motorman7

Started removing parts from the engine bay in prep for engine removal. Removed the battery and was happy to see the battery tray in good condition. It's dirty, but looks like little to no rust. That is very nice. I think I will remove the compressor before I pull the motor. That should make things a bit easier. Should have the motor out this weekend. The fan looks a little beat up. Not sure what happened there. Maybe an oldwater pump had bad bearings and the fan rubbed against the radiator fins. Anyway, the strip down is going along pretty quickly. I am hoping to finish the part removal phase this month and do the body work in February. Then, off to the paint shop with a rolling chassis in March....hopefully.

Funny, you made me look. Looks like there were lug nuts installed at one time and some paint scratches around that area, but very minor. No hubcap scratches on the rim and the tread looks brand new. Still very impressive for such an old tire. Here are a few more pics of bagged and labeled parts. Also pics of parts with their respective fasteners so I get the right ones back in the correct place. Since most of the fasteners will get re-zinced, the pics are a big help. No use bagging those. Also, parts are separated into silver zinc and yellow zinc tubs so we get the plating color correct.

I just had to post this picture of the spare from this car. I think this is the most perfect original spare that I have ever seen.

Carl's page is what I would use as a reference. I don't know enough of the history otherwise. The serial number on my 71 is 40498 which falls in the series II range. The series III 1971 Z is in the 49000 range which fits with the reference. The center console and fuel tank door are the two most obvious indicators of the different series. The car has the standard 4 speed and the console is complete and in very nice condition. The choke light and rear defroster lights also work, very nice.

Fortunately, the owner does not want the A/C in the car car, so I will be removing the compressor. I didn't realize that it was a Yorx compressor...I thought it was a Briggs & Stratton . The weight of that compressor and bracket has got to be near 30 pounds. Hi Dennis, I will check when I get home on the build date and get back to you. I know that it is later in the year.

Seems like I just finished restoring my 918 orange 1971 240Z and now I have another one to work on. This one however is a friends car and not mine personally. And coincidentally, this one is also 918 orange. They are virtual twins, although my friends is the series III 1971 while mine is an earlier Series II, so there are a few differences. The serial numbers are off by about 9000 units. Anyway, The car is in pretty reasonable shape and I think it would start with very little effort. It has not run for about 5 years so I definitely will need to go through the fuel lines eventually. The plan here is to document the restoration so that my friend can watch the build as it progresses. The goal is to have it look as nice or better than the one I just finished . The car arrived last Friday and my friend and I went over the vehicle and took a lot of pictures. I will post some of these as time permits. I charged the battery to see what condition the electrical was in. The running lights and headlights were operational and most of the dash lights worked. The engine was able to turn over and the heater fan works. Electrically, everything seems to be in very good working order. It will be nice to not have to mess with the electrical on the car. The next step is to strip the car and prep it for paint. There are a few small dings on the body that will be easy to fix. The underside will be a bit more of a challenge. The frame rails and floor pan are pretty deeply dented in several spots. Also, the back hatch area has some deep rust. I will fix that before it gets sent off to paint. So, I started pulling off parts today. Attached are some pics of the progress. I will post pics as the process continues.

http://www.cheatsheet.com/automobiles/the-datsun-240z-one-of-the-greatest-sports-cars-ever-made.html/?ref=YF&yptr=yahoo

Hi Dan, Here are a few inspection marks that are on my 1970 on the bottom of the motor and steering rack. Rich

Got this car cover for the 240 at Costco for $28 plus tax. Really happy with the fit and material. Nice for keeping the dust off the car while stored in the garage. Just thought I would pass this along. Works good on the roadster as well.

I think he made a wise decision...that is a $15K car in my opinion. I was waiting for the bidding war to begin once I saw the pics.

Doubt that it lasts a day at that price

It's always nice to see the Z's at the Concours events. Hopefully, we will continue to see more of these in the future. Great job ZULAYTR! Beautiful car

The car was really in good shape and most of the parts were there, so it wasn't that bad. As you can see in the pics, I was given a lot of new parts and most of the nuts and bolts were re-plated already. Made things go fast. My roadster took 5 years to restore. That was not in as good condition. Seems a lot depends on the car condition when doing the resto.

Since May of 2015...off and on...so about a year and 4 months

Some people have asked for the 'Before' pics off the car since they have gone missing. Here are a few of the initial pics of the car and motor.

This is the Carpet Kit I purchased. The carpet fit well and looks good. It also has the padding underneath. http://www.ebay.com/itm/1971-1974-DATSUN-240Z-260Z-7-pc-REPLACEMENT-BLACK-LOOP-CARPET-KIT-/391100508622?hash=item5b0f6829ce

Hmmm....... thought I could just drive this one off the lot, but the owner mentioned that it 'Will need work'. Nice that he was up front about that.

Thanks for the response everyone. It has really been fun (and educational) putting this all back together. I will probably take a break from the car restorations for a bit once the JCCS is past. I need to get going on some overdue house maintenance items. Not nearly as fun as working on the cars but very necessary. Thanks again, Rich

Got a few more items added to the car. Got the skid plate powder coated and attached to the underside of the car. Never realized that all of the nutplates are there on the bottom of the car. Bolted up nicely with some new M4 bolts. Got the horns re-furbed and installed. Also got the choke cable holder installed. Re-tuned the carbs while I had the air cleaner off. Also took the car for a nice drive to check everything out. It's running great with plenty of power. Very smooth and great to drive on the freeway. Took the car to the alignment shop last week and got that dialed in. Looking forward to the JCCS in a couple weeks. She is close to being finished.

I have never considered the blue chromate as a brightener. The blue helps with the 'rainbow' effects and sets up a good base for the yellow. Usually my bolts come out dark or brown when I leave them in the yellow for too long. I have heard what Blue mentioned above, nitric acid as a brightener, but I have never used it.

OK, got the steel wheels and hubcaps on. Time for a small photo shoot

Did some detailing today. Also, added a pic of the diode on the antenna. It works great. Got some decals put on, buffed out the paint a bit and worked on the stereo install. Will get the original rims and hubcaps put on tomorrow. Here are some pics

I know, bummer. I got the cheap pull handle and cable from Thailand and it is kind of lame. I think I will swap this cable for the original one out of the my yellow Z eventually. The yellow Z is my operational donor.

Still working on the interior. I put an aftermarket antenna in for temporary until I can find a nice original antenna at a reasonable price. I am setting it up to work off of the series 1 antenna switch that I got with the car. I will need a diode to get it to function correctly, but should work nice when done. Finally got the shift knob in and finished the black portion of the steering wheel. Very happy with how that came out. I currently have a blank faceplate in where the radio goes. I have a 3-D printed faceplate and old radio that I will install this week just so I have an operational system. Will keep a lookout for an original radio at a cheap price in addition to the antenna.

Looks beautiful! Love the red color and the interior is looking very nice.