Mikes Z car

I think they keep iterative backups if I remember right after the last disaster. You can probably rest easy.

my WAG (wild arse guess) sticking tensioner piston (replace tensioner?), bypass valve sticking open slightly temporarily...

I had the mindset that fuses were always either open or a dead short and so confident with that that when I checked a fuse with an ohmmeter if I saw any movement of the ohmmeter needle I assumed I was about to read a dead short and would disconnect the leads without actually getting an accurate reading. Then once upon a time I found a fuse that had partially blown open (or had corroded?) but I thought it was good because the meter needle would start to swing but in fact it was no good because I didn't wait for the needle to finish swinging to get an accurate reading which would have shown resistance and not a reading near zero ohms. I only saw that once, but I remind myself of that lesson from time to time, that electricity is always smarter than I am.

I think I can fix that with some JB Weld...

I will try that, thanks.

Yes I feel the same way I hate to see a Z get scrapped that isn't all that bad rust wise, hence the decision to save everything if I can. If a Z was abandoned in a field near here I would consider sneaking over and spraying it with some anti corrosion material in the critical spots. Fortunately I know someone who has cut up a car. I will need to know where to cut to save the rear quarter panels and other sheet metal parts to maximize their usefulness. When I get further along with this I might have to start a new thread to get that info. Sorta reminds me of that cow you might have seen that has lines drawn on it for the different cuts such as rib eye, T bone etc. except in this case the cow would be a Z.

Frame rails some pictures with straight edges: Driver's side bottom of rail pushed toward fender: Driver's side frame rail fairly straight looking straight down: Passenger side frame rail (bowed) with straight edge: Left front bumper mount (?) torn metal: Patcon, can this type of damage be fixed?

In my opinion this parts car might be restorable though there is too much work in the whole process for me to take another car on, not even considering the expense. It might be that the frame doesn't need fixing I am no expert on them. Apparently the car was being driven with a stock 240Z engine with no problem. In the engine bay looking at the top of the driver's side (in USA) frame rail in the middle of the bay a foot or so of the frame rail appears to have been shoved over towards the engine a bit, maybe 1/4 inch or so. The passenger frame rail seems to have more dents in the vertical wall of it than what is on my good car, I am not sure how they might have gotten there. Also, the front left flat area that the hood hinge is bolted to has wrinkles in it seemingly indicating that the car was hit in the front left and then the metal was flattened out. There is some evidence the left radiator support was pulled out in that left hood hinge area but not extensively so. I will post pictures later.

I really appreciate the helpful info on getting my parts car home but I (insert sound of clucking chicken here) chickened out and got a tow truck. I didn't know anyone who could help me with the car dolly. This parts car has less rust on it than the orange '71 240Z I had 30 years ago except for the driver's dogleg. It has a MFR date of 1/1972 and has been entered into the registry. The floor pans are better than the ones my 1970 Z car had on it when I got it. All parts will be carefully saved if possible even the floor pans and frame if I can, bent part of frame and all. An odd story for this car if I get it all straight, a customer of the local mechanic was going to have a larger engine put in and then the mechanic noticed the frame was bent so he refused to do the install. The customer purchased another Z car but didn't want the wife to know he had two Z cars hence the reason the parts car was stuck parked at the mechanic's business and the reason I got it. I guess the customer had to answer the delicate question "how do you hide an entire car from the wife?".

Those are really nice pictures! I picked up my parts car today, blew the leaves and dirt out with a leaf blower, vacuumed it and ran water over it to get the dirt off the paint so the cover that it will hide under wont get too dirty so I can use it on some other car later.r After those nice wedding pictures I don't think I will post a picture of my crummy looking parts car out of respect.

Too bad killjoys made those exhaust cutouts illegal. Sigh.

There was another thread mentioning a sticking carb float valve. Assuming it could be done safely with no traffic or obstructions what would happen if you went up that hill backwards to force the float to swing through a different arc?

black gold man, Blue, Wade Nelson, EhlersRS, Thanks for the ideas. The engine is still in the car but is going to someone else, they are supposed to pick the engine up next week. Should have the car here by next weekend. I haven't been this excited about an acquisition in a long time. It will take some discipline to strip the parts off and not try to turn this into another restoration! Mike

I think this is it: He wants to use it to make a mold to make an actual car? Interesting idea. PS I was in Perth once, nice city you have there!

Thanks Robert, thanks for taking the time to type in those details. That helps quite a bit. I won't be renting from U-Haul but the place I am considering might have similar rules on what they will allow. Might force me into hiring a tow truck. Mike

I want to use a tow dolly to move a rolling 73 240Z parts car with relatively little structure rust about 20 miles. The car has no engine and the driveshaft and transmission are out. With the car not running how do I get the car up on the dolly? Can I use a come along? Can I jack it up and put it on two jack stands behind the front wheels on the tension control rod mounts and back the dolly underneath the front wheels that way? I wonder if the jack stands would get in the way of the dolly if I do that. I have read other threads and info on the net, no one says how you do this so it must be either really easy or impossible. There is no bumper so I can't use a tow bar I don't think. U-Haul has the idea that the towing car should weigh at least 750 lbs more than the towed car. I will be towing a 2000 lb 240Z with a 2200 lb car, has anyone had a problem with the relative weight like that? Thanks for any ideas.

Beermanpete is faster than a snail! The dash bulbs are dimmable with the dimming control so their power would come either directly from the dimming control located at the bottom of the dash above the drivers right knee or further down from the dimming control on the connection from the dimming control not going to the fuse for the parking lights. I realize this isn't all that specific.

Probably, I have lost my mind and any semblance of normalcy but I bought a rolling parts car in the form of a 73 240Z. I haven't brought it home yet. It is mostly stripped already with no engine, emblems, tail lights, dash, interior, but the price was right. I don't know what all might be good on it yet I just wanted spare parts plus glass and fenders. It didn't seem too rusty. The plan is to remove everything I can and take the rest to the recycler something hard for me to do even with a car in this condition. I have met the enemy, and he is me. I hope this doesn't mean the addiction has actually gotten worse (with the starting point being a near obsession). heh heh.

Not knowing much about suspension is there an advantage to adjusting the suspension using adjustable T/C rods over just adjusting the steering rack tie rod ends? Assuming I understand the geometry.

I am willing to check for you what is on my car when I get home in a few hours with a tap and die set, I have a 1/1970 240Z (VIN #907) though you may get better info/solution before then. I have the rear bumper off for other work.

240Z240Z240Z, Nice work! Thanks for sharing. I get a kick out of creative repair, yours and JLPurcell's. The parts the wife won't buy into keeping can be hidden in an undisclosed location. In desperate situations even a hole in the ground can work if the parts are protected from corrosion. Theoretically an entire car could be hidden that way. JLPurcell, I don't know yet if my antenna works glad you shared how it make it work in case I have a problem. I will save your thread. Took out the radio when I bought the car 4 years ago to work on the car and haven't figured out how to test the antenna yet. Thanks for the great pictures.

The orange 240Z craigslist ad I see listed intrigues me because I remember spotting this car repeatedly over the years heading down Broadway Ave here. It is orange like my first Z. I recognize the car because of the name on the license plate. There are some other Zs on craigslist now too. Orange 240Z: Black 240Z: Note that Bill Reagan has dropped the price on serial number #201, his ad is listed on this site in the Classifieds section. Orange car craigslist ad link: A SWEET LITTLE 240Z Black car craigslist ad link: Price Drop Nissan/Datsun 1972 240z

Virto, Fortunately I spotted a wasp entering the crack at the front of the passenger door so I had a clue they were there. Investigating by opening that door brought a swarm out and I beat a hasty retreat. I was thinking about them as I crawled under the car from the driver's side to get the starter off but fortunately they weren't thinking about me. Bonzi Lon, I once threw what someone called mineral spirits on a wasp nest and was amazed that they dropped dead with no further wiggling, as you said faster than spray. Wade Nelson, Thanks for the windshield cut out info. I have to be careful at JY's so that I don't drag home stuff I don't actually need as I think they are fun.

Here is the dash.

The steering wheel(s) and seats were already gone but the 280Z turned out to be two 280ZX's and two 300ZX's but I got the starter and 2.2 ohm ignition coil off of one of the 280ZX's. I think the starter is a gear reduction type based on the output drive shaft appearing to be offset from the center of the rest of the starter. I believe I read that a 280ZX starter will work on a 240Z. Got a GEN YOU WINE Bridgestone 175X14 to check fitment in my 240Z spare tire well. Rubber is cracked a bit on the 175 though it is still holding air, won't be taking that out on the freeway. I wonder if that could be an original tire? Ran into two women in the JY, first time I saw any ladies there. Grabbed some connectors while avoiding a large paper wasp condo. Those guys thought they owned that car for some reason and me with no wasp spray to overrule their conviction. Also spotted a 73 Austin Healy, two MG midgets and a Porsche 928. My dad had a 928. I like to check out Porsche suspensions in a JY since they are supposed to handle well but didn't see anything unusual to my untrained eye.