Restoration of BringaTrailer 240z - HLS30-35883

[inline6]

It's debatable if this raw video footage is more interesting than watching paint dry, but I was able to get the engine started and running for more than 1 min finally. 

The temp gauge was working its way well past normal, so I shut it down.  I did grab my laser pointer and it was saying all was well - temp gauge was not.  The needle was partly in the P like this:

 

So, I decided to run it again and restart it to break in the cam at 2000 rpm for 20 min.

[siteunseen]

 

My '72 has the temp needle on the right side leg of the M in TEMP as long as I've driven it. That's perfect in my experience. Mine never feels overly hot. I did the pointer temp gauge too, 175 F, every time.

 

[inline6]

Today I set the car down on blocks under the tires to load its suspension so I could torque all of the suspension fasteners to factory specifications.  Then I pulled the rocker cover to have a look at the cam and valve train.  I was pleased to see that all looks good.  

Then I switched back to attempting to put on the seat upholstery.  I worked with one seat bottom for quite a while.  First, I made the decision to trim down the funky lip of foam at the front.  I used as scroll saw to remove a portion of it from across the front of the seat cushion.  Then I used some 36 grit sand paper to smooth out where I had cut it.  

I loosened the zip ties that are holding the upholstery to the seat frame.  I still do not have any hog rings installed.  Then I very carefully started working the upholstery onto the metal points/blades which are on the seat frame.  I started at the front of the frame.  I worked point by point from the front, around both sides.  When I had the upholstery on all of the front and side points, I pulled on the cord that is inside the piping and this cinched the corners of the upholstery nicely.  I tied this cord, (there is one each side) and tied them together.  Then I installed a piece of wire in the piping of the back seat flap, and folded that flap onto the points which are on the back of the seat frame.  I did not hammer the points down yet.  So, I can still take the upholstery off and redo things.  Finally, I pulled the zip ties so they are fully tight.  

Here is how it currently looks.

 

I think it was the right call to trim the front of the seat cushion.  I no longer have that odd bulge at the top front.

 

But, pulling the zip ties all the way down, which I believe will be equivalent to when I install the hog rings, I still have the wrinkles in the top side panels.

 

I don't care for them.  I may experiment with adding some foam in this top side panel area.

I started on one of the seat backs as well.  From the factory, there were some vinyl pieces glued to the seat back on the edges:



I checked location in my reference pics, and then made and glued some new ones in place.

I believe the very thin sheet of foam that was on the backs of my seats was original.  

 

The new seat back upholstery from Distinctive Industries only has a pieced of reinforced vinyl for the back (of the seat back).  So, I plan to install a thin layer (about 1/8") of the grey foam you see in the pic above to the metal seat back.  And then install the upholstery over top of that.  I have heard that it can be difficult to the install the upholstery on the seat back.  I see that there was some very thin plastic originally as well.  I may wrap the seat back (with 1/8" foam glued in place) in thin plastic also.  I think the plastic will allow the upholstery to slide on easier.
 

[Namerow]

12 hours ago, inline6 said:

Today I set the car down on blocks under the tires to load its suspension so I could torque all of the suspension fasteners to factory specifications.  Then I pulled the rocker cover to have a look at the cam and valve train.  I was pleased to see that all looks good.  

Then I switched back to attempting to put on the seat upholstery.  I worked with one seat bottom for quite a while.  First, I made the decision to trim down the funky lip of foam at the front.  I used as scroll saw to remove a portion of it from across the front of the seat cushion.  Then I used some 36 grit sand paper to smooth out where I had cut it.  

I loosened the zip ties that are holding the upholstery to the seat frame.  I still do not have any hog rings installed.  Then I very carefully started working the upholstery onto the metal points/blades which are on the seat frame.  I started at the front of the frame.  I worked point by point from the front, around both sides.  When I had the upholstery on all of the front and side points, I pulled on the cord that is inside the piping and this cinched the corners of the upholstery nicely.  I tied this cord, (there is one each side) and tied them together.  Then I installed a piece of wire in the piping of the back seat flap, and folded that flap onto the points which are on the back of the seat frame.  I did not hammer the points down yet.  So, I can still take the upholstery off and redo things.  Finally, I pulled the zip ties so they are fully tight.  

Here is how it currently looks.

 

I think it was the right call to trim the front of the seat cushion.  I no longer have that odd bulge at the top front.

 

But, pulling the zip ties all the way down, which I believe will be equivalent to when I install the hog rings, I still have the wrinkles in the top side panels.

 

I don't care for them.  I may experiment with adding some foam in this top side panel area.

I started on one of the seat backs as well.  From the factory, there were some vinyl pieces glued to the seat back on the edges:



I checked location in my reference pics, and then made and glued some new ones in place.

I believe the very thin sheet of foam that was on the backs of my seats was original.  

 

The new seat back upholstery from Distinctive Industries only has a pieced of reinforced vinyl for the back (of the seat back).  So, I plan to install a thin layer (about 1/8") of the grey foam you see in the pic above to the metal seat back.  And then install the upholstery over top of that.  I have heard that it can be difficult to the install the upholstery on the seat back.  I see that there was some very thin plastic originally as well.  I may wrap the seat back (with 1/8" foam glued in place) in thin plastic also.  I think the plastic will allow the upholstery to slide on easier.
 

A dry cleaner's bag works well for this purpose.

Also:  The seatback upholstery is easier to install if you do the job outside in direct, afternoon sunlight (solar heating helps to soften the vinyl).

[Broman]

Before entering the world of 240Z's, I was deep into mid-sixties Corvette restoration.  And I have re-upholstered a number of seat covers.  We used hog-rings only when two items needed to be pulled close together.  But, like these 240Z seats, the wire in the seat pocket was not pulled down so far, and was certainly not secured with hog-rings.  These are what comes in the Corvette seat install kit.  They pull that same wire down to about 1.5 inches from the springs (or straps in this case).

[inline6]

On 10/13/2024 at 9:33 PM, Broman said:

 They pull that same wire down to about 1.5 inches from the springs (or straps in this case).

Interesting.  Any idea what they are called?

[inline6]

I picked back up on one of the seat backs on Sunday.  First, I used some spray can adhesive to put this 1/8" grey foam sheet on the seat back:

    

I used this plastic wrap around the seat back to aid with sliding the upholstery on: 

  

The I made another listing rod for the back upholstery.  If you are needing to do this yourself, you will want the seat upholstery to be installed on the head rest like shown before you attach the listing rod to the wire on the seat frame (second pic).  At this position, you can put on zip ties: 

     

Next, I installed about 6 hog rings, cut away the zip ties, and unfolded the rest of the material:

    

As you can see by looking at the last picture above, the seat upholstery is "short".  This is where it got interesting (read very difficult).  As I yanked, tugged, pulled, massaged the upholstery from the head rest area downward, it fought back mightily.  The foam seems to be a tad bid oversize to me. 

Anyway, I decided to put the seat back in the sun for a while and let it bake.  I put the bottom seat cushion out there as well.  After an hour, I gave the wrestling match another go (while I also was out in the sun).  With what I'd call extreme effort, I was able to get the flap on the front of the seat back upholstery onto a couple of the hooks.  But, it was super tight and quite a bit stretched.  I brought it into the garage again to get out of the sun and again tried to convince the upholstery to find a lower position on the metal seat back.  After getting the material on about 2/3rds of the hooks, I had to leave for a soccer game.

That is all I have of pictures for now, but I will pick this back up again soon.

 

Edited October 20 by inline6

[inline6]

Some pictures from where I left off last Sunday:

    

 

It was a battle to get the front edge of the upholstery down far enough to engage the hooks on the frame.  As you can see, there is a stitch seam that the hooks are catching.  If that stitching wasn't there, the vinyl would simply tear all the way through. 

The hooks were originally hammered down towards the front surface of the seat back.  In order for me to progress this far, I had to bend the hooks to point out from the frame at 90 degrees.  When the hooks get bent back down finally, they will again point towards the front surface.  If I did that right now, the vinyl I have holding on the hooks would simply slip off.  So, it is important to note that the only thing that holds this front vinyl from slipping off the hooks when you tap them down to their final position, is the back vinyl part of the seat back upholstery.  

When the back vinyl portion gets pulled down over the hooks, and they are tapped down toward the seat front, the back will not be able to slip off.  The only reason the front won't slip off will be due to the front vinyl being put on first, and thus it will be trapped under the back part... with the back  vinyl portion unable to work loose from the hooks.  

What I also notice is that the back vinyl does not have any cord, or wire running through the part where the hooks will go through.  Because of the high amount of tension, and the fact that "the back has to hold the front also", I am going to run some wire through the back, bottom edge.  It is stitched there, so I will be able to run wire through the loop that has been created when the bottom edge was folded over and stitched.  With the hooks engaging the wire, the full length of the vinyl material will be holding the seat upholstery to the frame, not just the tiny portions of vinyl which are in engaged by each of the hooks.  

To get the back upholstery to where it is now, I had to use the sun to warm it up.  While I was doing that, I put the seat bottom in the sun last Sunday also, and it really helped improve the look and fit of the vinyl upholstery on there as well. 

    

I still only have zip ties holding the seat bottom upholstery down to the frame but they are pulled all the way tight, and I am satisfied with the final look here.  So, I will put on the hog rings and remove those, and tap down the metal hooks on the frame to finish out the bottom upholstery installation. Trimming the excess "bar" off of the foam front of the seat bottom was the right call:

 

Hopefully, it will get warm enough today (sun is out) for me to continue.  

Edited October 19 by inline6

[inline6]

I was able to get one seat finished today!  It was difficult to get the seat back upholstery stretched enough.  Putting the seat back in the sun and working the material down the frame, as well as from back to front around the side bolsters, I was able to get the front flap on all the hooks.  I also was able to run a piece of wire inside the bottom loop on the back side.  The hooks now hold onto that wire which runs the length of the rear vinyl piece.  Everything is nice and tight!

When bending down the hooks, one of them was fatigued and broke.  I ground away a spot weld and removed the old hook.  I made another from scratch and drilled a hole in it so I could attach it to the frame with a rosette weld.  It was tricky welding this with the upholstery on.  I used a wet rag to protect from splatter.  Thankfully, all came out well in the end - the hook I made is the last one here in the second picture.

  

 

I also finished the seat brackets today.  I had painted them gloss black when I sprayed a large number of parts a while back.  To finish them properly, I scuffed them with green Scotch Brite pad, and then used the same SEM texture paint I used on the center console.  I shot this at a distance of about 2 feet. 

     

And again, sprayed a satin coating on top of the texture, as it has to be top coated.

    

    

I have never sat so high in a Z!  I may have to remove the two plastic spacers under each seat - we'll see.  

I think I will try to get the car moving under its own power tomorrow - pretty exciting!  All I have to do is check the hard line fitting for the clutch and brake system, add fluid and bleed those two systems.  Oh, and torque the lug nuts to spec!

Edited October 20 by inline6

[inline6]

I didn't realize this difference for the 70-71 cars - the valve cover utilizes an O-ring to seal against the oil cap.  I was able to get one (had to buy 100!) that fits very nicely!
 

Later Z cars have a rubber gasket on the oil cap instead.

Edited October 20 by inline6

[dutchzcarguy]

Details Details!!  👌

And put the other 99 for sale in a ad on the site! 😉 

[inline6]

Today, I was excited to do some brake and clutch bleeding and then drive the car around in my neighborhood a bit.  It was a beautiful, sunny day, and I was looking forward to it.  However, it was not to be!

I spent 8 hours trying to bleed the brakes instead.  The rear circuit would not move any fluid.  I experienced this once before with a "nearly new" Honda S2000 brake cylinder.  Each circuit has a little valve that operates.  I am not exactly sure how it works, but basically, there are conditions where the fluid will move one way but not back.  That valve got "stuck" with the S2000 master cylinder.  And I recall it taking me forever to figure it out. 

That experience was fresh in my mind as I attempted to bleed the brakes and the fluid was not moving either direction for the rear circuit.  Though I knew I had a problem, I could not figure out what was going on.  

For my 8 hours of frustration, at least I can share what I finally found out to be the problem.  This is the piston assembly for the rear circuit.

 

Unless you are lucky enough to find a new old stock Tokico master cylinder (and pay big bucks for it), then you will likely want to do what I have done hear to ensure that you will not have the same problem.

Here is my rear piston assembly.  As you can see, I have removed the "cap" to the far right in the picture.  For quite a while today, I tried spraying lubricants and blowing compressed air in the holes of this cap.  But that did nothing.  Eventually, I became frustrated enough that I put it in my vise (with flat metal plates instead of the serrated teeth) and clamped down on the sides of this cap (with the piston assembly sticking up vertically).  I grabbed the piston assembly and wiggled it one way and then the other, unsure what would happen.  Luckily, the cap is a light press fit to the end of the piston assembly.  And yanking one way and then the other, I was able to pull the piston assembly from the cap.  As soon as it came off, I knew I would be able to solve my issue.  As you can see, there is a spring... and a little rod with a rubber seal on it (the piece with rust on it, second from the left).  

Some #0000 steel wool cleaned off the rust from that piece.  And a brass "pipe cleaner" type brush cleaned the rust from the hole in the piston assembly:

    

 

From there, I dabbed a bit of brake grease on these parts and reassembled them.  I fitted the spring and tapped the cap back on with a small hammer.  Now, this little valve works at it should.  

Determined to not have wasted some much time today, I am going to go out to the garage and bleed the brakes now like I originally intended to do today.  
 

Edited October 21 by inline6