d240zx2

Just unbolt it and yank it loose. Before you disengage the cam gear and chain, locate the little dent in the crank sprocket to straight up - 0 degrees. Replace the chain, guides and tensioner while you're in there. Get a FSM and do what it says. You'll have no trouble. Frank

My understanding is that you have to make a shifter. Welding a piece offset just sufficiently to clear the original opening. I've had it explained to me by a Z expert whose done it countless times, and will also do it for my conversion.

Lubbock, Texas. In late fall of 1969, I was subscribed to several automotive publications like Road & Track, Car and Driver, etc. In one or more of those magazines, I saw pictures and read articles of a “new sports car” being introduced by Datsun. I was hooked. I owned a Porsche 912 Targa at the time, and my then wife laid down the law: NO Z-CAR UNLESS THE PORSCHE IS SOLD. I had been autocrossing the Porsche with little success because of its handling characteristics and was tired of finishing last in four-car classes. I knew I was better than last! I had broken my foot while dancing and also had some surgery done whilst the ad for the Porsche ran in the Dallas paper. It sold over the week-end with me signing the papers in the hospital. Kent Clark (yes, that’s his real name) and I decided to purchase one Z-car each. Kent was not going to register his, but prepare it for Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Solo I racing. I would’ve done the same, but didn’t have the bucks. I had to drive mine to work and, obviously, for fun. We each gave a $1000 deposit to our local Datsun dealer, B&V Motors. Kent was there the day before me, so I was second-in-line. Here the story gets a bit interesting. These 240-Z sports cars were on allocation to Datsun dealers. Each dealer would get one Z car each month and the local dealer had yet to receive his first one. Kent and another friend, Mike Peacock, worked up a plan to go to Houston to get Kent’s car and, if possible, mine. They took all the requisite paperwork for Kent’s car and hoped they could wing it for the second car, mine. They took special care to determine if any of the Datsun sales executives were in town that Friday and after finding that all were in LA for a meeting, implemented the plan. At that time, Pete Brock was doing a deal with Datsun on the left coast, using the first production cars fresh off the car-show circuit as race cars. Bob Sharp, on the east coast was doing the same thing. That left the central part of the US vacant of any factory authorized or supported racing endeavors. Kent and Mike’s story to the Datsun dock workers was that they were there to pick up the two cars for Datsun Racing Central, as the West and East already had their cars. They explained to the lot honcho in charge that Datsun had authorized the preparation of two cars but that the paperwork for one of them had been lost in transit. That was the key that Kent and Mike used to unlock the gates at the Port of Houston and the two cars they then drove back to Lubbock. I bought a stolen car. Between the two cars, they had one paper dealer plate and a roll of masking tape. It would have been next to impossible to drive 600 miles in two cars nose-to-tail that had never been seen in Texas before and escape notice by the gendarmes of the era. They tore the corners off the plate and affixed it to Kent’s car. Then they took the torn-off corners and taped them to the rear of mine, leaving just a black hole where a tag used to be “….I guess the wind blew it off, Officer.” They traversed Houston-to-Lubbock in about 8 hours having to stop for gas and to tighten the alternator belt when it proved sufficiently loose to not keep the battery up with headlights on. A bunch of us had gathered at Kent’s home awaiting their arrival, not knowing (these were days long before cell phones) if they were able to get two cars, or just one. At about 9:45 pm, Kent comes screaming up the street in a bright red 240-Z sports car…..by himself. My heart leapt! Mike couldn’t be too far behind him, could he? As about 15 folks were ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the beautiful piece of automotive design, Kent explained more loudly than would have been otherwise necessary, that they couldn’t get the second car off the dock and that Mike had taken ill on the trip back and that he’d been dropped off at home. My heart fell. I believed him. I turned to Kent and said something innocuous when the sound of screeching rubber pierced the night air. Here came Mike down the street at 5000 rpm in second gear, sliding sideways into the driveway….in MY CAR! You’re right, he drove it like he stole it! I teared up. Couldn’t help it. Laughter and tears don’t normally go together, but they did that night. There it was. That ugly mustard yellow color with no wheel covers and factory inspection stickers all over the windows. Cosmoline dripped from every surface. It was, to borrow a phrase, coyote ugly. But she was beautiful, and she was mine. I made right with the dealer the next day, but Datsun wasn’t at all pleased with him as he had been more than a little complicit in Kent and Mike’s plan. His allocations were suspended for three months, so I made a deal with him to park my Z on his showroom floor every Saturday for 60 days. That seemed to square things up because he sold out all of his allocation for 1970 in less than 10 days at retail plus. Over the next seven years, the Z was driven quite hard. I modified the engine with a high-performance camshaft and stout valve springs; oil cooler; headers; replaced the two doggy SU carburetors with three Mikuni-Solex units; added an electric fuel pump and shaved the head 0.030 inches. The suspension didn’t escape my notice, either. I added racing steering linkages; short springs; changed the McPherson strut oil from 10w to RPM Delo 50w; heavier front sway bar and added a rear bar. The puny narrow (4.5”) factory wheels gave way to 6 inch aluminum mags and bigger tires. Brakes were upgraded as well. If it goes fast, it’s gotta stop fast, too. Omaha, Nebraska. By the time all this had been done, my interests had shifted a bit. Although I was a top contender in Solo II SCCA events, I was getting old (33) and into the cars made by my employer, Chrysler Corp. I sold this modern hot rod to Mike Cole in Omaha in 1977. We had a handshake agreement that should he ever decide to sell the Z, he would find me and give me the right of first refusal and would sell it to me for what he paid me. I think that last part is a fool’s agreement, but he offered it, I accepted, and we shook hands. That was 30 years ago. The Woodlands, Texas. At the end of January, 2007, I got an email from Mike Cole, accompanied by a photo of him standing next to his new-to-him Dodge Viper. In that email he said he wanted to sell the Z and was curious if I would be interested. You know my response by now and a deal was done, again without me ever laying eyes on the car. For the second time, I bought it sight-unseen. John Evans, owner of Vintage Restorations, and I drove to Dripping Springs, Texas on 10 February 2007, towing an empty trailer. Mike was in the front yard, chainsaw in hand trimming low branches. In the drive, by the garage, was my Z. Still. Quiet. Lifeless. A pool of leaked coolant stained the concrete. She looked good, but something was wrong. After a few minutes of pleasantries that couldn’t substitute for 30 years of absence, Mike and I walked to the Z. The hood was popped and Mike lifted it. I nearly cried again. The engine compartment was exactly as I last saw it. It was spotless except for the missing water pump which was the source of the coolant stain. The polished valve cover shined. The carbs were void of stain. The remote oil filter and cooler were exactly where I’d put them. It was, as Yogi Berra said, “dejavu all over again.” I looked inside. The four instruments I had added were in place. The dash crack had expanded some, but otherwise was the same. The windshield still had the same chip. The doors still had the same parking lot dings. The tires were unchanged. I looked at the odometer. WHAT? When I sold the Z to Mike in 1977, it had 55,000 miles and change. The odo read, 30 years later, 64899! Mike had been posted to an out of the country assignment for eight years. He didn’t take the Z with him, of course, and put it in storage. He did it right, fresh oil, tank full of gas and Stabil, wheels and tires off the ground, suspension unloaded and the car covered. When he retired from Daimler-Chrysler two years ago, he moved to Dripping Springs, had the Z removed from storage in Michigan and shipped down. He changed the oil and coolant. Put in a new battery. Unplugged the coil wire and cranked it over for about 10 seconds to get oil where it needed to be. Plugged the wire back in and it started! As the Z still had the original water pump, hoses and all, the lengthy time in storage had cratered the pump. When attempting to change the pump, a couple of bolts proved recalcitrant to move and broke. That’s been rectified and all suspension bushings & boots have been replaced. Carbs have been gone through. Gas tank dropped, cleaned. Fuel lines replaced. Now she's in paint. Time, of course, takes it’s toll. Although Mike had garaged the Z constantly, and had only driven it on a wet road one time in 30 years, certain things just go away. The driver seat back had torn and is missing a vent piece. The “leather” steering wheel cover I’d installed in 1970 had fallen to the effects of time and UV rays. Parts of the car that are historically prone to severe rust were only affected to a very small degree; easily and inexpensively repaired, given its condition. The Z does need that minimal amount of rust repair and fresh paint, and Mr. Evans is seeing to that. New carpets, some replacement seat covers and a shift boot will easily put her in near-original interior condition. I think I am in a truly unique situation. It’s like finding your high-school sweetheart late in life and making good on all the hopes and dreams you had when you were young. Time is short now, live life and enjoy. And I’m taking my own advice seriously.

Ok, I'm fixin' to drop a bundle. I want to put a 5-speed (81-82-83) and R200 LSD (3.7) into my 1970 Z. What other parts and pieces are required, e.g. half-shafts, drive shaft, moustache bar, etcetera. Thanks in advance for your learned assistance. Frank

Do you mean Brock Yates or Pete Brock? Pete Brock's 240Z, driven by John Morton won the SCCA 1970 Championship. It was number 46 with a white body/red hood/top. If it was Pete's car, I can send you a .jpg of the bragging poster. Regards, Frank

Careful. You could get in Imus trouble.

My 1970 has the vents in the hatch. In '76, I had them sealed shut and painted over because of fume leakage back into the cabin. Now that I'm older and a bit smarter, I'm trying to restore them to as original. The thing is, the inner tubes, hoses, or whatever they're called are gone. Does anyone know where I could possibly find two of these increasingly rare vent tubes? Frank

Someone posted 920 Gold, and that is the correct color. It was also known as Butterscotch Yellow. That's the color of my Z, too. When I first saw that color at night in 1970, it looked really ugly. But once the cosmoline was removed, it brightened quite nicely. I'm currently having my Z repainted 920, but with a little bit of metallic tossed in just to give it a bit of snap. I'll let you know how it turns out later next week (being painted Tuesday), but the sample spray was pretty pretty. Frank

It depends on the use you plan for your Z. A standard weight flywheel is good for around town/down the street driving. A light-weight unit is desired for autocrossing and racing, while a heavier unit is preferred for 1/4-mile racing. For general use a standard unit will serve you quite nicely. Frank

I'd rather not say, but I got only slightly less than the sticker price I paid in 1970 when I sold it in 1977. Needless to say, I've got far more in it today than I ever put into it when I had it the first time. But back then I was young and couldn't appreciate what I had, otherwise I wouldn't have sold it.

In 1974 I discarded the factory SUs on my 1970 Z in favor of triple Mikuni-Solex carbs. Coupled with a BRE 3/4 cam, those carbs added what feels like an extra 100 hp to the otherwise, mostly-stock L24. I can now understand the current gen's love affair with nitrous....we just did it the old-fashioned way.

Rule number one: Get wifey's approval before you do anything. After obtaining that approval, drop the 5-speed into the 240. You may have to change the driveshaft length and modifiy the tunnel to accommodate the shifter, but it'll be worth it.

Hi, Jeremy. The only thing I can respond to is that the valve height must be identical from front to rear and that the cam holes be line-bored for exact height above the valves. I don't know that the rockers are location dependent since the other stuff makes it all line up anyway.

Well, Brian, it wasn't so much me finding him as it was he finding me. When I sold the car, he agreed that should he ever decide to sell it I would have the right of first refusal. He decided to sell and, true to his word, looked me up. I don't know how he found me (probably google or phonebook) but he did. Another part of our 1977 agreement was that when/if I was offered the opportunity to repurchase 721, I would only pay what I was paid in 1977. Now that's a bargain in anybody's coupon file. Thus far, the car has been re-bushed from stem to stern, the Mikunis cleaned and synched, engine bay stripped and painted, head skimmed and re-torqued, new clutch, brake master and booster, Tokiko Illuminas, etcetera. Fresh color goes on the body Tuesday (it is the 920 gold that I'm jazzin' a little with some metallic). I'm also adding a 3-piece rear IMSA spoiler and front air dam. The suspension was dropped when I owned it before. And the BRE 3/4 race cam, headers, remote oil filter mount with oil cooler make the stock bottom-end dish out something approaching 250 HP (175-180 at the wheels). Still have the original 4-speed and R180 but a 5-speed will go in shortly and I'm looking for an economical LSD conversion w/3.7-3.9 gearing. What amazes me the most about this whole chapter is the integrity of one man keeping his 30-year-old word (not a vow or oath, just his word). This has resulted in a ying-yang thing for me....joy with the car (good) and depletion of retirement reserves (bad). But I'll get over it. Regards, Frank

I will order 6 of the repro'd plastic clips from you. My '70 has half of each one left. Just let me know the $$ you need and I'll get 'em to you. Thanks, Frank

My 01/70 built Z has a defroster electrical grid in the hatch glass. SN 00721. Can't help with the SU discussion, as mine've been gone for 30 years in favor of Mikuni-Solexes. Can anyone say whether a 7 CW crank will drop into a 5 CW crank block ('70) with zero problems? I'm considering that in order to turn the motor a bit faster than 7 grand. But I'm conflicted in desecrating a numbers-matching motor, too. Frank

In 1970, a Mr. Kent Clark and I purchased two new 240zs from B&V Motors in Lubbock. Kent bought his to race, while I bought mine to drive. I have mine back again. You might seek out Mr. Clark to discover the disposition of the Z he bought waaaay back when. I haven't seen his car since about 1972. It could very well be second generation beer cans by now. Best of luck. Frank

I'm one of the lucky ones. 15 April 1970 I bought HLS30-00721. Sold her in 1977. Bought her back this spring. In the process of falling in love all over again. Frank