Livin' Z Life - Historical Archive

[Arne]

3 Dec 2006 - Holiday Slow-down

Just like last year, there are so many things to do during the holiday season that working on the cars has to take a backseat. So again, not a lot has happened since the last update. I did install the nearly new master cylinder (that came off the red car last week) on to the yellow car today. Since the yellow car had already been worked over to correctly use the later style master cylinder, I did not have to make any adjustments to the lines or the pushrod. That went very smoothly.

I also removed the shipping tie-down hooks from the red car. I had noticed that it had a pair of what I thought were tow hooks on the rear, as well as a matching one on the right front. After I noticed that many other original and/or well-restored 240Zs didn't have these hooks, I started asking questions. And it turns out that the three hooks were installed by the factory as shipping tie-downs, but were supposed to have been removed by the selling dealer prior to delivery. Apparently, the guy doing the PDI (Pre-Delivery Inspection) on my car didn't want to take the time to do this, and left them in place. I went ahead and removed them, but I'll probably keep them as curiosities.

[Arne]

10 Dec 2006 - Got New Shoes

Yes, the rain that was predicted for Saturday turned out to be only showers, so it was dry enough to get the car out of the garage and to the tire shop. New tires (of the proper height, 195/70R14) were mounted on the mags, and the old stuff was all dismounted. And the results are pretty much all good. (I posted three new pictures in the Gallery.)

The taller tires and shallower offset of the 'new' mags fit the car much better. The two wheels that didn't polish out as well still look surprisingly good, the unevenness in the finish is not all that noticeable with the wheels on the car. The ride is better with the taller sidewalls, and now the speedometer reads correctly. So these will do fine for now. Being an ex-tire guy, I will probably always watch for something 'better', but for my purposes now, these wheels and tires are great, and staying with 14x6 was the right call.

In other news, I discovered just in time that the hood release cable on the red car was badly frayed and very close to breaking completely. For now, I swapped the cable from the yellow car into the red one, and will plan to order a new cable soon.

[Arne]

7 Jan 2007 - Progress Resumes

It's been a while since I posted anything here, but in large part that's because there hasn't been much to say. I ordered a new hood release cable, along with replacement fuel tank vent hoses. But none of that has arrived yet. I've begun sorting all the spare parts I've got lying around, in preparation for getting rid of the stuff that has no value.

Today I did actually get back to work, though. I replaced the manifold gasket on the yellow car. I used a special gasket set made by the manufacturer of the header itself, Hooker. And the end result is pretty good. The special gasket seals much better. The exhaust is still a bit noisy, but that's mostly because I just cobbled it up using various parts from both cars to get something on it.

But it's quiet enough to hear how the engine runs, which is quite nicely. I took the car for a very short drive and was very pleased with it. The 'new' engine runs smoothly, feels strong and doesn't smoke. It does idle a bit roughly, I suspect that the carbs need their throttle shafts replaced/re-bushed. But other than that, it's very acceptable, even if I were planning to keep the car. It actually runs almost as well as the red car does.

This means there's not a lot left to do on the yellow car to prepare prior to offering it for sale. I still need to remove the new springs I put in it a while back, and also swap the rear differential (taller gearing to match the four speed), but that's about it. I hope to get all that done by the end of February. Stay tuned...

[Arne]

21 Jan 2007 - Cleanup and Sale Prep

Since the last update, I've done some cleanup and the yellow car is a bit closer to being ready to sell.

First, all of the surplus engine parts are gone, which really helps tidy up the looks of the area outside the garage. The 280ZX head went to one Z owner, and the 280ZX block and 240Z head went to a different Z owner. The remnants were then sold for scrap.

Last weekend when it was icy, I stayed inside and reworked taillights. I disassembled both spare pairs I had, selected the best parts, cleaned them all up and reassembled one pair. They aren't as good as those on the red car, but actually turned out fairly nice. I installed them in the yellow car in place of the original beat up ones, and they look quite acceptable there. And as with the engine stuff, the remains were disposed of.

The differential in the yellow car has been replaced with the one from the parts car, which now gives it the proper gearing to match the 4 speed transmission. And the front two springs (of that set of brand new ones I bought a while ago) have been replaced with stock springs, still have to swap the rear pair yet. So the yellow car is getting close to being ready to sell. One or two weekends, I figure.

Not as much news for the red car. The fuel tank vent hoses haven't arrived yet, finding the proper hoses has proven more difficult than I had expected. But I think we're getting close on that front. I have a set of NOS Mulholland strut inserts on their way, which should work well with the new springs. The strut inserts should be delivered in the next couple days.

And with the improved weather we've had lately, I was able to drive the red car a bit. One of those days I noticed that I had no heater fan. It had been working earlier, but now was dead. Turned out it was just a bad 35 year old fuse. Not even a blown fuse, just a bad one. So it's working fine again now.

[Arne]

28 Jan 2007 - More Sale Prep

Not a lot new to share. I was able to get the two rear springs exchanged yesterday in the yellow car, as well as beginning to get the heater control panel installed in it. The fuel vent hoses aren't all here yet, although the dealer says three of the four have arrived, so we're getting close there.

Drove the red car to work a few days last week, just because I could. I'm beginning to realize that its suspension needs help as well, but I already have the springs and new strut inserts here on hand, so that won't be far off either.

[Arne]

5 Feb 2007 - A Time To Sell

Yes, I think the time has come to sell the yellow car. I did some final cleanup, parts sorting and such, and I'm ready to let it go. I suppose if I wanted to really think a while, there are still a few low-cost or no-cost things I could do to it, but I really want to get going on some of the things that the red car needs instead. I don't need the distraction of the second car sitting there waiting.

So later this week I'll start the process. I've got a couple of people who expressed an interest in the past to contact, and will also likely post it on Craigslist and here on ClassicZCars.com.

As for the red car, I began the suspension refresh on the red car over the weekend by replacing the strut insert and spring on the left rear. I hope to finish the other three this coming weekend.

[Arne]

11 Feb 2007 - Spring Saga

If you're interested in learning about springs and other suspension stuff for 240Zs, read on. If not, there won't be much in this update to interest you.

Repeat visitors may remember that way early in the yellow car project, I bought a reproduction set of Nissan European Stage 1 springs. The whole reason for the Euro Stage 1 springs (in theory) was to have a slightly more performance oriented spring WITHOUT lowering the car significantly. These springs have about 10% stiffer rate, and were reputed keep the ride height about stock, since the European 240Zs sit at about the same stock height as ours do.

Unfortunately, it is now believed that the European 240Zs had strut housings with the lower spring seats positioned lower on the strut housing, which throws all the ride height assumptions in the dumper. In the real world, people have found that these springs actually RAISE the North American cars somewhere around 3/4" to 1", even with non-gas struts. So the only option to get the ride height back down to stock is to cut the springs a bit. Not ideal, but the only choice now that I have them.

I won't bore you all here with the endless give and take and calculations that many of us who bought these springs have gone through while deciding how much to cut them down. Lots of theory, and repeated measurements. I am lucky, as I had installed them on the yellow car as is, and so had a good baseline to start from. Plus I knew that a stock 240Z (like the red car) had a normal ride height measured at the rocker panels of about 8".

Last Sunday I started the process by cutting the rear springs down by 3/4 coil each. I then pulled down the left rear strut, removed the stock spring, and installed one of the NOS Mulholland non-gas strut inserts I bought recently. I was surprised to find that the strut insert I removed was also a Mulholland, which actually felt pretty good. But I installed the new one anyway. Installed the new spring, and a new bump stop, assembled it all and took it for a short drive to settle it before I measured it.

When measured with only that one done and 3/4 coil removed, the height at the left rear was 8 1/2". Too tall. I feared that might be the case, but was being cautious not to cut too much. Ran out of time last week, so that's where I left it.

Yesterday, I pulled the left rear back apart, pulled the spring off and cut an additional 1/2 coil, for a total of 1 1/4 coils. Put it back together and drove it again. New measurement - 8 1/4". Still taller than I expected, the next 1/2 coil only changed the height by 1/4". But close enough to stock, especially if it should ever settle. So I cut the other rear coil to match at 1 1/4 coils, and did the right rear. No surprises, went just like the left side. Took it for a drive, both rears were now at 8 1/4".

On to the front. After more deliberation than I care to admit, I cut both front springs by 1 1/2 coils. Did the right front first. Again, all went well, I found Mulhollands in the front as well. But I did find that the right front insert was bad, it seems to bind and not extend or compress smoothly. So I'm glad I had the new inserts here ready to go.

And the height of the front after installing the cut-down springs? Just over 8", call it 8 1/8". So while both ends are a touch taller than I'd been aiming for, they are close enough that I'm happy with the height as is. Knowing what I know now, maybe I'd take an extra 1/4 coil off each rear spring and 1/4 to maybe a 1/2 off the fronts. But I won't pull it back apart yet again just for another 1/4-3/8".

But here's the kicker - after driving it a bit with all four springs and the new shocks installed, I'm not certain I like it. On the plus side, I noticed an improvement in the ride when I replaced that bad RF shock. And the ride is not harsh, that's fine too. But the ride seems a bit "bouncy" like there's not enough rebound damping for the increased spring rate, especially in the rear. This despite the fact that the Mulhollands (both new and old) seem to have a whole lot of rebound damping - they are very difficult to extend, so much so that I was concerned they might "pack down" over washboard roads. That was before I knew I had Mulhollands in it all along. I did not notice this "bounciness" or "pogo-ing" with the stock springs, so since I'm using the same struts (only new) I must assume it comes from the increased spring rate.

Now I suppose that the springs may break in a bit with additional miles. So I'm not going to panic just yet. I'll drive it a while before I make any decisions. But after all this fussing, it's very possible that I may end up re-installing the stock springs.

[Arne]

18 Feb 2007 - Details...

Yellow car - No serious inquiries on the yellow car this past week. I'm pretty sure that my starting price is a bit high for this part of the country, even if I can show receipts for over half of that in brand new parts. If I could find a buyer in the Rust Belt, I might be able to get this much, but out here I'm going to probably have to accept a lesser offer. I'm OK with that, just have to wait for it.

In the mean time, I finished hooking up the heater control cables yesterday, and installed the heater panel itself. Looks good and works, too.

Red car - I removed all the interior trim from the rear of the car yesterday, initially to look at the fuel vent hoses. I wanted to compare the new ones I got, and assess the job's difficulty. I suspect that I might be able to do it without dropping the fuel tank, but it will be much easier to do the job properly if I do drop it. The hoses I got all look fine, but I still need to get some sealing grommets before I can start the job.

While I had the trim off, I spent some time cleaning, then I removed the antenna to see if I could repair it using some of the spare parts I have. I disassembled it to find - as I expected - the plastic reel coil had broken. After looking over the spare parts, I ended up reattaching the broken end of the reel coil, effectively shortening the antenna's travel by about 8 inches. It now works fine, just doesn't extend as far as it should. But for now, I think that's OK.

[Arne]

25 Feb 2007 - Springing Forward

Yellow car - Still no action on the yellow car. I've been asking around the country for opinions, and watching various eBay auctions for value ideas. I really don't want to just give it away, but in its current less-than-pretty condition, it might come to that. Still considering other options, though.

Red car - After driving it a bit more this past week, I decided to bite the bullet and change the springs once again. The rears got changed back to the factory stock springs Saturday afternoon, and I did the fronts Sunday morning before lunch. The ride is improved, and I don't expect to change them (on this car) again.

It seems that the European Stage 1 springs were designed to improve the handling of the cars by increasing the spring rate as much as possible while still being compatible with the stock shocks. The Mulholland shocks I installed (and that I already had in the car when I bought it, unknown to me at the time) were a true performance shock designed in the days when aftermarket performance springs were uncommon. So they were designed to stiffen the suspension as much as possible while using the stock springs. Add those two together and you get a ride that is simply too stiff for normal road use.

So after all that, the suspension is much like it was when I bought the car, other than now all four strut inserts are good. And I suspect that's how I'll leave it for now. I'll probably keep the Euro springs, as someday later if/when the Mulhollands are worn or I tire of them, the Euro springs appear to work well with standard KYB inserts. I guess I've got options...

[Arne]

10 Mar 2006 - Tuning

Last weekend Jim, a 240Z owner from Tacoma, came down to Oregon for a visit. We spent some time talking, both about my cars and the '70 240Z that he is single-handedly restoring. His car has been in his family since new, and he has spent much of the past few months cutting out rust and welding new metal in. He's doing a great job of it too. Saturday morning he looked at the yellow car, and with his rust-experienced eyes he pretty much confirmed my assessment, which is reassuring. At least I do have a pretty good idea of what it will take to make the yellow car right.

When Jim left to head North and back home, I fired up the red 240Z and went North as well, and we both stopped at the Portland Roadster Show, where a man we both know had entered his freshly re-assembled '71 240Z in with all the hot rods, muscle cars and other American iron on display. (Mike's car looked great!) We met a couple other 240Z owners at the show, and chatted while wandering through the displays. I didn't spend as much time there as I would have liked, as I didn't want to drive home in the dark if I didn't have to.

The Datsun took in the trip just fine. It still rides a bit firmer than I'd probably prefer, but I need to get enough miles on it to help break in those new strut inserts. I think it'll be OK once that happens, since it was OK with the same type before I replaced them. The speedometer and odometer both read about 6% slow. Jim said the exhaust was a bit dark when I accelerated hard, so we thought it might be running a tad rich. It would ping a bit when pulling hard also, even though I've been using premium gas all along.

So today I did a little tuning. First I readjusted the clutch at the pedal to improve the feel and to move the engagement point to suit me better. Then I removed the air cleaner and did some checking. The carbs were fairly well synchronized, but I tweaked that to make them better. I did lean the mixture just a touch on both carbs, only about a 1/4 turn each. Reset the idle speed to 750 RPM, and then checked the timing. The timing was set to 12 degrees BTDC, but the factory specs call for 5 degrees BTDC. That sounded like a bit much for the quality of today's fuel, so I dropped it back down to the factory spec. Took it for a test drive and it felt fine, with no pinging.

Still waiting to replace all the fuel vent hoses on the red Z, I have ordered the last specialty parts for that job but they aren't here yet. I also ordered a reproduction early-style shift boot for it. The original on the red car is worn, and the proper style for the '70-71 cars hasn't been available for many years - until just now. So I ordered one now, as I don't know how long they will be available.

That's about it for the red car, and not much on the yellow car either. All is much the same with that car as before.

[Arne]

19 Mar 2007 - Sitting Pretty

No status change on the yellow car since the last posting. I haven't done much on it, and not much in the way of inquiries either.

On Saturday morning I removed the red car's center console to install the new shift boot mentioned above. The console and various switches and such got some serious cleaning during the installation of the boot. The reproduction boot is very nice, and a good match for the worn original that I removed.

I had pulled the passenger seat out of the car to give more room to work while doing the console stuff, and decided to look into the seat cushion webbing while the seat was already out. The '70 and '71 240Zs used a heavy elastic webbing to support the lower seat cushions. (The '72 and later cars went to a solid metal support because the webbing was not all that durable.) The webbing on both of the red car's seats was totally shot. (Yellow car's is shot too.) I looked at what it came with, then went to a local upholstery supply shop and found some 2" nylon elastic webbing that looked like it should work well. And it did. The passenger seat was so much improved when I finished that I did the driver's seat on Sunday. The seats are greatly improved now. They will still need new covers and foam at some point, but are much more comfortable now.

Last task this past weekend was to de-squeak the front brakes. The shop that had done them for the previous owner did not lube any of the pad contact points, and the brakes would squeal loudly when applied lightly. Applying brake lube judiciously fixed that problem as well.

Next up - rear half-shaft u-joints, and soon the fuel tank vent hoses.

[Arne]

1 Apr 2007 - U-joints, Hoses, and Swap Meets

Since my last update, I've done a bit of maintenance to the red car. First, I had all six u-joints replaced and the driveshaft balanced. The main goal in all this was to get rid of the clunks in the rear end, for which 240Zs are notorious. The driveshaft u-joints were the worst, being quite stiff and notchy feeling. And nice new u-joints did definitely help the noises in the back, but did not eliminate them all.

So next I swapped the rear differential mount bar that I had salvaged from the parts car. These bars are mounted to the unibody by large rubber bushings, and the bushings in the bar from the parts car were obviously fairly new. When I got them out, the ones from the red car didn't look too bad, but the new ones must have been a little firmer, as this change also improved the clunk situation.

Still a bit of clunk left, I'll probably end up replacing the front differential mount as well at some point. But it is MUCH improved at this point.

I also replaced two of the four main fuel vent hoses recently, the two that could be done without having to drop the gas tank. And one of those hoses in particular was in very bad shape. Someone had spliced a section of hose in at some point to replace a bad part near the tank, but they used ordinary heater hose instead of fuel-rated hose. This one hose may have been the source of most of the fuel smell. So that was a success as well.

Today I drove the red car to a Datsun swap meet in Wilsonville (about 90 miles North). I had loaded a bunch of spare parts into the car last night, and had no plans to buy anything. I looked at this more as a chance to visit with some friends from Portland, and not so much as an event to buy or sell parts. Which was the right way to look at it, as I sold one small part and bought nothing. But the weather was clear and dry, and it was a nice drive.

Edited July 15, 2020 by Arne