kmack

The holes are there because the car still has the stock '73 airbox and they allow the "72 SU's to breathe better. I've seen it on a few other cars. The dealer that made the conversion did this back in late '73 (according to Pat). The libra wheels were also a dealer option at the time. Now keep in mind, this car is NOT Factory Stock, but it is Stock with Dealer add-ons. There are slight differences.

To my knowledge, those are the original seats, untouched! Even the carpet is original. Send an email to Pat Helmer for further clarification.

Pat is one of the nicest, and most straight-forward & honest man I have ever met. And he acquired a little knowledge about Z cars since he ownership of this 240. But he is still somewhat uncomfortable with working on the car itself, so he has most all the maintenance performed by mechanics that know these cars. I have done some work on this also, specifically: rebuilding the headlight switch (works perfect now) cleaning and fixing the chokes on the su's fixing the choke pull handle and a check and tune-up of the two fuel pumps (both of which work great) I can tell you that the console has a small crack in it at the choke pull handle (but what Z doesn't?). It's a minor fix that could be performed quickly. The paint on this car is in exceptional shape, as the car has been garaged all it's life. To my knowledge, the car has never been repainted. And there is absolutely no rust on this car, I've looked. And I've looked, and I've looked some more! This car is like looking at a time capsule. I've seen cars at shows that been this nice or nicer, but they were restored. This one has not been touched.

I'm forwarding this along from one of our Z-Sport club members. He has finally decided to sell this car much to the dismay of a few of us. This is one REALLY nice car! And it is a true "survivor" car. The only mods to this car were done back in '73 and that was to change to '72 carbs. Here is the link that is mentioned below: www.z-sport.com/phelmerpics.html If there are any questions, please forward them to Pat Helmer directly. From: Lester P Helmer <bandph@texas.net> Hello 240Z Enthusiasts, Would simply like to let your club members know of the availability of my 1973 Datsun 240Z. I inherited the car from my deceased uncle who was the original purchaser in Alhambra, CA and it remained in CA until I brought to San Antonio, TX. The car is generally considered by knowledgeable Z people as among the finest near original 240's in the country. It is a multiple 1st place award winner in shows, the most prestigious of which being the NISMO AWARD presented by a Japanese delegation during the 2002 National ZCCA Convention show in recognition of car's originality and overall outstanding condition ( car finished a mere 19 points behind winner in it's division after losing a total of 22 points due to "unprepped" or "dirty" exhaust, suspension, and gas tank filler cap areas---top ranking cars were beautifully and expensively restored) I can document original purchase, service, etc. with many receipts (engine runs STRONGLY) as well as extensive handwritten record by my uncle. It is from these written notes, as well as from statements from my uncle and his wife prior to both their deaths, that I derive much of the knowledge l have of the car. I invite interested parties to go to my local Z club website (z-sport.com) for an informative pictorial layout (click on MEMBER'S RIDES and then my name, Pat Helmer). I intend to be as candid with prospective buyers as my knowledge allows and after almost 3 yrs. of ownership I feel I can answer most questions with confidence. Car has 139,600 mi., 120,000 of which are believed to be almost exclusively highway. Priced at $12,500. Thank you, Lester P. (Pat) Helmer 210-826-4581 bandph@texas.net

Yes, a 205 series tire would be about the smallest you'd want to put on a 7" wide rim. I've had as much as a 225 series on a 7" wide rim, but I thought that was pushing it.

Sometimes we all could use a little sound advice...

The early style seats did have a little bit of adjustment, but not much. There should be a turn knob on the side of the seat the reclines the seatback a bit. It doesn't move much. Short of that, there are plastic spacer "nuts" that were used to shim up the seat on the body brackets. There may be none installed on the back portion of the seat. Pull the seats out and see (if any) where those adjusters are. These can be used to either tilt the seat forward some or tilt it back some. I have to admit, I love to just sit and look at the early Z's!!! When I was restoring mine and it was nothing more than a shell in the garage, I would stand next to the body and run my fingers down the body lines and dream.... Then when I finally got the bodywork done and the engine back in the car, I put one of the seats in just so I could sit in the car and pretend I was driving it. I would actually drive the car around the neighborhood with no doors, fenders, glass, hood, hatch, and open headers, just so I could drive it. Thy are beautiful cars!

That last post reminded me about the rear clunk. It's either the diff. mount as Jon said or it's going to be u-joints. And it could be any of the 6 u-joints in the car. There are 2 on the drive shaft, and 2 on each half-shaft going to the rear wheels.

Although, I've never done any brazing myself, I've seen lots of cars fixed using that method, including my 240. The dog legs had been repaired once before and at least the lower portions were brazed in place. It held well and still is. The bondo and paint stuck to it fine, so i would assume POR-15 to do the same. Just scuff it up good so it has something to stick to. If I understand the process right, brazing is used when replace sheet metal sections because there is less chance of warping the surrounding metal and causing bad distortions in the panel.

Oh boy! I just love red Z's! (that's why I own one!) First things to do. Get the brakes fixed! No fun in driving a car you can't stop. I'm presumming that there is air in the lines. Check/rebuild the rear brake cylinders. This is one of the first places that air gets into the lines. The seals usually blow out when they sit for too long. Rebuild kits are pretty cheap, but if you have to buy new cylinders, make sure you get the correct ones. They are are left/right specific. I'd get the suspension up to speed next. You have a new bushings set, new shocks, new springs, you now will have a new suspension, all thanks to the previous owner. Money-wise, the price is right! Those pieces you have will make this car handle like a true race car! You won't be disappointed. I wouldn't use the R200 diff. unless you plan to put some serious horsepower in front of it. The extra weight really isn't worth it. The R180's will handle the power from a stock L28 turbo just fine. Next, I'd focus on sealing the body up. Buy a weatherstrip kit from MSA or Victoria British. Price should be less than $200 and both companies sell the same kit. You might get catch one of them with a sale, but it's hit-n-miss. The only items that won't be in the kit will be the tail light gaskets. You'll need to but those separately. Make sure you get them. Also get a new shift boot (inner). Replacing all the seals will pretty much stop the exhaust fumes from getting into the car. The only other place left that will introduce a gas-like smell, will be the vapor lines running through the body to the gas tank. You can either replace these or do away with them entirely. There are threads discussing both options here. Just do a search. At this point, you should have not spent more than $1000 (even assuming you have to completely overhaul the entire brake system {new M/C, new cylinders, new calipers, new brake booster, etc.}). So now you should have a great stopping, great handling, non-smelling car that's a blast to drive! On to minor engine problems. The ticking could just be the valves needing to be adjusted. Or the oiling spray bar for the cam could be clogged up. Pull the valve cover off, adjust the valves to spec (that's where the factory service manual comes in handy) and pull the spray bar off and clean it out real good. Your cam will thank you. I tune up on the engine is also a good idea. Plugs, wires, points, cap and rotor, shouldn't be more than $100 tops. As for the rest of the car, you can drive the car without much of the interior in place. That you'll have to slowly piece together unless you buy a parts car with a complete interior. But at least you'll be able to drive a car that will be safe and reliable. Good luck and congrats on your beautiful red Z car! Now you just need to show us some pictures...

I'd buy that blue Skyline in a heart-beat! Just the way it sits. Besides, all I'd need would be the engine and tranny anyway!:classic:

Try this one.... www.wreckedexotics.com

Jeremiah, If you don't mind a little work and the trip to come get it, I know somebody that has a '77 280Z convertible project for sale here in San Antonio, Tx. Project is about 75% complete. All cutting nad shaping of the rear deck area has been done. Just the finish body work needs to be completed. If you're interested, let me know and I'll get you more info and contact numbers.

That lone wire (the one separate from the battery cables) is your fusible link. If that is disconnected, you will no power to the car. This now makes sense on why when you turned the key, there was nothing happening. I burned up my fusible link once and had this same senario. But you said you had heard a click when you turned the key, so I figured your link was still good. Must have been the mechanical click from the ignition switch... Glad you got the car up and running again.

If texasz backs out on this seat, I'll take it. Shipping would be about the same as I'm 70 miles south of him. Zip is 78249. I can have Paypal money sent in no time. Let me know, my original seats aren't taking to the harness very well.

Sounds like the battery has failed to me. I've had this same situation happen to me twice. Try to start car, nothing but a clicking sound from starter. Put battery on charger, same thing. Jump battery from running car, same thing. Sometimes when a battery looses a cell, then the battery will not take a charge. Even if you jump it, there is not enough current to make it through the cables. Two things I'd try: 1) use two sets of cables at the same time. Double up. I know it sounds wierd, but I have done this on a battery that absolutely would not take a charge (after days on a charger) and was completely dead. The second set of cables decreases the amount of resistance for the current coming from the running vehicle. 2) Go get a known good battery or a new one. Once you get it turning over, if it doesn't start, then you can look elsewhere to diagnose.

To my knowledge all the first generation Z cars (S30) have these mounting holes. Here in the US that includes cars up to '78.

Something else I just thought of.... New grills come with a piece of double-sided tape to help hold the center of the grill down to the hatch. Take that off and use a good piece of 3M double-sided tape. The stuff that comes on the grills now will let loose in about 2 months and then the center of your grills will be a little "springy." FYI from someone who's at that point and can't get the grills off to fix it w/o destroying them. :tapemouth

I have my grills attached using the C-clips and the barrel clips holding everything together.

Mark, If your vent grills have the nuts on them, then there is no way to attach them to the hatch with the vent duct box in place. So it appears that your grills were mounted w/o the duct boxes at some point. You have to attach the duct boxes first and pop the grills into place with the barrel clips. The grills go on last.

Hey, texasz, those hatch vents look kind of familiar.... 2Many, when i installed my hatch vent grills, I used the standard size barrel clips that are used for all the emblems. And they clipped into the hatch sheet metal. At least, that's the way I remember it.

If you're running your car in autoX, then the negative camber (first issue) is going to be somewhat of a good thing. You might want to leave that part alone. As for the 2nd issue, anytime you move, lower, or otherwise adjust the suspension, it will invariably effect your toe-in. The only way to correct this is to have the front end aligned. Most shops around here are charging about $40 for a front end alignment. Takes about 45 minutes to an hour. But it saves a lot in tires.