I thought I was done with Z cars

[emccallum]

I got most everything back from powdercoating and started assembling the struts. New bearings, seals, KYB inserts and brake hardware. I ran into two issues.

 

1. Powdercoater must have dropped one rear strut and dinged the threads for the stut gland nut. Should have left the old gland nuts in the struts. I played with it for a while and a friend was over that was headed to a machine shop to get something done, so I handed it to him to drop off. I hope it can be chased, because I have a lot of time in the rear bearings!

2. On one front strut the caliper was barely scrapping the rotor on the outer edge. I thought that I didnt seat a bearing race completely, so I tore all back apart and races were fine. I tried another caliper, and it is the same, so I am thinking the rotor (Centric) is a little too thick. I noticed the other rotor appears out of round. I may have them turned or try a different brand. It just barely scrapes. Both rotors measure very close to the same dimensions. Weird. 

I also hooked up with 240 rubber and got some goodies in the mail today. Glad it worked out as his stuff looks nice and only took a couple of weeks once we got the order settled. 

I saw on BAT where a very nicely restored 73 240 sold for $88,888, so that justifies a few orders for me 🙂. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jonathanrussell]

Really nice work you are doing. Fyi, if you need to clean up the strut housing gland nut threads, the tap size is M48 1.5 pitch. My powdercoater did the same thing a few years ago when I was refreshing my silver 240z. 

[emccallum]

Thanks Jonathan, I had no way of trying to figure out the tap size. That was way bigger than anything I have. PC is tough stuff.

[emccallum]

Some updates.

I got the rear struts all finished. I had to get a machine shop to chase the threads on one gland nut. 

Scored a nice hood and hatch from Datsun rescue. Adam is a super nice guy, and I am glad to see a younger generation interested in the z cars. 

Seats and bumpers ready to go. Aftermarket rubber is junk, and luckily I had some very good used rubber and some NOS stuff, so most of it is OEM. 

Next up I am going to get started on the wiring harnesses. They don't seem to be in bad shape. Fortunately, they weren't hacked up a lot, or eaten by mice. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Patcon]

You're making great time!

[emccallum]

I tried to source a replacement for the boots on the fuel sender. I found 240rubber has them but I had just placed an order with Steve and figured I would wait until later to add the boots with a final order. Mine were hard as a rock. 

I decided to give refreshing the rubber a try. I used alcohol and wintergreen 3:1. I heated them up a couple of times with a heat gun and let them soak for about a day and a half. I was shocked at how flexible they got. Added some new connectors and that part of the harness is complete. I bought extra connectors from repair connectors if anyone needs some just shoot me a pm and I will send you some.   

 

 

[dutchzcarguy]

18 hours ago, emccallum said:

I used alcohol and wintergreen 3:1.

Ehmmm... what is wintergreen?  some sort of soap?  I always use washing powder and get reasonable results..

[bartsscooterservice]

nice work

[emccallum]

Wintergreen is an essential oil. What it is essential for, I don't have a clue. I think it's used in homeopathic medicine. Strong smell. Maybe it will keep exhaust smell at bay!

[Racer X]

1 hour ago, dutchzcarguy said:

Ehmmm... what is wintergreen?  some sort of soap?  I always use washing powder and get reasonable results..

Wintergreen is an oil made from mint.

Have you never had a wintergreen mint? Used to get Canada Mints years ago, not so common these days. Round pink lozenges, delicious!

 

 

[Mark Maras]

The solvent, in this case alcohol, is used to soften the rubber. The wintergreen oil is used to keep the rubber soft after the solvent evaporates. I've heard Go-Kart racers use these chemicals to soften their tires.

[dutchzcarguy]

2 hours ago, Racer X said:

Have you never had a wintergreen mint?

Nope.. never seen .. smelled.. or tasted.. 😭

Maar wij hebben Venco!  (we have Venco) 👍