing I had three new fuel system components that could be faulty I decided to start with the pump.  I bought a diagnostic fuel pressure gauge as I did not have one for low pressure systems and checked the pressure coming out of the fuel hard line.  4psi on the dot!  Next I bought another 1/4 barb fitting and replaced the gauge with the barb fitting.  Using the regulator I could dial the fuel pressure up down from .8 - 3.9psi so this confirmed the regulator is working and the gauge is faulty.  I snapped a picture with it at 3.5psi to show the company I bought the gauge from so I could return it.  With the diagnostic gauge still I set the pressure at 3.0psi and locked it down for now.  New gauge is on its way.