Build thread of a novice.

MCBladeRun

Club Member
Here lies the small beginnings of one novice restorer's dream to restore his car and have fun in the process. I will admit early that this whole project entirely is a brand new venture for myself having no experience whatsoever apart from upgrading the horn and changing the head unit for a 6 CD changer on my ford fiesta I used to own. I am an electrician by trade, hence why you'll see mostly electrical / electronic additions to the car. I will also be trying to do most of the work myself, except for say, spray painting for example.

Purchased from our very own in-house provocateur SacCyclone in August 2019

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Largely the car still looks like this. It is a 1972 240z (built Dec 1971) with an engine from a 280z, and at the time of writing an assumed 5 speed manual gearbox from a 280zx. Saccy has done some repairs and replacements such as changing the differential as the PO evidently blew up the diff. I bought the car as a running model and thankfully, it survived the journey to me. I have driven it only 3 times since I've had it!

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So, as I understand it, those are SU carbs with stock air intake, no emission control system installed (that I know of and; being from Cali, you'd expect something in that department). 2.8 Litres of unadulterated excitement.

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This is the car when it was delivered to me in Bristol via a low-loader from the port of Southampton. Bonnet was swapped in the states before shipment as this one is less damaged etc. Literally reversed it into the garage and I had to rush back to work that day.

The way I wish to restore my car is by doing all of the upgrades and partially rewiring the loom along the way. Next would be to blow it apart and either dip it, or media blast it, get any sheet metal repaired professionally and get it sprayed professionally. While that is being done, get the engine, gearbox and differential overhauled and/or upgraded (largely undecided on what to do here - perhaps time will tell and other members' experience may persuade me). Lastly, put it all back together with a fresh loom.

I've already started doing small repairs/maintenance to the car. To go into detail I've:
-Popped the dash wrap on top of my existing dash (not glued anything yet)
-Removed the indicator stalk for the first time and gave the mechanism some maintenance
(I've had to remove it again and it is sat to my right as I am typing)
-Adjusted the horn mechanism (literally pried it closer to the steering wheel and cleaned the contact points)
I can confirm both my horns work (really loud)
-Replaced my choke cable + lever (still needs attention at the carb end)
-Removed the aftermarket stereo system and all 7 pairs of speaker wire (yes 7 pairs, thank you PO)
-Modified the rear light clusters to separate the brake and indicator wires (really easy to do)
-Mix & matched with a 2nd set of rear clusters for better parts and have an additional 5/21W lamp holder for a reverse / indicator lamp (I will go into details with pictures at a later stage)
-Replaced the cam cover gasket on the engine as it was leaking (only one bolt was tight, rest was loose)
-Had my radiator re-cored
-While the rad was out, replaced the water pump and pulley with items from Saccy
- adjusted my rear wheel drum brake pads.

If my indicator stalk had stayed working, I would have taken the car out for the 4th time to test the brakes for tightness.

My first time:
https://zclub.net/community/index.php?threads/1st-time-driving-my-z.26551/
rear clusters bulb:
https://zclub.net/community/index.php?threads/s30-rear-light-cluster.26901/
working on the rear light clusters:
https://zclub.net/community/index.p...o-your-z-this-week.22263/page-116#post-308110
The rad recore:
https://zclub.net/community/index.php?threads/radiator-recore-costs.27124/#post-309500

Current plan is to get that indicator mechanism fixed as, I can see there is a bit of metal spot welded on top of the contact points and I think its definitely not helping the situation. I am going to replace the flasher relay as well, because I believe that it slowly failed when i tried it last. Saying that though, it is entirely possible that the new LED lamp isn't giving enough wattage through the flasher relay to enable it to function.
I've already ordered a new flasher relay which works electronically instead of via a bi-metallic strip.

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You can see the 4 contact pads all have a various amount of build up, current plan is to sand with 600 grit paper to get them down. This doesn't solve the problem however, as the high current from the parking/brake circuits are flowing through still and will just cause it to happen again. To alleviate this, I plan to change all of my bulbs to LED type and also do the relay upgrade to the headlight part of the wiring harness.

Speaking of, the next project is to create said relay upgrade from scratch as, I think i'm more than capable of building one myself and parts are readily available.

I have purchased and I am patiently waiting for the following upgrades to the car;
-Electric power steering
-Upgraded 80 Amp alternator
-Twin 12" electric fans + shroud
-New eibach progressive lowering springs, Koni adjustable shocks, Poly bushing kit for the suspension.
- Stainless Steel bolt kit for the entire car.

My future plans for the car after this are the following:
- Central locking
- Cobra alarm system (or equivalent)
- Battery cut off switch
- Electric fuel pump and fuel pump cut off switch
- Electric Water pump
- Wiper motor upgrade
- Aftermarket Air Conditioning system
- Stereo speaker system
-Electric power windows
- Heated seats

At the time of writing I have no plans for engine modification / swap or other. I plan to get the car resprayed in its original silver and I was looking at getting the arch flares but, my flares are in such a good condition that it would be a shame to cut them up.

I apologise now for anyone reading through my badly formatted post but, I think I've been apologising for not starting a build thread a lot longer.
 

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Makesy

Club Member
Top planning there mate - that's one of the big hurdles!

I started in a very similar position to you, though my car didn't run. I worked through fairly methodically and identified jobs to do (mini projects) as I went along.

One thing I would check is all the hoses/rubber components to ensure they haven't deteriorated. A key point of discussion on here a few months ago was around hoses being suitable for bio-fuels, so ensuring yours are up to scratch will be important. If anything is brittle or deteriorating, get it replaced.

These old cars are hard work. You'll get annoyed, you'll swear, you'll have your head in your hands at times. You'll go to bed frustrated that you can't fix a problem and wake up in the morning able to fix it within 5 minutes!

Just know that there is a whole host of people on here for support that will guide you in the right direction!

Oh, and it's all worth it when you're cruising along with onlookers gazing with envy!

You're welcome to check out my thread to see how I kicked things off if it would help: https://zclub.net/community/index.php?threads/240z-resto.23941/

Good luck!
 

uk66fastback

Club Member
Great thread MC. I really must get round to starting one for mine. Everything Makesy says is spot on! It’s frustrating at times (very) but ultimately rewarding. I can top you though. I’ve driven my car only twice since I bought it in July 2015. And it was roadworthy (more or less when I shipped it over). Poor I know. Stacks of info and help on this site from a lot of very knowledgable owners (of which I am not one)!
 

Paul_S

Club Member
What a great introduction to the car and your plans :)

It's a little hard to tell from the photo, but your rear number plate looks spot on size-wise. Where did you get it?
 

Mark N

Club Member
That looks like a great base and a nice project!
I'm curious about the electric water pump, it seems to be a lot of work and expense for very little gain on a standard engine.
 

MCBladeRun

Club Member
That looks like a great base and a nice project!
I'm curious about the electric water pump, it seems to be a lot of work and expense for very little gain on a standard engine.
Keeping engine temps nominal is the goal whilst removing any unnecessary strain on the engine. I've not invested anything into it yet though and the jury is still out on the benifit of it as well.

It may well be changed in the future anyhow to give more space in between the engine and radiator or possibly need doing due to the aftermarket air con system? Anything is possible.
 

AliK

Vehicle Dating Officer
Staff member
Club Member
Top planning there mate - that's one of the big hurdles!

I started in a very similar position to you, though my car didn't run. I worked through fairly methodically and identified jobs to do (mini projects) as I went along.

One thing I would check is all the hoses/rubber components to ensure they haven't deteriorated. A key point of discussion on here a few months ago was around hoses being suitable for bio-fuels, so ensuring yours are up to scratch will be important. If anything is brittle or deteriorating, get it replaced.

These old cars are hard work. You'll get annoyed, you'll swear, you'll have your head in your hands at times. You'll go to bed frustrated that you can't fix a problem and wake up in the morning able to fix it within 5 minutes!

Just know that there is a whole host of people on here for support that will guide you in the right direction!

Oh, and it's all worth it when you're cruising along with onlookers gazing with envy!

You're welcome to check out my thread to see how I kicked things off if it would help: https://zclub.net/community/index.php?threads/240z-resto.23941/

Good luck!

Wot he said!!!!! [emoji106][emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]

The only things I would add are: get the car to a roadworthy / drivable state (if possible), live with it a little and you soon discover what to prioritise.

General consensus seems to be dipping leaves acid behind in cavities that can’t get flushed out properly so media blasting is the generally preferred way of those doing big restorations here.

Looks like a lovely car you have there! Great to have the 240Z carbs too.

How much did your power steering cost? I’ve seen some crazy priced ones out there ($10k+)!!!!
 

MCBladeRun

Club Member
Small update. Took the car out for a drive to my parents house, to show them my new toy and also, try out my recently adjusted brakes. They no longer feel spongy at all and are a vast improvement in terms of controlling the car and feeling confident in that, it will brake when I put my foot down!

I had put my indicator lever back together on the steering column and put the new LED flasher unit in place and I am happy to report that it works perfectly. I have not got the sand paper to grind back that aforementioned contact point on the indicator switch as of yet. I am really happy with the indicators working - the horn stopped working however.

So I thought no horn = no problem.

I take the car out the garage, down the drive, indicate right, turn the steering wheel right and....

BEEP

ah.
 

AliK

Vehicle Dating Officer
Staff member
Club Member
Nice to hear the beast is out and about.

The horn thing is quite easy to sort out - it’s merely the sliding contact grounding itself as you are turning the wheel.

Try and deal with that ASAP so that it doesn’t get abused. You can easily spot the ring behind the wheel that it is supposed to make contact with. I suspect yours is bent down away from it and is touching something else as you turn the wheel.

The brakes on this car as standard put my old student car Pug 306 1.9 TDI brakes to shame!!! Having said that I did have a couple of heart in the mouth moments when people pulled out in front of me while braking for a roundabout and I literally had to stand on the brake petal and pray. So very quickly after buying the Z I converted them to the 4 pot Toyota callipers and Pug 505 vented discs.

Enjoy the car, drive her a lot and she will speak to you - you will soon know what to throw money at next!
 

MCBladeRun

Club Member
I have been really busy at work and not touched the car at all for what has seemed many weeks and tonight I had a moment to fettle with it.

Been messing with LED lights, trying to upgrade everything, my thinking is less halogen lamps = less strain on the wiring loom.

I recall driving the car and watching as the ammeter would flick back and forth applying the brakes. Yikes.

Added some pictures, you can see the slight difference between side lights and brakes, the amber indicators (in hazard mode) on the clear lenses.

And an in-progress pic of the headlights out - as the ones that were in there are for left hand drive roads and being in the UK.. I've got lucas glass lenses with LED lamps from classiccarled.co.uk
These units came with the option of side lights, which I will wire in some amber bulbs to indicate with. Stay tuned
 

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uk66fastback

Club Member
Can you not make the US sidelights (below the bumper) into the indicators and use the sidelights in the headlamps (I used standard 7" Land Rover ones from memory) exactly as that - sidelights. Indicators within the headlamps - I can't see how that is going to work at the front! (at night). Or I have read it wrong?!
 

MCBladeRun

Club Member
Can you not make the US sidelights (below the bumper) into the indicators and use the sidelights in the headlamps (I used standard 7" Land Rover ones from memory) exactly as that - sidelights. Indicators within the headlamps - I can't see how that is going to work at the front! (at night). Or I have read it wrong?!
Yes, it was a toss up between using it for a sidelight purpose, or for indicating. My sidelight (under the bumper) is now only an indicator as I'd removed the sidelight function. And my actual sidelight on the side of the car, remains a side light.

I originally was going to change the amber sidelight into an indicator and have the side bulb in the headlight as a sidelight as you've suggested.

At this point I'm only just putting it together, if it doesn't work the way I envisaged, then I'll change it about again.
I have seen on modern cars, the headlights dim down to allow the indicator to shine through, now there's an idea..
 
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