26ounce

Hey, you see how he blacked out the chrome around the windows. I think that looks pretty good, it may have even convinced me to do the same to my Z. Funny how you get inspiration from the weirdest places. Otherwise I don't really like it that much. It's like when you make a pizza and try and put too many toppings on it, more is not always better.

Sounds like it might be a bit overpriced, oh well. Now on another topic, whats all this bias against red Zs? Suddenly my plans to paint the 260 red are coming into question. IMO red is the color of choice for a Z, black is good too but only if you get all the panels super-straight. Is it because you don't like the red or is the red Z becoming a cliche'?

Yep, its in yesterdays edition. The Quokka website cracks me up, I mean what the hell are they thinking. If you had that business would you allow people to search their paper online for free?:stupid:

Hey, welcome to the Z fold Gavin. I think you got a reasonable price on that 240Z if the descriptions I'm hearing are accurate. If you keep the rust bug away there is no chance of losing money thats for sure. Unfortunately, as halz said, there isn't a Z car club in WA. Last year some people tried to form a Z club but it never got off the ground. I went to one of the later meetings when they moved towards forming a generic Nissan club to get a more people involved. My suggestion to limit it to a Z club did not go down well at the time, but hey how was i supposed to know they had already had a huge debate about it. Anyway, a few of those guys have since put together a Z car register but I have not had any contact with them yet. If they are out there they don't seem to frequent the internet Z sites much. I guess the sporting car club is worth a try. You might also ask Cuong's opinion (another WA guy), he has some good contacts in the WA Z world and might point you in the right direction. Partswise I have only found one good WA contact that was posted on the Zdriver site. A company called Matchless Auto Services, their number is 0419196083. Those guys have wrecked some 260 2+2s and have a variety of second hand parts. Otherwise there are a couple of eastern states shops, none of which I have tried yet. If you find another source let me know, the more the better. Can't help you much with advice on performance and handling myself, I probably know less than you. But have a look around the various Z sites and you get a pretty good idea of what to do. In fact there is a good site that has extensive info on building up an L28 that is a good starting point. If you haven't found it already the address is http://www.geocities.com/motorcity/2824/engine.html Note: this is all US info and some of it is different to us. Also it may decrease the value of your 240Z if it currently has matching numbers. Take it easy Chris ps halz, have you checked out the 72 240Z in the quokka? The needs attention bit sounds ominous but you never know.

That 260 sounds alright biker, good price too.

Damn, I was recommended urethane over fibreglass because they don't crack when hit by something, eg the curb when parking. Do they really flutter that much at speed?

In no particular order.... Convert 3 speed auto to 5 speed manual Rebuild suspension New tires body work , body work, and maybe a little more body work

I'll check it out 2Many. I've almost convinced myself that it is the transmission. Occassionally after a longer drive I have noticed that transmission fluid burning smell. Oh well, on the bright side it gives me a chance to install the 5 speed manual sitting in my garage.

OK, So I replaced the alternator. There was also a problem with the spout attachment that bolts onto the side of the water pump, the thing had corroded to the point where the hose fell off in my hand (not the larger radiator hose but the one that goes off thru the firewall). In the process of decaying the spout was leaking water onto the alternator immediately below it. Anyway, my Z is still cactus after all that. It idles fine in park and neutral but put it in drive and the engine really labours hard. The revs drop and it will stall repeatedly. I'm starting to think it is the auto tranny. To anyone familiar with auto boxes I pose the following questions. Will a dying auto box suddenly jam up and be hard to turn thereby stalling the motor in drive? I'm confused because I thought those things were full of torque converters that would not behave that way. Maybe it is something else, is there any way a poorly tuned Z would display these symptoms? Still on the bus:disappoin

Thanks for the quick reply Oz. The battery is less than 6 months old so chances are it should be OK. I'll certainly check the plug on the alternator when I get home.

Yes dammit, the Z would not start due to a flat battery. I did not have time to tinker around to find out what was wrong, but I think my alternator has gone out viking funeral style. Tell me, does this sound like a dead alternator... The last time out it started OK and revved fine in neutral, but when I put it in drive the engine almost stalled and ran with no power whatsoever. I'm talking 0 to 60 kmh in 1 minute or no pick up at all when going up hill. I nursed it home (I was only 1 km away), then this morning the battery was flat. Other possibly related symptoms: The alternator has a yellowy white powder build up on the outside - just noticed it this morning. One cylinder seems to be notiveably missing at higher revs. What do you reckon?

Classic!

Have a read of this article 1973_240z. Some of the guys have said similar things, but this gives a step by step approach to getting the body work and paint done... http://www.240z.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1281 As it turns out I am in a very similar position to you, paint cracking and chipping with some rust underneath (not to mention excessive use of bog/bondo). After much soul searching I have decided to take a similar approach to the article. I say soul searching because I was never really intending to do a ground up resto. To keep the financial pain to a minimum I'm going to try and do a lot of the body work myself. So the plan would be... (1) Strip car down to shell and hope my wife doesn't notice strange metal devices being secreted away throughout our house. I guess I'll leave the wheels and suspension on to make for easier transportation. (2) Get the shell media blasted then sprayed with an epoxy primer. Return the rolling shell back to my garage. (3) Look at all the rust damage, get completely discouraged and spend the next 6 hours drinking emu bitter and watching the cricket. (4) Recover from hangover and swear off beer forever. Let me tell you, the following week without beer will seem like forever. (5) Learn the basics of mig welding. (6) Attempt to repair most of the easy stuff myself. Any serious reconstruction and I will take the car to a restorer and get them to do it. (7) Prepare the shell for the paint job. (8) Get shell painted (international red or ferrari red I think) then returned to house. (9) Begin putting the car back together again for eventual motoring happiness. This would be Plan A. There are alternative plans such as Plan B: Plan B is the same up until point (6) then point (7) is to sell the project at a loss, buy a corolla/civic and never show my face on this site again. and finally Plan C, refinance my mortgage and get a professional to do the whole job. Suggestions would be helpful, anybody?

Alright, I can't help myself! Here is my dog. I have to say that I get some pretty funny looks with two of these dogs crammed into the Z.

I like it! If my Z had the same tail lights I would not convert back to the original. IMO the tail lights of the earlier Zs is the one design aspect I don't really like that much. To me it kind of looks like an afterthought, particularly when compared to modern cars where a lot of time is spent integrating the tail lights into the design. Any tasteful attempt to improve the look of the tail lights is a worthwhile effort I'd reckon. Thats my 2 cents worth (which rounds down to zero in Aus these days).

Hey Guys, I don't want to discourage anyone looking for a 240Z in Perth, but basically I think it is a tough ask. How many 240Zs have even been advertised in the last year? 2 or 3 I'm guessing, and one of those is still for sale (the 6500 one which apparently is too rusty for the price). It is very much a sellers market unless you want a 260 2+2 - no shortage of them. I'm thinking that if you put an ad in the quokka for a 240Z under 5000 you will have to hire a full time secretary to handle all the calls (possibly why the 500 guy mentioned above was a bit vague and unfriendly - he was answering the phone all day). If you are really keen for a 240Z in the near future then maybe you should consider freighting one from the eastern states. It is a big hassle to do it that way but at least they have a supply (and choice) over there. I was considering doing it for a while, from memory I think it was about 700 bucks to freight one back.

Last night I was driving the Z when I noticed a light coming from under the dash. It was light inside the cigarette lighter socket, I'd pulled my mobile phone charger out of it earlier. The light was kind of bugging me so I got the lighter coil bit and stuck it back in the socket thus eliminating the light. I guess I pushed it back in too far because I inadvertantly pushed the lighter into the on position. Imagine my surprise 30 seconds later when the newly heated lighter flicked back. Maybe the spring was too tight on the lighter or the clip was worn down, but either way the lighter flicked right out of its socket straight onto my left leg (I was wearing shorts, and my car is RHD). I just glimpsed the red glow of it as it bounced off my leg then disappeared onto the carpet underneath me. I had no idea where it landed, or if a trail of smoke would soon start wisping up between my legs. Anyway, fishing around for a hot lighter under your legs is not fun, it is even less fun on a busy road. I was lucky and no damage was done. If you get the chance it might be worth checking your lighter for this problem.

Wow, thats some sobering news for those of us undertaking a Z restoration/refresh. Better make sure my wife does not see those figures. US$50K sounds a bit extreme though, hopefully that is at the extreme end of the restoration market.

I understand how you feel peterpit. In fact it made even worse by the fact that Zs are so low to the ground. Do you guys have "bull bars" in the US? Here in Oz two out of three SUVs has a bull bar (also known as a roo bar, as in kangaroo). It's not enough to have the biggest and heaviest car on the roads, they also have to bolt an offensive weapon to the front of it. I guess it compensates for the increased stopping distance:dead: While I'm ranting, I hate driving the Z in traffic because I can't see anything past the car in front of me. As a result I need to leave a reasonable gap to allow for this lack of vision, unfortunately this also generates a procession of cars cutting in front of me. Drives me nuts!!!

You should not have any problems putting the packed cover plus overnight bag in the back of the Z. They generally fold up into a medium sized bag (I guess about 1.5x1x1 ft in dimensions). Get the more expensive cover that is 100% waterproof and also has some breathing vents hidden somewhere. The medium sized cover is the way to go, it fitted mine almost perfectly in length and width. Unfortunately, the unusual shape of the Z means it will have excess material at the front of the windscreen. This causes creases and folds in the cover that can pool puddles of water - very annoying when removing the cover and worse if you want to then put the wet cover in the back of the Z. Lastly, watch out for the bumpers and aerial when removing the cover. They have a nasty habit of catching and tearing holes when you are in a hurry.

The rust I am referring to is from the top. The previous owner had work done removing cutting the serious rust out and replacing it with metal, as well as putting in new floor pans. Unfortunately, it was also resprayed white (used to be blue) and there are some problems with the job. There are noticeable cracks in the paint, and the paint seems to chip off any edges quite easily. Rust is forming in all these cracks and chips. Now that I read your post however, I will go back and check all the backs of the panels where possible.

Very informative thread this one. My thanks to the contributors. Just a question to EScanlon and anyone else who may have some good advice; My 260Z is suffering from a dodgy paint job, it looked good when I first bought it, but now there is rust coming through on most of the panels (I've only had it for 6 months). I really wanted to do the mechanical work first but the way the rust is appearing it looks like I have no choice but to do the body work immediately. Is there a reasonable way I can temporarily patch up the body to stop the rust, a quick fix so I can do the mechanical bits and postpone the body work until I have saved enough cash to do it right. Could I just strip off small rusty areas, paint over with POR-15 and then bondo and paint to match the rest of the car?

Hey Ozlime, Can't help you much myself, but if you check the following site it has some numbers that might be useful for comparison... http://www.zcarclub.com.au/dyno_night.htm

Aussie SU servicing company.. http://www.sumidel.com/