87mj

I have seen photos of a lot of restorations where the replacement hard brake lines are not precise enough to fit inside the rubber frame mount bushings in the engine bay. Has anyone bought brake lines & fuel lines from classictube.com? Are the bends precise enough to fit in the existing frame mounts? Thanks

I have been in the process of stripping a car to it's shell. The wiring harness is removed and the engine will be pulled soon. While I am waiting in queue at the body shop, I thought it would be a great time to check and fix any electrical problems in my wiring harness but electrical circuits are not my strong suit. Is there a way to apply power to an engine harness by using an external source such as the battery or an external power supply without burning it up? If I can do that, thought I could bench test connectors, headlights, taillights, dash, etc and fix anything before I install it back in the car. Thanks Gary

I think that is a great price... but based on the pics the seller shows. If it looks as good as the pics, it would be a great value. Everything looks better in photos. But, you need to look inside the front wheel wells. There are some small 8" or so pieces of sheet metal welded to the frame just behind the motor mounts. Those rust and are the first to go. Then look at the frame rails. In the late '70s, I owned a 73 that had rust so bad on the front frame rail, there was nothing holding the front sway bar. The rails can rot in the back too. The carpets are not traditional in that they are fastened with loops and snaps. So removal takes all of 2 minutes. If you get this far, you are in good shape. Then under the battery tray. If those look good, then you are well on your way. Open the rear hatch and look at the .... hatch sill plate? Not sure what to call it. Where the latch is located. Then take the spare tire out and look at that. Surface rust is fine. Next there are some telltale signs of previous less than stellar body work. There should be weld seams at the rear of the car running from the tale lights down to the bottom of the car. One on each side. There should also be seams at the rear of the rockers to the beginning of the rear quarter panels. Checking for repair work at the rear quarters around the wheel wells is difficult for low skilled guy such as me. But there are two pieces of sheet metal welded together there so it is supposed to be a little thick feeling. Look closely at that area and compare each from one another. I once owned another car that was improperly repaired. I couldn't figure out why one side of the car sat lower than the other. Unfortunately, I figured out later it didn't. One wheel well was welded lower than it should be. I saw the same problem on another post on this forum. Those areas must be difficult for the novice to repair. If it passes all of these tests, bring cash. Good luck.

I was watching that car. From the pics, it looks like the rear deck didn't have tar installed. Was that common on the early VINs? Also I have an early car with a mfg date 6/70 VIN 5305. I am curious if your hood prop rod is black?

The dash on one of my cars is in terrible shape. The PO was classy enough to use dark colored drywall screws. I suspect most other people would use steel colored screws or hex heads. Anyway, mine is in such bad shape, these dashes could suck and I would still be in better shape than I am now. In as bad of shape as my dash is, I would rather it be busted up than install cap over it.

I have an old car that has surface rust on the battery tray area but the sheet metal in this area is very solid. I am in the process of stripping the car to the shell. A body shop will be media blasting the entire shell. Does blasting remove the acid from the sheet metal or should I rinse the area with something to reduce the PH? Am I over thinking this? Thanks

Thanks for the reply. Did you leave the back one alone? I didn't have trouble removing the engine harness but the one that goes to the tail lights runs along the side of the passenger rocker, then up into the inside of the rear fender, then up to the dome lights and back out to the tail lights. I cant see removing that rear one successfully and then getting it back in place even if I ran pull wires.

I plan to get a car media blasted inside, outside and underneath. The body shop asked that I remove the wiring harness. Removing the front harness wasn't that big of a deal. Removing the rear one seems like a major pain and almost an impossibility. Has anyone had a car media blasted while the rear wiring harness was still in the car? Is there a way to protect it and still keep it in the car? Is removing and reinstalling the rear wiring harness as big of a PITA as it looks? especially considering it needs to branch out where the dome light and defrosters are located. Then go back to the tail lights?

If there is going to be one, I will be there.

Sure. I just don't know how effective I would be. I live by Ft Wayne. Honestly, I didn't know Indy had a Z club. I am just saying that up front so you know what kind of person you are dealing with here.

I am always looking to buy parts I will probably never need. Indy would be great. I'm always discouraged when all the cool stuff is out west.

I recently purchased a complete series 1 car...complete except for the rear hatch. Can a series 1 hatch be fabricated from a mid '71 hatch (with vertical defrost) ? I have a '71 hatch. A body shop could easily cut holes to support the hatch vents. It seems like finding a rust free series 1 deck would be about impossible. The body shop can't get me in until July so I have time. i should also mention the donor car i would taking the hatch from is very restorable also which tugs at my emotions a little. Do exhaust fumes enter the cabin through those hatch vents? Thanks

I wonder if they did that because they swapped the transmission? I did that on my '71 because the PO added the later style transmission and the '72 console didn't require cutting.

A couple of weeks ago, I bought #5305 built 6/70. I'm curious if your car has the hand throttle?

knowing my luck, I would win an auction like this and end up with a bunch of 310 parts and a used smog pump for $2,000. So then I would be telling myself, "well you never know. You just might need that someday...".

Personally I couldn't daily drive a 240. I would feel sorry for it. The sheet metal inside the fender and all other nooks and crannies attract dirt. Dampness alone isn't good on them. As was already mentioned if you get caught in road salt, you can see rust form along the edges of painted surfaces in a few days( speaking from first hand experience). If you continue to drive it in road salt, it will be totaled in a few seasons. Mine are fair weather cars primarily used for ice cream runs. They don't see rain and the garage is heated in the winter.

I agree. The conversation has fallen into the abyss.

Wow

It could be me but I was unable to successfully bleed the brakes without adding speedbleeders.

Mike, I just saw your post above. I agree completely. I wouldn't buy a car with mismatched vins. especially after reading all of this. If I cant get a title (and door jam & engine bay tags) matching the firewall, I wouldn't go forward and restore this car. Obviously it is a very hot topic and my paranoia paid off in this case. Gary

I thought I would upload a few photos of the car. The front fenders are off but I have some for it. The rocker on one side is rusted and needs replaced. Both rear quarters look great but have been bondo puttied and will need replaced. I suspect the car has not been on the road for at least 15-20 years. The driver floor has a hole but the passenger doesn't. The battery tray is great but upon close inspection, you can see rust at the firewall where the cowl drain was clogged and water sat. The cowl mouse nest wasn't helpful. The wheel wells both have that steel plate rusted away but the frame looks good. It starts fast and is not cold blooded. The transmission is the old series 1 transmission. The brake master and clutch master are both dry and full of dirt (and mouse droppings). I suspect it will need new calipers and drum cylinders. Plus all hard lines. To address a few comments: Its obviously a mid '71. I have zero buyers remorse on this car. I bought it without a title or the expectation I can get one. After I owned it, I began to question cutting it. I bought it as a parts car but I think it is a shame to cut up a car that theoretically can be driven again. I owned it for 6 months before I figured out the vin in the firewall didn't match the tags. It was only after I started cleaning it up that I noticed. The previous owner wouldn't have known either. He bought it to restore but decided to do an MG Midget instead (??). There was 20 years of dirt and grime over the firewall vin. I called it a rolling shell with no vin because I wanted the car to match the vin tags in the door jam and wheel well. So there it is. I bought a 5/70 50xx vin series 1 car over the weekend that needs a partial floor pan under the passenger seat between and including the seat brackets. If I used the lime green car as a parts car, I would take the passenger floor which would obviously ruin the car. (It looks rusted but it isn't. Rust water from the tool bins came in and sat on the floor.). Taking the floor would return the 5/70 car back to factory more than buying an aftermarket floor pan IMO. Also, I cant see the value in restoring this now that I have the other car. When finished restoring this car, I might have as much in it as it is worth. The 5/70 car is completely different. Even though I wouldn't sell it I still need to take it into consideration. So spend $10k on body work to restore it or kill it by taking the floor for the 5/70 car? Thanks Gary

I am curious about your startup. I found a guy willing to sell an '81 5 speed to me for $250. I thought about buying it. Do you need to shift earlier or later into 2nd than you did with the 4 speed? I assume the shift lever fit in your tunnel just fine while an early '71 or '70 would require cutting?

I thought I would give an update to this little dilemma. I bought a 6/70 series 1 yesterday completely by accident (I told my wife it just showed up at my doorstep somehow). The poor '71 series 2 car with mismatched vins is going into storage for another 10 years. I will post pictures of it. It is too good to scrap out. but my finances and family will not allow 2 concurrent restorations. I told the family it is going into storage to be parted and scrapped. However, if I don't need its parts to restore my '70 I am getting it titled under the firewall VIN and restoring it. British Racing Green. But that's our little secret. After all. One 240z is enough. Two is too many and three indicates I have a problem. I don't have a problem. At least that's what I tell myself. Maybe..

I agree with rturbo. I have a 5/71 and there are a lot of similarities. Grease reservoir in the steering rack, type b transmission tunnel, series 1 console, choke, radio, e31 head. I would pay attention to the radio, console & choke, b-pillar emblems, rear deck vents, rear deck window, tool boxes, seat hardware, steering wheel, and the elusive hand throttle. I thought only a select few of the early models had the 2400 valve cover.

I knew a guy had an old Datsun pick up truck. It finally bit the dust and he found one out west. If he bought it, he was thinking about pulling the VIN tags off the old Datsun and putting them on the new one so that he wouldn't have to pay sales tax. I think both of these vins were '71.