griggs57

I am restoring a 72 240. The car is very tired, so I plan on pulling the engine, and going through it. The original engine output is not enough for me, however I do want to be able to drive the car on the street with the A/C on when finished. I picked up some parts for the rebuild/ upgrade already. I have a new cam, and rockers. I think the cam is 260 degrees duration. I don't remember the lift offhand, but fairly mild. I picked an electronic distributer ( the one with the internal electronics from a later model Z), headers, and I plan on 2, or 2 1/2" exhaust ( sugestions?). I will send the original carbs to z therapy for a total rebuild, again any ideas on carb setup would be helpful. I am thinking about adding an E-31 head. I need to have machine work done on my present head, and I see these around for under $200.00. Is it a worthwhile adder? I have also seen an E-33 manifold which it's owner said was superior to the E-88 I now have as it had larger passages, again it was only 40 bucks, should I add it to the package? How about pistons? Dish, flat top, or ? Keeping in mind preium gas is the best I can get . I also see alum. flywheels around they seem to bring about 250 bucks. Any ideas on these? One non engine change I am thinking of is adding a R180 4:11 rearend, and five speed transmission. I read a post where someone highly recommended this change. They stated the final drive ratio was higher with this setup, than the original four speed. Any ideas on this would be greatly appreciated. This is my first , and I want the car to be able to get on and off the freeway quickly.

I must admit I have had second thoughts about if the car I bought on e-bay is really a good candidate for restoration. It was described as "Minor surface rust on passenger floor". When I went to pick up the car there was grass growing through the floor. The car was a basket case, but is very original and complete, down to the old cloth wrapped hoses. It is orange with white interior (which I being a longhorn liked), so I decided to trailer it home. I then got a bit carried away, and started buying parts to restore it with. Anyway I attended the Houston Autorama, a large car show we have here where I talked to a guy who runs a Datsun restoration shop here in town. He quoted me $1200.00 to repair just the floor pans. I plan on doing the welding myself. This is kind of a father/sons (I have one 18 & one 15) project, so there is more here than just restoring the car. It looks like I'll spend about 10k on the car to get it back in good condition, and thats planning on doing the paint & body work myself. I don't really care if the finished product is worth that or not. It will still be a really neat little car, and the boys are learning a lot from the project. As far as that goes so am I. I have restored cars for about twenty years. Always Chevy's. Vettes, Camaros, and El Camino's ( and a couple of 57's). This is the first "Foreign Car" I have done, so it's kind of neat seeing how other people do things.

Sure, I'd like see any pic's you got of your car. I was thinking of using an air shear to cut out the old floorpans, I do kind of like the idea of a saws all. It might be easier to control. I was also planning to seal weld in the new pans. I guess they really don't show, so attaching them with screws would be okay. Do the ever leak water?.

Thanks, The battery tray I purchased is just the plastic one that the battery sits on, and the hold down. I was kind of expecting to have to fab the pieces I need, I just hoped there might be a cleaner way. I've already talked to Zedd findings about new floor pans. It would appear the these will required the removal of the seat supports ( the metal pieces that the seats actually bolt to), which means welding them back on. Is that correct? I am currently bidding on frame rails on e-bay, just have in case I decide they are needed. Thanks, Again I'll keep you posted. I am going through a Z car learning curve.

Hi If you still have your wheels I'm looking for set. I take it these are 14" wheels? If you have a picture that would be nice. Let me know.

I'm in the process (spending lots of money) of restoring a 72 240, and I need some advice on reparing the inner fender below the battery tray. Can I purchase a new inner fender? If so where? Do I need to try and find a doner car to get one. It sounds like it is a common problem, so I'm not sure if a donor car would be very easy to find. I guess the last option is to fabricate my own patch panels. I've already purchased new rails, battery tray, and I plan on replacing the floor pans.