We're bringin' back the Flat Tops!

[motorman7]

                    Well, the last restoration went so well I think it's time to do another one.  I am actually restoring this '73 240Z for a gentleman up in the Bay Area.  He is the original owner of the Z and a friend of the Orange Z owner whose car I recently completed.  We will  pretty much go through the same process and restore this one to it's original condition including the original flat tops.  Actually the flat tops are one of the first things we discussed on the phone and I was thrilled that he wanted to have those put back on (I would have a hard time restoring a '73 and putting on the round tops). 

 So, attached are some pics of what we have to work with.  I will document things here as the project progresses.

[grannyknot]

Big job, about the only thing you get a free ride on is the shift knob, looking forward to watching the transformation.

Oh just found the close up pic of the shift knob, scratch that.

Edited June 30, 2018 by grannyknot

[Zup]

Holy Moly!!

73 skidoo! Whoo Hoo!!

Bring it on Rich!

I'm all eyes and ears on following THIS restoration----I am admittedly biased, but truly do believe that the 73 240z is THE most difficult of the Z cars to restore to originality.

Parts are difficult to find that are specific to them, and they are numerous.

You know, as you've had one in the not so distant past.

Looking forward to some of that "flat top love" that is pretty darn scarce in the Z world.

Let me know if there is any way I can help.

The owner is so lucky to have found and employed you to do it!

 

 

[Captain Obvious]

Nice condition base to start from. Good to see that it still has the original intake manifold and balance tube.

You just need to find someone who knows flat tops. And shift knobs.

[motorman7]

Thanks for the comments everyone.  It should be a fun build.  The owner will be stopping by on Monday with a number of original parts that he has purchased for the restoration.  I think he said he has an original radio along with the original set of flat tops and a number of other parts.  That will definitely help.  Maybe he even has a shift knob ? .  Will post as things progress.

[Captain Obvious]

BTW, on a semi related note... This is what I was working on today. Maiden voyage after paint up the street and back.

Runs great. Haven't really opened it up yet, but so far, I'm very happy with the results!

 

[Captain Obvious]

@Zup How many mods can you spot? There'll be a short quiz at Zcon.   

[Zup]

OK you're on! At first glance about 8, but I know how crafty you can be so there may be many more hidden in there.

There's some more of that "flat top" love I'm talkin up. Is this Gary's Z??

Are @motorman7, you and me the only inhabitants of this fourth dimension??

[Captain Obvious]

Yup, that's Gary's Z. The wheels spun under their own power for the first time in five years yesterday. Up and down his country road a half mile while still missing a lot of the body panels. And you're right... There are changes to those carbs that you can't see in the photo. You and I have discussed most (but not all) of them.

Clock's-a-tickin, but we're still hoping he'll have his car at Zcon. Power to the Flat Tops!    

Haha! I'll stop the thread jack! All the flat top talk got me worked up.

[jayhawk]

Hi, I’m the “gentleman” (Rich may be a little too generous ?) that is the original owner of the ‘73 Z of this thread.  I’m happy I managed to hang on to my Z this long and yet ashamed I have let it sit so long.  I bought it new from Gubrud Valley Datsun in Mt Vernon Washington shortly after returning from an 11 month deployment with my US Navy A6 Intruder squadron aboard the USS Kitty Hawk.  ( which was a great way for a young ensign to save his pay to buy a Z!).

I’ll post more info about the history of this car when I get back home after the 4th.

 

[motorman7]

Ahhhh...good to see the the car owner here.  @jayhawk stopped by today and dropped off a six pack for me, a six pack of flat tops that is,  See pics below.  Two are the originals and the other four are spares.  I will look into those a bit later.

I began the motor tear-down this evening so that I can pull the motor.  Things went pretty well, so I am hoping to have the motor out this weekend.

It always amazes me what I will find during the tear down.  Some of the amusing finds include the double spring set-up attached to the SU,  missing fast idle linkage,  capped off heater lines,  and unique '73 tubes going to nowhere (pics below).  It's amazing what you can hide behind a large air cleaner and a set of SU's.  Anyway, not a big problem.  We will get these fixed when we get to the assembly portion.  For now, I want to get the motor out and then move to the interior disassembly.

[Zup]

@jayhawk  Welcome back!

Happy for you for hanging on to your Z--especially an original owner Z!  No shame in it sitting---lots of that happened. Events in life have caused a good many to fall into dis-repair. There's a story to be told in each instance.

I remember your posts from quite a few years ago and realized back then that you had a 73 with flat tops.

I had wondered several times in reading those posts what had happened to you and the Z. You were one of the few that retained the flat tops, although it looks from the photos above as though eventually you swapped to round tops.

You will be thrilled to see your Z returned to former beauty and Rich is certainly the  man for the task at hand.

@motorman7

Creative spring solution for the round tops----spring not long enough---add another!

For me, that's the first time that I have ever seen the original air pump and the air conditioning compressor co-existing on the drivers side of the block. I'll be interested in seeing how those were both mounted.

What is the Vin # and build date of this blue on white Z?

Mine is #167424 fairly late build date of 6/73---wondering how close a sibling this is.