kenz240z

I chose to do a complete suspension rebuild on my 240Z. That way I only had to tear the suspension apart once. I removed all of the front & rear suspension parts from the car, including the differential & halfshafts, the steering rack, & the front cross member. The engine, transmission & driveshaft were already out of the car, so it seemed like a good time to do the suspension work. I cleaned all the parts then primered them and painted them. I installed new Tokico blue struts, Tokico springs, new urethane bushings, new ball joints, and new rear brake pads & hardware (the fronts were in good shape). It took me a few months of cleaning, painting & reassembling, but now the suspension looks great. I have several pics in my gallery taken at various stages of the suspension rebuild. I have a big, 3 1/2 ton floor jack I bought at NAPA. It was very helpful when lowering the strut assemblies from the car, also great for raising them up when it was time to re-install them. Made it much easier to do the work by myself.

I have a '91 Cadillac Allante that blew warm air when the AC was on. I took it to the dealer to inspect & recharge the system. Turns out somewhere along the line before I bought it the system had been charged with propane. From what I learned propane is suitable as a coolant, but can be disatrous in an automobile, especially when a mechanic goes to work on a car with a leak in the A/C and does something to create a spark...

I have a cousin who recently bought a house in New Orleans. He evacuated a couple of days ahead of Katrina to Jackson, MS. Mom told me he's doing ok. The poor guy, a few years ago he had a boat that he fixed up and lived on. While in the harbor at New Orleans, his boat was struck by a tanker. At least he escaped from that incident unhurt, just homeless... now he's homeless again. He'll be back on his feet in no time, though. He has always been a very resourceful fellow with a grand sense of adventure and an indomitable spirit. Furthermore, he does underwater welding & repair on oil rigs. I imagine he'll be busy for the next several years. His family has had a few close calls this year. My aunt, uncle & two cousins (his siblings) were in Thailand on the coast the day before the tsunami struck there. If they had been there a day later...

Not sure, there were two colors. Orange and light blue. Mine has the blue air cleaner. I'm kinda glad, it's a nice contrast to the orange paint on the car :classic:

My chair started out in the Motor Pool for the 67th Infantry Brigade. Then I ended up sitting in the percussion section of the Fightin' 43rd Army Band. I spent 6 years in the Nebraska Army National Guard.

I'm an old & crusty 38 :beard: ... but if you ask my wife, she might say I sometimes act like a 3 year old

Until I rebuilt the suspension on my '73, it handled about as well as the old M60 tanks I learned to work on at Ft. Knox...

When I was 15 I had saved up a couple grand for a car. I found a '75 Olds Cutlass, red with fat white stripes & white interior. I wanted to buy it, but Dad steered me towards a '64 Chevy Impala SS. He said it was a "classic." I started taking auto shop and began the transformation into a gear head. It wasn't long before I swapped out the 283 for a 327 with a Carter AFB and found a posi to put in the rear end. I drove it up until college. I never could really afford to do anything major with that car, I learned to find cheap parts at the salvage yards, and from other car nuts. I bought a '66 Mustang right after high school, but never had the money to fix the rusty rear quarters & floor boards. It had an inline 6 with a little single barrel carb. Any time it rained, the distributor cap would suck up a little moisture and the car wouldn't start. I sold it a couple of years later. I bought a '62 Buick Special with an aluminum 215 and Rochester 4-jet carb for $75 the summer before I started college. I rebuilt the front end and replaced all the brakes. The engine ran strong and was pretty fast. It was a fun little car. I sold it about 5 years ago when I moved from Lincoln, NE to Longmont, CO. Right now I have a '95 Ford F150 pickup, a '91 Cadillac Allante convertible, a '75 Chevy Caprice Classic convertible, a '73 240Z and a '64 Chevy Impala. My wife drives a '91 Nissan Altima, my daughter has an '88 Toyota Celica, and my son has a '00 Jeep Cherokee. I've got my eye on a few other 240Z's in the area, but I don't have any room for another car. Dad ribs me about the "used car lot out in front of the house" everytime he and Mom visit!

Enrique, good intro to metal working. For anyone hesitant to try it, I'd just like to say don't be afraid to learn how to use a hammer & dolly to remove dents and smooth panels :nervous: . I taught myself how to remove dents by hand after reading the Paint & Body Handbook by Don Taylor & Larry Hofer. I bought the book at the local Borders bookstore. Another tool I like is the metal body file. It helps make low spots & high spots stand out when you have a dent almost worked out. Use it judiciously, though, because too much filing in the same area can make thin spots, or even a hole :eek: , in the sheet metal! The sheet metal used in the Z car's body panels is pretty thin, at least compared to the older Detroit vehicles I've worked on. I think that the more you can hone your auto repair skills (engine/drivetrain/mechanical, electrical, body work, interior, etc...) the better equipped you are in assessing the condition of a prospective project vehicle. If you find a vehicle that has damage that is beyond your ability to repair, then you have to ask yourself how much it's worth to pay someone else to do the work. Then there are those vehicles that, sadly, are too far gone to realistically be saved . FWIW, I think I've saved myself from spending thousands of dollars on bodywork over the years by learning this useful skill. :rambo:

My '73 originally had an N33 intake/balance tube with an EGR valve. I have since replaced the intake/balance tube with an E46 from a '71. It does not have the EGR valve. The first attached photo is of the N33. The second shows the E46. Hope this helps!

Try www.victoriabritish.com or www.zcarparts.com. They carry replacement heater hoses.

I didn't know the '73 had longer lines that any of the other Z cars from 70-78...

I got bit by the car bug as a teenager. My first car was a '64 Chevy Impala SS, and I was still in high school when I became a member of the Nebraska chapter of the Late Great Chevy Club. I met some great people through that club, and got to know a fellow real well who did complete frame off restorations of '62 Impalas (he did a couple of 409 bubble tops for Kenny Rogers once). I was fortunate to find a good mentor, but then that is one of the gratifying parts of being an old car nut - you pass it on to the younger generation. That's what is so great about this site, it allows the folks with the knowledge & experience to share it & pass it on, thereby keeping the hobby alive. And that's something that we should all be concerned with, as some areas of the country are making it more and more difficult to keep older cars on the road. There is no trick to restoring a vehicle. It's really an exercise in project management, and requires a good deal of planning and forethought (plus the usuals: time & money!) in order to avoid posting an ad like Enrique described. There are scores of books that have been written on the subject of auto restoration. Some focus on the nuts & bolts of a specific make & model, others take a more generic approach. As for me, I've always been a hands on kind of guy, and I've learned by doing. My thoughts on the subject are simple: do the best work you possibly can, pay attention to detail, do it once and do it right. Its a rather rewarding feeling when someone looks at your Z and says, "Nice car!", especially when you've done the work yourself.

Hi J P D, it looks like you have a great car to start with for your project Z. Glad to hear you have tackled a few car projects before. As Enrique pointed out, it's easy for a person to get in over his/her head by tearing a car apart without a plan. FWIW, I submit the following: I'd say the first step would be to determine what work you will do, and what work you will send to a shop. Try to schedule the shop work so that you will have the items that have been sent out back when you'll need them. This could include rebuilding the engine and transmission, body work, chrome work, interior, etc... Then make a list of all the new parts you will need. Purchase as many of the parts as you can up front, so that you don't have to wait for parts to arrive in order to complete any given step of the project. Another option is to purchase the parts in batches. Each batch should contain all the parts needed for the current task. Buy a good digital camera, if you don't already have one. Take lots of pictures along the way. Get a notebook, too, and make notes as you go. Documenting details as parts are removed and wires are disconnected will save plenty of time & headaches when it's time to put things back together. Never trust anything to memory (I've lost a few brain cells to beer, myself :stupid: ). Buy a box of Ziploc baggies for storing small parts. I like the ones with labels you can write on. Round up a few sturdy boxes or buy a few large plastic totes for storing the filled baggies & other parts. Anyway, I would suggest repairing the mechanical items first. Pull the engine and transmission and send them out for rebuild/repair, unless you will do this yourself. Tag & label all electrical connectors that you take off. Start by rebuilding the suspension. Replace the struts, springs, bushings, brakes & brake hardware, drive shaft & half-shaft u-joints. Clean all of the suspension parts, then refinish them with a good black semi-gloss paint. Reassemble the suspension on the car. With the engine & transmission out of the car you will never have a better time to refinish the engine compartment. Remove everything on the firewall, inner fenders, radiator support, etc... Bag & tag the items you remove. Once the engine compartment is bare, clean it thoroughly. Make any rust repairs that are necessary. Once everything is up to snuff, repaint the engine compartment. Clean and detail any of the underhood items that you will re-use. Then put everything back on the firewall, inner fenders, etc... If you sent the engine and transmission to a shop, hopefully they will be done about the same time you are done with the engine compartment. If you are doing the engine & transmission work, do it now. Reinstall the engine and transmission, along with new motor & transmission mounts. Next, move on to the body. Begin by repairing any rust damaged areas. Weld in new sheet metal or patch panels where needed. If you are good with a hammer & dolly, you should be able to remove most of the dents. Use a good quality filler where needed. Once all surfaces are dent free & smooth, prepare the body for paint. This will involve lots (and I mean LOTS) of sanding. A good set of air powered sanders (DA, jitterbug, inline, etc) will save a bit of time, but I like to finish up with wet sanding by hand. Prime & paint the car. If you are not doing the body work, then drive or trailer the car to the bodyshop you've scheduled with to do the work. Once the body work is done and the car is repainted, it's time to do the interior. If the dash is cracked, repair it, replace it or cover it with a dash cap. Reupholster the seats. Put in a new carpet set. Repair or replace any of the vinyl that is damaged. Repair or replace any of the interior plastic panels that are damaged, including the center console, heater control panel, etc... Deliver the car to the interior shop for these tasks, if you are not planning to do the interior work yourself. That's it, in a nutshell. Following these general steps should result in a nice looking, nice driving Z car when you are done. Of course, any of the steps could be done in a different order depending on time & money :classic: . Thanks for bearing with such a long winded reply, and remember, this is just one old buzzard's thought's on the matter. Oh, and keep in mind the five P's: Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance!

When I bought my '73 the outer rear wheel arches were rusted through. I purchased a pair of replacement arches from Tabco and had a local body shop weld them in and spray them with primer. They did fantastic work, check out my gallery for a few photos.

Hello, Pennyman, I recently rebuilt the front & rear suspension on my '73. I bought a strut/spring package on e-bay that included the Tokico HP blue struts and Tokico springs. I also replaced all the bushings with Energy Suspension urethane bushings. I got the bushing set on e-bay, too. This combination has yielded a firm, yet comfortable ride. But, anything would have been an improvement over the old suspension... the struts were shot and the bump stops were missing. A couple of the original bushings were pretty well deteriorated. My teeth darn near rattled out of my jaw when I hit a bump before. Now it's a lot smoother! And no missing teeth!

Have you checked the point gap yet? Could be the points are either staying closed, or staying open. Have they been replaced, too?

Be sure to have a couple of fire extinguishers mounted on the walls. It would be a shame if your Z was damaged or destroyed by fire, not to mention the garage and house! Also, a well stocked first aid kit, for those times when you are removing the rear hatch strut, and the hatch falls & smashes your finger tip (voice of experience). :hurt: Or when you smack your thumb with a hammer when you're using a dolly to smooth out a small dent in a front brake backing plate... :lick:

A bit off topic, I know, but I found a '71 240Z that still had the SU carbs on it at a local U-Pull It type of salvage yard a few months ago. When you sign, in the fellow at the counter hands you a price sheet. Prices are given for parts, without regard to manufacturer, age, or condition. The price for a single barrel carb? Twenty bux.

Hi Will, I looked at a piece of the heater control panel from my 240Z that broke off (the bottom edge of the radio opening). Some of the shiny stuff is peeling off, and sure enough, there is what appears to be a copper layer on the bottom. So that part was chrome plated. I also looked at a 240Z "Datsun" fender emblem that I found in a salvage yard. It has some shiny stuff peeling off from the backside. I peeled up a little more, but there is no evidence of a copper layer. Could it be that different plating techniques were used for different parts? :squareeye BTW, from what I've read, Ford was the first domestic automaker to use vacuum metalizing. Ford used it for a speedometer housing in 1957. By the '60's, vacuum metalizing began to see wider use by all the domestic automakers. Forgive me, though, as all of this is secondary. My point was that it can become cost prohibitive to replate trim parts as part of the effort to refinish them, as opposed to the cost of purchasing a NOS or quality reproduction part. Try to find a plater that will accept plastic pieces for rechroming, and when you do, be prepared for the high cost. :eek:

Definition of restore, from Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary: Main Entry: re·store Pronunciation: ri-'stOr, -'stor Function: transitive verb Inflected Form(s): re·stored; re·stor·ing Etymology: Middle English, from Old French restorer, from Latin restaurare to renew, rebuild, alteration of instaurare to renew 1 : GIVE BACK, RETURN 2 : to put or bring back into existence or use 3 : to bring back to or put back into a former or original state : RENEW As applied to a vehicle, it would mean that the vehicle should be in the same shape/condition/appearance as when it rolled off the showroom floor. With a 30 + year old car (I have a '73 240Z) , a strict restoration can be a very expensive and time consuming project. I've already got about $6000 and a year and a half's worth of working nights & weekends in my Z even though my intention is not, nor ever has been, to restore the vehicle. I agree with Tomohawk to a point, in that I like to work with the parts on the car as much as possible. Items like the emblems can be made to look like new, but they must be in good shape to start with. So, if something is too far gone to work with, then a suitable replacement must be found. Also, it is sometimes cheaper to purchase a replacement rather than use the original part. The shiny finish on the plastic trim pieces on the Z cars isn't chrome. It is actually aluminum that is applied using a vacuum process. Finding a shop that can refinish these parts can be difficult and expensive. For trim parts where the shiny finish is flaking off it is going to be cheaper to purchase a replacement. There are many items on a car that simply wear out with time in the interior, under the hood, on the suspension and on the body. Whether it is carpeting, a ball joint, a strut insert, or a trim piece, a worn out part should be replaced. I'd love nothing more than to have new, or more specifically, New Old Stock parts on my Z. It would be the only way to truly attempt to restore my car. But, these parts are getting more and more scarce and expensive. Try finding braided radiator hoses. Not exactly my idea of taking the easy way out. Furthermore, many of the items available today are superior in performance and quality to what was originally available on the Z. Paint, struts and tires are just a few that come to mind. Ultimately, it comes down to a person's goal. For some it is simply to keep a daily driver running, no matter what shape the paint & interior are in. For others, it is having that pristine concours show car. I'd guess that most folks here are somewhere in the middle, we want a nice looking, nice performing Z car! One car nut's 2 cents worth...

Hi Brian, There should be a drain plug on the bottom of the tank. Just be sure to have a suitable container underneath to catch the gas. You could probably strain the gas and pour it into the gascan you use for fueling up your lawnmower. Once drained, the tank isn't too hard to get out. It seems like one of the screws that holds the gas filler neck retainer (the one accessable from under the car) is kind of hard to get to. When everything is disconnected, put a jack under it. Use a block of wood, like a 1 foot section of 2X4 to support the tank. Disconnect the straps and slowly lower the tank. There are a couple of vapor recovery hoses on the top that you'll have to reach up and disconnect before the tank can be removed. I'm glad to hear you found the problem. p.s. You can't post pictures when you use the Quick Reply. Select Go Advanced or Post Reply. There should be a button called Manage Attachments. Use that for adding a photo to your post.

Then it should be really easy to have the wires for the 3rd brake light follow one of the rear defrost wires. Should make for a nice, clean installation.

I would think that if you mounted a 3rd brake light right above the rear hatch that you could drill a hole into the roof that would then be covered by the light itself. The wiring for the light could then be run through the same passage as the rear window defrost wires and dome light wires. From there the wires could run down the passenger side behind the door opening and along the floor up to the dash, where they would be spliced into the brake light wiring. Just be sure to use a grommet on the hole in the roof, and seal it all up with a bit of silicon.

Hello everybody, My '73 240Z has a blue air cleaner. It has the flapper in the "snoot" that can be toggled for winter/summer driving. The snoot has a large, round port on the bottom that connects to the heatshield on the exhaust manifold to supply warmed air for winter driving. The backing plate has a port that angles downward, but is currently capped off with a section of hose with a plug in the end. I'm guessing this would have tied into the smog pump somehow. None of the air hoses were hooked up to the smog pump when I bought the car, so I've since removed it. I would have to say it is not original to my car, as somewhere in it's life before I purchased it the square top carbs were replaced with round tops. I've attached a couple of pictures of the blue air cleaner from my gallery. I can take a close up of the decals, but it will be a few days. My Z is currently at the shop having the valves in the rebuilt engine adjusted, and a new header & exhaust system installed.