Arne

Elliot, BTDT. Unless you can do all the welding yourself, I'd wait for a better car, even if you have to travel to get it. Paying a pro to do rust repair correctly is expensive...

What year car? What colors are the wires? Where do they join into the wiring harness?

I hate the fees that eBay charges, so I'll be doing the classifieds first, I think. Although there are a few things that might do better posted on eBay, like the ashtray or the early no-drain-4-screw SUs.

Exactly my reasoning Brian, in every way. If the red car hadn't found me, the yellow car would already have new floor pans, and any other rust cut out as needed. Yes, I'd be into it far more that it'd be worth, but for a car I'd be keeping that's immaterial.As for which way is it worth more, no question at this point it's worth far more in parts than I can get for it as a whole car, even if I sell the various new parts at 50¢ on the dollar.

I tried selling it months ago. Too many 240Zs with way less visible rust available here in the Pacific NW. I got offers in the $500 range. Shoot, I've got almost that much in the cooling system alone (all new - three row rad, heater core, hoses, t-stat housing, OE wire clamps, etc.). No, like I said, it pains me to part it, but it still makes the most sense.

Very true. If it was my only Z I'd do it. But since I already have another that is far nicer than I could afford to make the yellow one, I was just planning on fixing it to sell it. And even then, I wasn't even trying to break even, I knew long ago I was going to lose money on it. I was just trying to not go into it any deeper than I already was.

If the defroster grid is damaged, you may be able to repair it. See m post at the end of the above-mentioned thread.

Well Stephen, I just re-did the grid on my car this weekend, because the early style windows with vertical grid-lines haven't been available for quite some time. I used a two-part epoxy designed for this task, and it seems to have worked quite well. The product I used was from VersaChem, Epoxy Rear Window Defogger Repair Kit, part #SR-130/90130. It included two prefilled and measured syringes with the A and B compounds, a wooden mixing stick, an alcohol wipe, and a plastic spatula to apply it. The instruction recommended masking the gridlines with ordinary scotch tape and then applying the epoxy. I liked the idea of the epoxy better than the normal conductive paints I've seen, and the kit says that the epoxy will repair damaged lines up to 10" in length and can also be used to reattach terminals. In the pictures below you can see the missing grid areas, which I marked by applying blue masking tape to the outside of the glass. I then removed the hatch so that I wouldn't be trying to do this while lying on my back in the car. After masking with the scotch tape, I mixed the epoxy. The kit says you have 25 minutes to work with it. I found the spatula was too wide to do the right job (it bridged two gridlines), so I cut it in two with a scissors. After applying a thin amount to the damaged area (the thickness of the scotch tape), I let it skin over for about 5 minutes and then removed the scotch tape and put the hatch back on the car. The final picture shows the repaired areas as quite light in color, but that is only visible from certain angles. In the mirror, or from the outside they are almost invisible. The instructions say you can apply current immediately, which will actually accelerate the cure time. Without any heat, allow 24 hours for it to fully cure. I tested it today, and my grid seems to work like new. I spent $10 on the kit.

Couldn't afford a Z in those days. But a B210 hatchback has more room inside than you might think....

Some of you may be aware that recently I have been stripping my yellow 240Z in preparation for rust repair and paint. This weekend that process came to an abrupt halt. Friday morning I found that the passenger floor and associated frame rail is much worse than I had thought. After taking the car to the shop where I was going to have the work done for further consultation, the body man 'thinks' that he could still patch the floor pan, if I got replacement frame rails from Charlie Osborne. More labor, of course. (Totally understandable, and I expected that.) It still might need a replacement pan, he won't know for certain until he starts cutting. Probably figure on doing the driver's side rail while we're at it. Sigh... This is the rusty straw that broke the car's unibody. Add this latest to rust in both doglegs, front fenders and probably the rockers. Sadly, I must admit that it's just not worth it. Here's my dilemma. Let's ignore all the costs I have into the yellow car up to this point. Chalk it all up as learning and help with debugging the red car. So starting from zero now, the reality is that it's going to cost $5000 at least to get the car reasonably rust-free, presentable and reassembled. Maybe as much as $6000. After that investment, it would be a running, driving, clean and mostly de-rusted 240Z with a straight and freshly painted body. But it won't have the original engine, the interior would be intact but aged, bumpers would be there but would need re-chromed to be up to the quality of the rest of the paint, mis-matched wheels, soft suspension, old paint under the hood, etc., etc., etc.... In that condition, could I expect to break even on the body and paint? Say I finish it for $5500, could I sell it for that? And the honest answer for here in the NW and with the recently faltering economy is probably, no. Remember that while the yellow car is a Series 1, it is really nothing special, not low VIN, no longer has the original engine, and is an automatic car converted into a four speed. It will never be a high dollar car no matter how much I spend on it. Dump another $5-6000 on it now and it's probably still only a $4000 car in today's market. And since I can't to keep it for several years until things improve, it doesn't pencil out. On the other hand, instead of dumping a bunch more on it only to go further in the hole, I can part it out and cut my losses significantly. The thought of parting it pains me a bit, but it's time to get real. While the rust makes it a poor restoration prospect now, it still is still mostly complete and has a lot of parts with value. A fair number of those parts are hard-to-find Series 1 parts, which shouldn't be too hard to pawn off, either. So instead of going farther in the hole, it seems to make more sense to stop the bleeding and sell off parts to re-coup some of my investment. I can save the proceeds for painting the red car instead. And if I hang on the the shell of the yellow car, I've got a nice roof for the red car should I decide to get rid of the sunroof. (And I'm leaning that way right now.) So keep an eye on the classifieds, soon I'll be listing parts as I continue sorting and figuring out what I don't want to keep as spares for the future.

Actually, here in the Eugene-Springfield area of Oregon, I see one or two 240Zs a month, pretty much year-around. 280Zs are still fairly common, I see at least one or two per week. I see ZXs frequently.

First question - do you have copy of the rulebook for this from the sanctioning body? Are you certain that things like larger diameter wheels (your snowflakes) and brake upgrades are allowed in your target class? Sometimes a very simple and small upgrade like that may bump the whole car into a much tougher class where it will require much more money and work to be competitive.

Send me an e-mail, Brooks. I can help on your latest parts needs.

Brooks, the quick and fairly affordable fix for the hood release cable is to replace it. I bought a new one from my local dealer last winter - it was $30 after club discount. Or you could look for a decent used one. The parking brake cable is not really repairable either, but is considerably more expensive new, around $125 or more. As it turns out, I might be able to help you on both of those parts with good used. PM me, or I think you have my e-mail.

Trust me Asta, a knowledgeable Z buyer will want to see what the tar-mat might be hiding. I just pulled it (finally) on my yellow project Z, and what looked to be fairly solid turned out to be quite bad. Yours may be OK, but you'll never know until you pull it up and check.

Good for a 510, but won't fit over the front brakes on a Z. Price seems high to me as well.

I ordered one from Tabco last week. I was told that it would be shipped this week. I guess I better give them a call to check on status.

I just recently finished rebuilding the Type A 4 speed in my red 240Z, due to a slow second gear synchro and excessive countershaft end play which caused a torque-related clunk in first through third gears. I totally agree with Stephen about going through a used transmission before installing it permanently, although for me personally, I'd install it and run it for a short time just so that I could assess its true condition prior to tearing it down. Ron is also right in his comments concerning improvements, modern transmissions are better - generally stronger, more durable, and quieter. And yes, most people including fairly skilled mechanics do panic at the thought of disassembling a transmission. On the other hand, if you have a service manual with a decent set of instructions regarding transmission disassembly and servicing (the early factory service manuals do, although just barely), I find that rebuilding a manual transmission to be easier than rebuilding an engine. It is fussy work, and you do need a few tools that you may not already have (such as gear and bearing pullers, and an accurate micrometer), but it's not really difficult, especially not the second or third time. First time can be mildly un-nerving, though...

James, here in the US the early mount was used at least through 7/71 production, as all three of the 240Zs I have had (10/70, 4/71, 7/71) came with the solid (non-bushed) transmission crossmember. Including - I might add - the 10/70 automatic car. The same crossmember was used for both the Type A 4 speed and the automatic. As for pictures or specs, your request is about a fortnight too late. I had one sitting in the garage up until then, now both are back in their respective cars.

The eBayer of that tire is rather mis-informed. No 240Z ever came with Michelins. The tire in the auction is a Michelin 175R14 XWW (white-wall) that dates from the mid-70s.

Ron, given the parts and pictures that you have, a good exhaust shop should be able to build a rear section for you. Probably less cost than what you'd pay for an original rear section, assuming you could even find one.

I'd say yes, it is. The Toyo Z1 in 175HR14 was a common fitment to the '71-73 240Z, the other common choice was a Bridgestone. The date code indicates your tire was built in the 39th week of 1971. How does that jive with your car's build date?

The problem is that terms like "3/4 race" and 'stage 1" are both undefined, and can mean anything the sales people say it means. In other words, not all 'stage 2' cams will have the same specs. If you want to compare cams, you really need the true specs, not undefined terms.

But you should also verify that the cable that closes the vent flap hasn't come loose from the heater box end. Check to make certain that something is moving when you move the lever from Vent to Heat.

Can be difficult to make a living at it, though. And it can take a whole lot of time. Take Danny's Datsuns here in Oregon, for example. His Z business is not his day job, and he acquired lots of Zs - probably pushing 50 last time I visited. And the time it takes means that when he's not working his day job, he's doing Z stuff. If you have no other things that you want to do, maybe that's ok. But Danny has grown weary of it (as I would) and is attempting to wind it down. He'd happily sell the whole pile of cars and already-removed parts in a lump sum if anyone is interested and has the acreage to store them...