Mason

I've got a 3 row aluminum coming with twin electric fans and a shroud from ebay for 250 all together. I think I will switch out the radiator myself. It'll have to be covert since the apt garage has a no repairs sign up. But they probably won't check at 4am or so.

Thanks tlorber, That's awesome of you to offer. I've decided to just go ahead and get a new one installed. I can get insurance to tow the car for free to the shop I use and then even pay for installing the new radiator! At least that's what I understand after reading the policies. They have a way of disappointing though.

Hey Tlorber, It was nice meeting you today. Hopefully next time my radiator won't be peeing itself down the road. You said that you had a spare radiator at your shop. Where is your shop and how much would you sell me that radiator for? I'd like to get the car up and running soon. Nice Z by the way. Paint looks awesome, and super clean bumpers. Cheers, Mason

I'll see when I can get there. If I do make it when you are there, going down the roads together sounds great. I'll be the guy in a green 240Z.

I totally agree about the brakes. Very important to get those working better before adding more power. My plan as I said before is to make the base of the car (i.e suspension, brakes, electrical) really solid and then, after the L24 basically gives up on life, I'll do something about it. The swap was really a foot note that got too much attention. I've added SS lines, new porterfield performance pads and high temp fluid. I'm looking at some 4 piston calipers for the front and would definitely look to upgrade from drums on the rear. Super car Sunday looks fun. I'm planning on a drive tomorrow morning. Maybe I'll stop by. The canyon pics were taken on Las Flores canyon road. Super fun roads around there. That is where I will be tomorrow morning. Thanks for the welcome and maybe I'll see you at the meet.

Haha. I like that solution.

I'm not sure who painted it. The PO was a guy who liked to buy 'em cheap and fix them up a bit and sell them off, so he got it painted. It's a great color, but the quality isn't quite there. Lots of swirls, and the painter didn't remove or tape off the trim properly so there is a bit of overspray, and in a few places it looks like he chipped the paint with a screwdriver. But, it is definitely buff-able and will be fixed up to a lustrous shine soon.

As far as I know they are stock. I've only replaced the brake lines and pads/shoes. Maybe they were previously upgraded? Don't know. I'll have to go investigate... I totally agree that the car looks great. I'm very happy with it! :classic:

Thanks Dennis, I do agree that there is enough power standard to have fun. But, I will be going to the track, and I know myself about wanting to get faster lap times. And at a certain point when I've gotten what I personally can out of the car, I'll make it go faster with more power. And the bonus there is that on the track I can't get pulled over by the police. I don't recommend driving above speed limit on the streets anyway. I have a family and that sort of irresponsibility doesn't suit me.

I personally think that the heart and soul of MY 240Z is its design, proportions, and aggressive style. I fell in love with the looks of the car, especially that extra long hood stretched out in front and the pointed and angled back nose. The short rear end and the sharply raked back roof line are just phenomenal. That upturned rear side window is a great detail too. There is far too much for me to do with the car right now to argue over engine choices and power upgrades. Thanks for the opinions though, they are all valid.

Perfect, thanks for the advice. I'm sold! Just kidding. I understand the aesthetic of keeping the original parts and working with them to keep the context of the whole car the same. I do like and respect that approach. That is what I'm currently doing with it, except for the transmission. I took it for a drive last week and when its properly warmed up and blasting along between 3k - 6k rpm, it does make an intoxicating sound. Right now it is plenty fast for me. But I can see myself getting bored of its current power in a few years or so. At that point I'll most likely replace the little L24 with something else. But as far as tuning the L24 being more original, I'm not sure. The L24 has been tuned and raced since 1969. The LS2 engine, in particular, was introduced in 2005. So the L24 has a bit of a lead as far people tuning them inside a 240Z.

The Car: VIN# HLS3040724 As far as I know it has had a lot of updating in the past few months by the previous owner. It shows 89k on the odometer, so it could be that or it could be 189k. No way to tell for sure. Recent upgrades have been: Re-covered original seats Poly bushings all around Fender Flares Fender Mirrors New Paint (single stage unfortunately) White face gauges Headers Knock off flowmaster (Flo Pro) muffler 83 ZX 5 speed MSA Sway bars front and rear MSA Strut bars front and rear Tokico Illumina with Eibach progressives ( need to install) Poly bump stops Poly rear diff mounts Crane XR3000 electronic ignition 16x8 Rota RB-R in Hyperblack 225/50ZR16 BFGoodrich g-Force Sport COMP-2 The Pictures: Why a 240Z: I first saw some 240Z's at a Z car track day at MSR Houston. I had a G35 and tagged along with a friend who had a 350Z. I really liked the look of the older 240's when I saw them and thought in the back of my head, "Maybe I'll get one some day and fix it up". Then one of the track driving instructors had a yellow 240Z track car and I did a couple ride alongs in it. I really liked the way the car felt so immediate in the corners and under braking, especially when compared to my very heavy G35. So that provided more proof that I wanted to get a 240Z. That was 4 years ago when I lived in Austin, TX. I just moved to LA this past summer and sold my G35 before driving over in the family Prius. Yes, I also own a Prius. It is the only new car that my wife likes and it really is as good as they claim on MPG's and it fits a baby seat in the back so it does a good job as the family-mobile. So, I was on the hunt for a new sports car to take advantage of the famous canyon roads that are only a 5 minute drive away from me currently. I was initially dead set on an S2000, lightweight, rear drive, minimalist. But, I didn't like the feel of the scene they carried. Lots of 'stance' and 'hella (insert adjective)' involved. And, thats just not my cup of tea. If it works for you then, awesome, I just don't want to be called bro all the time. But anyway, I was playing Forza on my Xbox when I was gifted a Fairlady Z for upgrading to the next level or something and I remembered all the history I had with it and started researching it. After reading about how the car dominated the SCCA racing series in the 70's and still consistently performs at top levels in auto-crossing, I knew this was the car for me. So I started obsessively scouring the classifieds, ebay, forums, google, whatever to find a good car in LA and a good shop to do some work for me. ( I have a newborn so therefore have no time, and I left all my good tools in TX, and I live in an apt now so have a parking garage that does not allow "car repairs of any kind"). After a couple months I found this pretty green car with all the exterior flourishes I was after. Fender flares, fender mirrors, air dam, spoiler. It was all complete and recently serviced and running well. So I scooped it up and immediately delivered to Sunrise Z in Glendale where it lived for a couple weeks getting a transmission and getting the base of the suspension and other stuff updated and upgraded. Now there is still a list of things to do, but some of them can take some time to get to it. The plan is to beef up the base of the car with a solid suspension and interior work and then run with the L24 in it till it dies, and then pop in either an L28ET or go LS2 and make it wicked fast. So, thats my story with it. Thanks for the welcome everyone.

Thanks for the welcome everyone! @spitz17 It's actually a really great platform to build on. Very little rust in the body, the original L24 is solid, all the suspension work should be sorted soon, and all the cosmetic stuff I would have wanted was done before I got it. @psdenno Thanks! Glad to be here. @bart Yeah the fender mirrors look awesome from the outside. From the driver's seat, not so useful. But I know how to turn my head so it's all good.

Hi All, Just got my first Z car recently. It's a green 1971 240Z. I just put a 5 speed from a ZX in it added sway bars, strut bars, new wheels and tires, SS brake lines, new performance pads and shoes, updated to electronic ignition, added relay to starter, sealed up the rear hatch with new rubber trim. Will be installing new Tokico illuminas and the eibach progressive springs very soon. On the list of things to do: Add rubber welting to the fender flares Get the paint detailed Install new rear diff mounts Install new shocks and springs Roll the original fenders, under the flares Fix the Speedometer (using iPhone for now) Fix the temp gauge Fix the wiring for the rear tail lights Fix the wiring for the gauge lights Replace the fuel vent hoses Get a wider rear view mirror so I can actually see behind me to the sides (my fender mirrors are useless) Wow, now that I write it down, there's a lot to do.. Oh well it currently runs great and sounds awesome when it warms up and blasting through the canyons.