Hardway

Thank you for the offer 7tooZ. That is very generous of you. I am just going to send my balancer off and get it rebuilt. Since I eventually want to add AC that seems like the best way to go. I will update this post on the company I choose and my result with them.

Thank you Jeff. If I ship it off soon I will get it back in time as they are closed in September.

Congratulations Jay! Look forward to seeing some pictures of you new acquisition.

That is not a bad option. I spoke to them a minute ago and they said it would be $199 plus tax and shipping for probably around $230 - $240 all said and done.

I am looking at replacing my stock harmonic balancer with a performance unit since the rubber ring in my original is cracking and crumbling. However, the Euro style balancer that MSA and ZCar Depot sells indicates it does not accept stock pulleys. The Professional Products balancer 428-90055 says it is similar to the original Euro balancer. At some I would like to add air conditioning to my 240z and want to make sure I invest in the right balancer. Is anyone running a performance balancer and AC in their Z car? If so, can you provide any details that you have? Thank you!

Do you mean wrapped the engine for transport or wrapping the car due to the condition of the paint?

A quick update. I got the engine out yesterday with the help of my friend's 13 year old son. He is in to all kinds of car and jumped at the chance to work on something old and interesting. It took us a few hours but it came out with little drama. Next up is to remove the carbs, intake, exhaust manifold, and anything else that Kevin at the Z Clinic does not need. Once it is down to just the the block and head I am going to clean it up really good so it is not so nasty to transport. I am going to have him get the timing chain and cam geometry corrected as well as install an Isky Stage-2 cam that I purchased from a good friend now that he has gone to a Stage-3. With the engine out I plan to do a lot of clean up, replace the steering rack bushings, and decide just how much I want to remove to paint the engine bay. Still need to pick a color too. Seeing that the paint on the body is a 4 at best I may just satin black it for now. The original color of the car is silver which one day it may return to that but even in its sad state the red looks really sporty.

Rod is doing a FANTASTIC job with your engine! The pictures really tell the story and make all of us appreciate how much work it takes to get all the details just right. Looking forward to more progress updates.

I was one step ahead of you 240260280 as that was my prescription for removing it. Some heat and a little counter-clock wise pressure with some vise grips and the bolt saw things my way. I did not hit it with a hammer as the heat and penetrating fluid did its job. It actually came out easier than I expected. Nice to have it crossed off the list so I can do a final clean up on it before laying down some paint.

Found this in Houston. $10K, looks great, and ready to enjoy. https://houston.craigslist.org/cto/d/z/6647997659.html

Hey Dustin, fellow Texan here. Welcome! Your pictures certainly help tell the story of the Z you are looking at it but not all of it. The compressed and rusty rails are somewhat common on these cars and thankfully there are solutions to replace them. If the car runs, see if you can drive it a little, even just around the owner's property to ensure all of the systems work. Then, if there any issues, use them as negotiating points. Its hard to say if $5500 is a good number. If you like the car and it sounds like you can do the work based on the Ghia you are working on I would suggest take cash with you and negotiate to get the price as low as possible. Depending on what you ultimately want and what you are willing to pay, you would possibly be further ahead finding a car that is more together and "ready to enjoy". Keep watching CL, eBay, and Bring a Trailer as a friend of mine is going to be posting a beautiful white 280z on BAT pretty soon.

Some more progress and some more discoveries. I captured a picture of the cover with the bolts pointing to their home for a reference. I had already labeled the others on my bench. Much like all others it was covered in grime. An initial cleaning got a lot off but a final cleaning it still needed. On a good note, there are no broken bolts in the timing cover or the block including the 10mm at the 10:30 position as referenced above. I cleaned out the one hole in the block that I thought had a broken bolt in it. Turned out it was packed with orange gasket sealant. A sharp pick got most of it out and all threads will receive a good clean out with a tap before everything is reassembled. Unfortunately one of the water neck bolts snapped off. I currently have some ATF and Acetone sitting on it and had fed it a few times this evening. I will feed it some more in the morning before heading to work and try to get it out with some heat tomorrow evening. Any thoughts on my harmonic balancer? My search has uncovered that no one makes an original style balancer and the aftermarket stuff from MSA and Z Car Depot do not accept stock Datsun pulleys should I ever decide to install A/C in the car.

That is where I thought it should be pointing too but I double checked it on the cap and the #1 wire is located there. I guess I could install the the oil pump rod so it allows the rotor to point at 8 to 9 o'clock position and just move the wires. However, the car ran like this so I plan to reassemble it the way it came apart unless someone provide an overwhelming reason not to.

The Red Rocket Z is finally getting some attention after many months of my 1988 560SEC (the German Mistress) getting all of my time and money. Last weekend I started digging into the engine to replace the timing chain. I had originally thought about pulling the engine to do this but I knew that once I did my case of "while I am at it-itis" would kick in and the car would be torn down for a complete restoration. As I started removing components it became evident someone has been here before as two water pump bolts were missing. Further investigation revealed that one was truly missing and the other is broken off in the timing cover. A few questions have also come up around the position of the oil pump distributor rod. I know the position of this is critical but the car ran with it at this position so I will likely re-install it at this position too. The engine is a 280z block and I am running a Mallory distributor. The engine is at TDC and the rotor is pointing to plug #1. The sprocket is pictured the way I found it and the silver chain link is no where to be found. The original chain has diamonds on every link. My new Cloyes timing chain is blank. With everything apart I compared the old timing chain to the new and they are the exact same length so the chain was not stretched like I thought. The plunger was intact but with everything removed I could see the rails are toast. When I re-assemble everything, should I move the sprocket so the alignment dowel is in the #1 hole? From what I have read, the different holes are utilized to correct the timing due to timing stretch. I took Phil's advise and bought a new timing cover bolt kit and have also discovered I need to buy a new harmonic balancer. The rubber seal on my is starting to show its age and needs to be replaced.

Good news, I got it off. Just as Namerow predicted, once it was started it came off with just some medium effort. I used a pry bar to gently push on it and I could see the shininess of the crank in the gap between the balancer and the timing cover widen. Once it was 1/3 away from the timing cover I was able to work it off by hand. I tried a M6x1.0 bolt and tap and it would be quite a bit of material to overcome. I was happy to get it off as everything else came apart as planned with no surprises.

Thank you Zed Head. Unfortunately 1/4 inch is too big. After some more trial and error I have determined they are SAE 12-24. Now the hard part is finding a strong enough bolt in that size that will be long enough to work with the puller and not break. The search continues.

I already have the large 27mm bolt removed from the engine. The balancer has two threaded holes that are to be utilized when using a puller per the FSM. Unfortunately it does not state what size the holes are. An M6x1.0 bolt is too big and a M5x0.8 bolt is too small. I have spent about 20 minutes trying various bolts in my collection and so far no luck. Does anyone know what size the holes are? Thank you.

You're welcome Dave. Mine has been dry since installed it. I used really big socket to tap mine in. Most press kits do not allow enough depth for the output shaft.

I bought mine on eBay for $23.90 plus S&H, however there are none on eBay right now. A quick Google search reveals RockAuto has 3 for $13.80/ea plus shipping and Amazon has them for around $30 shipped.

The set on Amazon -> https://www.amazon.com/DATSUN-1969-1978-Hinge-Brass-Bushing/dp/B071KQD7MC is the most original kit available and provides a "correct" end product. Additionally, it is well made as it is the same kit I used. As long as you take your time disassembling your hinges and re-assembling, you should be very happy with the kit on Amazon. $55 shipped per door is not bad considering you should never have to rebuild them again. There are other cheaper alternatives as previously mentioned that probably work but I will only speak to the set I installed that is the focus of this thread.

You are going to have to locate a Series-1 door spring or something very close to it. You will want to look around on eBay, CL, Datsun Classifieds, etc for someone selling a lower hinge, driver or passenger side and rob it for the spring. What makes the Series-1 spring odd is that the coils are thin versus every other door hinge spring I have seen. If someone had one apart and could give you the dimensions you might be able to find something via a hardware vendor like McMaster-Carr, Grainger, Fastenal, and the like.

Just wanted to let everyone know the final set of clips sold earlier today. I would like to thank everyone who purchased a set and all of those who contributed to help make this happen. Seeing that a few vendors purchased sets it is possible they may become available again from other sources. This last run was my final run of them and will not be having anymore made. I wish everyone the best with their projects!

Thank you! The V8 in it has a large footprint so its hard to tell if a V12 similar to what was found in a S600 would fit. Given the complexities of a V12 I want no part of one. The M117 series V8 that is in my 560SEC is complicated only by its mechanical fuel injection system. Everything else is pretty straight forward and the more I learn, the more respect I have for the car and the engineering that went in to it. Parts are not outrageous as one would think and most jobs can be accomplished with a well stocked tool box. Plus, these cars have a massive following and tons of support from vendors and the community of owners.

Absolutely! I plan to document everything with pictures as it is a "flip" car for me. However, to be honest, I love seeing it in my shop every time I walk out to it.

I don't think the 560's V8 is the engine the Datsun L motors were based on. I believe it was an older motor design. The engine in my 560 SEC is an all aluminum 5.55L SOHC V8. I have only driven the Benz 62 miles as that was the drive home when I bought it. I knew it needed a timing chain as I could hear it "whirring" at idle so it has been driven some what delicately. I have been gathering parts from various vendors and plan to get most of it done this weekend, barring any surprises or disasters. Organization, planning, and cleanliness is key on these engines.