Hardway

Good eye Kurby! Appears to be a '73 and in good shape. Everywhere I travel I am always looking for interesting cars. Drives my wife crazy sometimes but it has paid off a few times as I spot something even she likes.

Congrats Richi. A '77 280z was my first classic Z car as well. From the single picture you posted the car looks to be in good shape. When you have a free minute post up in the Introductions section and tell us more about your Z and yourself. Regarding ideas, what are your plans for the car? There are tons of options and directions to go. A lot of people including myself have build threads so I would encourage you to view them as I am sure they will give you some ideas.

Doing a test for you. I simply copy and pasted the IMG URL that starts with "[url=" I think you were originally copy and pasting the HTML URL link which starts with the "<a href=" in front of it. There is also a random URL end tag after the picture. That will not be there when you just copy and paste the IMG URL. I think it is there because I have had to edit this multiple times so the website would not pick up on the URL info I was listing above.

Good to see some updates Hwyman! On the floor board body filler cover up, you won't know what is under there until you remove it. You have the right plan, take it back down to bare metal, see what you have (or don't have) and go from there. With the fenders off your job will be easier so now is the time to do it right. Post up your findings in the body and paint section and I am sure others can give you guidance. On your picture issue, it looks like your are posting your links as true active links. When I prepare my posts I type everything up in a Word document first. Once I copy and paste my picture links to the Word doc they turn blue and become active. I have to go back and right click on them, click on Remove Hyperlink, and then they are text again. Then I copy and paste everything in to my thread using the "More Reply Options" so I have the opportunity to preview the post before submitting it. Let me know if that helps.

Thank you for the information Charlie. My 240z has its original springs but newer KYB strut inserts according to the previous owner. The rear end sags a little and I assume this is due to the springs being fatigued. Because of this the car sits a little nose high and I have been considering swapping the front springs for the rears or just going with a new set of Vogtland springs to bring the whole car down a little and level it out. If you have some current pictures of your 280z I would love to see it.

Any updates? I am eager to hear some more feedback about the Vogtland springs for our cars!

Yikes! I would like to see what a $53,000 240z looks like. I agree prices are rising but are they really that high now? As others have said the cost of parts will rise too but hopefully the increased values will bring more quality reproduction parts on to the market.

Good work Diseazd! Your pearl white Z32 is beautiful. I think they are cheap because they made lots of them and they are rather complex cars for the average mechanic/enthusiast. However, a clean all stock car with reasonable miles and well documented history will always command a premium. I would like to test drive a nice TT one day.

As said before, welcome to the disease! For $750 I think you did really good. You are right, you have a long road ahead of you but as long as everything is in good mechanical condition it should hopefully start up with minimal fuss once you have the Air Flow Meter (AFM). There are TONS of resources on here and other sites regarding the proper starting procedure. Did you get any history with the car? Any idea why there is no radiator and why it was put for sale?

Hey CDL1542. You may want to double check which part is actually worn out. The tabs that are held on with the clip at the rear of the lock cylinder are made of steel and should be in good shape. More than likely, the "core" of the lock cylinder that sticks out of the back is what has worn out since it is made of a soft pewter like metal. I ran into this issue with my 280z several years ago and posted up the DIY article below. The 280z was my daily driver for awhile and it never failed me. If you have any questions on doing it just post up. My article - http://www.zcar.com/forum/10-70-83-tech-discussion-forum/308946-how-s30-door-lock-coat-hanger-repair.html Another article - http://www.classiczcars.com/topic/37998-door-lock-repair-for-s30s/page-2

Thank you so much Jim! I am actually planning to bring my Z up to the Dallas area for the October C&C in Plano. The original owner of the car lives in the Dallas area and I am planning to have lunch with him and show him the car. He owned it for 25 years so it will be interesting to gauge his reaction to it. As it gets a little closer I will reach out to the North Texas Z guys and see about coordinating at C&C or something afterwards.

Thank you for the compliments Red7. We are in the same boat on the blacked out engine bays. I personally despise them on Z car's as I always see them as covering something up. But to each their own but I am happy mine was repainted back to the original silver. Sorry RCB280z, I am keeping the original steering wheel as it belongs to the car. In fact, I may be putting it back on as I am still on the fence about the new steering wheel. It is nice to drive with but it takes away from the originality of the car. Look around on Ebay, the Datsun Classifieds, or Datsun Parts Facebook site, someone is always selling one. Also, don't be afraid of refinishing one, there are several DIY threads on restoring them. Plus, you may be able to get a great deal on one if you don't mind putting in some sweat equity.

In attempt to add some elegance to the Z and better handling I have been watching and wanting to get a Nardi wooden steering wheel for the car. Unfortunately even used ones easily bring $200+ all day long. Add a nice hub to it and you will have $300 - $400 in a steering wheel setup. So I found this 350mm NRG wheel on Ebay for $126 shipped and bought a BOSS hub kit for $35 shipped. Overall the wheel is pretty nice and it was on the only one in 350mm that I liked and was also affordable. Most Nardi wheels are 365mm which is roughly the same size as the stock Z wheel. Unfortunately the hub leaves a lot to be desired, starting with the plastic flange on the back. I actually did quite a bit of research before buying it I never came across this issue. However once installed and I saw the gap a new Google search of this issue brings up many responses as this kit is used on a wide array of Datsun vehicles. Now I can see why people drop a c-note for a Momo hub. Another lesson in, you get what you pay for. At this time I am not 100% sure I am going to keep the setup on the car. The new wheel just does not blend with the interior like I hoped it would. However my new shift knob looks right at home! I am going to drive the car some more with the new wheel as it does feel good in the hands, just not sure about the look. At the very least the car is up to scratch, running good, and is ready to be enjoyed for a while. If I do keep it I will get a different horn button as the generic Nissan button looks pretty pitiful.

Over the past few weeks I have made some more progress and a few changes on the Z. I was in the Dallas area visiting family and friends over the July 4th weekend and picked up a set of dealer spec 14 x 5.5 slotted mags with tires for a very reasonable price. I have always liked the slotted mags on Z cars and have spent many months trying to find a local set of 14 x 7 mags that accept a press on or push through center cap to no avail. The tire size is 185/65/14 and they seem to be in good shape for their age. I promptly ordered a set of center caps and used a set of heavy duty Z decals to place on them. They look like the same kind of caps and decals MSA sells and you see them on a lot of mag wheel’d Z cars. The car still sits a little nose high and the current tires do nothing to hide it. So far I like them and I think they are more fitting than the 14 x 7 American Racing quasi turbine wheels that were on the car. My dream set of wheels are some 16 x 7 Panasports but that will have to wait awhile. Ever since I did the cylinder head work I have been meaning to do an oil change. Since we are now in the middle of the heat season I woke up at 6am with plans to have the work wrapped up by 7am before it got too hot. Based on other owner’s feedback I switched to Valvoline VR1 20W-50. It was no more expensive than the Castrol GTX I usually use and based on how much quieter the engine is it was definitely good move. Of course a Wix filter was used again as always in my classic cars.

I echo everyone's recommendations above, the strut housing needs to be replaced. People are parting out suspension components all the time. I assume this is for your '70 240z listed in your signature? Is it the front back, left right? Look on CL, look on the Datsun Parts site on Facebook, Datsun Classifieds, or Ebay. If you don't want to wait post up a want ad. Someone out there has one sitting on a shelf taking up valuable space.

He used a piece of copper pipe slightly smaller in diameter that the hose. I believe he either bent the copper pipe first and pushed the hose over it or inserted the copper pipe and shaped it to the final product. I can see the copper pipe in the hose and do not believe it would ever hurt anything as it still allows vacuum to go through it and obviously won't collapse.

That is some good work Charlie! Yeah, mother nature seems and Murphy's Law seem to sync up when we work on our cars. I like your idea of using the self adhesive foam to take up the room in the strut boot. On the bump stops, when I installed my poly bumps stops in my '72 240z, the tapered end was facing down. I did not install a boot around them but at the end of the day no matter what direction they are facing I think they will accomplish the same thing. Maybe someone who has had experience with them installed both ways will post up.

Money and time aside it takes real heart, vision, skill, and passion to bring a car like that back to life. As others have said, we all applaud you for taking on this massive project of saving #19. You are doing great work Ozzy Man. I love this thread and check in with it almost every day now to see if there is something new. We look forward to more updates!

It took all of 5 minutes to swap out the old hoses and install the new ones. They fit like a glove and I believe the intake side hose fits better than the original. It follows the lines and components under the hood very well. The new hoses certainly match the cleanliness of everything else under the hood. I know the non-braided hoses are not factory correct. However, at 1/6th the cost of a set of braided hoses I am perfectly happy. If I was going for a true factory or concourse restoration I would pony up for the MSA hoses. For now my car is a high quality driver and these fit the bill nicely. It takes passionate owners and creative thinkers to think outside the box and come up with budget friendly solutions like this. Thank you again to Dan and the entire classic Datsun community for helping me keep #8011 on the road.

With the Z running and stopping properly I wanted to share some detail work that was accomplished while diagnosing my sticking brake issue. As I was troubleshooting the brake system I noticed just how tattered the original braided brake vacuum hoses were. In my search for an alternative to the near $200 pair of hoses from MSA I started this thread -> http://www.classiczcars.com/topic/51823-alternative-brake-vacuum-hose-source/#entry474487 The old original hoses below. They still worked but were completely dried up, hard as rocks, and were filthy from 40+ years of life under the hood. After some discussion in my thread AZ-240z (Dan) indicated he had a used booster side vac. hose which was not braided but still in excellent condition. I said I would take it! In addition he offered to make me an engine side vac. hose. We shared several emails back and forth with dimensions and pictures. After about a week or so the two new hoses arrived. Upon opening the box I was immediately impressed. Not only with how good the hoses looked but how accurate the intake hose was that Dan made.

I wanted to provide a follow up to this thread. AZ-240z (Dan) is the MAN! I purchased the booster vac. hose from him and he offered to make the engine side hose. After we traded some emails, measurements, and pictures back and forth the hoses arrived at my door step. To say I was impressed is an understatement. The hose he made was an exact replica of my old braided hose. With both hoses installed it really cleans up the look of the engine compartment. I personally think the engine side hose fits better than the original did. It certainly follows the lines of the engine components very well. Thank you again Dan! This is another shining example of how great the classic Datsun community is.

Congrats Loudoun! I am glad you got the car. We would have all been a little disappointed if someone else swooped in and got it. As others said, you have a great starting point. In keeping with everyone's suggestions above on keeping, bagging, and tagging everything, protect the wheel covers with your life. They are nearly impossible to find and the fact they are still with your car after 44 years is incredible. Even if you go with another set of wheels please keep the steel wheels and wheel covers. Again, congratulations and we look forward to pictures and updates on your progress.

A few updates to share. I got all of my cylinder head issues sorted out. After several days of posting and replying to my thread below I discovered the valves for the rear three cylinders were not adjusted tight enough. Now they are on the tight side of .008 intake and .010 exhaust and everything is nice and quiet. Here is the link to the thread in case you missed it -> http://www.classiczcars.com/topic/51743-240z-valve-train-tapping-after-head-work-videos-inside/ I ran in to another issue with the brakes sticking but determined it was just the left rear drum had auto adjusted itself too tight. Luckily I could turn it by hand using a pry-bar. I used the mag lugs to protect the wheels studs. It only took a few clicks to get the right drag back on the drum. However, since I had the wheel off I decided to inspect everything. A visual inspection showed that everything looked good so I put it back together. That is all for now. I should have some more updates in a week or two as I have some other projects going on.

The aluminum engine components received serious some polishing. Even though you can barely see some of them once they were installed its almost like a nice surprise when you discover them again.

Thank you so much for the compliment Red7. As much work as I have put in to the car I cannot take all the credit for it. The previous owner, Dave Hoffer and his team of mechanics deserve A LOT of credit as it came a long way under Dave’s ownership. In wanting to give credit where credit is due below are just a few of the pictures Dave gave me when I bought the car. All of his work really deserves its own thread. Based on the pictures and what Dave told me, when he got the car it was in the same condition as many other old and tired Z’s at this point in their lives. It was a running and driving car but very much a greasy project in need of some serious time, effort, and money to bring it back to proper form. The blacked out engine bay is a huge pet peeve for me and was glad to see it was not carried over. You can also see the passenger side orange inner fender. The car was hit at some point in its life but I have been unable to get any details on it. The suspension and other related components were in the same shape, present and complete but utterly worn out. Just focusing on the engine and engine bay for now the engine received a complete rebuild. With the engine out the engine bay was stripped, primed, painted, and all hardware re-plated and detailed.