lpraun

In may 2007, I bought this 1973 Datsun 240z from a guy who had imported it from California. The floors, the rear hatch lid threshold plate and dog legs where rotten, the interior and paint where burned by the sun and all the rubber where old and hard. The dash was cracked (of course) and the AC did not work. Otherwise everything else seemed okay. Basically what had to be done was. 1. Remove and replace the rotten metal with new. 2. New (used) dash or dash cap. 3. New rubber and weatherstrip. 4. New suspension bushing. 5. New interior. 6. Repaint. 7. Engine service. 8. Change external lights to fit Danish law. The restoration is now almost complete and here is some before pictures.

Yeah – a set refurbished SU’s from ZTherapy would be very nice. They are at the top of my “must have list”!

Sorry I haven’t been updating the progress with the car, but I have been working on my master thesis in naval architecture and just handed it in. Therefore there haven’t been much progress! It seems that after the engine have been warmed up a couple of times, the problem disappeared. Now it idles fine and the power delivery is strong. Some carp-adjustments may still be needed to get better fuel economy! I will try to set up some before and after pictures elsewhere in this forum – and some pictures from in-between. Lars Peter

Hi I’m a new Datsun 240z enthusiast from Denmark who has imported a 240z from USA. I’m now nearing the end of the restoration of the car and just fired up the engine this weekend. As the headline suggest I encountered some idle problems, but first I will just describe my car. 1973 Datsun model 204z - produced Dec 1972. Manual 4 forward, 1 reverse gearbox. As far that I can tell it’ a stock L24 engine with emission control Round top 3-screw SU carburettors, must at one point have been changed from the original Hitachi flat top carps (?) I removed the air condition system. New ignition coil Compression test shows between 135 and 150 psi. The car seemed to run fine before I started the restoration and I haven’t done anything to the engine other than messing around with the air/fuel mixture screws as described below. First I closed the mixture screws (the ones positioned at the bottom of the carburettors) and turned them 1.5 turns out. After starting the engine it backfired out the carburettors. I leaned using this forum that it most likely was due to a lean mixture – I unscrewed the mixture setting screws until the problem stopped. As the engine warmed up and I released the choke it settled into a idle cycle where the rpm goes down to about 600 and then up to about 1300, then back down to 600. This goes on and on and on – each cycle tacking about 5-10 seconds. The rear carp seems to draw a little more air than the front one. And if I spray a little engine starter on the shaft going through the carps the engine rpm goes up a little indicating an air leak (this happens on both carps individually), but I don’t know if it’s serious enough to cause the engine rpm cycle described. Now, when I try to drive of I put it in gear release the clutch with a little throttle (as you would normally do) there is a complete lack op power – I have to engage the clutch in order for the engine not to stall. If I rew the engine to about 1500 rpm there is no problem other that the car leaps forward as if I only have had my driving license for a week. If I just rew the engine in neutral it will go higher than I dare. Is there anyone out there who might know what I can do to solve these problems? Regards Lars Peter

Hi I’m restoring a ’73 Datsun 240z and I was wondering if any of you could tell me how to test, if my oil/water and amp/fuel instruments work before I reassemble the dash and install it in the car. Regards Lars Peter