Hey Guys,

I was sent here from the Hybridz forum. They said you do more factory and stock cars so it might be a better fit.

I wanted to introduce myself. I bought this car 2 weeks ago from an old lady down the street. It was her husbands and he bought it in 1973. The build date is 6/1971. He never drove it in the rain and kept it nice. It hadn't been run in 7 years and hadn't left the garage in 10. I put gas in the carbs and tank, aired up the tires, fired it up and drove it home. It has 98k miles and service records since 1973.

I have never owned a z before. I have been reading a bunch and getting familiar with it. So far I have changed the tires, belts, fuel lines, trans fluid, differential fluid, brake fluid, shoes, pads, and unstuck a brake cylinder. I have some interior parts coming to freshen up the interior. I polished the wheels today and tomorrow I am going to buff out the paint. This winter I am going to do the trans and differential seals, suspension, bushings, steering ect.. I am preparing a laundry list now.

Aside from the suspension, the car runs and shifts well except when downshifting into third. It grinds every time, no matter what I do. None of the other gears grind. My buddy suggested double clutching but that hasn't worked. The fluid in the trans was thick and smelled like gear oil. I put in red line I think the PO used the wrong fluid. I was reading that the wrong fluid can damage the syncros. Is there anything else I can try to make downshifting into third smoother.

Bill

Welcome to the forum.  Don't know you paid for it, but looks like a gem definitely worth keeping in stock condition.

Did old lady down the street give you any specific reason for the car's decades long hibernation?  My guess is the 3rd gear syncro was going out and her husband never got around to addressing it.  It might worth opening the gearbox and taking a look.

I use to live in Denver off of 6th and Quebec back in the early 1990s, and recall seeing a red 240Z in the area.  Maybe it was this one.

 

The last receipts were in 2008. They showed a new battery installed and a locked up rear wheel cylinder. The car was not safe to drive and the PO declined to have the wheel cylinder fixed. Mary Beth said her husband could no longer drive the car about ten years ago. The story jives with the receipts. She said she would help her husband into the car and he would run it in the garage. She finally remembered that he stopped sitting in it because the car ran out of gas. I think that's why it started so easily for me.

I will have the transmission out this winter and will take a look.

The car was driving in the 1990s. I live on Holly and Evans. It could have been the same car. Small world.

Edited June 27, 20195 yr by Pinbill

Nice car!  Welcome to the classic Z car forum.  Hybridz.org calls us "purist".  Not a bad classification in my opinion.

If that's the original paint a good cut and buff will make it look like new.

The two pics in my signature, the one on the left was before cutting and the right was taken after the cut and wax by a pro.  I'm too scared to put a wheel on my cars.

A good cheap way to keep trash out of your carbs.  This is for the larger fuel line on 280s, he uses a G3 but on a 240 the G2s work better.

http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/fuel/g3filter/index.htm

Thanks man. This forum looks like a better fit. This car is too nice to modify. Some of the paint is original but I don't know how much.

I polished the wheels last night and spent 4 hours buffing the paint and polishing the chrome today. I hand polished it using some light compound and then put a coat of wax on it. It came out nice, but it is still a 20+ footer .

Edited June 27, 20195 yr by Pinbill

It'll get shinier the more you do, duh...

Is that the OE #903 I think, red?

Here's your car's step by step from the one of the best.

 

I wonder if the GM tranny fluid would help? It does sound like the 3rd synchro could be a problem. Nice looking car!

 I was thinking of that too. Zup is the one who swears by A/C Delco Friction Modified. My first Z had a bit of a grind going into 2nd and 3rd. I tore it down and found all pristine synchros. I replaced them just because I had it apart, put it back together and used Kendall gear oil. It worked great. One year later, my friends, trans needed going thru. We replaced his worn synchros with my pristine used ones and it shifted fine. Looking back I suspect my original problem could have been cured with different gear oil. There is one thing that makes me believe your 3rd gear synchro may be bad. Normally the first synchro to go is 2nd gear followed later by 3rd gear.

Welcome, Pinball! 

I live just south of the Denver metro area (Lone Tree).  One of my current 240Z project cars is a '71 Series II car that was also built in 6/71 and is also originally from Colorado. The 918 Orange with black interior car that spent over 20 years sitting in a garage up in Cheyenne, WY. That's where I purchased the car and brought it home by trailer.  It's VIN #HLS30-34495. Just curious,  is your car's VIN close to my car's?

Yo dudes,  thanks for the nice complements. Lots of people

The paint color is 905 and the vin is 35549.

I was doing some reading about the syncros. It seems like people have had good luck with different fluids. I have enough  M90 redline left to do a flush. I may try flushing with redline and then switch to the GM and then try the Kendal fluid if need be. I won't be tearing into the car until the fall so I will have time to try a few fluids.

The rear suspension is pretty bouncy but doesn't seem to sag. I will replace the rear struts do most people replace the springs when they rebuild the struts? It looks like z car source has a kit with springs and shocks.

There is a car show this weekend in Aurora that's put on by a Colorado Z club. Unfortunately due to rain last weekend I had to postpone my patio tear out and can't make it.

 

Edited June 28, 20195 yr by Pinbill

If I were going to replace the springs I would do it when I did the struts. Although the bounce in the rear probably has nothing to do with the springs.  Struts should help that. Most people change springs fo a slightly lower stance. I would suggest Eibach progressive springs.

Just be sure whatever fluids you try are safe for yellow metals!

Update! And a few questions.

Put in some work on the interior. Cleaned it and got the drivers side window working. Put in new clips on the door card while I was in there. Picked up the seats from the upholsterer and installed them. The seat covers and foam from are from MSA. I was impressed with the quality. I ordered a window crank and door pulls from JDM parts and they were garbage. They are getting returned.  I hope to find a better quality replacement for these parts.

Had the car out today. It was a nice day for a drive. I took the car up I70 and it was hot outside. I have been able to shift up and downshift into third without grinding. I have to let the RPMs die down before I up shift and I have to double clutch at low rpms. I will still change out the fluid. I am getting excited to rebuild the suspension and steering. It rides like a 50 year old car.

I wanted to test the power going up the hill and check the temp. It did well. The gauge got almost to the P. It is usually between the M and P during regular driving. I don't always trust old gauges and senders but I think I am ok. The only way to know for sure is with an thermometer. 

I attached a pic of the transmission shift seal. It is leaking pretty good. The fluid level is correct. Also, it looks like the trans is leaking from the seams where the trans splits. Is that a common leak spot. Do I need to drop the trans to fix those two leaks?

Are the differentials in these cars noisy? Mine has a bit of a whine above 60mph. I changed the gear oil to redline and the old stuff looked good when I drained it.

Thanks again for all the responses.

Bill