Hardway's Red Rocket 1972 240z Build Thread

[Hardway]

I turned my attention to the thermostat housing and realized I needed to temporarily mount it on the engine in order to get the top cover bolts out. Luckily they did not snap off but they were in awful shape. Luckily, I ordered all new hardware from MSA for this project and so far it has paid for itself many times over.  I am using an oil pan drain plug to cap one of the holes and upon closer inspection I can see it was hitting the thermostat.  I will take note of this when I install the new thermostat as thermostat core is not centers and can be turned away from the plug.  The housing will get a complete clean up and paint job before re-assembly.

[wheee!]

Excellent progress! Great pictures!

[Hardway]

Wow!  My last update was November of last year.  Believe it or not, I have been working on the Z, just very slowly and as time has allowed.  I crossed off an easy project by installing the oil tube block off plates I bought from MSA.  Nice materials and quality.  I used a little gasket maker to go around the edges of the oil holes.  When I got the balancer back from Dale Manufacturing I knew I needed to repair the snout of the balancer as the seal had carved a groove in it.  I ordered a SKF Speedi-Sleeve kit off Amazon for $30.  Part # 99189.  It went on easy-peasy using my 20 ton HF press.  Next up was the oil pan.  I used the Competition gasket sold by MSA.  A brand new Fel-Pro gasket just seemed too thin and the MSA gasket is easily 30-40% thicker.  The pan went on as planned and all fasteners torqued to spec, 7ft pounds.  The silver support rails provide a nice contrast to all the blue even if they are not correct.  With the balancer installed the engine takes a few more steps to completion.

[Hardway]

Every time I step out in to my shop I am greeted by the empty engine bay of the Z.  Its somewhat sad to look at it I am not in a position to strip it down or tear the entire front suspension apart and detail it but I did want to swap out the steering rack bushings as access would never be better.  I bought the Energy Suspension bushing set and went about swapping them out.  The old ones were shot as they felt like sponges.  Another straightforward project done!  As I get a nice weekend day I try to clean and paint what I can.  The engine plate was certainly ready for some attention and it got it.  A deep cleaning followed by some wire wheeling to knock off the corrosion and then some silver Rustoleum paint.  The other side was in much better shape but received the same treatment.

I sold my 1988 Mercedes Benz 560SEC a few weeks ago on BAT.  With the sale and a very tiny profit I ordered a coated header from MSA.  Of course being my luck it was on back order but it has now shipped. With its arrival later this week it should kick this project in to high gear.

[Sailor Bob]

Looking good. We are doing the same things at the same time. Im waiting on some parts. Cleaning and slapping on paint. Steering rack bushings just arrived. 

[Hardway]

Been making some progress over the past few weekends.  My coated MSA header arrived so I went about mocking it up on the engine.  Upon initial test fit of the intake with the header I noticed it was a pretty tight fit.  Then once I attempted to install the water outlet base, it would not line up.  I knew I would need to shave off a little material to keep the intake and header from touching along with removing some material from the base of the water outlet.  A little time with the grinder solved all my problems.  I did a few rounds of grind, test fit, and grind a little more as I did not want to remove anymore material than was absolutely necessary.  The end result was achieved with everything fitting in its proper location with no touching or interference between parts.

[Hardway]

With the header successfully installed I turned my attention to making a heat shield.  Using some pieces of cardboard from a cereal box I did some initial mockups.  I know there are several ready to install options that run $100+ but this was going to be a much more affordable DIY solution.  I stopped by a local metal supply shop and found a scrap piece of .040 aluminum that measured 20 x 28 inches with some minor damage for $10.85 out the door.  I only needed something that was approx. 12 x 24 so I knew I could trim away the damaged sections.  Next was to find a way to make a consistent 90 degree bend.  I needed a metal brake of some sort so I bought a 6 foot section of angle iron at HD for $18, cut in half to make two 3ft sections, and wrapped them in some painters tape so the rough edge would not damage the aluminum.  With the angle iron and sheet of aluminum in my vice, after a few adjustments I went for it and bent the sheet.  I may have slightly underestimated how strong .040 aluminum is but I got it done.  After drilling some holes and more trimming I got it to where it would slide on and not catch the levers of the accelerator pumps on the bottom of the carbs.  Happy with the outcome I laid down some self-adhesive heat reflective material I bought off Amazon for $21.94.  I doubled up where the bend was as this was the closest point to the header.  Not too bad for a DIY effort and once the carbs and air cleaners are on, you will see very little of it. 

[Hardway]

The engine was now ready to come off the engine stand.  I purchased a lightweight Fidanza flywheel to accompany the Stage-2 cam that was now in the engine.  The Centerforce II clutch was in great shape so it was going to be re-used. With the flywheel on the table, I took a few minutes to get it indexed correctly and made some marks with a sharpie.  New flywheel and clutch cover bolts were used along with a little blue Loc-tite, torqued to 100ft/lbs and 14ft/lbs respectively.  The instructions that came with the flywheel said to remove the green coating and wipe everything clean before installing the clutch.  A little brake cleaner and a lint-free rag made short work of it.  The clutch went on with no issues.  With the engine out I also took a few minutes to install the new oil pump, gasket, and bolts.  One step closer! 

  

Edited June 5, 2019 by Hardway

[Hardway]

I celebrated my 40th birthday over the Memorial Day weekend and my wife asked me what I wanted.  My wish list was three things, 1. Lunch at Gloria's 2. Make me a homemade chocolate meringue pie and 3. help me put the engine back in the Z car.  Needless to say I have a wonderful wife and I got everything I wanted for my birthday.  It took us about an hour and a half to get the engine in.  Getting it lined up on to the transmission and tilting the motor over at the same time proved to be harder than we anticipated.  In the end we go it done together.  I used some long bolts to help draw the engine the last inch to the transmission.  If I ever do this again, I will just pull the transmission with the engine like I have done in the past with other cars and re-install in reverse fashion.

[Captain Obvious]

Happy birthday!!

"I’ll take the soup."

[Hardway]

Got a few updates as the finish line gets closer.  I ordered a new 160 degree thermostat and Fel-Pro t-stat gasket.  The gasket is labeled for a small block Chevy.  It was sorta close and after some trimming it was much better.  With the upper t-stat housing installed I put on a new Wix filter and filled it up with fresh Valvoline 20w-50 VR1 racing oil.  I never made a tool to prime the pump but I did pour some oil in it when I installed it.  With no spark plugs the engine turned over pretty easily.  I pulled the valve cover and asked my wife to watch the cam and tell me when the oil starts flowing out.  After about 10 turns the cam was liberally covered so the valve cover went back on.  I spent the rest of the day  getting everything buttoned up.  As I started to organize the new carb linkage components, I quickly realized an oversight I had made.  I should have setup the linkage bar before installing the intake.  No biggie, a few minutes pulling the intake and about 20 minutes spent getting the bar straight and the linkage arms on.

[Hardway]

My new o-rings from McMaster-Carr arrived.  These were to replace the flattened o-rings in the soft mount holders.  I glued them in with a little shoe goo and laid a board with a book on top to provide even pressure over night.  The next day was carb install day.  Getting the carbs on with the heat shield is a bit challenging as it adds another item you have to contend with in an already tight space.  Some patience and care not to drop anything saw it come together in the end. I left the linkages loose for now as I know syncing and tuning would be in my near future.

With a cursory system and fuel pressure check complete and a fire extinguisher at the ready, I put my wife in the driver seat and had her turn the key while I worked the carbs and choke.  After about 7 spins of the engine I could tell there was nothing happening.  A second inspection revealed a coil ground wire I had removed and forgot to re-connect.  Once connected my wife turned the key again and I don't think the engine turned a full rotation before IT FIRED UP!  It scared my wife as the open header exits right under the driver seat.  (sorry sweetie)  I dis-engaged the choke and was shocked to see the engine settle in to an idle at 1k RPM.  With the open header, it sounded awesome!  I had to rev it a little bit just to hear it.  WOW!  With the stage-2 cam, new timing chain, and lightened flywheel, it revs super quick.  It really sounds like a race car.  Unfortunately it cannot stay that way.