research monkey

I was going to buy the lucas oil 20w50 I think. 3 - 5 qt jugs for $100 is a pretty good - https://www.amazon.com/Lucas-Oil-10684-3PK-20W-50-Petroleum/dp/B009M1LGBU

Appreciate the responses guys. I'll move forward with a full tune up (including rebuilding carbs) now that I have a little confidence in the #'s the the motor as it is. I was thinking of going 15w40 or 20w50 to be honest. We never get freezing temps near the coast in Southern California.

Never thought about that. Car sat for 10 years so that could be the case. Aren't the current numbers all within 15% of each other? Unless i'm calculating wrong.

Just purchased my 72 and had every intention to rebuild the engine but with all the other items on the list of things to do I think I might focus my money elsewhere. Factory service manual says compression anywhere from 171-185. I did a dry/wet compression test last week on a cold engine and after reading a bit decided to do another compression test this weekend on a warm engine. Results are as follows: 6/22/19 1 2 3 4 5 6 COLD ENGINE Dry 165 150 170 165 150 165 Wet 190 175 190 190 175 190 6/29/19 1 2 3 4 5 6 WARM ENGINE Dry 150 150 160 165 155 160 Wet 175 175 180 190 180 190 All plugs were pulled and the same compression gauge was used for all results. Started with #1 and worked my way back. Throttle wide open, and cranked about 10 seconds watching the gauge through the windshield. Wet tests were done with about 5ml / 1 teaspoon of oil in each cylinder. Based on the results it looks like the rings just seem a bit worn but all compression numbers are pretty close? The car doesnt smoke but feels a bit sluggish. I'm used to riding motorcycles so my sense of speed might be off. The car is definitely running rich based on the plugs and I've had a leak in the exhaust (which after running the tests I believe is in the exhaust manifold). I should mention that the car has been sitting 10 years so it definitely needs everything gone over. I'm thinking instead of rebuild, just do a full tune up on the thing and focus on all the other bits (gas tank, brakes, suspension, rust repair).

Ah. Thats unforatunate. My search continues.

Yeah, I checked on it this morning. Glad you got close to what you had the original reserve set for! Random question, did you have the floors / rails replaced? If so, where'd you get it done? I'm local (Tustin) and i'm searching for a place for some rust repair.

Saw that. Congrats. If you dont mind me asking, what did you have the reserve set at?

Nice! Good luck! Hope yours does better than the last 2 V8 swapped cars. That Yellow one was really nice.

Here is the car from before he purchased it: https://jalopnik.com/1970-datsun-240z-5554116 Oh, and the VIN plate in the door said 10/70 production date.

This thing has been posted for months. I can send some photos that I still have if someone is actually interested in it. $15k can buy it if you guys really think its that much of a deal.

I went to see this car a couple weeks ago. Really nice guy. Decent condition, motor was rebuilt in the last few years. You'll have to replace both floor pans. A body shop did it for him and they just used smaller patches. The car was resprayed a brighter shade of orange (take a look at the headlight buckets and the rear sill for the original to compare against). Wiring was a little messy under the dash. Solid driver (he drove it from San Diego to Pasadena to meet me). Overall it was a bit too much for me (looking for my first Z) and I wanted something more complete (see my intro post)

Rubber for the bushings. At first glance, (and i havent read too far into it) is that the urethane bushings make a lot of noise. I did urethane in my G35 and didnt get a squeak but all suspension setups are not equal.

Thanks for the confirmation. Will do. Still getting used to searching on this forum. Its slightly different than what I'm used to.

Sorry if this has been asked a bajillion times but i've searched on here and google but can't find what i'm looking for. It looks like the front control arms are the same 70-78 but the rears are year specific (70-73 and 74-78) Physical differences between the two I found here: https://forums.hybridz.org/topic/51104-differences-between-the-240z-and-280z-rear-control-arms/ Found a restored but used (also had urethane bushings already) set of front / rear control arms off a 75 280z. Would the 74-78 be a direct replacement or would I need to purchase different hardware? Would it even fit? Thanks!

Maybe give West End Alignment a call. They work mostly on modified Japanese and European imports. I first went to them 15 years ago and it seems they are still doing really well. https://www.yelp.com/biz/west-end-alignment-gardena

Nice, i bet those series one folks have such a bitch of a time restoring one correctly. I was hoping it was a factory color. Here is the car in the garage with no sunlight. Looks really really dark blue. To compare, the motorcycle on the right is painted "yamaha blue" (look at any recent blue sportbike)

Ah, interesting. Looks like that early one doesnt have the summer/winter valve on the top portion. The white was definitely NOT my first choice but this was by far the cleanest 240 I could find on the west coast/southwest that wasnt asking a huge amount of money. I figured they were since they were missing the metal buttons on the seats and that horizontal strip that goes across the door panels. I'm loving the blue though. I still don't think its factory. When it isnt in the sun, it looks like a very dark blue. Thanks! Pretty stoked on the paperwork.

Just picked up a 72 this past weekend and i'm looking forward to tinkering. Matching #s, 1 owner, original plates, and a ton of history. It sat for almost 10 years and only being a block from the ocean means some surface rust in most places (see engine bay). Only 1 spot of significant rust I could find so far (tail end of the passenger side rail). Still runs, drives, and more importantly brakes! The previous owner also did a glass out paint job and redid the interior in 08 (I think they might have gone darker than the original blue and i think the seats and door panels aren't original (no buttons on seat and no strip along the top). Random question. The air filter housing is light blue. most of the ones I see are orange but this one has all the factory stickers on it. Is it original?

Nice! You got it in Socal? I actually tried getting a hold of the person that had the CL ad up but he didnt leave a phone number and didnt get back to me via email. Congrats on the purchase.