motorman7

Took apart more than I had planned. Pulled fenders to check for rust. They were not too bad. I did use a little Por-15 in the lower corners , mostly as a preventative. All the bolts came out easy. That was a good sign. Got the inside fenders cleaned and painted. Now back to sanding. Found my next project car. Will pick up in 3 months or so after I have the silver one complete. It's a pre-Z.

Small 4 1/2" Makita Angle grinder. First cut at 45 degree angle at 1.5 coils. Second cut in middle of 1.5 coil so it can be removed. Wear eye protection and gloves. Did this only to front, stock springs. The rears are stock, 39 years old and sag. I did this so the front would match the rear sag.

I like that one

No Way this is a $14K car..I am thinking $6-8K at best. Negatives: - Not the original car color - back tail light panel wrong color - modified air intake - I don't see the 2400 on the valve color , don't think it's number matching - aftermarket radio - I am sure there is much more I think it would have to be much more original to fetch that kind of cash.

Just cut off one and a half coils from the front shocks on the yellow Z without removing the struts. Looks like the drop is about 1.5", which is perfect. I did have to use the spring compressors, of course. It would have been safer to remove the whole strut, but this was a bit quicker.

Congrats! Looks like a pretty sweet ride. I think the color is descent. I don't care for the rims, but the rest looks pretty nice. My daughter would kill for that color.

Increased voltage in DC motors makes them run faster. Increased amps improves available torque (assuming it's needed). It's not your imagination...assuming you are running an electric fan.

Great pics, looks like a fun project. That floor rust looks pretty serious.

Yes, I actually cleaned it up about 4 months ago. I think the car sat under a tree for some time and there was the equivalent of a small bush (a shrubery)underneath. Had to empty my shop vac after sucking must of it out. I will remove the cowl for paint. pulled off the headlight buckets today. They came off nicely, no broken studs, all metal-very nice. Only bolt that broke during removal was a horn bolt. I am really happy with how original the car is. It still has the original muffler and muffler brackets (but i dont think the PB blaster is going to help those). Gotta have baggies to sort parts. Will clean and re-zinc baggy by baggy...easier that way in the long run. The rims came with the car, 5 slot 14 inch diameter. Tires are new Michelins, 195/70 14 radials from Costco.

Started the clean-up on my 73Z. Not sure I should really call it a restoration as I am not planning on a full rotiserie job. The plan is to strip the car and send the rolling chassis to Lance for the silver 901 paint job. Will try and keep as original as economicaly feasible. I am really thrilled with the sheet metal on this. Even the battey tray is fairly clean. Minor surface rust, but nothing major. I am removing the side door ding bumpers (hate those) and the old AC (poor ROI), but otherwise will keep everything the same. Will also keep the flat tops and that lovely gray insulation . Should be fun. Did a little clean-up on the motor earlier on, but will do the full monty now that the motor is out. Major items I will need to get, other than paint, is the weather strip kit, carpet kit, and center console. Otherwise everything is pretty decent. Plan is to make it look like the final pic here when it's all done.

Looks like a lot of work needed to me. Those are hard areas to fix.

Nice article and great feedback by HS30-H below the article. Thanks for bringing the article to our attention. I did have a couple beefs though. The several comments on the lack of headroom in the early Z cars are surprising. I am 6' 3" tall and fit well in all my Z's; 2 are completely stock. I do not fit in most Honda's, Corvette's, or the current 350 and 370Z's. Odd that this was brought up. I am guessing the author is short and does not really have to deal with this issue. Would have been nice to have an original 240Z in the photos. A call to any of the local Z clubs would most likely get you a decent one. As a side note, Also heard rumor that Matsua, on his way to ZCON (noted by HS30-H in the article comments) will be in San Diego for 3 days to visit the Datsun display at the SD museum and the Datsun Heritage Museum in Temecula. Assuming this is true, I am hoping to meet him and possibly get his signature on the underside of my hood. Will be taking off work to make that one happen, definitely worth it. Peace Out, Rich

Hi David, That would be great. Would be great to see if we can get some of the Empire Z , SoCalRoc, and LA Z club there. (Gotta include SoCalRoc, I think my next car purchase will be a roadster) I love the venue at Irvine. Very high end, and good coffee of course. When I brought my '70Z, there was just as much crowd interest in my Z as there was in the mega dollar Aston Martin that parked next to me. Thanks for the support, Rich

Wow, major bummer! I would feel the same if something fell on mine. Hopefully you can paintless dent removal that out. I went through my small garage where I usually keep the '70 and figured I'd try and make it earthquake proof since I live here in So Cal. I roped up some items (bikes), added front panels to some of my shelves and moved things away from the car best I could. Still have doors and stuff up in the rafters. If I were smart I'd toss those.

I would like to send out an invite to the Z clubs in So Cal to the Cars and Coffee in Irvine. The ZCCIV is planning on going to the Irvine Cars and Coffee on 24 July 2010. Would be nice to have a good showing of Z's there. Roadsters and 510's invited as well, of course. We are planning on arriving between 6:30 -7:00 AM. Send me a PM if you have any questions. Rich

Thanks George! I checked out the site. There is a lot of stuff there. I will definitely be checking out their calendar. Rich

Hi George, any way to get a little more info on the Datsun Swap meet you mentioned. I run the ZCCIV web site and have a section where I try to add the So Cal events that are happening for Z/Datsun enthusiasts. It would be nice to have a place where all of the So Cal events are listed so people can attend and enjoy the events. Best Regards, Rich

Beautiful car, wonderful job! Hope to have my '73 looking that good some day.

Mine was bought in Florida but brought to California shortly thereafter (within a week or two). No three way valve in engine compartment with line going to aft tank, came that way.

HLS30-02614 has no evap tank...it came that way from factory (or so I was told, never removed the panel). Are you sure your supposed to have one? http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32826&highlight=evaporator+tank&page=2

I haven't seen any ads on our site, just the craigslist. Just seemed odd since he bought the car in AZ a couple weeks ago. Maybe the wife doesn't like it. Very nice color though. Would like to see the motor. I love the panasports on it, he just needs to drop it an inch or two. I have the original 5 slot mags on my 1973 with brand new Michelins and would gladly swap tires with him.

Sorry, didn't know you were looking to trade that beauty. Thought it was a con craigslist posting since there was no phone number.

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/ssd/cto/1797830032.html

Will see about picking one up before the Laker game tomorrow. There is a harbor freight about a mile from me. Will pick up on way home. Thanks for the tip. Rich