CW240Z72

Got the reupholstered sun visors back today. They look great! The original frames were used to create a “hardback” style of visor, similar to what is done on newer cars. Now they’ll never droop or have foam deteriorate again.

Now that’s pretty cool, bought within a few weeks of this Z in 1970. Braided formed hoses came from various suppliers, MSA, ZCarDepot, and JDM Car Parts. For cut to length hoses “JBugs” sells them by the foot at reasonable pricing. As far as hose clamps I got lucky, I only needed to source 4-5 of them that were not on the car when I bought it. The ones I did need came from my personal stash/eBay. Shoot me a PM if you’re interested in the Z. I am down to a few days of work left on it before it’s “done” and ready for some shake down miles. Can’t wait.

Some of the final details completed. Original hubcaps were cleaned up and painted. For being used on the Z for so long it’s amazing how clean they were. Dash area is just about wrapped up with only a few minor items left.

Been working on the little details and getting very close to completion for the build. Drove the car around the neighborhood a little today. Once I get the back half of the exhaust made up and installed, I can dial in the carbs and rack up some more miles on the break in.

Smaller project knocked out last night. My headlight/wiper combo switch wasn’t looking so great, and I had an intermittent headlight issue with the switch itself. So, decided to pull it completely apart, polish and restore the plastic bits, clean up contacts, and new terminals on the harness. Works great now.

It will be interesting to see where this one ends up. John may have stuck his foot in his mouth saying it wasn't a "Concours" restoration early on, I feel those who are after the lower VIN S1 Zs want just that. Seems like most of the cleanup work done on the Z was quality all the way up to the final details. Overspray on the rear hatch striker, the tail light trim needs some attention, floor mounted seat brackets need to be painted black, and correcting all of the saggy diamond vinyl to name some of the big hitters. He got picked apart early on for panel misalignments and minor corrections that should have been caught prior to taking photos. Hopefully this didn't degrade bidder confidence in the Z.

Heater control panel rebuild complete. Control mechanism was disassembled, plated, and rebuilt. New vent, freshened blower switch, and a new panel and decals to finish it off.

The current (and growing) value of S30s is rather a unique formula of factors that you don't see in many other markets. Being that they were relatively affordable when new, they are very relatable cars. If you have never owned one, chances are you knew someone who did. We see this frequently in the BaT chat when "non" Z enthusiasts happen to find one up for sale and can relate a story about one that was the same color, year, model etc. You don't see that kind of personal connection in the Porsche 356 world for instance. Until recently, they were "cheap" cars, and that's reflected in the grade of restorations you see in Zs that were done 15-20 years ago. I think Maaco could have used a S30 as their marketing platform. Seems like every Z I've came across as a project for sale had a horribly shot paint job, the whole "lipstick on a pig" appearance. Even though it was mass produced, a genuinely unrestored S30 these days is quite rare and why the lower mileage examples fetch a pretty penny. The part availability market probably has a contributing factor to the value of S30s as well. You can't simply swing by a Nissan dealer and grab a new dash, or pick up a catalog and order all new glass for a S30. I use to envy Mopar folks because they could basically build up an entire car with new parts, starting with nothing more than a VIN plate and title. Now, we see S30 values knocking the staple muscle cars out of the water. I feel the fact you have to work hard or pay $$$ to find those hot items for S30s (think D-hubcaps, pointy antenna, bumper overriders, correct hose clamps, correct exhaust system) that when you do have all the pieces to the puzzle, restore a car properly, and get it in front of an audience that can relate to the car, people start to do funny things with their checking accounts.

Dash is in for good now. Wiring being completed this week as well as the installation of the console and heater control panel.

Started working on the dash again. Waiting on a few items to ship out and should have it in the Z very soon.

New jute went down smoothly on the transmission tunnel. I also saved the original diamond vinyl for this area as well, and replicated the relief cuts onto the new material. All in all very happy with the final results. Few edges to address and it will be complete.

That was where I was going. The previous auction set the bar for what this car was/is worth. Essentially having the car sit for 30 months with minimal use/work done wasn't enough for people to see any value added today. I personally despise seeing dealers horse trading cars in an effort to make a quick buck. But, to each their own. I would bet had this been the first time the car publicly was auctioned off it would have touched the $85K range some believed it to be worth.

$68K Seems fishy but fair for #842. Looks like at one time it was a grade 2 level of restoration, and now a high 3 since completion and multiple owner changes. Being that almost nothing changed from the recent sale of $68K, the market defined this Z's value and no one was willing to budge. It looks like a good starting point for someone to take on and really make it a nice example. Quite a few period correct items missing or replaced with incorrect parts. The repeating paint quality issues noted in the comments wouldn't be very hard to alleviate. All in all, on paper it could be made into a six figure car. Some folks were projecting the Z market is flattening out in resale values. From recent BaT transactions it appears we're having a flood of grade 3-4 cars in the market, none of much excitement like the Franklin Mint or $310K Green Monster Z. I hope they're wrong, and folks are just holding out for those concours level Zs. Helps keep up the motivation to complete my own cars.

I think it would turn to dust by the time it gets to you. 😆

Few updates over the weekend. Buttoned up some loose ends and got to drive the Z for the first time. Pretty cool to have it move under its own power after being dormant for 31 years. Feels very crisp and tight. Got all but the transmission diamond vinyl installed, and headliner. Ill get some photos of that. I did remember to snap a picture of the jute material for the transmission tunnel. Was able to use the originals as a template to make two new pieces. Tires also mounted to the original steelies, I need to get a full vehicle shot with them.

She’s alive! Didn’t take much to bring it to life. Slight rattle from the resonator in the background. A part from that sounds healthy, good oil pressure and no leaks. Few tweaks and she’ll be able to move under her own power and begin the break in process.

I’d bet so. It’s a fairly arbitrary PN, could have multiple supplier producing it under the same name.

I didn’t have any problems on this particular install. If anything the caps are a hair bit longer than the originals, but didn’t pose an issue

Here’s some more info on them: ATV700 is the PN. You can pick them up on Amazon, eBay, etc today. They’re an affordable and direct swap into the Z!

I would hope that me and whoever owns this car next apprentices it and drives it. Hate to see them sit.

Few updates over the weekend. Cleaned up the ash tray on the Z. Was very fortunate this wasn’t broken in a million pieces. test fitted the muffler and mounting brackets. Fit looks great. Got the air cleaner finished up and installed. Few more routings jobs left and the engine bay will be buttoned up. I also pulled the steering rack out and swapped out the U-joints. Didn’t realize the slop there was in them until after the column was reinstalled. Now it’s as tight as a drum.

Couple details updated on the Z. Working on the exhaust system now, should have that wrapped up soon. For now, much of the body has been reassembled. New/replated hardware used throughout, and picked up an excellently restored set of side marker lights and license plate light from @jfa.series1. Original turn signal housings received a deep cleaning, lens polished, and new hardware sourced.

If you have a panel in the correct green on the Z that can be removed, Finish Master will be able to do a paint scan of that to cross reference the color. Unfortunately most of these colors are not in paint supplier's databases as "907 Green". When I went to get my 901 Silver from a DuPont rep, the color cross referenced to a silver used in the 90s.

Remaining body work and paint completed over the long weekend.

The original console was structurally in good shape, but sun baked causing the textured finished to crack. Since there aren’t many of these floating around I decided to restore it. I first sanded down the textured finish where it was damaged and used body filler to fill in the deeper hairline cracks. This was then top coated with a quality high build primer, and then sanded down to perfect the surface. SEM sells a great interior/exterior textured coating. Very lightly applying it, a thin texture was sprayed where the original had been removed. Finally it was top coated with a trim paint from SEM. Very happy with the results. If you look at the closeup finished photo, the flat area of the console behind the shifter opening received no textured finish and was left untouched apart from the primer and top coat. It now blends seamlessly with the new texture on the sidewalls of the console. Last photo is of the SEM products used to do this. Give it a go before buying a repop!