AggieZ

I cant make it this weekend. But I will be in CS for the Miami and Tech games. Dudley's or the Chicken? Just let me know. Looking forward to it. Greg p.s. Is 'Yesterdays' pool hall still around?

ok... nobody panic. :stupid:

Ah, British racing green. The color of my first 240Z. Its a very good color. Instead of reading the forum, I assumed that the british racing green Z was the one from Nissan. Appologies FilipeA. That is quality. I am a fool. Sincerly, AggieZ

Howdy, Its been a while since I've posted so I'm here to update the project. :classic: The car is completely tore down. The parts from MSA are comming in. MSA is great. I wanted to post pictures, but I dont know how. Anyhow, This car is better than I expected structurally. It has never taken any damage to the shell. There is only surface rust, if any, from the seats back. The foorboards have to be replaced. I'm shocked. The engine and head are good. I have a bet with my boss that it will be done by August 15. I think he is going to buy me a steak dinner. AggieZ p.s. As much work as it has been so far, I've enjoyed every minute of it!

OK... last post without pictures and I will start a completely new thread for my restoration. That said.... I'm very excited Barring any defects in the structure of the car I dont know about..... its gonna be exactly what I want. 300 lbs of extra steel on the '73? yeah thats good for what I want.

The last post until deconstruction starts.... six weeks from now.

The last update: I have the title back from the State of Texas. I now officially own this car. I am in the process of moving so I dont have the time to work on it. Once I am settled, the process of restoration will begin... and then I will start a new thread. I intend to document this car from its slightly (hopefully) rusty deconstruction to its slick completion. Regards, AggieZ

Bart, The Datsun manufacturing plate was mounted in the door jam at the rear of the drivers door at where you elbow rests when you are siting in the drivers seat. If that was still there when you got the car, thats what you got. From your pics, I cant tell if its a 240, 260, or 280. If its a '71, then thats good. Its a couple of hundred pounds lighter than the rest. As for parts, motorsport is good.... but the link provided above by biddljj may not be the best one... Try this one... http://www.thezstore.com/store_map_TZS.html You will see a lot more of what you might need. Im jealous because you are ahead of me in your restoration. Mine too will come down to the shell..... but I cant start that for about another 6 weeks... :/ Keep posting so I can learn from your experences.

I'm learning. I'll have more questions down the line as this progreses. I'm keeping the L24 engine. I'm a fast learner and a patient builder. Holy crap. I had no idea the word 'patient' had different meanings until I did a spell check with a defenition.... ironicly, I think both defenitions will apply. :laugh:

I am going to make a twin turbo for my 240Z. I have considered all options for upgrading my engine/tranny and have rejected them. The reason is I feel that if the 2.4 liter engine is taken out, it is no longer a 240Z. I'm just ol' school. I fully understand this route will cost extra money. I'm not worried about that. PLEASE ADVISE. Did you consider Nitrous Oxide? it is pretty much the only cheep way to be fast occasionally, and retain all of the characteristics of the car(when the switch is off). Will

Great story! If I found my original '71 240Z, I would buy it in a heart beat. I should have NEVER sold it. A canoe on top! I would have stopped believing your story if not for that detail. OMG... thats gotta be memory you just wont ever forget.

Looks to be in pretty good shape. hmmm. get an original hood. That hood is gonna make ppl laugh as you drive by. The rear wheels have been extended... makes me wonder what has been changed on the back end. Dunno if that is good or bad. From your pics, it looks to be in good shape. The valve cover doesnt look original.. what engine do you have?

Rust rust and rust. 'nuff said.

The first 2 links should be banned from the internet based on the level of pain experience watching them. I think if that was played as an interigation technique against terrorists, the Geneva Convention would classify it as torture. Water boarding? Nah.. just pipe that into their cells 24/7. I'd be confessing everything I had ever done in about 10 minutes. That said, the 300ZX video was cool.

Found the problem (part of it or maybe all). I pulled the valve cover and the rocker arm on the #2 pistion intake valve had slipped off. There is not any noticable wear on the cam (aside from a little worn groove on the side of the cam lobe where the rocker arm rested against it) The guide slot on top of the valve (dunno what to call it) had some wear on it, but was not broke. This got me thinking... hypothetically.... the valve is probably bent but not very bad... it would stick hard sometimes enough to let the rocker arm slip off (probably when cranking cold) .... and he would remove the valve cover.... slip the rocker arm back into place... and run it again until the same problem re-occured. A bent intake valve would put gasoline into the cam chamber as the valve guide wore down. The reason I think this is that when I took off the valve cover... the bolts slipped right out and the gasket didnt stick anywhere to the head. Not a big deal to me, I planned on overhauling the engine anyway... disapointing I cant at least slap some body parts on it and drive it at night for that ol' time inspiration. *sigh*

Am I wrong if this video gives me a chubby?

Ah! I'll be quiet now. Funny thing... since I bought this 240Z, I have been going over all my options... some want me to put a 280ZX drive train in it.. or at least 280Z engine..... not gonna happen. However..... My 240 will be FI with turbo and a 280ZX transmission.... keeping the original engine. Im starting to get an idea of what this is gonna cost... I really dont have a problem with it. The total project is gonna stay under 20K if I do a lot of the monkey work myself. The sound smell and feel will be very close to the original except for that whine. ... and I think it will be exceptionally fast... unless my calculations are off.

a7dz, Take a good look at the driver side floor board picture. That is dead grass where the flooboard should be. The driver seat floorboard mount is about 3 inches above where it should be. I swear that is old coaxal TV cable running along the door jam. Damnit James Tiberious Kirk... he's dead.

hmmm faded? timing marks would almost have to be grounded off not to be present. If your crank pulley is in that bad of shape, you should take a visit to a junk yard and get another one. Have you put your finger around the pully to feel for those marks? Could be gunk in the marks. Take a wire brush and clean'em up.. then take chalk and break out that timing gun. Saftey tip: Do this while the engine is off.

Timtation, For this test, you should ask the owner if it is ok. Take a screwdriver and magnet with you. Look under, over, around and inside the car. Remove the carpet. Look for bubbles or fadeds spot in the paint. If the paint is bubbled, push on it with the rounded end of the screw driver enough to flake the paint of the bubble... if the steel gives way as well... you know that spot is rusted through. Where there are faded spots, run the magnet over it.. if the magnet stops gripping.. then you know there is bondo (body filler) there and that spot is no good. Body panels from the winshield forward are cheap and easy to replace in the USA, but I dont know about overseas. As for the shell, check the floorboards first. Expect to find bad rust there. Most 240's will have rusted through there. You can expect to have to replace the floorboards, but it is a good indication of the rust in the rest of the body. Pull the spare tire out and look there.. as well as under the battery. If there is major rust there, you should definetly have major concerns. That being said, check the condition of the underbody and front end for major structural damage... or maybe I should have made that the first thing I said. As for getting a 260Z or 280Z, I can only give my opinion. Nothing else rides, sounds, smells, or feels like a 240Z.

Since the restoration has not actually started yet, I'll just post my mini-updates here... if thats ok. I changed the oil, replaced the spark plugs, distributor cap-rotor-condenser-wires (coil and ballast resistor on order), set the timing, set the fuel/air mixture and balanced the carbs. Now it starts on the 1st or second crank even if it is only 40 degrees farenheit outside... however..... it still has no power and it stalls under 1k rpm... and today I found out why.... There is no compression in the #2 pistion. OUCH. It aint the piston or rod.. I think I would have figured that one out. I was thinking rocker arm or spring. Uh... wrong.. I smelled the oil.. it stinks of gasoline. There is no oil in the radiator, and no radiator fluid in the oil. Do I have just a bad ring, or could I be in for a much more costly problem?

While I agree with AWC's sentiments, it is obvious from the pictures that the body cancer is terminal. The only way to properly restore this poor animal is to rip its shell, rebuild its guts and put them in another 1969 shell. There is no way to restore a body in that kind of shape without welding more steel into it than there was original steel. Sad.

Rust Rust Rust... check that car for rust. If its a junkyard dog you have bought, there is a reason it was there. (there are diamonds in the rough so dont be discouraged) Take out all the carpet (if present) and start probing for weak spots at rusty looking areas. If it looks rusty (flakes and rust), push on it. One thing not mentioned by others is bondo...uh body filler. When you find bondo... start grinding that $^!# out.. ya dont want it. After that, check and see exactly what you have in the drive train. Lots of old Z's have had modifications done... different Z engines and trans. Some stock stuff taken out, and Nissan swappable or aftermarket parts added. You need to know what you have bought.

Question: Is there a dedicated sub-forum to restorations? (if not, maybe there should be. if not, maybe time to start one?)

Keep the sprockets (unless there is obvious excessive wear) and get a new chain and tentioner (from Nissan). You will sleep better at night. Look for cracks in the camshaft sprocket especially. Uh.. eh. Your alternative is a very expensive engine overhaul.