CanTechZ

As one of the first steps in the restoration process of my '70 240z I'm trying to determine the full extent of my rust issue and I'm looking for opinions regarding floor tar mat removal. I plan to have "all" rust removed and have a complete paint job back to the original 918 Orange. I know that the safest method is to remove all of the tar mats but most of mine are in such good shape I am hoping that will not be necessary. I have started to remove the undercoating below the floors to identify rusty areas and found that rust in the floors is mainly in areas with damage and the undercoating had cracked or had loosened allowing moisture in. For a test I removed a small area of tar mat that was bubbled and directly over some rust on the underside of the drivers side floor. It was 30°C today so I used a 1" scraper to lift the tar mat and then used a rag with varsol to remove the excess, no sanding was done. I was expecting to see a lot of surface rust, or worse, adjacent to the rust holes but was surprised to see how clean the bare steel was. Here are a few pics of what I found. Passenger Side Drivers Side, with tar mat removed in rusted area Close-up showing clean bare metal adjacent to rusted areas Close-up showing what bubbles in tar mat looked like previous to removal The area of tar mat I have removed is not the full extent of the issue but I don't want to blindly remove all the tar when I am trying keep my car as original as possible. I value any input or suggestions you may have. Thanks Mike

I remembered seeing the thread below when I did a search about rebuilding hatch struts, maybe it will shed some light on your problem regarding the weld attach points. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/interior-s30/33754-71-240z-hatch-strut-mount.html

Lots of good stuff there, even has the original series one radio and steering wheel.

Actually two days ago, took the 240Z to a local car show at an excellent venue. Of 144 registered cars three were Japanese, mine, a very nicely restored '74 260Z and a very nice '74 Toyota Celica GT. Here is a link to a youtube presentation posted by the event organizers, if you like history you will enjoy it. You will see me arriving at 3:59, there was a wide variety of vehicles. Mike

This event is hosted by the 510 Club of BC, a friend of mine is a member. There is an Auto cross on the Saturday in Surrey and a show on the Sunday in the Lonsdale Quay area of North Vancouver, it is a nice setting. Here is a link to the details: The 510 Realm - View topic - 2014 Vancouver All Nissan Meet, August 9th and 10th The date is getting closer and I have been told more details will be posted soon. Usually there is a decent showing of S30's, here is a pic from the 2012 event. I plan to be at the show on the Sunday Mike

That's interesting, I have the original warranty and service booklet for mine and it was sold by Hugh Rider Ltd. in Vancouver, delivered to the first owner Aug. 28/70.

Very nice work, your attention to detail has been inspiring. I hope to do a similar job to my '70 over the next few years to be complete before our cars hit 50 years old. I was curious about the history of your car, was it a Canadian car? The clutch fan discussion here reminded me of an issue I had back in '83. I heard a strange intermittent ticking and then eventually a thud from under the hood as I was driving on the highway. Well it turned out that my water pump was failing and the intermittent ticking was the fan just contacting the rad as the water pump shaft was walking in and out. The thud was when a fan blade hit the rad to hard, bent over 90° and stuck right into my newly re-cored rad as I was approaching my destination. Luckily I didn't over heat as all of my coolant was on the ground. Mike

Was cleaning out the garage today and found my Candar Ski Rack, a dealer add on accessory from 1979, price was C$30 plus C$24 labor to install. Anyone else found any cool period accessories lately. Mike

Does this help: XenonS30 If you search around on xenons30 you probably find the console as well, or download the '73 FSM. Mike

Or an old school TV antenna

Here's a Pic showing the installation. Mike

Was watching "Halt And Catch Fire" on AMC last night, it's a show about the computer industry set in the early 80's. At the end of the episode they destroyed an '83 280ZX with a sledge hammer, five bucks per smack. Here's a screen capture from my phone,

I replaced my sending unit about five years ago and I remember scrambling to find a o-ring seal to go on the flange where it mates with tank. It would be a good idea to have one on hand as it doesn't come with the sending unit. Here is an image from the parts fiche, its item four p/n 17342-18000. I think it was metric but I don't have a record of the actual size. Mike

Thanks, the body and paint was done in the early '80s and the paint is definitely showing it's age, some faded and checked areas. Luckily the rust repairs are holding up well, as the car is parked for winter. One day I hope to do a re-paint back to the original 918 orange. Your '72 looks very nice, and only 5% to go, wish I could say the same. Aren't those last few points always the hardest.

Spent Father's Day with my son, cleaning up the 30 year old paint job on '70 S30. Wash, Mothers Clay Bar, Auto Glym Super Resin Polish, finish with Mothers California Gold carnauba wax. I think we knocked at least 10 years off the paint job, it was a 20' car before and now it's a 10' car . Thanks Chris. Mike/Dad

I'm also located in Chilliwack, I'm not much of a mechanic and luckily I've never had a problem with the SU's on my '70, but I will send a message to a friend and see if he can help. Nice to here about another local 240, if you want PM me and maybe we can compare rides sometime. Mike I seem to have lost the contact info for the guy I was thinking of, but you could try Dan at the ZShop in Surrey, I've bought parts from him in the past and I have heard good things about his service as well. ZShop.ca

My Series one S30 also has the "Don't open when hot" cap. I can't confirm that it is the original cap but it was on the car when I purchased it in 1978. Anyone else have one of these on an early car?

Here's my garage today, just got the 240 running after sitting four years. I planned to share my garage right after we got the Audi but that was over a year ago. Anyway better late than never. Also the mods done to my Samurai, in the back, are listed in signature.

Both the early master cylinder (for use up to Aug '71) and the later one have a 7/8" bore, as far as I know the early one has been harder to find and therefore usually more expensive. The early one P/N 46010-E4602 can still be ordered from Nissan Dealerships, I have one on order right now due for delivery from Japan to western Canada by the end of this month. I went this way both for originality and ease of installation, ie: no brake line modifications required. Mike

I just checked mine on my '70 and three of them are M4 x 0.7mm with a Phillips head and strangely one is a No. 8-32UNC with a slotted head. Mike Just an update, when I reinstalled the screws the M4 x 0.7mm did feel like a better fit.

Welcome to the club, nice to see another early car staying mostly stock or with only period mods. I enjoy almost all zeds from stock to heavily modifed, but as stock as possible is my main passion. Please post some before, during & after pics of your floor restore, I may do the same soon. I'm only about an hour up the valley from you and may be interested in hearing who is doing your floor work. Mike

Not all provinces in Canada require two license plates. Here in BC two are required but in neighboring Alberta only one plate is required. In BC we have a collector plate program (still two plates), where if a vehicle is 25 or more years old and verified to be fully stock, or restored to stock and is good condition it can qulaify for this program. The benefits are a unique set of plates, very low insurance rates, full pleasure only driving priledges, & only one set of plates/insurance is required for all qualifying collector cars in your fleet. I have had these plates since 1995, the other benefit is that collector plated cars are exempt from annual emissions testing. Mike

My 1970, number 6521, has the #1 style hood and has a production date of July '70, it was delivered to Vancouver BC, Canada. I have owned the car since 1978 & to the best of my knowledge it is the original hood. Mike

My orginal owners manual from 6521 build date 7/70 has the same front & back cover as "a7dZ" but the issue date is 20 March 70. Later S/N & build date but an earlier manual issue date. Mike