New life for a 240z

[project72]

I got my 72' 240z in Mar09 and now shares the garage with my wifes 06' Chevy HHR. My 01' GMC Sierra is a little ticked since it got ousted out of the garage due to the Z's weatherstripping around the doors & hatch are virtually gone (don't need anymore rust than what its got already). The Z sat outside for more than 10 yrs with minor work done (hood & 1 door) and hasn't ran since. I have completed some of the many rust repairs, driver side floor pan, hatch latch area and now getting ready to repair the front lower rear quarter panel, both sides. I've never done body work/fabrication before so this will be very educational. I just brought the engine to life a couple of weeks ago, first fogging the cylinders, changing fuel lines, filter, etc and with alot of patience and with help of starting fluid, it started. Now its on to other areas that I have come across to work on besides finishing up the body work. I know that I will need help and ideas from those of you that have way more knowledge than I have.

A little about me, my name is John. My wife & I live in Spokane Valley, WA, born and raised here. By trade I'm a welder and have some fabrication, gas welding and a ton of brazing experience. I have wanted to do a project car and have always liked the "Z" car ever since it came out to the market.

Now I own one and will have the pleasure of giving this 240z new life.

[cbudvet]

Congratulations! Welcome to the site. It is a fountain of information and its great to hear stories like yours. I am sure I speak for everyone when I say "POST PICTURES!!!!" It never matters what they look like, everyone wants to see. Good luck with the car.

carl

[Carl Beck]

Hi John:

Welcome to the group. I bought my first 240-Z from Paul Jaremko at Valley Datsun in March of 1970 {now Jaremko Nissan/SAAB} and I've been driving them ever since. Paul and I are friends to this day as well. I still have the Metallic Blue 72 240-Z that I bought at the end of 71, it's the only car I never wanted to get rid of.

If you have metal fabricating and welding skills - you are in better shape than most of us. The mechanical aspects of the 240-Z are very easy to master. As mentioned, Post some Pictures

A little rust in the rear threshold plate {below the deck lid} and the doglegs are pretty common on the 72's. But in general they didn't rust nearly as quickly nor as extensively as the Series I cars did. Pre-fabricated patch panels are available for the dog legs {area at the front lower part of the rear quarter panels}.

Remember - this is supposed to be fun. Enjoy the process and the end result will take care of itself.

good luck,

Carl B.

[project72]

I finally got some pics.......not the greatest, but more will be on the way. Right now its definitely a work in progress. I've gutted the interior as I am doing repairs and general cleanup, it was a mouse motel as I found out from the seats condition and other areas like the heater hoses/vents as I was checking out all the bells and whistles and my biggest mistake of turning on the heater fan.............needless to say that little puff of dust that came out of the center vent wasn't the smell of a fragrant rose. So, everything is coming out including the vinyl. The vinyl was originally tan/butterscotch but had sprayed black. I was fortunate to find a 72' parts car that the interior was black, so I bought all the vinyl, window trim (both sides), rear deck quarter panels and the tail light panel and other items, hatch door w/metal louver, rear carpet and some other misc items for $100.00. As you can tell, the front rotors are rusty to say the least and I imagine the driver side is the same. What is the best way to clean this up? The rotors don't appear to be scored/grooved and are smooth. Right now, the calipers are semi tight as I can barely rotate the wheels/rotors.......ideas as to what may be wrong?