Hardway

Thanks for the info guys. I am going to take your advice and replace the chain and the associated components. Would I be okay with a Beck Arnley chaing that the parts stores carry or I should I get a Nissan chain? I see other people talk about ITM timing components. Any thoughts on who to get the gaskets from? I have used Fel-Pro in the past on small block Chevys but this is my first real deep dive in to an L-series engine.

I am getting the same message about it being blocked as well.

UPDATE: I pulled the valve cover off today to take a look at the chain. It appears only on the left chain guide has experienced any damage as it looks like the front lip/edge has broken off. The chain has plenty of tension on the left side but has some slack on the right side, to the point that the right side is not touching its guide. I have also included a picture of the inside of the valve cover. Is this normal for where the chain is located?

Just wanted to give everyone an update on my project and an FYI. I am following Joseph Demer's website on replacing the vent hoses in my '72 240z. On his site he lists the 1/2" ID hose that runs from the vent tank to the driver side of the gas tank needs to be 4ft long. I am not sure if there is some big difference between a '70 240z and a '72 but I ordered 5ft online as no one nearby carries it thus paying a premium for it. I went to install it and the hose is a 1ft too short meaning that I really need 6ft just like all the other hoses. I went ahead and ordered 8ft just to be on the safe side. I threw my old hose away once I got out of the car because it smelled so bad. It never occured to me to measure but lesson learned. Has anyone else run in to this? Everything else on Joseph's site appears to be correct and I am truly thankful he took the time to create it for us. http://www.jrdemers.com/280ZX/tankvents/tankvents.html

Any idea if I can get away without the chain guide? The car is just a cruiser, not a racer. I am going to pull the valve cover off and see what kind of slack the chain has at this point.

Yep, looks like that is it. Doooh!

Well if its not one thing its another. I dropped my oil pan this morning to change the oil pan gasket. Everything went better than expected but that changed once I look in the bottom of the oil pan. Below are pictures of what I found. Whatever it is I think it broke down the center as the bigger pieces have a small lip on them. I am guessing it is the timing chain guide but I could be wrong. Has anyone else seen something like this in their oil pan? If it is the timing chain guide I am assuming it is a must have thus this may warrant pulling the engine out. Any guidance is greatly appreciated.

That is what I am assuming. Upon seeing the auction, it was actually ended early siting that the item is no longer for sale. My biggest disappointment is I was truly interested in the car and would have been willing to buy it out right, no Ebay BS and fees to deal with. Its very frustrating to see he flip flopped his selling preference and did not even give me a chance to counter seeing that I emailed him directly and he emailed me back. Oh well, may the hunting continue.

This beautiful S1 came up on Ebay, see link below. I am not a big fan of bidding on cars on Ebay but asked the seller if it is was for sale locally and what he or she was asking for it. He said it was not for sale locally. I watched the auction and it did not meet the reserve. I emailed him again asking if it was still for sale and he replied he sold it locally. Very disappointing! Cibolo is located just outside of San Antonio about 1.5 hours from me. I just wanted to know the asking price to see if it was something truly going after that was within my price range. If anyone knows what it truly sold for I would like to know. I am considering selling my current 240z and buying a clean S1 to both enjoy and as a possible investment. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1970-Datsun-240z-One-most-original-around-06145-/140781648517?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item20c73d7a85

If you have everything listed above in hand I would drain all the fluid first, start at one end of the car and work your way to the other. It wont really matter which end you start with. If it were me I would start with the master cylinder. When you have all the lines off you might want to shoot some brake cleaner through the hard lines and then blow them out with compressed air. Then once the MC is installed do each caliper and associated flex lines at each corner. Once everything is done remember to bleed you MC first and then fill up the lines and bleed the system. If you run in to any issues just let us know.

Guys used to do this on small block chevy headers if the flanges were not very thick. The thinking behind it was the same as you presented above to keep them from warping. However the flange on my MSA coated header is very thick and I believe if torqued correctly should not require any cutting of the flange between the primary tubes. I would vote to install it as-is, torque it correctly, and see what happens. Worst case if it is does warp its not that big of a deal to pull off.

The door panels in my 240z were cut up to install some speakers. I have always liked the look of the 280z door panels witht he pleats in them and the more useable handles as arm rests. I know the handles would need mounting hardware welded to the inside of the door but I am curious would the door panels work with little or no modification? Anyone ever try this?

On the Interior Innovations site the cost is $190 but shipping is $25 so I went ahead and saved the $15 and bought them on Ebay. I plan ordering new seat foams from Les at Classic Datsun this week. Once I receive the covers I will post some pictures along with my opinion of them. I am just getting black with black stitching, no embroidery or anything.

Hey 30 Ounce, that is a great shot of the carpet you installed. Which is that one exactly? Plush or ultra plush? It does not look like the loop carpet.

I had posted these up to see if anyone had already bought and installed these on here. Looks like we are all on the same page. I agree, the pics look really good, I just question the true quality once they are in my hands and installed. I know I will need new foam as mine is collapsed but should also help in making them look and function correctly. I am going to mull it over for another day and will let you guys know if I pull the trigger on them.

Absolutely beautiful collection! In addition to the cars the house and property that we can see in the pics looks great. What kind of camera and lens did you use for these shots? Thank you so much for posting these up.

Goes to show that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I cannot believe it is up to $7K! You can buy a very nice solid stock Z car for that kind of money. Obviously 21 people thought it was worth putting up a bid. I am not a fan of it but as with anyone selling a unique car I wish them the best of luck with the sale.

I have bought sold almost 40 sports & muscle cars over the past years so I will chime in on this one. When you say you have all the metal to repair the rust car I assume this means floor pans, doors, fenders, etc. Doors and front fenders are a bolt on affair. Floor pans and rocker panels on the other hand are weld-in and require the obvious tools to do the job but also the skill to do it right. If the clean car does not handle properly due to the accident or cannot be repaired it may be a case of cutting your losses with it and enjoy it as is. If you can fix the handling issues then I would say leave the car clean and all stock. That way you can have a car that is stock and then a modified turbo car, best of both worlds! Matching numbers is over rated in my opinion and only true high grade collector cars warrant worrying about it. I agree, low # Series 1 cars fall in to this category as long as they are in good condition. The posts above call out some really good points. These cars are meant to be enjoyed, both driving and wrenching on them. Take stock of your skillset and determine what you can and realistically cannot do. If you can't weld or do body work to correct the rust then you need to factor that in to your budget. In the end, whatever you do with each car you want to be done right, be safe, and more importantly be fun to drive.

Just curious if anyone has installed these and had any thoughts they would like to share. They seem to be made very well and the seller has perfect feedback. Seeing that my 240 is not original and I plan on upgrading to a more modern steering wheel and shift knob these seem like they would fit in well with my plans. Plus the price seems right too. http://www.ebay.com/itm/400292120228?_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649&item=400292120228&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK:MEWAX:IT&vxp=mtr

That is good to know Diseazd. My oil pan gasket is leaking and its on my to-do list. I will put in a new screen while I am down there.

Thanks Blue. I plan on replacing the hose. Looks like they run about $20 - $25 from the restoration parts houses.

My header install project has turned in to a "while you are at it" marathon. My car still had its original PCV hose and it was in a pretty sad state. Upon removing it I found lot of little bit black dry flakes and bits in the hose. Upon further inspection I dug out quite a bit of gas/oil gun from the PCV tube on the engine. I sprayed carb cleaner to brake it up and then used my screwdriver to rake it out. Once I got all I could I used my shop vac to suck out what else might have been loose. Is this normal for these cars? I plan on replaceing the PCV hose and PCV valve. Should I be looking at anything else while I am there?

I have seen 1 hardtop Soltice in person and they are cool. Its too bad, Pontiac was really hitting its stride again with the Solstice, G8 sedans, and a few other items of interest when GM pulled the plug. I understand it had to happen as the brands were competing with one another. I wonder if Vicki got moved to another area when Pontiac and Saturn got axed. She definitely has a good idea and hopefully we will see some more of her designs in the future.

I have those same springs on my 240z. They were on the car when I bought it. I cannot tell you how good or how bad they handle as I have only driven the car a half mile since I got it due to a fuel system project I am doing on it. However you can see by the pics below how much it lowers the car and get an idea what they might do on yours. My wheels are 14x6 Appliance wheels.

Very NICE! Where did you find them? They will truly make your 240z stand out.