Leaderboard

Ok soggyfishtaco, I spent a lot of time going through Paul's invoices when I should have been working on customer's cars but here it is. Beginning in 9/93 I replaced a lot of parts and fasteners that were worn or incorrect. Remember, back then most of this stuff could still be had from Nissan. This is not meant to be a complete list, just some of the high lights Battery cables (2), radiator fasteners, distributor fasteners ( I still have a few factory screw sets), valve cover loom stands, oil pressure switch and voltage reg cover. I also did some routine maintenance. Someone had lifted the car without padding the lift arms so I also repaired some related damage/scuffs 5/94 saw the replacement of his dash, carpets, trans tunnel vinyl, heater control valve, horn relay, etc, etc, etc Several visits where I replaced things like headlamp assys which just didn't meet Paul's requirements, installed the correct radio brackets, etc Did a lot of intake/exhaust manifold detailing and other stuff which lead to the Gold Medallion at Atlanta Given that a restoration is never really finished the next several years up to 8/17 saw maintenance, left door hinges, a starter, left window reg, carb rebuild (Z Therapy did the throttle shafts and I did the rest) 8/17, final visit. He brought me an NOS air injection manifold and fuel rail which I installed with fresh factory gaskets and fasteners, etc Cheers

Well today is a milestone. The car is finally sitting on all four wheels with brakes attached and parking brake working! Some final shots after I filled the diff and greased the U joints.

Well Granny, this is subjective, but my 46 year old front calipers and discs were grabby and really squeally even after a a rebuild and turning of the rotors (also the rotors had reached the end of their useful life). The new "big brake kit" from Silvermine using Toyota calipers and non-vented rotors was not grabby or squeally. My pedal depressed about a half inch further to the floor, but was firm. The brakes themselves seemed to work better. I pushed them a bit on some twistys and there was no fade or big heat buildup. I could come into the corners at a greater speed and they would haul the car down quickly with no fuss unlike the original system which could get quite exciting grabbing. I think they were an improvement, but that was butt-dyno stuff, so like I said it's subjective. When comparing prices the "big brake kit" was not that much more than stock and came as a complete package. I am very happy with it. Cheers, Mike

Guilty as charged. However, after watching the Banana Splits and the Spider Man music videos, I plead insanity! My wife, the psychologist, says she'll write a note, if it helps. Dennis

Can't be too hard. I've seen lots of DIY shops in my travels:

The rubber piece for the '73 bumperette's is impossible to find. So, I figured I would order the earlier (70-72) bumperette rubber and see how that fit. Actually, it fit pretty well. The length of the rubber strip is exactly the same and the two end studs are also in the correct location for attachment. However, there are two center studs on early rubber and just one on the '73, and the locations are different. To make the early rubber work on the '73, I cut off one of the studs (The one that sits on top of the metal stud that attaches part to bumper) and drilled a hole in the bumperette where the other center stud would land. This worked very well and am pretty happy with the results. I put in the last of the vinyl and panels (just a few final fasteners and rivets to install). I ended up going to the local auto upholstery shop to have them hem up the wheel well cover portion that had the missing hem. It took them just 10 mins and was cheap, $10. The vinyl was fairly easy to put in, the panels were again a challenge. The holes do not line up well. I will probably send a note of to the manufacturer, letting them know about this issue. The new chrome vents came in.....thanks @Zup I will pick up the last up my plating items today along with the fenders.

Going to the dyno on Monday finally. I'll be sure to post the results. Car has been running great!

New rubber bushings for the steering rack and the rubber coupler for the steering shaft went into the hens teeth realm some time ago. Here's a list of suspension bushings I put together a couple of years ago for a buddy with Nissan P/N's available at that time thru Courtesy. The Beck Arnley items were available from Rockauto. BTW - I have a couple of sets of used rubber steering rack bushings in good condition for sale, PM me if you have an interest. Bushing List.pdf

Here's a couple of pics for everyone who helped hammer this topic out and bring order to the universe.

They are 15” and are not steel and I am guessing there used to be a center cap of some sort Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Funny, I don't remember ever seeing that kind of money. I sure wish I hadn't sold the 1970 240Z HLS30 01955 March/70 now, if I had put a bit more detail into making it more stock who knows what it would go for these days. So I got the engine/tranny in today but before I did I thought I would weigh them, the engine by itself stripped down except for the mounts, no fluids was 304 lbs. With the flywheel, clutch pak, and transmission, 435 lbs, the chain and tackle were 8 lbs. The last pic is as far as I got by the end of the day, I can see light at the end of the tunnel.

How in the hell can Mick sound soooo country? That's amazing!

@siteunseen That Gerry Lee song sounds like "Girl with far away eyes" Loved it.

One of the best...

Make counterfeit coin molds in 3 and your grilled cheese sandwich in the fourth: Look Ma (po tofu)... no sulfur!

Has the new owner been here yet to have a look at the interesting threads about the car?

I assisted with painting my car that was done in a garage. It all went well with the base coat, it the clear coat turned into a nightmare . Our ceiling exhaust fan filter decided to come apart while painting the clear. Picked crap out of the paint and shot more clear over the holes to blend the clear. Winded up with using a gallon and a half of clear. Made for fun color sanding . So kudos to you for getting those results in a garage !

Yes, it is very sad to see an early 3-dgit VIN 240Z in this condition. As Charles mentioned earlier, it would probably take a couple of donor cars to restore this one. Not sure if there is anyone out there that would make that kind of commitment both from a financial and a time standpoint, but you never know.

It's sad to see such an early car in such deplorable condition. For the longest time these vehicles were seen as disposable and fell pray to adolescent whims and abuse. I plead guilty to hammering a few Z cars in my youth. I applause those who saw beyond that and preserved the ones that are quickly approaching the half-century milestone.

Totally agree. I am not sure the car would survive the trip in one piece onto and off of the trailer. It's a shame, but when the outside looks that bad, then all the sheet metal is thin and badly corroded in the concealed spaces. You would have to have two donor cars to come up with enough panels to salvage this one. And you would basically have to take the car almost all the way apart to do it.

Nether region porn.

I don't recall ever seeing those wheels. Couldn't find them using Google search. Any ID numbers or letters on them?

Yes, that is exactly what he's doing! Because when you look at what this car is with its original matching-number engine is long gone, and even though the low VIN is great, it's one of the most rusted 240Zs that I have ever seen that anyone has tried to sell as a restoration project. It would be a completely different story if the car's build date was a month earlier. I think were all in agreement here, it's a parts car and nothing more. If the rear hatch glass is worth $1.8k to $2k and IF the car has an early hood, it's worth $600.00 or $700.00? The Series I steering wheel at $300.00 at best, the Series I console was replaced with a beaten up '72-73 console, the early seat belts are probably loaded with rust and not sure if this car would even have had the pricey plastic inspection lid pieces or not?

Nice pics. Now you just need a set of these. If I remembered your mailing address....... I was only there once. :

The bling is unbelievable!!

I still havent found anything conclusive. I did remove/pull the pins from the connectors of the EFI Main Relay and the fusible links. They were a little corroded but not badly. They all tested fine prior. Since I cleaned them the car has started without issue. I will find out through time if it corrected the problem.

Too bad. I know what he's got too. And lot's of it! Rust... and a title... This where the problem really lies. Not very much car there to work with but the value is in the VIN

lol, I did not call him, just something I see on FB all the time, when the prices are ridiculous. Kind of like "it ran when I parked it there"

The only two explanations I can come up with are, an elephant sitting on the hood all winter long (doubtful) or the springs missed the tempering process during manufacturing. It will be interesting to see if the springs expand to original unsprung length when they're removed. Be sure to share the unsprung length with Vogtland.

Have you checked for power at the pump with a gauge or test light? Try hitting the pump with a hard object. Sometimes, they just get stuck when not used for a while. Dennis

More Saturday morning than Saturday night. But, if your hound likes it, I'll have to play it for mine to see if he likes it, too. Dennis

Good advice above, However, I'm not a fan of pulling spark plugs from a hot aluminum head. I've done it many times successfully but I hate the feel of the plug coming out. @jalexquijano Have you pulled the plugs lately and compared #1,2,3 with 4,5,6 and how many turns down are you running on the mixture screws? Both the same? Deja Vu!

........and you took “Paul’s Car” across the finish line to Z history. Great work Mike. Regards Guy

Check out what I just found in my files. This was the original order form that was sent to me from the Franklin Mint. I used one of these to order my model. I have two copies of this set and am willing to send it to the new owner of the Z purchased on BaT (if you don't already have a copy). Just send me a PM.

Is it just the pictures - or does that diamond vinyl have some sort of padding applied to it? It looks like the diamonds are puffed up. FWIW, Carl B.

Can you pop the cover off of the old one and look for carnage? Magnet shavings, chipped gears, ovaled holes? That would finish the story. We need more destruction pictures for diff problems.

No 240Zs in the US came from the factory with stereo radios, only mono, so that was why they only had a single speaker. (but 72 and ‘73s did get AM AND FM mono radios - whoopee!). As best as I can determine, 1978 280Zs were the first to get a stereo radio from the factory (In the US anyway) However, according to a UK poster in this thread, some other countries had a factory option for stereo radios in their 240Zs, which would explain the unused speaker mount and perforations in our US spec 240Zs .