73str86

I used the Harbor Freight dual drum tumbler for 2-3 months. http://www.harborfreight.com/dual-drum-rotary-rock-tumbler-67632.html I used the green triangle "rust cutting" chips for the initial stage, 24-48 hours. Clean thoroughly, then I believe I used some kind of sand/glass from HF to polish for another 24-48 hours. For some reason the photos in my build thread aren't working. Also, I was even able to fit the largest radiator hose clamps, basically anything up to 3 inches in diameter. This dual drum unit actually has two 3 lb. drums, which equals a total of 6 pounds. It is fairly quiet--I stashed it under a cheap fold-up table and the noise never bothered me. I'd say it's no louder than a microwave--the only thing you hear are the two rubber-coated drums spinning. Someone mentioned paint/plating. I chose various colors of paint, which can be chipped off easily during assembly. It is a long, tedious process. Consider $55 for the tumbler, I spent $50 on chips/sand, $20-$100+ for paint/plating. Now your reaching the territory of some pre-assembled stainless steel kits. If you're going to use the tumbler for at least half of the car, I'd say it would be worth it. I used mine on my engine / engine bay two years ago, and now I see myself eye-balling some stainless kits.

Good to see another 280zx engine with SUs! That's a beautiful engine bay. I'm running a Stage III cam, E88 head, K&N air filter. Seems to breathe wonderfully!

I bought my teenage dream car a few years ago: 2002 Subaru WRB WRX wagon. Last December she spun a rod bearing. For a little while, I cycled through a lot of vehicles, from a 2000 BMW 323iT to 2008 C6 to Honda Element and more. It's odd, I love to think about keeping Layla ('73 240z) forever, but I also love to think about what someday I may replace her with: -2008 Subaru Legacy Spec B -Honda CRX -Ford Focus SVT -1967 Chevy Impala SS -1955-57 Chevy stepside truck

Nice find! Sounds like you've got some plans brewing. I also have a '73 I picked up a few years ago. The seller delivered mine from NC to GA, not quite as far, but still quite generous. Check out my thread; I started with the engine, and am now finishing up a rear suspension rebuild.

I thought I should update, the red/brown '72 240z on eBay has been dropped to $2,350 with 21 hours remaining. http://www.ebay.com/itm/1972-datsun-240z-/161699348568?hash=item25a6084058

Here are a couple I saw today. The second one might go a bit higher. http://www.ebay.com/itm/161694770155?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.ebay.com/itm/231551552410?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Bought my silver Z January 2012 from Greenville, SC. Orange Z was sold fall 2014.

Please excuse my bluntness. This guy's dreaming. How does a tire shop know if an odometer's rolled? You might restore this car and claim 80,000 original miles with tire receipt, but nothing will be original. Some real World ends of the spectrum. I bought my running 1973 240z for $3600, delivered, with a $500 "military discount." Previous owner had it 34 years, he didn't remember much except he had the carbs switched. 15 year old paint. Minor fixable rust. A box of paperwork and $2500 in recent work. These were taken the day I registered it. On the other end, I found an orange '73 with a 4 barrel Holley I picked up for less than $500. I got it running, new fuel pump, clutch master and slave. The interior was about as rough as the one you showed. A few dents on a few panels. It had a lot of new maintenance parts (starter, water pump, brakes, oil change receipts)...but floors and rockers were pretty bad. I sold it for $1750. The guy told me after switching to a smaller 4 barrel he's driving it to work. And this one has been on eBay a few times, but ended at $3,000 this time. It's an Arizona car. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Datsun-Z-Series-GT-Coupe-/231541682842?vxp=mtr

I'm not sure if you've totaled it up, but here are MSA's prices for bumper rubber. 70-72 Vertical (guards) $32 each rear 70-72 Horizontal $59 each rear 70-72 Vertical (guards) $22 each front 70-72 Horizontal $38 each front That's a total of $302 before tax and shipping. My theory is that if you've spent a year and a half trying to restore your Z to as near original as possible, you should go for the original bumpers. If you had modified it, then I would say go for the JDM bumpers. Like others have said, if you ever sell it, all the effort towards originality will be wasted to the purist who sees the JDM bumpers.

Also look at the ~ 1 inch indents around the engine side of my two fans posted. Your ~ 1 inch recesses are on the radiator side.

After looking at my own car, and another spare fan, the fan is definitely backwards. And there is definitely an offset when you mount it. When mounted correctly to the clutch, the mounting surface is at the front of the fan. Flipping it will give you about a half an inch of extra room. Did you have cooling problems beforehand? That fan is definitely not pushing as much air as possible to your engine. Here is the spare fan for the offset reference, and photos of my clearance between a Champion 4 Row radiator, with an original fan, and new Nissan motor mounts on a '73 240z. It has more room at the top of the radiator. It is very close for my liking, with about 1/4" at the bottom. With 1300 miles I have not had a problem. EDIT: I just remembered my transmission is removed from the car. I have a scissor jack and a 2x4 bracing the engine from underneath so as not to snap the motor mounts. It may have shifted slightly when the transmission was dropped.