Patcon

With the car level like that, get a jack stand as a safety or some wooden blocks so the car can't fall on you and measure from the large bolt head on the rear side of the control arm to the floor. the bolt threads in to the tube that has the rear bushing on it. the measurements aught to be pretty close if the floor is flat. If they are roughly the same the problem is in the struts. Springs, strut, tube or the way its mounted. Maybe one of the struts is wrong or bad. I don't think my question about strut cartridges earlier has been answered post #58

240dkw Why did you not try to drill out the spot welds and separate the halves that way? Seems like reassembly would be easier and sealing the inside would take care of the rest...

Chuck, How much compression are you running on them?

Way to go Jim! That will save me from trying to find someone to reinvent the wheel or hours translating Japanese ebay pages looking for them

CO I am not that techy when it comes to this stuff. More seat of the pants sketch with a pencil kind of stuff. You know architectural degree versus engineering degree and all. I just sort of looked at the internal threads and thought those come really close to the exterior threads... That's when you expect to hear someone say " Hey y'all watch dis..."

Wheee I wonder if a paintless dent guy could get the dent out for you. Either with some suction cups or some long curve picks . My second choice would be a stud welder and puller but make sure the take is well cleaned first. Blowing yourself up doesn't sound like much fun, met someone who did that once...

Zed, In reality neither the all thread or the outer tube should rotate when pulling the pin. There is a bearing between 2 washers on the other end that allows the nut to tighten without implying torque to the all thread. I believe Captain is right. Not enough meat left in the all thread for what is being asked of it.

If a strut was in the wrong location front to back would that affect the stance like this? Just thinking out loud...I am also assuming that the front and rear struts are different. Are the gland nuts threaded in the same depth all the way around?

When you dolly a seam like that it typically works best to use a fairly flat dolly on the exterior of the door. With the door inside facing up use a round face or square face body hammer to roll the edge down. Lots of light strikes working up and down the edge. Try to roll the entire length at the same time. Once it's rolled down fairly close use a body hammer with a chisel face and roll the area close to the door up good and closed. When you hold the dolly on the exterior try to hold it under the area where the inner skin meets the out skin to reduce damage to the outside of the new patch. Part of the problem I have run into with this is the new Tabco panels are fairly thick especially when compared to some areas on these cars, so sometimes this is easier said than done...

I think I may have a set of those dual mirrors from my first Z...Hhhhhmmmmm

Cliff is using an open sump oil system...

If the car is level across the strut towers and the wheel arches both measure 25 1/4" to the floor on both sides, the problem is somewhere else. Recheck the spring locations like Rossiz suggests and check springs lengths at the same time like Chuck suggested. You're getting closer...

You did really well at that price! The car looks great and it is much nicer to start with a very solid car. Rust and paint work seems to be where most projects bog down. Replace the rubber fuel lines and tank vent lines, clean the carbs up and sort the brakes. then put some miles on it before you decide on anything else. Some people opt for the L28 some rebuild the L24 some people get someone like Datsun Spirit to build a HP L24. Miles on the road will help solidify your goals.

I was asking about price mainly for a point of reference, these cars are appreciating quickly right now and you could have easily paid close to $20k. Just trying to keep tabs on what cars are out there, condition and price... What fuel lines are you looking for again?

Thanks Steve, That is great! I will get in touch with him. I was hopeful someone on here had a source.

Thanks Meakin

That's a nice looking car. What were they asking for it? I would just rebuild the mechanical pump, there is a thread here on how to do it and source pumps. The mechanical pump is robust and simple. All of your upgrade ideas seem inline with a car in this good of shape. Just remember to keep all the old bits and pieces, these cars are beginning to appreciate rapidly and a purists will want to be able to return it to stock form if you ever decide to sell...

You could take it to a Z shop if you have one, but it looks like Murray, IA has a population of about 1000 people and is located somewhere just the other side of "you can't get there from here" So with that in mind you probably know everyone in town and have 1 maybe 2 body shops. Have someone put it on a frame rack for you. There is a diagram floating around here somewhere that has the factory dimension in MM's of the chassis (maybe someone will post it up for me). Have them setup up, clamp it down and check it real quick. You could also follow Zed's logic and measure the free length of each rear strut with the rear end off the ground. Measure from the bottom of one strut to the inside of the strut tower on each side. They should match pretty close.

Zed replied while I was typing. My first concern wouldn't been paint cracks from the frame rack. First I would want the chassis as straight as I could make it. Secondly most paints are flexible enough and even filler is usually flexible enough to absorb the changes in chassis shape from the frame rack. Of the 40 or so cars I have seen run over the frame rack, I don't I have ever seen the paint crack on one when pulled. Even seriously caved fenders... the bigger issue would be marks from the hold down jaws and puller clamps...

I believe Zed is suggesting that the rear insulators are mismatched. If you had one off a 280z and one off a 240z it would make the rear sit funny. I would be surprised if the chassis were twisted that much. The amounts it would take to make a car sit out of level 1"-1 1/2" in the width of the car are huge. I would think if the chassis were that bad there would be panel alignment problems, broken glass and doors that were hard to operate. FWIW I rebuild salvage cars so I have seen and pulled multiple wrecked cars. Someone made the suggestion to have a frame shop look at it. I think that is an excellent idea! It would be relatively cheap to have it looked at, plus if you know it has been in an accident you would know if its been repaired properly. A poorly repaired car can "crab" and wear tires badly along with other more serious things...

You made a good patch on the door. Did you use a dolly and hammer to roll the seam? Also on repairs like that you can take some Eastwood frame rail sealer and shoot it down in the inside of the door. It is very thin and will run down into that seal to help prevent rust and stop the rust in the remainder of the seam from spreading.

I need some help sourcing a radiator support...I have emailed with Dave Patten from Futofab, I have emailed Rod with Rods Datsun Parts. I will have to call Courtesy but am not hopeful there. The one we have was stretched badly in a collision, I don't think I have the skills to salvage it. Anyone have a source for a 510 radiator support? TIA

Front frame rails and somewhere under the rear that's gonna be close to level. You can use pieces of plywood under the jackstands to shim the car close to level. Once the car is off the suspension you can measure the frame hard points to the floor. On the deer note, I have seen several that were worth it but none I could get the scope on. Nice deer but small by Iowa standards...

The only way I can imagine is drill down around it until it's loose enough to get the piece out. Easy outs are hardened which makes working around them difficult.

Here in the South that person might shoot back...