zild1221

I found a picture from when I was there. They were all in this type of condition except for the ones he drove. Found another.

Ok. I'm on my little nexus tablet and it's 4:30am, so this isn't going to be the most elaborate of posts. Your guys assumptions of undercoat are correct. I have no clue when it was done, or if it was done professionally. I am eager to find out when we get to the blasting stage. I want to see if it is hiding anything. The floor pans are rock solid though so I hope everything is good there. The passenger side door I had a feeling it was from a laterr/different model due to the latch and interior paneling. Here are two pics from last year when I went over the car. Annndd... They won't paste from here for some reason. Will post them later. I made some little headway today. I wanted to get it in the garage again, it had to live outside the past week or so while they poured the floor. Even with a jump, it wasn't firing. I hesitantly put a few fresh gallons in the tank (I planned to drop the tank soon so didn't want to have to deal with draining gas). Pumped the gas and bunch and made sure fuel was getting there. Next I checked the plugs. They were completely gunked up and looked to have never been changed. I ran to the auto store and picked up new plugs. Put those in no problem. BTW, first time changing a spark plug . Next I followed the wires back to what I now learned is called a distributor. Opened that up. I cleaned the contacts really well. Inside there was also a really loose wire that was barely attached and constantly hitting the spinning part. I made sure the wire was still intact, tightened the wire down and readjusted it so that the wire was no longer in the way. Sorry for the lack of proper terminology. I didn't even know how an old spark plug system worked until today. Once I did all of this, I fired it up. First go it started right up and stayed running. Fast forward 5 minutes and it is overheating. I ran through all the hoses quickly and found 2 significant leaks. They were easy enough to get to and my parents should had the hose we needed. I replaced that and used new hose clamps. Anyway, I did that and built those two parts carts in the few hours I was out there today. Doesn't seem like much but in the first two hours I've already learned a good deal. Also, if you buy things from Harbor Freight, expect to have to re drill just about every damn hole...! At the end of the day I drove it around the block once and put it in its garage spot. I realized the transmission may need to be rebuilt /replaced. I don't know what a normal amount of slop is in a 240, but I had to pretty much guess what gear I was putting it into. Also, the ebrake does not function... =) Well, sleep needs to happen. More tomorrow.

For some reason, still awake. Thanks for the responses, I will try to answer appropriately in my sleep deprived state. =] First off, I want to say I worked extra jobs this past summer just to sink the money into the car. I am confident I have enough sacked away for this project. Time to work on the car also isn't an issue. I am taking a break from college courses currently to work/help my father out (he fell 25ft from a ladder and messed himself up pretty bad. Just getting back to "normal" after 2yrs). Isn't bad though, the pay is better than most 20yr olds (high end custom kitchens and bathrooms, historic home restoration). As I said above, I worked my arse off so money wouldn't hold me up on this project. If at any time I slightly question if I should replace something or not, I will. I have the time and funds, I figure I mind as well do it while I can, just in case there comes a time I can't. Obviously, if there is no reason to replace it, I won't. As for the brakes... It's a combination of a lot of things. First, I am a huge safety freak. On top of that, they look better, and when I feel comfortable enough with the car, I plan to autox and open track days. I am an avid sim racer (I know sounds lame, right?) and have attended a few autox's in friends vehicles. Awesome post. Firstly in response to your post. I now have a "spacious" garage for it (35'x50'). I have been looking for a used tool box to make organization of tools easier. I picked up two little parts carts from Harbor Freight and car dollies(I know, garbage stuff there, the sale price was just TOO good). The way I planned on cataloging parts was to make numbered and lettered cards (1a, 1b, 1c, so forth) and holding them against the part when I took the picture. After that, remove the part, and place it in a jar/ziplock bag with the card inside. I'm anal when it comes to organization. As for the actual hand tools and power tools, I am pretty good off in that department. We have a welder already, as well as a set of air tools (we have a Ford 555E backhoe that we always have to work on). If I need anything else, the other part of my parents business is a hardware/paint/homecenter. That makes tools and such a bit cheaper for me. Gotta love parents... Also, forgot to mention in this garage that I am building a workbench around the car's stall. Nothing crazy fancy, but doing custom woodworking we always have tons of scrap lumber. You said are going "all out on suspension". Are you purchasing a kit, refinishing the stock? If a kit, which are you looking at/have your eyes set on. I have briefly looked at different kits, and know what my budget is, but I am just curious. For some reason I have had tearing the old apart, blasting and refinishing it stuck in the back of my head. Whatever I do end up going with, I want the car to be able to withstand the rural beat to sh!t roads of rural CT, but not be a dog at autox events. Also, you said that you purchased a blaster. May I ask what brand/model you purchased and any comments about it. If you bought used, would you buy new if you had the opportunity again? Anything of that nature. I have been trolling the auction websites and have come across a few at reasonable prices. Thanks for the advise. I understand where you are coming from, but I am slightly the opposite of what you are saying. Once I start tearing apart this car, I will have my own money invested in the project. I am pretty tight with my money. I hate spending it, and I really REALLY hate wasting it. Once I start the project, not being able to use the car is a waste to me. It will eat at me until it is complete TBH. I am very open to learning, that is why I am not just throwing wads of money at other people to do it for me. I really would like to as much as possible myself. That is why buying a blasting system and things of that nature don't bother me. I would really even like to reupholster the seats myself, things I would never expect myself to be doing. If I can learn it now and use it later in my lifetime, it is definitely an investment to me. I haven't been able to drive drive the car yet. The brake lines need to be replaced and it is pretty sketchy to drive right now. I took it around the block a few times, but other than that it is too unsafe to drive in its current state. Not being able to drive it during this project won't be much different to me than the past year of having it. That is, other than having my own money invested in it whispering in my ear constantly. Now, this might sound crazy, but I am setting myself a deadline of 6 months. That will be pretty much all winter into early spring and fall perfect on my birthday (awesome bday present, right? =]) I wouldn't drive it in the winters around here anyway, so no real loss. I get around in beaters that various family members always seem to have. Right now a 2002 dodge grand caravan... I have a lot of spare time to work on this, and now that I have a place to do so, I have no excuse. I tend to pick up on trades quickly, and I like to read a lot. The previous owner gave me his Chilton repair manual for 70's Z's. Oh! Before I forget as well. The whole engine/trans situation. I am really REALLY torn between tearing the old one out completely and replacing it with a newer Nissan RB (either a 25 or 26 variant). I have always like these motors. If I went with a newer motor, it would have to be a Nissan as putting a Chevy motor in a foreign car just feels wrong. However, this motor has fairly low mileage and I almost feel bad with the idea of tearing it out. Well, I really appreciate all the response already. I'm kind of rambling and 4:15 just rolled around. Later.

Well. Last year my father purchased me a 73 240z as a big "thank you" gift for taking care of his business while he was out of commission. I made a post about it as soon as I got it, but never ended up doing anything with it sadly. Anyway, here is a little summary. I bought it with 43,000 miles on it. It ran when we went and checked it out. I periodically start her up, but as of recent, the battery won't hold a charge. It hasn't been in any accidents that I could track down. It had two owners and the last bit of it's life it was owned by an old man and sat in a big garage FILLED with Z's. He must have had 30+ 240's-280's all in different states of completion. That and another 40+ VW's. Somehow I overlooked this at the time of purchase, but the passenger side door latch isn't the same as the driver side. The did a pretty good hackjob on the door to get some ghetto looking latch in there. I don't know why someone would do such a thing to it. NOW. There's been a culmination of reasons why I haven't gotten around to working on it yet, the main one being that I never had a solid surface to put the car on and work on it. We just poured our garage floor finally (new addition), so I now have a smooth surface to get jacks under the car and such. I will be able to pull the car in by Friday, and then the work begins... Seeing as I am probably going to replace the entire passenger side door, I figured I would repaint the whole car and rid it of that terrible red. I also have to replace a bunch of bits of the interior (carpet, seat covers, misc small bits). The chrome also needs to be redone. The list goes on. Because of this, I am stripping the entire thing down. Starting from a blank slate. Is this a good idea? There is almost 0, I repeat 0 rust. This will make my life easy. List of to do's in the order I will most likely be doing them: Doors, trunk hatch, hood, everything off. Interior out Drivetrain out Wheels, brakes, suspension off. Pretty much all stripped down for blasting and paint. Is there anything you guys recommend before doing this? It will be my first EVER car project. I know the whole take lots of pictures as I go along so I know where everything goes back. I called around about blasting prices and tbh, some of the prices I got were OUTRAGEOUS. My father and I browse auctions a lot and we can get a full blasting system with media for a fraction of the cost of having it done. This way, we have the system forever. I wouldn't be against learning to do it. Other things I will be doing are: All new brake lines New larger brake calipers up front Replace drums with disks in rear Replace all hoses, wiring, you name it. New sound setup (none of that gangster crap, quality sound) New upholstery, carpet, refinish all hard plastic surfaces Then the engine. That is for a different day. What do you guys think? Am I right in doing this? I have to get to sleep so I'm looking forward to what you guys have to say in the morning.

Thanks for the in depth post Travel'n. The car runs. It starts right up just fine and drives with no (apparent) problems. The previous owner threw on a new fuel filter before we test drove it. It is pretty much running on fumes so I will go ahead and drain the tank. Also, no I have not checked the compression of the cylinders. I have never, but am reading up on how to do so. Have to learn and start somewhere, right? =] Also, if anyone is interested, here is the first start video I took from my phone. Nothing fancy and you have to crank up your volume to hear anything. Also note that the RPM gauge is screwed. Next thing is getting that video and learning about the carbs. So much to learn!

Woops. Most of my posts are from my phone so I don't catch it sometimes. The seller threw in the factory service manual so that is a plus. Again, too hot out today to get anything done. 100+ heat is not fun at all.

Here's a link to the album. http://s383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/zildjian1221/240z/?start=all

More images in next post. Damn 15 limit.

Thanks for all the help already! I was going to go out and get to the brakes today but it is just too hot out. 100° right now. I will however go snap a few more phone pics since the camera cord is nowhere to be found.

Thanks, that is where I was planning to start. Hopefully tomorrow it will not be AS hot as today. I can get to work on those brakes.

First off, just wanted to say hey. I have been lurking for a while. Z's have always caught my attention so I came around here once every now and again. Anyway, there was a very good (at least I thought so) on a 73' 240z I couldn't pass up and just bought it. Here is a phone pic until I can find the cable to my camera. I know a lot about cars, but not much (yet) about working on cars. If you guys can bare with me, hopefully this will be a good first project. I intend for this car to be a daily driver. Also, if possible, the way I want to go about restoring the car is so that I can still use the car as I work on it. Obviously certain things can not be done that way. Also, I am on a limited budget. Now, I went through the car and I am coming up with a list of things that I found wrong/missing that were obvious enough for me to spot. Cosmetics: -Chrome around windows in certain spots loose/pops off -Non-original/crappy plastic mirror -Small dash chip on the far right side -Drivers seat torn -Small paint chips and bubbles -Carpets dry rotted -Broken pass. door latch -Pass window rattles when rolling up or down and gets stuck if all the way down I took a bunch of pics to describe the cosmetics better. Mechanics: -Brakes barely work, can put foot to floor -Leaks brake fluid rear left -RPM needle gets stuck all the way up when starting the car, revving does nothing. The car seemed like a good buy at $2900. There is not a single ounce of rust. The suspension is fairly clean, I checked all the common places for rust. Pulled up the carpets and checked the floorboards, spare tire well, front and rear quarters, and the engine bay. No rust anywhere. The motor has 43,000 miles, original to the car. The wheels are also in good condition. It starts right up and runs. I don't now much about dual carbs and how to go about tuning them so any recommendations to guides would be appreciated. Anyway, it is all a bit overwhelming. I would like to get the car to a driving state first. I can deal with the cosmetics for now. I am not insane about original parts and such. I can deal with new parts from places like blackdragonauto. IF you guys could point me in the right direction on where to start. Some guides and such would be helpful. I look forward to your responses.