mattbibbey

Ok, update time. The bonnet and tailgate are off now. I can properly see the the radiator support panel. It's a bit lacy. None of it is distorted so replacing it won't be too challenging. The radiator itself is in a good state. The underside and outside edge of the airtubes looks ok, it'll just be the top that's in a bad way I reckon. I've removed the exhaust system and it's going in a skip. (I wanted a stainless one anyway.) I've drained the fuel tank so that's next to come off. The fuel was really red, a cross between red diesel and red wine!! Wierd. Now I'm struggling to release the wing from the headlight cowl. I know how, it's just siezed like everything else.

Well, the car tried to kill me a couple of times last night. I was removing the bonnet (hood), and the car tried to swallow me whole!! haha. Now I must start with those blasted wings! I won't let them defeat me again!

It does, thanks! I've got a mains electric powered drill with the cable thing so i'll try that. Also my grinder will work ( i hope) on the easier to reach ones. I haven't even started to remove the stuff under the car! Like the fuel tank, any running gear oh god!! AND the engine. Aarrgh!

Those siezed acorn nuts holding the tail lights in are not budging! I'm going to have to cut the screw heads off to get them out. Any ideas how i can do that. It'll be very difficult to reach the ones at the bottom edge of the lights. Cheers Matt

Alan, N13, is that Enfield? I'm thinking about getting the whole car dipped in whatever it is that stripps all the paint and rust off. A friend of mine had his 60's dub camper van dipped and he was really pleased with it. Obviously my engine and everything else would be out. Is there any good reason why i shouldn't do this? Cheers Matt

What part of london are you in?

Alan, Really grateful ( as always) for your comment and offer of a good sale! I will definately take you up on both offers. But, like you said, i've got it all to do first. Bonnet and tailgate are a low priority. Geoff at fourways seemed like a nice guy and i looked at their website. If someone trusts them with their Aston Martin DB4, then they must be really good. And like you said, I don't want any corners cut. I want a really good, original example of a 240Z. If that costs me an enormous amount then (grudgingly) so be it! At the moment, i'm still struggling with the wings, a few of the bolts sheered off and others just won't budge. I'm going to have to cut off the bolts securing the front of the wings to the headlight cowl and the bit underneath that. But it's a bit tricky in my small garage .

yeah, i've got a pair of snipe nose pliers but it's difficult to get them far enough into that reccess to grip the acorn nut. I'll keep trying but i think the nuts are siezed on too which is always helpful haha! As long i'm not the only one who struggles with these things I don't mind so much. Cheers Matt

I have encountered another problem tonight! Shock! I'm trying to get the tail lights off the car but the screws just turn and turn. I can see the end of it that's outside and it is turning also. I'm not sure what to do. My rear panel is rust free so i don't want to damage that and the european tail lights are about 200 pounds ( 320 US) each so as you can imagine, i don't want to damage those either! I would get a junior hacksaw in there and saw the heads off the screws but as you know there isn't enough room. Grateful for ideas. Hope someone has done this before. Matt

This was only really an option for me last year. In order for me to now buy a rust free californian car and convert it to right hand drive would be far beyond my finacial means . I had a quote for left to right conversion last year of £2000. Then i'd have to buy a car, ship it here and pay all the taxes, duties and any other charges, i'm a soldier, i can't afford it! ( sadly) So in light of all that i feel that i HAVE to crack on and make do with what i have. To that end I've been in contact with a company called Fourways Engeneering. They have a lot of experience with Z's but also Classic Aston Martins and Ferraris, so they're obviously good. To fix the two floor pans, the two front chassis member/rails and the radiator core support panel he has quoted me £1600 for the manufacture and about £2000 for the labour cost. This sounds like a lot but i suppose that a rust free 240Z chassis is worth more than what it will have cost me to that point. My next tour of Afghanistan will pay for it. At the moment I've been struggling to find places to do the work in the UK. If anyone else has had any structural work done on their Z in the UK i'd appretiate some numbers! haha. So far I've found Auto-active ( based in bristol), Fourways Engeneering and the Z farm ( based in Yorkshire). The Z farm have sold a few of their fully restored cars for £23,000+ ! these Z's are getting rare over here i guess. Thanks again for taking the time to read and respond!! Matt

have you checked that the sparks are going ok?

Well i'll definately be able to get hold of the meguia's product range so i'll keep it in mind so thanks. Does anyone know a person who wouldn't rip me off for all the kits that i need to recondition the brake master, clutch master, brake calipers, and so on and so on? Alternatively, does anyone have these items they'd sell to me?

Not sure if I mentioned that I may (perhaps only in the short term) rescued my dash board. I used some boot polish, it isn't sticky or slippery but i'm going to leave a test piece in the sun for a couple of days. See how it turns out. Any other ideas?

Yes, unfortunately i do know only too well about small things making big problems haha!! The leg i was refering to is the front portion of the chassis member, the part running from the front towing eyes to the floor pan supports. The part that includes the sway bar bracket, the engine mounting brackets and so on. I found some from a UK company fpr 300 pounds each. datsun 240Z parts aren't common here. Thanks for the heads up about measuring before and after the spot welds! Probably would have overlooked that. Thanks Matt

when i finally get the wings off my car, and everything else, how do i go about cutting out the old chassis legs and welding in the new ones? i'm a competent welder but i'm not sure on the best method and order to do it. If anyone has done this before i'd be grateful for some pointers! Matt

I couldn't agree more alan! And no worries about the reply. I was doubting whether or not to buy it at an early stage any way . The more time i spend on the car the more encouraging, rust free stuff i find. I believe that i've discovered the worst of it now so that's the air tubes ( which may be repairable, i think they're holed and not totally shot away), that front right chassis member that the picture shows by the sway bar, the floor pans and the rad support panel, small patches under the drip rail above the doors. other than that there's just the odd small bit here and there. My doors are in mint nick with not a patch of rust on them. The wings are rust free too. The car going backwards from the fire wall really, isn't too shabby. The only rust visible from inside the car is the floorpans, granted they're pretty bad. I'm in the fortunate postition where my friend (also in the army) and his father, used to restore classic cars for a living so they will help me free of labour charge as his old man is retired now and it will keep him occupied. Plus if i need a cash injection, i can always volunteer for a tour of afghanistan! I have to go anyway, might as well use the money for good. Haha. I am a realist and i fully understand the implications of all that needs to be done so i haven't ruled out the idea of getting a different car. I am quite overwhelmed by everyones help and advice so i thank you all! Matt

I didn't buy it. Couldn't assertain whether or not the hatch and bonnet would fit. Oh well. Always on the lookout will be another mantra i suppose...

i might be a bit slow but how do I delete it? Thanks for the replies too.

I tried to send this as a PM to HS30-H.. Hello there, I wonder if I might pick your brains a little more... As you know ( because you've already been soooo helpful) I'm restoring my quite far gone '73 240Z and i'll be needing a new tail gate and bonnet among other things. I've found a 260Z (red) on ebay that finishes at 9 tonight and it doesn't look too bad. It's fairly cheap and i thought that it would save me the money for those items in the long run. Will the rear hatch and bonnet and stuff like that fit on my Z? Also i figured it's never a bad thing to have spare glass, accident do happen haha. I'd be very grateful for your time once again, Matt

The link won't load for some reason. There is only one red 260Z for sale on UK ebay so if that's it then yes! It'll be worse than it looks but not worse than mine HAHAHA!

so is it worth me buying it as a parts car? it's on £460 (roughly 740US) now and finishes tomorrow. It doesn't look too bad, it's definately a 260Z he must have put the date wrong. My Z's hood and tailgate need replacing so i figured that although it's a way off needing that stuff yet, it would be saving me in the end, plus i can sell what i don't need again on ebay.

CAN ANYBODY TELL ME WHAT PARTS A DATSUN 260Z FROM 1978 AND A 240Z HAVE IN COMMON. WHAT ABOUT CHASSIS, DOORS, WINGS, REAR HATCH AND MECHANICALS? I've just found one on ebay and it's not much money. Was thinking I could use it as a donor car. It's less than a day to go so i'd appretiate your time! Thanks very much! Matt

CAN ANYBODY TELL ME WHAT PARTS A DATSUN 260Z FROM 1978 AND A 240Z HAVE IN COMMON. WHAT ABOUT CHASSIS, DOORS, WINGS, REAR HATCH AND MECHANICALS? I've just found one on ebay and it's not much money. Was thinking I could use it as a donor car. It's less than a day to go so i'd appretiate your time! Thanks very much! Matt

CAN ANYBODY TELL ME WHAT PARTS A DATSUN 260Z FROM 1978 AND A 240Z HAVE IN COMMON. WHAT ABOUT CHASSIS, DOORS, WINGS, REAR HATCH AND MECHANICALS? I've just found one on ebay and it's not much money. Was thinking I could use it as a donor car. It's less than a day to go so i'd appretiate your time! Thanks very much! Matt

Enrique, thanks very much, the copper grease of which i speak is actually copper based. I'm an armourer in the british army and it's something we use on large guns! The problem with buying anything from outside the European Union is that i will be charged VAT (value added tax) I don't mean to patronise but I don't know how your taxes work in the states. It's charged at 17% and includes the price of the postage which is outrageous!! So a pair of floor pans at 300 us plus about 80US for postage, I'd get charged 65 US on top by my glorious government! Having said that, I should get in contact and it might still work out cheaper than the place i've found! <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattbibbey/3935146760/" title="DSC_0679 by matt bibbey, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3511/3935146760_c1f602aaa5.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="DSC_0679" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattbibbey/3935146758/" title="DSC_0675 by matt bibbey, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2437/3935146758_a32f8b4e5f.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="DSC_0675" /></a> So, this is where i've got to today. I've removed the clutch and brake master cylinders and i've reconditioned the clutch cylinder already.