You can get original looking wire clamps off Ebay too if some of yours get too bad.

Latest Update:  

New caliper (front) installed.
rear wheel brake cylinders (early style) were replaced.
problem carb was disassembled (not easy considering 30+ years of varnish) - improper idle circuit was corrected.
new battery installed.
electrics tested (no issues!)
engine started (note acorn bazooka out back in the Google Drive library of photos and videos)
Fuel lines plugged - (car was run for ~2-3s by adding fuel to float bowl)
Tank dropped and cleaned (new fuel lines ordered)
Exhaust from cat-back is badly rusted and crumbling (to be rebuilt)

Areas of concern:
valve springs (once running, keep it gentle at moderate rpm to break everything back in - some of those springs have been compressed for over 30yrs)
cyl bore rust & blow-by (if springs compressed = valves open...)
 

Question for forum:

The chassis / underside is coated in surface rust - should this be cleaned up and powder-coated (non-original for preservation) - or should this be left alone (original)?

 

Thanks! & happy viewing

On 7/16/2018 at 6:38 PM, Zed Head said:

I often pondered renting a U-Haul to move a Z, when I was shopping for one.  They'll fit inside one of the larger box trucks.  I would have had to build ramps to roll it up and in and might have had to fashion some tie-down points inside but I think it would have been doable.

I don't have a specific company in mind but make sure that they know how to transport old unibody cars.  Using wheel straps instead of tow hooks and other details like that are important to avoid damage.

A friend of mine who started transporting cars back in the 70's told me he had seen many ZCars twisted back in the day because of this. He and his company were picking up brand new Datsuns from the docks. Even 280ZX were being bent.

Edited December 7, 20186 yr by DC871F

On 12/7/2018 at 7:10 AM, jakay11 said:

Question for forum:

The chassis / underside is coated in surface rust - should this be cleaned up and powder-coated (non-original for preservation) - or should this be left alone (original)? 

 

Thanks! & happy viewing

Have you checked the floors under the carpet?  Any signs of rust?  It is very common for rust to form under the sound deadening tar mats when water sets on the floors. If there is none then just treat the bottom of the pan.

On the bottom I think I would wire brush it and then seal it with a rust killer paint, POR15, etc.

Edited December 9, 20186 yr by jwtaylor

@jakay11  Current pictures of the undercarriage would help yield the best advice. There are several different approaches - and solutions depending on how much rust and were specifically it is. A 70 Datsun 240Z with documented 24K miles - might be a $65K+ example, if it isn’t improperly refreshed or screwed up.

 

Might be something requiring a spot treatment of a rust converter like Ospho, or Rust Sgt. .. might be something that could be refinished with something like POR-15. ...

I hope everyone is having a very merry christmas!  I got my present a day early - I got to drive the wee beastie (and ride in it and hear it for the first time since 1986...)

Car sounds good - even with needing to rebuild the exhaust system (the Bob Sharp Racing headers are nice) the pipes back are "slightly" rusted and from the glasspack back there is a sizable "chipmunk" hole... (see below for the first start)

Gas tank was removed, acid etched, POR15'd and replaced (still need a new sender for fuel level which was reading open and the fuel pump didn't - the diaphragm was stiffer than your muscles on day 2 of your new year's resolution to get back into shape...)
The rust on the bottom is light surface rust (the car was not driven in winter and was rust-proofed/undercoated) - In due time that will be cleaned up with a wash and all the spider egg casing removed...

 

 

Well, the early christmas present was driving - the brakes still need to be bedded in (turned the front rotors and new linings on the rear drums - they still need a slight adjustment so require a hefty push for any woah.)

The engine and trans work great!  The controls are delicate (as is the thin-rimmed steering wheel) and the non-assisted steering takes a hefty pull at parking speeds... the tires are still slightly square and as a result feels like an old horse-drawn wagon on a dirt trail at 40, and damn scary at 50.

 

So this then yields the question of what to do with tires / wheels.  We know there aren't many R14 options.  So do I upgrade to 15s? or is there still a 14" tire out there (post 2007 tire thread) that people still like... I don't want to over-tire the thing and kill the steering feel or make it so the car doesn't move around anymore (think GT86 econo tires)... but at the same rate I want to enjoy the canyons and passes near here! 

And finally, I found a signed letter from Bob Sharp (in a Bob Sharp Racing envelope) congratulating my dad on his new purchase... (Which goes nicely with the BSR license plate holder)

Bob Sharp letter, super cool!!!

1 hour ago, 240260280 said:

So what are they selling, a garden hose?

5 minutes ago, grannyknot said:

So what are they selling, a garden hose?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Kevorkian

Freedom for the weak.