tehmbrick

Thanks, everybody, for the input. Still pretty new to this site - seems like a really solid crowd here. Surprise I haven't had a "Go look through the archives!" yet My working list, right now is: -Bumpers -Fuse box -Wiring clean up for front and rear lights -Choke lever -Struts, springs -Inspection/replacement of suspension parts (tie rod ends, ball joints, bushings, etc.) -Brake upgrade (not sure what kit, yet) -Speed bleeders, brake fluid flush A question - what's the rate of success with refinishing all of the glass? I have a lot of haze and scratching. I am doing some reading and see some compounds that can be used to buff this out - I'm suspicious of how successful this would be on a 40 year old car. What would a budget be for replacing all of the glass?

Nice. Thanks for the detail! Forgot to mention that the alternator and ignition are already done.

Forgot to mention .. the previous owner put in a Pertronix ignition, so that's done. Given the drought here, the wipers don't look like a priority (unfortunately). I'm on the fence with the A/C ... going to leave that for now and see if I can live without.

I like all of that except the power windows (manual is easy enough, given how small the car is I can reach the passenger seat) and seat heaters (California climate .. not really necessary).

Man, that would be a project! I don't think I've got the technical ability or budget to get to the finish line with that type of project ... and still feeling like I want to stay low tech and old school with the L24 or L28.

On this car that's actually a pretty short list. There are things like the suspension that are 40 years old and due for an upgrade but aside from that kind of thing I have the luxury of focusing on making working stuff better.

True .. however, having spent most of my years in cold climates I have to say that it still feels like summer year-round in California. Doing work on the car at any point in the calendar year can eat away at great driving days. Nice problem to have!

All, Background - I have a near-stock '73 240. Over the course of many years I expect to be doing a fair amount to improve the car. This year, I have a bit of money stashed for an incremental improvement. I am evaluating what to do - continue to save to enable doing a punch of stuff at once, or take on one incremental improvement area (for example - I could focus on suspension upgrades/improvements this year). I have a budget, for the next year or so, of up to $3500. What would you suggest I consider? Some specifics: 1973 240 No rust, body and interior in 9/10 shape All stock with the exception of the following: -previous owner rebuilt the engine (don't know specifics but Dyno results attached - post tune and exhaust upgrade) -2.5" exhaust (stock header) -aluminum radiator -Halogen headlight upgrade -Round-top/SU carbs -Poly bushings -16" panasport wheels & new tires Current thoughts: Suspension -I live in the SF Bay area and there are plenty of driver's roads. This car is fairly loose and bouncy up front, and stiff in the back, at present. One day I'd like to have some light track fun. -I've seen this debated at length but without budget clarity .. if I wanted to do coil-overs (thinking of this as the ultimate end-state with best combination of ride height customization and performance setup), what kind of $$ does it take for labor + parts to do the coil-overs? I'd love to tackle some of the labor myself but realistically I don't have the experience to trust myself taking this on (or the tools + space). I'd rather have a veteran or pro do it. Engine -I want to go L28 NA, at some point. This seems like a $7500+ project. This is slotted for the long term (not enough $$ to think about for at least the next few years). -My thinking is just leave it as-is, for now. It's healthy. Other -Bumpers: I have stock bumpers & don't like 'em (front one has some damage and needs full replacement); Would like to replace front and "hug" it to the body; Would like to get rid of bump stops on the back and refurbish. -Fuse box: Appears to have been a melt-down (the common one) at some point in the car's history. A DIY fix was completed. Considering the Motorsport aftermarket fuse box. No current problems, wiring cleanup on a 40 year old car just seems like a decent preventative maintenance investment. -Rear diff: R200 seems like the long-term move. In my mind I've parked this as it doesn't seem beneficial until after engine work. -General suspension goodies: Lots of shiny stuff with lower control arms, mustache bars, etc. Do I tackle any of this incrementally? -Brakes: "big brake upgrade" - seems like a good move to build the car's foundation before getting to the engine stuff. NOW, I realize there is a ton of material in the archives, and this is a highly subjective and opinion-based topic to bring up ... but given all of that, and all of the above, anyone up for sharing some perspectives on how they would think about this? Appreciate the input. -TD

So far, the only thing I've noticed is it seems to be taking longer than usual to reach the normal operating temperature. Once there, it seems slightly cooler than in past .. but I'm talking about maybe ~5 degrees (based on gauge). Honestly .. I don't expect any meaningful gain beyond the aesthetics if a shiny aluminum rad at this point (which depending on your views, maybe is not even a positive). I'm running a fairly stock setup at present but have plans for an L28 and/or other engine performance work .. so this was a 'getting ready' upgrade.

The fan clutch is closer than it actually appears in the picture but I do want to verify I have the 'stoppers' and enough room to allow for some movement. Those pristine rad fins need to stay that way!

Offset on the fan was the issue. Installed correct OEM fan and I'm all good now. Thanks for the help. -TD

Thanks gents. Based on your responses and a little more Google research I'm 100% confident I have the wrong fan (and that it's mounted backwards). It doesn't have any offset and as a result doesn't create the clearance necessary for the rad. New fan should be here Tuesday .. will post picture when complete and hopefully solved. .. still a little suspicious about the radiator design but it may not really matter if I have the clearance. Unless the correct fan has shorter blades the coverage will still be beyond the radiator fins, which seems inefficient. -TD

Another note. Exactly 5.1 pound weight difference. Not 100% sure if the old radiator is stock .. thought the weight difference would be more.

Picked up a Koyo aluminum radiator for my S30. Got down to installation and ran into a problem - the fan makes contact with the passenger side of the radiator (the cooling tank portion of the rad - see attached picture). After unleashing a few f-bombs, got down to trying to figure this out. Upon closer inspection it looks like the PO had installed a 8 fin fan from a 260z and it looks like the clearance between the fan and radiator are impacted by this (I hope - it appears the 260z fan extends forward further than the stock 240z fan). I've gone ahead and ordered a new fan in hopes that this solves my problem however, unless I'm missing something it looks like Koyo has made a poor design choice here .. why would they not design to have the fan fully behind the cooling fins vs. a portion over the side cooling tank. Are there any S30 owners who have installed the Koyo and run into something similar? I'd like to rule out any other possibilities I'm missing. If the correct stock fan gives me some additional clearance it still looks like I'll have minimal room between the fan and radiator (<1/2"). Pictures attached. New fan arrives Tuesday so hopefully this works and I'll have time during the week to install. PS. How do you get a profile pic up on this site? (does it really have to be a public picture from a website? -TD

OK - completed my repairs over the weekend and now am running hot. Here's what I did: -New water pump -New fan clutch -New thermostat (180deg) Everything is back together, car runs well but hotter (based on temp gauge) than in past. I don't know if I should be concerned or not. Prior to the repairs the problem diagnosis was based on the following: (1) Unusual sounds from engine bay - upon closer examination found to be from the fan, water pump pulley area (2) A wobbly fan and water pump pulley - I could wiggle the fan horizontally. This was ultimately from a warn out water pump. I could wiggle this off its axis quite a bit. (3) Now, I should mention I was dumb enough to temp fate by driving a couple of times before parking and completing the repairs. On my last drive I was headed home and I noticed my temp gauge beyond the half-way mark for the first time since I owned the car. This was my last sign that something was wrong and I didn't want to do any damage by sever overheating. After completing the repairs I went for a neighborhood drive (2-3 miles, no speeds over 40 mph). Near the end the temp gauge started reaching these previously unseen highs (I'd say 5/8th of the way on the gauge, or, just past half - in past a couple of hairs past half was the most it would get to). The point of this all is this - how do I diagnose if I have a problem, or not? I don't want to hit the freeway for fear of serious overheating. Some more detail on the repair: -Completed coolant system flush (filled with distilled water after reassembly, ran the car and the heater to circulate, then drained) -Upon first start after reassembly the car only reached 3/8th of the temp gauge (i.e. it didn't warm up to its usual point). I'm not sure if this means anything but it did strike me as odd that on the 2nd warm-up and 3rd, it did get back to the normal range (all warm up was done at stop in the garage .. mostly idle, high idle) -I went through 3 warm-up cool-down cycles with the radiator cap off (as I understand this is a good way to 'burp' the coolant system) My current thinking is it's either one of three things: (1) thermostat faulty (2) overheating before repair caused damage (3) it's nothing, ignore the unusually high temps - I have a problem with this because the car has never operated in this range previously. It just doesn't add up. (4) something else - not sure what this could be, there are no other symptoms of any problem Apologies for the novel. Just hoping there's a vet here who may have been through this. -TD

Appreciate all of the responses. As the fan clutch seems to be in good working condition (I was considering as a preventative replacement) - I'm impressed by the Rockyauto selection. For now, going to go with the water pump, gasket and the thermostat (good idea there). Anyone replaced the water pump before - do I need a special puller/tool for removing the pulley, or any other special tools? Again .. thanks everybody. -TD

Not a restoration. I want a bulletproof (i.e. low maintenance) car that works right and will keep doing so for a long time ... lowest price scares me just as much as highest

Hi all, Looking for guidance regarding part selection and source for water pump and fan clutch on a '73 S30. Nissan dealer quoting $90 for the water pump and indicates a new pully is recommended (as a result of a slight part design change); $67 for the pully. ($47 for the water pump on Motorsport Auto) Nissan dealer telling me that I can't buy the fan clutch alone, so fan clutch with fan is $271.15 (compared to $80 on Motosport Auto) I suspect this is an OEM vs. aftermarket question. Anyone here experienced with replacing these parts and have advice? Newbie post. Did search the forums, apologies for anything I've missed. Thanks, -TD