Restoration of BringaTrailer 240z - HLS30-35883

[inline6]

I am getting close to satisfied with the block eye brow and combustion chamber mods.  I have a few areas I see in the pics that need attention.  I actually can see them better in the pics because I can zoom in on them and compare from one cylinder to another.  So this is helpful to document them in this way.  

Cylinder 1-3 and 4-6:

    

    

 

Cyl. 1 exhaust (front of bore - also note ring location by rust stain), Cyl. 2 exhaust (back of bore),  Cyl. 3 exhaust (back of bore):

    

 

Cyl. 4 exhaust (front of bore), Cyl. 5 exhaust (front of bore),  Cyl. 6 exhaust (back of bore:

    

 

Cyl. 1 intake (back of bore - also note ring location by rust stain), Cyl. 2 intake (front of bore),  Cyl. 3 intake (front of bore):

    

 

Cyl. 4 intake (back of bore), Cyl. 5 intake (back of bore),  Cyl. 6 intake (front of bore):

    

 

I think I have those all labeled correctly.  Of course, I also still need to assemble everything in mock fashion to check clearances. 

 

Edited March 31, 2021 by inline6

[inline6]

I added clay to replace the material that was removed from the bores for eye-browing the block.  I then put the head gasket on, lightly bolted the head on, and ran the engine through revolutions to check for valve interference.  When I took the head off, there was none that I could perceive - there were no marks in the clay.  Of course, this engine is bored over a bit, so there was that chance before mocking it all up that they would not hit.  🙂

After checking that, I pulled all of the clay off and combined it into one piece which measured out to less than 1 cubic centimeter.  So, compression ratio is not significantly reduced.

Some pics - Cylinders 1-6 in order:

    

    

Additionally, my fuel line assembly was pretty bent up, so I put it on the engine in a mock up fashion and worked on straightening it for an hour or more with a crow bar, vice grips (with wood stirring sticks used for protection from marks), and a hammer.  It looks ok now, but I wonder about the brackets, if they are near original in appearance, or if they are quite bent still.  The parallel aspect of the two lines seems pretty good to me.  The brackets dictate the height of the lines along their lengths without much variance.  

    

    

     

 

I want to be sure the shape of the lines in the assembly is all sorted out before I send it off for re-plating.

Edited April 6, 2021 by inline6

[Patcon]

@jfa.series1

Fuel rail appearance?

[inline6]

Different somewhat, probably because it is a series 1 car, but this one looks really good (and likely original) to me compared to many I see on previous BAT (Bring a Trailer) cars.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1970-datsun-240z-65/ (around pics 62-67)

Edited April 7, 2021 by inline6

[jfa.series1]

13 hours ago, Patcon said:

@jfa.series1

Fuel rail appearance?

That's a very nice job of straightening a rail - far better than many I've seen. Here's a pic of a similar one I restored for comparison, our OP is right on target.

[inline6]

On 4/7/2021 at 9:40 AM, jfa.series1 said:

Here's a pic of a similar one I restored for comparison, our OP is right on target.

Thanks for that.  I see differences in the brackets.  I will work on mine more and make it look like that one.

[inline6]

I see it has been a long time since I posted an update.  I am still working on fasteners.  I suspect that I am putting too much time into them, but I have no experience with getting hardware replated.  So, I feel I can't leave it up to chance.  I will probably send some "test" hardware along with it in various stages of prep or lack thereof.  It will be interesting to see how the test hardware compares to my fully prepped hardware.  

I have a few observations to share, but not much of an update.  First, the u bolt that holds the steering rack from twisting on the front crossmember - I happen to have two.  There is a white blot of paint from the factory.  I noted that under the white blot, the part was silver.  So, this part seems to have received zinc plating (clear) from the factory. 

 

The clips that secure a rubber weather strip to the unibody under the top of the fender, here in their as removed condition.  Amazing that they don't even have rust on their entire surface: 

  

 

The battery inspection panels have these metal clips.  I find it interesting that they received a black coating originally that is not paint.  This is actually consistent with other black plated parts I have found on the car.  Black parts are, nearly without exception, springs or springy.

    

 

The bushing in the bracket that bolts to the engine compartment firewall, which supports the back of the main throttle rod, is always rotten on any 240z.  It is a two piece bushing, with a plastic inner barrel and a rubber outer grommet.  The rubber part broke when I pried it out of the bracket.  Here it is temporarily put back together:

First pic has half of grommet removed.  Middle pic is of the plastic barrel by itself.  I will be trying to source a similar bushing from McMaster Carr.  

    

 

And lastly for today, I find it interesting that the hatch hinges were bolted into the car when it was painted at the factory.  The odd part about that is that the rubber enclosure was in place also.  My car had shims on the right side hinge only, and you can see by the original paint that they were in place when the car was painted.  This, and the fact that the taper head bolts that hold the hatch to the hinges were not originally painted, tells me that the hinges and hatch were bolted to the car for fitment, and then the hatch was removed (the four taper head screws only were removed) for the original paint application at the factory.

    

 

Also, hinge assemblies and shims were clear zinc, and backing plates were yellow chromate/cad.

    

 

I think I am nearing the end of the great fastener round up and restoration of 2020/2021.  I ordered some new ones a couple of days ago to fill in for the small number of originals that went missing at some point.  I am digging through my boxes of old Datsun hardware to find suitable replacements also.  I am having some success there, finding matching hardware with 4's and 7's and 9's on the heads of bolts - proper style and length.  Yeah... I am more than a bit OCD I think.

 

Edited June 5, 2021 by inline6

[ETI4K]

That is serious attention to detail,  and not the least excessively so.

One of the biggest problems with restoring anything is finding detailed information such as that you've provided. 

Good onya lad, I say.

Now, we just need a database of all this good info.  Anyone need a full-time job?

[inline6]

I have been working on documenting the fasteners on the car.  When I finish all of the documentation of the hardware, I will upload a worksheet to the resources section.  In the meantime, anyone with a google account can access what I have so far by going to the link:

Datsun 240z hardware - 6/1971

 

[Mike]

1 hour ago, inline6 said:

I have been working on documenting the fasteners on the car.  When I finish all of the documentation of the hardware, I will upload a worksheet to the resources section.  In the meantime, anyone with a google account can access what I have so far by going to the link:

Wow, nice list!  Very thorough..

[grannyknot]

Fantastic list!  Thank you.

[ETI4K]

That is a serious list.  What do the yellow cells indicate?