Restoration of BringaTrailer 240z - HLS30-35883

[inline6]

I located all of the following parts today, pulled them out of boxes and gave them a good look.  Some needed a bit of filing... this and that - nothing major.  The plan is to sandblast almost all of these items in a day, and prime and paint them the next day.  There may be a few exceptions.  For example, the seat backs are just thin sheet metal.  Also, the torsion springs for the hood have some really durable paint on them - paint that laughed at lacquer thinner.  I have never seen that before.  But it clearly is paint.  They are pock marked from road debris on their front sides, but not their backsides.  A few other, more fragile pieces will get bead blasted instead.  Anyway, if you see anything that is supposed to be black which is missing from my list, please say something.

• anti-roll bar
• anti-roll bar mounting brackets
• anti-roll bar mounting reinforcement plates
• battery upper frame
• brake booster
• brake booster one way valve mounting bracket
• brake pedal
• clutch pedal 
• clutch slave cylinder
• differential belt arrestor strap brackets
• differential case
• differential front flange to driveshaft
• differential front crossmember - diff and front suspension mount
• differential rear mount - mustache bar
• differential rear mount - mustache bar washers with bonded rubber
• differential rubber isolator mount - front
• driveshaft
• engine mounting brackets
• engine mounting isolators
• engine oil pan
• front ball joints
• front brake backing plates
• front compression rods
• front control arms
• front crossmember
• front strut springs
• front strut upper mounts
• front strut upper spring seats
• front struts
• front tow hooks
• front wheel hubs
• gas pedal
• gas tank
• gas tank securing straps
• handbrake handle assembly (partial)
• hatch gas lift support bracket
• hood pull bracket
• hood tension rods
• inner front fender supports
• left and right air vent pull brackets
• lower dash mount brackets to tunnel
• pedal box (already painted)
• radiator
• rear axle shaft - inner flange to differential 
• rear axle shaft - outer flange to axle/hub 
• rear axle shafts
• rear brake backing plates
• rear strut housings
• rear strut springs 
• rear strut upper mounts
• rear strut upper spring seat
• rear suspension brackets - control arms to vertical supports
• rear suspension control arms
• rear suspension crossmember - rear suspension mount
• rear suspension vertical supports
• rear tow hooks
• rear wheel axle/hubs
• seat backs upper
• seat frames lower
• steering knuckles
• steering rack housing
• steering rack mounting brackets
• steering rack stop bracket
• steering shaft with u-joint
• tie rod ends - outer
• transmission mount
• transmission mounting isolator

Some pics:

Surface rust removed from rear hubs by glass beading.  Nice to see so little rust damage (first two pics).  Plate behind hubs has an interesting grey coating (pic 3 and 4):

    

Differential stub axles received no paint from the factory (pics 4 and 5):

    

 

Stock springs... I need to search to determine what these paint marks mean.  I recall something about location on the car...  First pair:

    

Second pair:

    

 

I am taking note of different amounts of gloss on the various pieces. The dash vent control knob brackets are pretty glossy compared to the lower dash mounting brackets (pic 1).  Most parts have a gloss level like this gas pedal, shiny, but not super shiny. (pic 2). Gas tank straps were originally gloss black (pic 3):

    

 

More parts that were glossy but not very: transmission mount bracket (pic 1), seat back - note florescent light reflection is "dull" (pic 2), heater core (pic 3):

    

 

Some interesting pics - the seat adjuster brackets seem to have been sprayed with a coat and this "spritzed" with another to give them a bit of texture:

    

 

Steering rack securing brackets have interesting paint marks on them:

    

 

Near the beginning of this restoration, I experimented with painting some parts black using different amounts of "flattening agent".  The plan for most of these parts will be to utilized 10% to knock the gloss down.  I have a suspicion that the flattening agent takes a few minutes to "work in".  This pedal box was shot without any flattening agent, the steering rod has 10% and the mustache bar has 20 or 30%, can't remember which, but it is too much.  

 

    

 

 

I am looking forward to getting all these parts stripped and painted.

 

Edited February 27, 2023 by inline6

[inline6]

Found a post about the colors on the springs.  Thanks @KatZ.  I don't know if I am reading this correctly. So the two springs with one white mark only are rear springs for my car - HLS30.  Looks like the part number is 55020-E4102.  The front springs are the two with blue... I don't know what is different between the two.  Perhaps the free length?  

 

[CanTechZ]

4 hours ago, inline6 said:

Found a post about the colors on the springs.  Thanks @KatZ.  I don't know if I am reading this correctly. So the two springs with one white mark only are rear springs for my car - HLS30.  Looks like the part number is 55020-E4102.  The front springs are the two with blue... I don't know what is different between the two.  Perhaps the free length?  

 

I just had a look in the Nissan parts book and FSM. On the front axle the left and right springs do have different specs for free length and different part numbers. This is from page FA-20 in my 1970 FSM.

Ignore the inch numbers for free length, as the conversion is incorrect. It was corrected in the 1972 FSM.

Here is the part number info for the front axle. The parts book also lists optional stiffer springs. Interesting that starting with the 260Z, a change was made to use the same spring on the left and right sides. 

Edited February 26, 2023 by CanTechZ
Added part number info

[kats]

3 hours ago, inline6 said:

Found a post about the colors on the springs.  Thanks @KatZ.  I don't know if I am reading this correctly. So the two springs with one white mark only are rear springs for my car - HLS30.  Looks like the part number is 55020-E4102.  The front springs are the two with blue... I don't know what is different between the two.  Perhaps the free length?  

 

Yes you are reading it correctly. And yes they are different in free length.

 For the front, blue and white is RH 54010-E4104, blue and red is LH 54010-E4102. (Although the picture which I post in that thread had an error for the LH, it says -E4202 this is for PZ)

Today I post this, from a parts catalog of Fairlady Z series 1972. This is correct.

Kats

 

Edited February 26, 2023 by kats

[inline6]

I am getting ready to "sand blast" (using Black Diamond coal slag instead of sand) most of the parts in my list above.  Before I do the frames of the seats, I have a question, if anyone following my thread can help.  what should the orientation of these pointed metal clips be?  Should they be straightened?  I have not put on upholstery before.  It seems like they should be straight to start with, and after you puncture the upholster, then you tap them down at about 90 degrees to grip the upholster?  I'd like to get the orientation right before I sand blast.

[inline6]

So, it looks to me like the spikes on the seat frames need to be straightened and the orientation should be 90 degrees from their mounting location.  So, they should be sticking out straight... for those who want to know.

Over the last few evenings, I painted a few items black, and waited for them to dry, and then worked on assembly of the starter.  For the starter, I used new bushings for the front and the rear.  Here is the front:

    

 

The bushing is a light press fit.  My measurements showed it was about .002" larger on the OD than the starter front cover "well" that the pushing presses into.  After it was pressed in, I used a reamer to get the ID to a size within factory specification.  I went through two bushings here because, I thought the reamer would "self center and ream straight.  That ending up being laughable.  Using a drill press would be sufficient, however, I don't have one yet.  It's one of those tools I just haven't committed to investing in.  So, I rigged up a contraption that helped with my drill angle on the second bushing and got somewhat lucky with reaming straight.  For the back bushing, I did not have a suitably sized reamer and used a "paste" to get the bushing to size.  The bushing ID was very close, but using the 320 grit paste and the armature to get the clearance to spec was arduous.  I've never installed and sized bushings for an armature before. 

After decades of sitting in my parts bin, I was finally able to install the NOS solenoid.

    

 

If anyone needs a box for their loose factory part, let me know. 🙂  

Compared to body work, the pace of progress on this kind of stuff makes me laugh - the sense of accomplishment per hour spent is off the charts.

    

 

Another note about the gloss level of the black parts - steering shaft on the left mustache bar in the center, and main driveshaft on the right:

 

As I said before, the mustache bar has too much "flattening agent".  But looking again at these three parts, I think the steering shaft and main driveshaft had a little too much also.  I will respray the mustache bar, but I am ok with the other two.  It's not going to kill me that a few parts are a tad bit dull.

Other parts that I have painted black thus far include the motor mount brackets and transmission mount bracket, the bumper brackets, the brake booster, and the bracket for the one way valve for the booster.

 

The next round of painting parts black will be a slog, starting with blasting, then priming, then painting.  All kinds of assembly will be possible after that.

Edited March 2, 2023 by inline6

[psdenno]

On 2/26/2023 at 5:00 PM, inline6 said:

I am getting ready to "sand blast" (using Black Diamond coal slag instead of sand) most of the parts in my list above.  Before I do the frames of the seats, I have a question, if anyone following my thread can help.  what should the orientation of these pointed metal clips be?  Should they be straightened?  I have not put on upholstery before.  It seems like they should be straight to start with, and after you puncture the upholster, then you tap them down at about 90 degrees to grip the upholster?  I'd like to get the orientation right before I sand blast.

I'm recovering my seats now and found that having the points slightly "up" makes it easier to stretch and slip the upholstery over them before tapping them down over the wire that's threaded through the base of the seat cushion upholstery.

[inline6]

11 hours ago, psdenno said:

I'm recovering my seats now and found that having the points slightly "up" makes it easier to stretch and slip the upholstery over them before tapping them down over the wire that's threaded through the base of the seat cushion upholstery.

Thank you for the tip!

[inline6]

I bench tested the rebuilt starter tonight, and unfortunately, it didn't go as planned.  The motor started spinning at a nice speed but then slowed.  I thought, "that is odd... and not right".  So I tested it again - brief amounts of juice and it would repeat the same behavior.  So, about on the fourth test, I kept current applied for a bit longer, and I saw a bit of grease or oil bubble up off of the back bushing.  I stopped immediately.  I wiped the drop of oil that formed off with my finger and detected that the backend of the armature and the bushing were quite hot.  Yeah...

So, I took the starter back apart and long story short, made another round of using the 320 grit lapping paste on the front and rear bushings.  When I reassembled, I checked that the pinion gear rotated nicely by hand.  Then I torqued the fasteners, checked pinion gear rotation by hand one last time, and bench checked again.  This time the motor spun very nicely and didn't slow down at all.  I checked for heat at the front and the back and only detected a small amount of warmth, not hot at all. 

Would have been a problem had I mounted it on the car without checking!

Edited March 3, 2023 by inline6

[emccallum]

Beautiful work!

 

[CanTechZ]

On 3/1/2023 at 7:04 PM, inline6 said:

So, it looks to me like the spikes on the seat frames need to be straightened and the orientation should be 90 degrees from their mounting location.  So, they should be sticking out straight... for those who want to know.

Over the last few evenings, I painted a few items black, and waited for them to dry, and then worked on assembly of the starter.  For the starter, I used new bushings for the front and the rear.  Here is the front:

    

 

The bushing is a light press fit.  My measurements showed it was about .002" larger on the OD than the starter front cover "well" that the pushing presses into.  After it was pressed in, I used a reamer to get the ID to a size within factory specification.  I went through two bushings here because, I thought the reamer would "self center and ream straight.  That ending up being laughable.  Using a drill press would be sufficient, however, I don't have one yet.  It's one of those tools I just haven't committed to investing in.  So, I rigged up a contraption that helped with my drill angle on the second bushing and got somewhat lucky with reaming straight.  For the back bushing, I did not have a suitably sized reamer and used a "paste" to get the bushing to size.  The bushing ID was very close, but using the 320 grit paste and the armature to get the clearance to spec was arduous.  I've never installed and sized bushings for an armature before. 

After decades of sitting in my parts bin, I was finally able to install the NOS solenoid.

    

 

If anyone needs a box for their loose factory part, let me know. 🙂  

Compared to body work, the pace of progress on this kind of stuff makes me laugh - the sense of accomplishment per hour spent is off the charts.

    

 

Another note about the gloss level of the black parts - steering shaft on the left mustache bar in the center, and main driveshaft on the right:

 

As I said before, the mustache bar has too much "flattening agent".  But looking again at these three parts, I think the steering shaft and main driveshaft had a little too much also.  I will respray the mustache bar, but I am ok with the other two.  It's not going to kill me that a few parts are a tad bit dull.

Other parts that I have painted black thus far include the motor mount brackets and transmission mount bracket, the bumper brackets, the brake booster, and the bracket for the one way valve for the booster.

 

The next round of painting parts black will be a slog, starting with blasting, then priming, then painting.  All kinds of assembly will be possible after that.

Very impressive work, looks great. What percent "flattening agent" did you ultimately decide on. It would be very useful info to use as a starting point for whenever I get to this point.

I'm very surprised how well some of the black paint has survived on my 7'70. Here are a couple of pics of parts removed from my car, they had only light cleaning and degreasing. On the first I have pasted in a snippet from one of your pics above for comparison. I know this very subjective, but I really like what you have done.

.

[Patcon]

@inline6

Garrett,

I meant to respond the other day but must have gotten side tracked.

Flattening agent is really tough! It is basically silica or glass in solution that you add to your paint to make the finished surface not smooth. That gives the satin or semi gloss look. The problems come in though in technique. If you lay it on too heavy the paint dries out glossier. If you lay it on too thin it looks flatter. Really tough to be consistent. I have done some of this with catalyzed paint but lately I have just switched to rustoleum for the speed aspect. Even out pf a spray bomb the thickness wet changes the finished appearance.

C