240Z restorations, what's right and what's not

[SpeedRoo]

Another lovely early 240Z, Jan 1970, has turned up on BAT. Restored by Pierre and Whitehead over the last decade. Loads of photos which really help me, and others, when we are restoring our cars.

As an aid to Newby restorers like myself, could the sage experienced members on this site help picking out what's not done correctly on the car. Not trying to be negative but it really helps to document how things should be restored or how they came as original.

I'll start the ball rolling and add photos to show what I'm looking at.

 

There seems to be the wiring cover missing under the dash.

 

The radiator support frame seems to have been sprayed completely rather than painted by hand with a brush.

 

The radio antenna doesn't look to be the early pointed tip type.

 

The id plate on the "B" post seems to be etched rather than stamped. 

 

Not sure if the rubber stoppers are fitted under the door levers.

 

Were the 1970 cars finished in black underneath or body colour?

 

Looks like a later fuel filler cap assembly has been fitted.

 

Looks as if the black Velcro patches to hold the spare wheel cover in place are missing. Also the jute underfelt is not fitted.

 

I believe the horizontal water hose running front to back should also be braided like all the other hoses. Additionally did the early airboxes have stickers/decals on them?

 

I'm sure there are other things I've missed and I may be wrong on some of the items I've listed. Feel free to correct me where needed.

Edited November 28, 2022 by SpeedRoo

[DatsunZGuy]

Don't forget it's missing the black cap on the spare tire valve stem.  Also, I did not see the shoulder and lap belt lot and month/date tags in the auction photos. 

All minor issues in what will easily be a six-figure sale when the gavel falls.

[87mj]

I see so many "restored" cars that have grossly overdone the zinc plating. I have even seen cars with the hood hinges plated.  It was nice to see a lot of the fasteners painted like they were from the factory.  The fender bolts and rear hatch are a good example. They went through so much effort to get the underneath cleaned up.  I dont understand the black paint either.  You were right about the radiator support. In addition, the brackets that hold the grill should have also been flat black to match.  With the exception of the black underbelly and wheel wells, I thought it was a great car.

[motorman7]

Wow, a very impressive car.  As I said on the other thread, I have not seen many restorations better than this one.  Of special note in regards to detail are the cloth wrap fuel hoses, inspection marks and correct clamps (color and style)  in the engine bay.  That being said, putting my ZCON judge hat on (which sometimes doesn't count for much), the following items do not appear to be correct, but can most easily be fixed.  I will not mention items already noted above.

- Hub caps are from a later series 1 car.  Hole for the valve stem should be under the spoke, not the slot.

- Horn face should be olive drab color, not bare zinc

- Seat texture for the base/seat does not match the back.  The back is the original vinyl, the seat is aftermarket.  (This one probably bothers me the most).  I would have changed the back also, just so the textures match. 

- Plastic trim is missing from seat base, both seats.  On early models only.

- Steering wheel color seems to light.  Could be lighting.  

- choke knob is later model.  should be more trim and rounded.

- Door panels should have two screws near the bottom holding them on.  On early models only

- Hatch attach large flathead screws should be silver zinc

- I dont see rivet divots in the rear hatch panel.

Also, I am not a Just Dashes fan as I think they do a poor job with the three scallops over the center instrument cluster.  Vintage Dashes is more true to the original on this feature.

And, when buying the braided engine hose, get it from jdmcarparts.com.  There are other sellers out there for these items, but they do not match the original NOS very well.

I am sure I may have missed some stuff, but pretty darn nice car.  Will be watching this one.

 

Rich

[SpeedRoo]

Thanks Rich @motorman7 I'll make a note of all these when I'm doing my car "03802" May 1970.

[motorman7]

Also, regarding the rear hatch panel,  again I recommend jdm-car-parts.com for the panel.  Their part is a quality stamping. Other sellers have low quality stampings and the features are blurred.

[26th-Z]

First rule of this conversation is don't badmouth the guy's car.  So...this is very nice restoration with very heavy "provenance" on workmanship.  This looks like a Pierre, very 'Vintage Z' vibe.  However, there are too many incorrect inconsistencies to mention.  As i feel about the 'Vintage Z' restorations, I observe about this car; a "parts replacement" restoration.  It is fresh and clean and new looking because the parts have been replaced, in many cases with date incorrect pieces.  And that's just what these sort of restorations are all about.  Extremely nice, almost new condition, perfectly acceptable for show and dance.  In this case, assembled by craftsmen who really did a nice job.

No, the early cars were not underbodied black.  Spare tire well is missing the velcro and the alignment stickers.  Interior tail light panel cover is the later style with the access panels.  I could go on and on.  But how about this?  The 240Z badges would be chrome Zs and the gas door knob would be the vertical version.  I learned about early tail lights recently.  These are later version replacements.

[Zed Head]

It's on BAT now.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1970-datsun-240z-101/

[siteunseen]

$175,000 

 

[SpeedRoo]

Thanks @26th-Z there is no intention to badmouth the car at all, just use it to learn how to do things correctly. There were so many changes to the 240Z over the years it's hard to keep abreast of them all. Hopefully this will be a learning exercise for all, I know it will be for me.

[zed2]

Rear deck jute underlay missing.

Rear bumper end packing from a later model year.

Air filter housing should not have decals. (Subject to validation from other Jan 1970 owners.)

Driver floor mat heel pad is aftermarket.

Seat belt hooks missing from outside of seat backs.

Left seat rail missing end cap (possible). 
 

Awaiting confirmation of:

No urethane suspension

Correct 11 mm ball joints

Correct oil suspension inserts

A very impressive build.

Keith

 

Edited November 29, 2022 by zed2

[SpeedRoo]

The driver's side door has the later hinges, the passenger side has the earlier hinges.

 

The cross member under the seats is in body colour rather than black.