Carl Beck

Looks like you have started with a pretty solid car and it should be a great project ahead - enjoy every minute of it.. The main "Pro" to the E31 for you - is that it is the correct head for anyone that wants to keep their 70/71 240Z looking stock/original. If there is a "con" - it might be that the E31's have a tendency to crack around the exhaust valve seat. Also - if they have to be milled to straighten out any warpage - there isn't much more that can be removed without driving compression ratio's too high for pump gas today. I would agree that finding good, unmolested, un-cut E31's is pretty hard to do today. For that matter the late 71 & 72 E88's, as well as the N42's are all getting hard to find in good condition. You have to be very careful when buying any of them used - as many are no longer really useable without significant rework, repair etc.

The first question you have to answer is - "are you going to use R-12 again?" or "have you already switched to R-134a?" It matters. The molecular structure of R-12 is physically larger that that of R-134. In order to maintain as much surface contact between the cooling gas and the metal surfaces of the cooling tubes - R-134 systems use condensers and evaporators that have physically smaller diameter tubes and more of them. The better one's are referred to as "uniflow" as the cooling gases flow back and fourth in the conderser. {somewhat the same principle as a "cross flow" radiator" for engine cooling}. R-134a will leak out of most older R-12 systems, because the R-12 systems did not need to use O-ringed connections, nor shielded rubber hoses. Which R-134a systems use to prevent leaking gas to the atmosphere.R-134a will actually leak right threw the walls of the old R-12 rubber hoses. Many people swear by Freeze12 as a replacement for R-12 - because the A/C oil used by them both is compatible and Freeze12 has a molecular structure similar to R-12. Thus avoiding the need to change all the old rubber hoses & connectors. I haven't used it yet - I still have a couple cans of R-12 left... but soone or later... Bottom line - what condenser you use depends on what type of refrigerant you plan to use. FWIW, Carl B.

Depends on what you are driving... Took me three days to get to Phoenix from Vista {San Diego}... When I tried to drive the BRE Baja Z back to Florida. Gave up on the original idea of driving the car home - when I got to Phoenix, then Bob Bondurant helped me raise the coil overs high enough to get the car loaded on a transport.. Flew home from there and the car arrived three days later. Road Trip anyone? Carl B.

In case "qusbo" returns... it might not be the roll bar stopping the passenger seat from going back. The original passenger seat tracks on do not allow the seat to go as far back - as the drivers side does. I've ran into this on several 240Z's - I usually just install a set of driver side seat slides on the passenger side. FWIW, Carl B.

Taz0162 reminded me.. {Post 106} - So today I pulled the Vintage Air system out of my White 72 - and am returning the car to stock - so I'll be refreshing the original heater/blower and reinstalling it over the next few days... I may just get carried away and pul the engine to refresh the engine compartment as well... FWIW, Carl B.

Just for a change of pace... OK - here is my wife's engine bay. 1991 Thuderbird Super Coupe. Super Charged 3.8L V6. Original owner car with less than 10K original miles. I was getting some pictures together as she is going to sell it. She bought a new car and this one has to go to make room. I gave some thought to just pulling the engine and swapping it into one of my 240Z'sLOL Now you can see how elegantly simple and clean the engine bay in a 240Z is... FWIW, Carl B. BTW - if you know anyone that wants an all but new 21 year old limited produciton Super Coupe.. send them my way!! $15K ...

Good to hear.. Today with the very small digital video camera's that came be put on a flexible rod and inserted into very tight places - it is possible to look inside just about every nook and cranny in these old Z's. Then you can spray POR-15 in - then re-inspect the area to assure complete coverage. Keeping video or still images of that process would add significant re-sale value - should life ever dictate its liquidation in the future. The guys at Courtesy are great - but they lost a really Great Parts Manager when Steve Richards left. Keep us posted on the project... Carl B.

As the story goes - something like the first 1500 to 1800 Datsun 240Z's sent to North America - came with rubber floor and rear deck mats - instead of the carpet. So Nissan USA had a local car carpet supplier built 1500-1800 sets of carpet - which were then sent to the Dealers with the cars. The Dealers were to install the carpet and remove the rubber mats. Some Dealers put the carpet over the rubber mats - some removed the rubber floor mats and left the rubber rear deck mat in on top of the carpet to protect the carpet. Once later customers saw the rubber rear deck mats - they thought it was a good idea. So they ordered them from the Datsun Parts Counter at their local Datsun Dealer. I was one of them. The rubber mats that came originally from the factory in the early 240Z's are just a little different than the replacement parts that came though the Nissan Parts system. As I recall - the parts that came though the Nissan Parts Dept had little cut-outs for the luggage straps to bold down though - and the ones from the factory that came in the car's didn't. Or it might be the other way around.. We discussed this some time ago - I think Mike B. supplied most of the pictures. I'd say that if you have one still in the original Nissan Parts Packaging.. That would be pretty rare indeed!! The last one's I saw auctioned on E-Bay about three years ago - went for over $400.00. If someone is restoring a 69 or early 70 production car - and they already have most of the rubber floor mats.. having the rear mat to complete the set might be worth a lot of money to them. Of course the originals that came in the car might bring more money than the replacement parts.. Any way you look at it - it would be a neat collectible for any 240Z enthusiast. Of course with E-Bay you never know - get two people that want it bidding and the sky is the limit. Get no bids.. and you may have to relist it several times to hit the market right. FWIW, Carl B.

Another option - in many area's there are people that run "Portable Soda Blasting" businesses. They will come to your house and you can have them soda blast that area. The soda can then be washed out with water. After that - you can use something like OSPHO - sprayed on with a hand pump bottle - let it sit/work for 12 hours or more - then apply POR-15 or prime and paint. FWIW, Carl B.

Great progress - keep the pictures coming. The inside of that door looked like it was in better than average condition. Where did you get the replacement door skin? Was there something wrong with the original hood ledge supports? Hard to tell from the pictures.. Did you treat the inside of the new frame rails - that came with the floorpans - with POR-15 as well? Carl B.

While you can't really find a new wiring harness - it isn't really that hard to "restore" the one you have as long as it hasn't burned up already. The good news is that in the mean time - some of the original problems or issues with the original wiring have been identified and corrections or accommodations made for them. The melting fuse boxes - can be avoided by a plug&play rewiring harness - that takes the main electrical load of the headlights - out of the fuse box and puts it in relays. That or you can replace the original glass fuse type fuse box with a more modern one... Both are available from Motorsports Auto Likewise - most of the tail light problems had to do with poor body grounds - that's an easy fix. So get that original wiring harness out - clean everything up - especially all connectors - and re-wrap it... FWIW, Carl B.

Just some thoughts... The most common cause I've seen of the sympthoms you describe - other than a bad battery - is loose or corroaded battery terminals. The first thing I'd do is pull the terminals off, clean them down to bare metal - both on the battery and on the wires. Then reconnect them making sure they are tight. Second most common is alternator belt tension too loose. Lots of people look at the terminal connections - they "look" OK and they don't go any farther. Take them off and clean them the make sure they are TIGHT. Then Sit in the car after the battery is fully charged - and the car has been stopped/not running for a few hours - then put a finger on each individual fuse - see if any of them feel warmer than the others. That might give you a clue as to which circuit to check. I know you had the battery "tested" - but did they perform a proper "Load Test" on the battery? Many auto parts stores fail to perform this test, or don't have the test equipment to do it in the first place. Batteries can hold a surface charge until they are put under a higher load - such as in starting - then they short out and go dead under a higher load. With a good battery - fully charged - you should be able to leave the parking lights on for several hours, without a problem restarting the car. Good luck Carl B.

Hi Bonzi: Yes - Bill sent me pictures of the #76 car in Jan. 2010. Then we talked at the 40th Anniversary Celebration at Nissan HQ in Nashville, when we stopped by his Orange 70. While it is listed as one of the 39 remaining first 100 in the list posted above - I had forgot to remove it from the "totalled" list at the bottom. Sorry if that caused some confusion..:stupid: Left to Right: Mr. Matsuoka, Bill Edens, Mr. Matsuo, Todd Wagner - with Bill's Orange 1970 240Z. BTW - the latest update is as of 12 Apr. 2012 - and shows 176 cars found so far. Pretty amazing that 32% of them are still in existence some 43 years later. FWIW, Carl B.

You need a chrome - LED Flashlight to snap into what was the fuel filter holder.... Or maybe a Mr. K bobble head... It just looks like something is missing there... actually it is... but it shouldn't look that way... FWIW, Carl B.

I'll mention this because some Z's or ZX's have electric fuel pumps in their fuel tanks. In my 88 Chevy Pickup - ethanol fuel melted the rubber intake/output hoses on the in-tank mounted electric fuel pump. Over the years I'd changed out all the other rubber fuel lines with newer type fuel lines. Finally around 2010... my wonderful old beauty - which had ran without a problem for 22 years... gave up... yep - the fuel pump died {so I thought}. Not being able to avoid it any longer - I had to lift the bed up off the frame and pull the fuel pump out... a major PIA to say the least. Once out I could see that the small rubber hoses on the pump looked like they just melted.. black goo was all that was there. Amazingly - I cleaned everything up - put new hoses on the pump - check that it was running - and put it back in the tank. Fixed for a few cents worth of rubber fuel line!! Other than that - I've always updated my rubber fuel lines every decade or so - so the ethanol fuel hasn't been a problem. As I recall however - didn't Nissan have to recall all the Z31's to change out the fuel lines and injectors.. at no charge. Don't recall if that applied to the Z32's or not. FWIW, Carl B.

The possibility of finding any NOS accessary items in a Dealer's inventory are quite slim. I'd say less than one tenth of one percent. PN 99990-00062 That said - I'd suggest that you measure the length - center to center - on your bumper up-rights. Then specify that length along with the model year. Likewise if you find some for sale - make sure you see the tap measure showing their length before you send money. Can't tell you how many guys I know that have bought the wrong bar... one too short or too long... when the seller had no idea what they were selling. As I recall - the "mounting hardware" - is just a few carriage bolts. I would think that your best bet is E-Bay on something like this. good luck, Carl B.

Hi Fixitman: What was I thinking... I guess that just threw me a curve. You are absolutely correct. Everything is "A-OK". Love the air cleaner!! FWIW, Carl B.

So.. do you have water running all the time though your heater core?

I needed the chokes when I lived in Washington State - you'll be glad you have the chokes hooked up if you stay in Ohio. Here in Florida there was no need for them. FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Jay: To build a car to completion - the assembly plant has to have all the parts necessary. So with a Date Of Manufacture of 01/70 - you can expect most of the parts to have been produced prior to that. FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Jay: In case you haven't seen it - here is a good article about replacing the floorboards. http://zhome.com/Classic/240ZFloorboards/ChrisFloorboards.htm You may notice a couple things - first leave the front seat support bracket in place - that will hold the transmission tunnel in place. Second the rear seat supports are connected/reinforced on your 72 - they are not on your 70. So you will want to cut the rear seat supports out of your 70 while still connected to the floorboards - so you can use them as a template for positioning to reinstall. FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Jay: I think you will find that the 70 and 72 Cross-members are quite different. As I recall the 70 cross-member bolts up into the body - where the 72 has bolts that run parallel to the body - that is the 72 has brackets that stick down from the body and the cross-member slides up into them. FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Phils204z: Go To: http://ZHome.com In the Left Hand Column - select - "Internet Z Car Club" Then select -- "Z Car Registers" In the Right Hand Frame -You Will See: "To Add your car to one of the Registers" under that heading select: In the Right Hand Frame - select: "The Original Owners' 240Z Register" Because your Father-In-Law was the original owner - you {and/or you and your wife} will be shown as the Second Generation original owners. If you have any questions just drop me an E-Mail: beck@becksystems.com FWIW, Carl B.

If Rebello or Sunbelt built your original L24 - to reasonable "street car" spec.'s {they could stroke it to L26 spec.'s and bore it to wind up between L26 and L28 spec} -- that engine would be far better in terms of torque and HP than any L28 put together by the average mechanic. Complete it might cost between $6K and $8K, but you would only have to do it once. Add an 83 5spd and 3.9 rear or even a 3.7 rear and you'd be in great shape - with a pure stock looking engine bay. Or you can have all that done for half as much money - and wind up with 65% of the power and a poorly running street engine. I've had lots of them... FWIW, Carl B.

BRE style front air spoiler with brake cooling air scoops - Spoiler + Scoop - - aka BRE Spook. See: http://www.bre2.net/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=B&Product_Code=020B01&Category_Code=bre_datsun_body_parts FWIW, Carl B.