DeesZ

Hard to tell from the pictures, but it looks like the radiator shroud and underside splash pan are missing, too. Those two items can have a big impact on the cooling efficiency of the stock fan. Just a thought.

Keep me posted with whatever you turn up.... I'm north of Harrisburg. I recall someone trying to arrange something somewhere around Allentown IIRC, but heard nothing more.

My wife got me a set of these several years ago: http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/IA33G/50-2630 I'm very pleased with the quality overall. Another item that I have been quite fond of is their (very reasonably priced) fender cover. These can be found on sale by MSA on eBay from time to time - just saw one the other day. http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/TE/50-1901

Ditto on what beandip said. Put the upgrade dreams aside for a bit, and concern yourself with them after you have a better idea what you are dealing with up front. Assure that you have a sound engine, good brakes, and suspension first. Actually, after you get it running properly you may find that upgrades are not necessary. These cars ran fairly well right off the boat from the factory. Yes, certainly they can be improved, but remember, the 240Z was not designed to compete with American muscle cars of the day that went really fast in a straight line for a short distance with smoke coming off of the tires.... it's strengths lie elsewhere. If the engine is cutting out, why are you prompted to look into the water pump? Did you mean fuel pump? Or, when you say.... ... do you mean "really" hot? If so, how hot does it really get? The first time I read that I interpreted "hot" as "up to running temperature".... others here took you more literally and are thinking hot to the point of doing major damage. Could be either, I guess, until you give some details. Verify that the car is in fact getting fuel; you might have some fuel blockages with junk in the tank or lines. Or it may be getting so hot that your fuel is vaporizing on it's way to the carbs. Hard to say with what we've been given for information. We need some help from you to help you best.Post some more detailed information and some pictures of what's under the hood so that we can see and hear more about what you are dealing with. If you want to get this fixed, you are at the right place to get it diagnosed. Right now it's kinda like you are going to the doctor and telling him that you don't feel good and that you need brain surgery.... The doctor is going to ask you why you think that would be a solution, and hopefully make some other more simple suggestions before breaking out the scalpels and bone saws.... I have found no better place than this site with respect to knowledge about these cars. A systematic approach is necessary here, so feed some information into the diagnostic process, play 1000 questions with us, try the steps suggested, and hopefully you'll have it running without unnecessary and/or costly major surgery. Keep in mind that the archives are absolutely full of pertinent information, too. But to make even that work for you, you will need to be more specific to focus a search.... otherwise it's the old needle in the haystack thing.

I did some research on battery post placement before I got my last one.... Yep, the positive is under that fender. That's why having it secured very well is of such great importance on these cars. Even well secured, it's not a great situation, so I took the precaution of insulating that area of the fender with a small double thickness of tire tube. I feel much better about it that way.

I'm working on an electromagnetic force field..... got one that takes 20,000 volts, and am working on adapting it to a 12V with a cigarette lighter adapter. No luck thus far, and the weight of the generator has popped the rear tires, so I just may do the rope & tire thing. Thanks, John Coffey - I wish I would have heard about that one before I got this far on the other thing!

Phil, there are several schools of thought on this issue. I'll offer you my opinion based on ten years of active selling on eBay... Experience has shown me that a rock bottom starting bid does, as you say, 'take a while to build up some steam', but that's almost always where I start.... What you need is a head of steam at the 'end', not the 'beginning', and that can be accomplished with building up a 'bank' of interested parties who are actively in the bidding or watching with the intent of possibly getting involved. The best way to get people to bid and watch early is to start at the bottom of the price range, way below your bottom end limit. Once a party gets involved, your listing is on their eBay home pages somewhere and it keeps being waved in front of them, reminding them to look at it again and to follow the auction. The bargain hunters / bottom feeders will be eventually knocked out of the ring, but they do play an important role by providing the sense of competition among the participants. Let's face it, if there are ten bidders involved, there must be something interesting, right? Let the tire kickers have fun, too... they will do you no harm. I do believe in "reserves" to protect my investment on a big ticket item. I'm on the fence wit BIN, and usually do not use the option (to me it takes away the wondering about where the reserve might be set, and usually deters me from getting invested in the auction because I know about where it's going to end up anyway). This is all a matter of opinion, and I'm sure others will be voiced, so weigh them out, do some research on eBay with completed sales, and do what feels right for you after considering the options, There is some psychology involved related to 'auction fever', etc., but the fact is the more potential buyers you have watching, the better your end results will likely be. I am notorious for starting bidding on my items at $0.01. Sometimes it's simply amazing how long it takes to get a bid, but all the while my list of watchers grows and grows...... The last few minutes make all of the difference in about 85% of my auction listings. Two other majormconsiderations (again, IMHO): 1) Your Description; see recent posts on just this issue by a fellow club member now selling his Z on eBay. Good descriptions involve serious buyers and sell cars. 2) The Ending Time and Duration: set the auction to end when you think that your audience of potential buyers being available at the computer is the largest (don't forget the 'time zone' issue), & for duration, consider a ten-day auction scheduled to start (Thursday?) so that you will capture two weekends worth of eBay activity - statistics show that most shopping happens over the weekend, and I have had great luck with auctions ending late Sunday afternoon into Sunday night. Good luck... Please let me know if I can help.

Very nice car, and excellent description, mally. Not 'having' to sell it makes all of the difference! I think you will have a flurry of bidding at the bitter end of the auction... the last ten seconds often make a big difference. If it doesn't meet reserve, relist it (I did not imply lowering your reserve). Each week at eBay brings a different crowd of lookers and bidders. Your 'eastern' location should work well in your favor, too. If I had a spot to house another one I'd fly out and drive it home!

Two of my Z's did not have the protectors, and the one I have now does. I do not like the things much, but have grown to accept them - at least until I get around to redoing the paint. I will say from personal experience that they do offer some protection, but it so much depends on the shape, height, weight, and speed of the 'other' door coming at you... I like 26th-Z's suggestions to avoid the damage in the first place. And, yes, I have seen the tape work very well for the sides, and as stated, surface preparation is a key to success.

Absolutely your call on what you do with it, but since you seem to be seeking opinions, here's mine. Personally, I'd keep it as stock as I could, but that's me, not you, and you own the car. If I really had the bug to modify it, I'd consider possibly selling the low vin for the premium that they seem to command and picking up a later one and having my way with it to my heart's delight. That could help finance your project.... Just a thought & just an opinion to toss in the ring. FWIW.

The previous suggestions seem more likely, but have you changed the oil lately? If so, what did you put in? Using a lower viscosity oil than the previous stuff may be the culprit. From personal experience I have seen this happen. 30 years ago at about 75K I switched from Castrol GTX 10-30 to GTX 20-50.... about 10K later, when winter set in, I went back to 10-30.... what a mess with smoke at higher rpm... It looked like white smoke in the rear view mirror (but it must have been a very light blue). Went back to 20-50 and no problem. I'm really not sure if it was blowing by the rings or the valve seals, but the problem did not return as long as I kept 20-50 in it.... ran well for another 30K until I sold it, and for a good while for the next owner, then I lost track of the car (wish I had it back).... Just a thought....FWIW

A short is most likely, as stated before. But, when it "gets hot", is the car running, or shut down? I only ask because the last one that burnt up on my '72 was caused by a faulty voltage regulator giving me a super surge (which also exploded every light bulb that was on at the time). I keep a spare fusible link available. I get replacements from Banzai Motors, http://www.zzxdatsun.com/and my local NAPA claims to have them as well.

Welcome, Beefcakez! It sounds as if you are well on the road to getting your '72 back in shape. The video is a must.... There are several tapes available from ZTherapy, and they are all well worth the investment. They are not Hollywood productions, but it's the information and insight that we are looking for anyway, isn't it? .... and it's in there, lots of it. I have also found the Factory Service Manual (FSM) invaluable.... not to mention the factory parts catalog - I think still available on this site in CD format (check the store area). I also have a '72 driver, and it's really a joy. You will find most of the folks here very helpful as well. Post Some Pictures for us!!! You are at the right place for good information!

Yes, there are many opinions about what is "right" for these cars. I'm here for the same reason.

Early Z-Cars are pretty rare in my neck of the woods (south-central Pennsylvania). Rust has devoured most of them, but there are still some out there. They come out in nice weather. I see more of them on the Interstates 'passing through' than I do around where I live. People in my age range (50+) recognize them as Datsuns; those younger have few clues as to what they are, and often guess Porsche (not really flattering in my opinion, anyway).... I guess it's like me trying to tell the difference between a Stutz Bearcat and a Bentley 3-Litre..... My father could do it at a distance... not me, so I shouldn't expect it of the younger generations. I do find that the younger folks are often very interested to learn about and appreciate the 240Z for what they are (except for the ricers that just want to make noise and race everything with four or fewer wheels).

Welcome! Very nice looking cars! You are at the right place for getting sound advice or some well founded opinions when you need them. The knowledge bank here is incredible (as evidenced by the volume of information available in the archives). I took a while to get the 240 that I have now, and it was worth the wait. (Now, if I can just find the time to do some actual work on it...)

If it will make you happy it is not a waste of money, is it? If you'd be doing it to increase the 'value', it'd be a waste.... I must say that I do like it in red quite a bit. I've had Z cars with white, brown/butterscotch, black, and red. I guess a lot depends on what you will be combining it with for car color.

I am about to replace my water pump (1972 240Z L24). I have a new GMB pump that I picked up somewhere several years ago. This one has the pressed steel impeller, not the cast iron like the stock unit. I recall reading reviews on these pumps a while back, but can find no trace of information when I do a archive search. I seem to recall that the comments were not too flattering, but can't verify that. I don't want to put a sub-standard part in if I can avoid it up front. Any comments or suggestions? Thanks

Here they are.... Upload worked....

I just posted several in my gallery.... Sorry, but I could not get them to upload for an attachment to this thread..... (but they did upload to the gallery)

Coil &/or points would be my first guess. I'd check the points first (if you are running pionts). Clean them well for a smooth contact, and gap them to FSM specs.

In really general terms, sand blasting is just that, blasting with sand..... often in the 'open' with no enclosure to recapture & recycle the sand (which some people claim is only good for one or two passes through, anyway). Note: blasting with sand is dangerous without the proper protection to prevent inhalation as silica inhalation can bring on a very deadly disease. Media blasting is more often done with an enclosure to recapture and recycle the blasting "media", some of which can be recycled effectively many times through a blasting unit (example: glass beads, plastic particles, steel shot, aluminum oxide, coal slag, etc.) Different media produces quite different results, and some are better on different surfaces and for different purposes. Of course, sand can be used as a media, so in some cases we'd be talking about sand and media blasting being the same thing.

There has been a lot of good advice tendered here with respect to what to look for when buying as well as what is present related to existing issues on the car you are looking at. In this instance, in my opinion, patience may be your best friend while waiting for a better specimen to show up, or the price on this one to drop better than half. I know that you are ready to go and anxious to get one, but resist the impulse and review what's been said above. I waited two years for a good one to come up at a reasonable price within a reasonable distance for me. It did. They are out there.