Hardway

The old brass radiator from my '71 240z has been deemed not repairable and would need to be re-cored. It is not an original Datsun factor radiator but a replacement radiator, probably from the 80's or 90's. Before I take it the scrapper I was wondering if anyone out there is looking for one of these? If so I am in the Austin area and would let it go for free to a Z owner.

There are accounts of radio delete Z's but you would have to post up a picture of what the opening looks like. Since it has a power antenna and 1 speaker in the back it had a radio at one time. I bet the switch below the dash sits on a little bezel and says ARA on it. If it doesn't it sounds like you have the remnants of an aftermarket A/C system which was a common dealer install. What does your compressor look like and where is it mounted? Pictures are always good!

Welcome to the club Dave! Kudos for posting up and laying out your plan. You are already off on the right foot because you have defined what you are looking for, you have a budget, and a time frame. The best advice that I can give and many others will agree “buy the best car you can afford” I finally took this advice and just bought a ’71 Series-1 240z a few weekends ago. See my 2 threads below for info and the few items I am addressing on it. Like any classic car the ownership experience comes down to what you want. You mentioned you wanted to ground up restore a car. As admirable and romantic as this thought can be it can result in burnout and overall dissatisfaction with the car. I went through this with my ’72 lime green 240z. Had over $6K in it, it still needed $6K - $8K worth of work, and sold it for a loss in the end. On the flip side, my silver ’71 240z has been 100x more enjoyable from day one but was only 3x the price that I originally paid for the lime green Z. Granted, I now have over $10K in it with the purchase price, a new radiator, tires etc. but it was a great car to start with. ’71 240z http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/open-s30-z-discussions/52517-its-mine-new-owner-1971-240z-8011-a.html http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/open-s30-z-discussions/52614-hardways-1971-240z-8011-build-repair-thread.html ’72 lime green 240z http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/open-s30-z-discussions/47863-lime-green-machine-restoration-thread-1972-240z.html If spending months or years restoring a classic Japanese sports car is what you want to do with your time then spend $3K - $5K on someone’s project and make it your own. You will get nothing but support and praise for your efforts from everyone here including me. If you want to spend more time driving a classic Japanese sports car, enjoying it with you family, and tinkering on it when it needs stuff because it will, then spend $8K - $15K on a as rust free as possible 80% - 99% restored 240z. Everything above is just my opinion because I have been there, too many times in fact. Seeing that you have a family and a move planned I would seriously factor in the benefits or side effects of restoring a car will have on them. I know many others will chime in because we all want to see current and future Z owners happy.

I used the MSA stud kit when I installed one of their ceramic coated headers on my '72 240z a few years ago. All of the hardware was well made and was complete with nuts and lock washers. I put a little anti-seize on all the studs before installing them, just in case they ever needed to be removed in the future. I agree, I don't see why high grade fasteners are needed. The components being bolting to the engine should be at the correct torque and not "cranked" on.

You guys are right and I will be addressing this sooner than later. I actually picked up some grommets tonight that are a thick rubber which I think will work perfectly. I appreciate the offer Mike and will let you know if what I bought does not work out.

That is awesome Mike! Your Z truly gets the best of everything. I will look in to the Dakota module should I need to go that route. Knowing there is another temp sending unit location is the best piece of knowledge to have. Thank you for your detailed post.

I have gone back to the stock style mechanical clutched fan on my 240z for now along with a MSA shroud that is on the way. My car had dual 10 or 12 inch cooling fans on it but the temp probe for the wiring kit would have required bending up some of the fins on my brand new Champion radiator and I did not want do that. I am wondering, can you use the original sending unit that is near the thermostat housing to also trigger a set of electric fans? Basically having 2 wires on it instead of the just 1 wire for the gauge in the dash? I have seen more advanced wiring kits that include a screw in temp sending unit but as of right now by engine only has the single sending unit for the dash gauge. I am asking because if I want to go back to electric fans I will know what is ahead of me. Thank you.

Thanks for the compliments guys! You are spot on with your assessment and recommendation Zed. I just placed an order for a MSA fiberglass fan shroud and I just received my new fan clutch. When I take everything off to swap it I will pull the radiator away from the core support and insulate it with some foam tape and grommets around the holes. I was in a bit of a hurry to do the radiator swap over the weekend as I had friends coming in to town that wanted to see and go for a ride in the Z. They all agreed this is the best one I have owned was bought well. I am even drove it to work to today so I could take it to my locksmith to ensure the extra keys they made fit the cylinders properly.

With so many things accomplished I figured a celebratory drive was in order. A quick trip around the neighborhood reminded just how hard the tires were as well as mildly flat spotted. The tires on the car were some Pirelli P44 205-70-14 that were from the late 70’s or early 80’s according to the seller. These are apparently popular with the vintage Mercedes crowd but on the Z they looked almost truck like. They also rubbed pretty bad when turning sharply so they had to go. I jumped online and determined a 195-60-14 would be more appropriate. Discount Tire carries Barum tires which is part of the Continental tire family. Their model, the Bravuris 2 seemed to have good reviews amongst enthusiasts around the net and were priced right at $55/ea. They had a 4th of July special going that included $50 off if you made the appointment to buy on July 4th. I performed the appropriate clicks and set an appointment for 10am the next morning. When I arrived at the tire shop in the morning I checked out the tire to make sure it was what I wanted. I knew just by looking at it that it would not fill up the wheel well as much but also should have no chance of rubbing. Plus, the tread pattern looked good so I gave it the thumbs up. A swipe of the credit card authorizing $258.60 and 45 minutes later I was back on the road with fresh rubber. The short drive home revealed just how bad the old tires were and that I had made the right choice. The car steered easier, tracked better, and just rode nice. While I don’t love the way it looks right now once the suspension settles a little more in the front I think it will look better. That is all for now. I am still working to source one or two fuel door knobs/locks and debating if I want to put my Datsun script emblem on the hatch. I am on the fence about this as I know when I go to remove it the pins will most likely break off and I will have to source another one or apply it with emblem tape.

Since I had the car on jack stands this was going to be the best time to replace the rear hatch strut as it would allow me to work on it without bending over. The strut on the car looks to be the original. Since the car included a wooden stick in the hatch area it appears to have been out of service for a long time. I picked up a Stabilus SG 225005 off Ebay for $40 shipped. This came at the recommendation of Blue in a post from a few years ago regarding another source for hatch struts. As you can see the new strut on the right is just a hair longer than the original. It took a little time to get the upper bracket off the old strut. A cut off wheel and a few hits with a punch cleared the pin enough to remove the bracket. The instructions did not say what order to install the bolts and spacers so I did what seemed logical to me. I also replaced the upper 10mm bolts with some new ones as the rear most bolt’s threads did not look good. Fortunately the threads in the hatch were still in good shape. The end result is a hatch lid that securely stays up on its own. It also provides a large enough opening so you are not hitting your head on the hatch lid while loading stuff in to it.

During the work week I heard back from the radiator shop and the news was not good. They could not repair the existing core and they wanted over $400 to re-core it. Their advice, just buy a new one. I found a Champion 3-row all aluminum radiator part# CC110 on Ebay for $215 shipped. The seller, Big Dog Performance was “Johnny on the spot” getting it shipped out. They were also wonderful to work with. Thank you Sue and Chuck! PLUG: If you need a Champion radiator for your Z they have the best prices and service. The radiator arrived safe and sound via FedEx on Thursday July 3rd. Below are the Christmas pictures showing how it arrived and unwrapping it. I must say my initial inspection revealed a high quality radiator that was well packed and well made. Being aluminum it was significantly lighter than the old brass radiator I pulled out. Installation was just the reverse of taking the old one out. One change I made was going back to the stock style mechanical fan. The electric fans I removed were triggered by a temp probe that had to be pushed all the way through the radiator core. I could not bring myself to start bending up the fins on a brand new radiator for the probe. The mechanical clutched fan is an extra I got with another car a few years ago. It was in good shape but I will eventually buy a new one along with an MSA shroud to match the rest of the near pristine engine bay.

Next up was an oil change. The previous owner told me the car probably had less than 200 miles put on it in the last year or so but it had also been over a year since the last oil change. The oil still looked okay but it was time for it to go. I picked up a new Wix filter, a 5qt jug of Castrol GTX 10W-30, and a bottle of Risolene Zinc additive. I know everyone uses a different oil or additive but I have had good results with this setup so I am sticking with it. The oil drained with no issues but the filter was a different story. After using my trusty filter wrenches I quickly determined it was going nowhere and I was only damaging the filter in the process. This was pretty disappointing to run in to but again, it comes with the territory. So out comes the punch and drill. I used a series of bits to drill the hole big enough so my large screw driver could go through. I did not want to risk the screwdriver just tearing the top of the filter apart. I really thought one hole would get it done. Unfortunately it took two holes to give me enough range of motion to finally get the filter to spin off. Since the rubber seal was still stuck to the block once I got the filter off I can only guess that either A. someone forgot to oil the seal before putting it on or B. the oil had just disappeared due to time. For a quick comparison here is what the Penzoil filter looks like next to the Wix. The seal size is the same but as you can see the overall diameter is bigger on the Wix. Since the Wix is shorter than the Penzoil I am sure they hold about the same amount of oil. That was enough excitement for one weekend. Looking forward to the upcoming 3-day weekend!

So like all cars that come in to my possession they seem to wind up on jack stands within a week of purchase. However, I am determined to never ever have this car off the road for more than a few days at a time. For now, on the jack stands it goes. The radiator came out with little drama. Once out and the electric fans removed I could see it had been repaired before, possibly several times. With the car off the ground and the radiator out it and allowed me to get a better look at everything. It is very satisfying to see this car has not seen a parking lot curb or other front end damage during its life time as everything appears to be very straight and true. I made plans to drop the radiator off at a local shop I have used in the past with good results. Next up was the brakes. Everything is pretty new on the car including the DOT 5 fluid in the brake reservoirs. After posting up some questions about keeping it flushing it I decided to keep it based on the advantages it offers for a regularly driven street car. I started with adjusting up the rear brakes as I could tell they were not correct when I pulled the wheels off. A few turns of the wheel cylinder adjustment screw had them providing the correct amount of drag on the drums. Since my wife was available to help me I made her comfortable in the driver seat and did a full bleed all the way around. Sure enough, there was a ton of air in the rear brake lines! Once removed and everything buttoned up the pedal was much firmer and confident in its operation. Job done!

As described in my previous post I am now the proud owner of 1971 240z Series-1 #8011. The post can be seen here -> http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/open-s30-z-discussions/52517-its-mine-new-owner-1971-240z-8011-a.html This is the most complete 240z I have owned and has been the recipient of a lot of time and money in regards to both parts and labor. However, it is not 100% and has plenty of room for me to add my personal touch and tinker with it as it needs things. One of the first items on the to-do list was to remove the over rider bar on the front bumper. The reason for this is because the hood was making contact with it and it was keeping the hood from opening all the way. After about 15 minutes of carefully remove the screws that held it in place I had the bar off. I have never been a fan of them anyway so I was happy to see it go. Now the hood opens like it is supposed to and I am on the hunt for some bumper guard strips. Now that the hood opens I wanted to change the oil, bleed the brakes, and possibly bleed the clutch. Before I could get to those items, the next item on the list unfortunately is a new radiator. I did not notice the two pin holes in the middle of the radiator core until I got it home and was taking pictures of the car. Only under the light of the camera flash did the shallow puddle of coolant in the lower radiator flange appear. A quick check with a bright flashlight confirmed it had been slowly leaking for quite some time. I do not knock the seller or myself for this because neither one of us saw it even when the car was on the rack at the seller’s shop. Cough it up to “comes with the territory”

Thank you for the info and pictures Mike! That is very interesting why the paint appears to have been masked off at the top of the windshield. I am sure there is a story behind it but we will probably never know. If I am over in that part of town over the weekend I will try to stop by and see it for myself and post up any additional findings.

Wow! That is awesome. What a great gift from a truly talented artist. Thanks for sharing.

I bought new rack bolts when I did the suspension rebuild on my '72. The new bolts were slightly longer than the originals. I put just a little silicone grease on the metal straps and made sure I tightened them down evenly. In the end I had no issues getting them installed. Check out the resto thread in my signature if you want to see pictures.

Thanks DJ. I didn't know they had a show. I will definitely check it out. I have driven pass their shop multiple times as they are located next to Motor Mania, a well known VW shop in north Austin. The last time I rolled by they had a car transporter full of C2 Corvettes. Another time I saw them unloading what looked like a mint Duesengberg roadster.

I do not own or represent this car, just thought I would pass along. $25K may seem high but if the car's quality is as good in person as it shows in the pictures then its probably a good buy for someone looking for a "done" car. A few weeks ago a white fully restored series-2 240z sold for over $22K in Houston so $3K for an S1 seems in line. 1970 Datson 240Z | Austin, Texas | Motoreum 1970 Datsun 240Z

Thank you for all the info and feedback guys! I worked on the Z today and decided to leave the DOT 5 in it. After I adjusted up the rears and bled everything with the help of my wife the pedal was nice and firm as it should be. I can definitely see the advantages of DOT 5 and since I am not tracking the car in any way it should be perfect for my needs. Turns out the real issue with the brakes was the rears had quite a bit of air in them and the driver side wheel cylinder needed 3 or more turns until it properly dragged on the drum. All in all a very productive day!

Curtis has done some awesome work on my old lime green 240z. Its not lime green anymore and it is worlds ahead from when I had it. I am very happy to see it went to a loving home Thank you Kenobi! Once I get through my small to-do list on it the new Z will certainly have some miles put on it. I got the title transferred this week so it is really mine now.

Seeing that the brake fluid is a nice shade of deep purple I have confirmed with the previous owner of my '71 240z that it has DOT 5 fluid in the brake system. All of the brake components are either new or professionally restored but the pedal is very spongy. I plan on trying to bleed the system some more but I have also read about issues of using DOT 5 fluid such as how difficult it can be to get all the air out and that some brake components are not compatible with silicone based fluid. Should I flush all the DOT 5 out and put in some brand name DOT 3 or DOT 4? Looks like DOT 3 is always good and DOT 4 is good too as long as you stick to the flush interval of approx. 2 years. Any input is greatly appreciated.

Hey Burl. I am in Pflugerville but close to Austin, Round Rock, and Georgetown. Tomorrow is the monthly meeting of the Capital Z of Texas club. I received the reminder email this morning. I never go since it is in south Austin but if you are in the area you should check it out. A good group of guys are part of it. "Come join us for our monthly meetings. We are meeting at Pok-E-Joe’s in Brodie Oaks Shopping Center (intersection of 360 and Lamar). Enjoy happy hour at 6:00PM and talk shop before the meeting at 7:00PM. Meetings are the 4TH Monday of every month." Thank you for the info Zed! I knew a lot of time and money had been spent on the car already. It was actually on the Dallas Craigslist and my wife and I went up last weekend to go look at it with hopes of buying it and driving it back home. Unfortunately Dave and I could not come together on the deal as he said he had buyers offering more than his asking price at the time. I followed up last Monday only to learn it was still for sale and the other buyers could not come up with the money. We came to an agreement over the phone on the price and the rest is history. He is a nice guy and is now restoring the first car he ever owned, a '71 yellow 240z. I spoke with him this afternoon and they already had the suspension off and was planning to have everything stripped off the body so they could send it off to the body shop.

Thank you for all the compliments everyone! Yes, I am still smiling about getting it. The attention to detail is really what sold me on the car and justified the premium price for it. I know what is involved in getting a car to this level and the saving of months or in some cases years of work makes it worth it. I feel I have finally taken my own advice of being patient and buying the best car I can afford.

Yeah, I plan to leave the tail light surround as-is for now. Later down the road I will take it off and paint it the correct charcoal grey that it is supposed to be but that is months or possibly years away.