What did you do to your Z this week?

richiep

Club Member
Bank holiday weekend had some ups and downs; on the up side, as I will cover in the Dixie thread, I repaired that car's rear hatch. All went well. Yesterday however, given the glorious weather and getting jealous of all the classics and toys out on the roads this weekend, I decided to "pop the bubble" and recommission the red Fairlady Z. I had this fantasy of doing a quick oil change, draining the old fuel, putting new in, reconnecting the battery and off for a drive... of course reality of the car being stood for 21 months kicked in, combined with me not having taken all the things I might need to the barn with me.

On the plus side, the battery was charged and she turned over nicely. The oil change was a disaster though as I didn't have a suitable bowl and improvised with a 5L petrol can and a funnel; of course, the rate of oil spewing out the sump overpowered the funnel and I ended up with a nice big puddle of gross old oil to clean up, most of it in the Carcoon base. Doh.

And the clutch was non-existent. No leaks, but clearly needs bleeding and I didn't have any it or the DOT 5 silicon fluid I use. Doh 2.

And thanks to the aforementioned cranking, once the electric fuel pump kicked in with a bit of oil pressure, petrol pissed all over the place under the back of the car. The rubber hose was leaking where it attaches to the hard line. TBF, that has happened before after shorter lay-ups, the clamps needing a tweak up every so often. Still, I will go armed next time with some replacement hose just in case. Doh 3.

And I discovered a mouse had chewed a hole in the base of the Carcoon. No wonder its been looking a bit droopy - the fans have been ventilating the bubble and the rest of the room. Doh 4.

And then the Celica's battery went dead, blocking the Z in anyway. Total fail.

Went home in a sulky mood, then got whipped up into a state of rabid, foaming at the mouth frenzy by the veritable army of lycra-festooned 2-wheel menaces plaguing East Cheshire's A roads. Typical that the main route between the storage barn and home encompasses a road used for cycle road racing. Apologies to all those who enjoy a bit of cycle-based exercise and the like, but... BASTARDS. UTTER BASTARDS.

Then got in trouble when I got home for not leaving the hot tub we've rented on to heat up while I was out - apparently I was supposed to leave the thing plugged in through an open window despite there being no one home, security be damned. Kids and wife giving me dark looks and barbed comments for hours. FML.
 

tyroguru

Club Member
Sorry to hear of the mountain of problems Richie but you did give me a good laugh which is needed. I think your problem is a general one of expectation. I find the following advice helps me get through especially w.r.t the wife and kids and my general lack of telepathy (edit: go to 2:50min in the embedded video. It seems that the media embedder used here strips timed offsets from links. Hrrmph.)

 

richiep

Club Member
Sorry to hear of the mountain of problems Richie but you did give me a good laugh which is needed. I think your problem is a general one of expectation. I find the following advice helps me get through especially w.r.t the wife and kids and my general lack of telepathy (edit: go to 2:50min in the embedded video. It seems that the media embedder used here strips timed offsets from links. Hrrmph.)

LOL! This! Oh my.
 

toopy

Club Member
Bank holiday weekend had some ups and downs; on the up side, as I will cover in the Dixie thread, I repaired that car's rear hatch. All went well. Yesterday however, given the glorious weather and getting jealous of all the classics and toys out on the roads this weekend, I decided to "pop the bubble" and recommission the red Fairlady Z. I had this fantasy of doing a quick oil change, draining the old fuel, putting new in, reconnecting the battery and off for a drive... of course reality of the car being stood for 21 months kicked in, combined with me not having taken all the things I might need to the barn with me.

On the plus side, the battery was charged and she turned over nicely. The oil change was a disaster though as I didn't have a suitable bowl and improvised with a 5L petrol can and a funnel; of course, the rate of oil spewing out the sump overpowered the funnel and I ended up with a nice big puddle of gross old oil to clean up, most of it in the Carcoon base. Doh.

And the clutch was non-existent. No leaks, but clearly needs bleeding and I didn't have any it or the DOT 5 silicon fluid I use. Doh 2.

And thanks to the aforementioned cranking, once the electric fuel pump kicked in with a bit of oil pressure, petrol pissed all over the place under the back of the car. The rubber hose was leaking where it attaches to the hard line. TBF, that has happened before after shorter lay-ups, the clamps needing a tweak up every so often. Still, I will go armed next time with some replacement hose just in case. Doh 3.

And I discovered a mouse had chewed a hole in the base of the Carcoon. No wonder its been looking a bit droopy - the fans have been ventilating the bubble and the rest of the room. Doh 4.

And then the Celica's battery went dead, blocking the Z in anyway. Total fail.

Went home in a sulky mood, then got whipped up into a state of rabid, foaming at the mouth frenzy by the veritable army of lycra-festooned 2-wheel menaces plaguing East Cheshire's A roads. Typical that the main route between the storage barn and home encompasses a road used for cycle road racing. Apologies to all those who enjoy a bit of cycle-based exercise and the like, but... BASTARDS. UTTER BASTARDS.

Then got in trouble when I got home for not leaving the hot tub we've rented on to heat up while I was out - apparently I was supposed to leave the thing plugged in through an open window despite there being no one home, security be damned. Kids and wife giving me dark looks and barbed comments for hours. FML.

Do you bother to squirt a little oil into the top of each bore after a long lay up like this? I haven't before, but with a similar time as yours sat in the garage it can't hurt right?
 

richiep

Club Member
This is the longest it’s sat since it was rebuilt between 2005-08. I’ve never bothered with anything like squirting oil in the bores before and I hadn’t considered it this time tbh. Is it beneficial/is it something people do? I see it’s advised all around the net but that doesn’t mean it’s necessary, considering the amount of wives’ tales that become fact. Also, it’s not a neglected barn find engine - it’s probably still done under 15k miles since it was built, and had a refresh during that time. Guess it couldn’t hurt - but then again, I’ve already cranked it a dozen times...
 

Mr Ex Jnr

Club Member
I had a mega weekend and really enjoyed Dean and Rob croften racing at Donny

Also to throw up the mix a 280z was running in the slicks class :) quality weekend

Took Sam down to support them all :)

Also good see Dave Jarman John Palmer and Matt Banister
 

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Mr Ex Jnr

Club Member
Yeah I only saw it down the straight I was on pit wall helping Dean and Carl do tyre pressures and temp was a mega race to watch tho still was really all full on

Dean car got hit too
 

Mr Ex Jnr

Club Member
The 240z super samuri is getting a Ali Rad to help it got 2 electric fans on back aswell :)
 

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Rob Gaskin

Treasurer
Staff member
Site Administrator
Yeah I only saw it down the straight I was on pit wall helping Dean and Carl do tyre pressures and temp was a mega race to watch tho still was really all full on

Dean car got hit too
Dean did well, why did Rob C drop down from good quali?
 
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uk66fastback

Club Member
Backed it out again so I could put me big ladder away on the wall ...

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nospark

Well-Known Forum User
After nearly 8 years of ownership I checked what meat was left on the brushes of my starter motor.

I disconnected the dangling wires from my rear screen heater and tucked them up in the plastic lining. They just spoiled the look of a 240z car from the rear. I read somewhere that Nissan later tidied up the design on the 260z and 280z cars (?)

I gave the car car its once a year wash and wax
 

Mr Ex Jnr

Club Member
Putting Ali rad on datsun

Got 2 fans on should make a difference and keep her cooler

Was on a standard 240z rad and viscuss fan

Taken the viscuss off

Will be running a relay and
switch to cab for fans
 

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tyroguru

Club Member
I subscribe to a few FB carbon fibre groups and people try and do anything and everything from that stuff! I'll be super interested to see how these turn out. At least nobody will be able to shoot you in the back.
 
I subscribe to a few FB carbon fibre groups and people try and do anything and everything from that stuff! I'll be super interested to see how these turn out. At least nobody will be able to shoot you in the back.

that could be handy! Bet you’re only half as interested as I am…. Been so hard finding the right company.
 

Bazzateer

Club Member
Had progress on the one part that's taken a few years to work out how to do properly. Seats.

What I've wanted.

Credit to Alan T for the Pics.

yl4H5I5.jpg


Current progress

u7yU0DC.jpg

mA6UyoX.jpg
I'd flip those straps upside down to put the pointed end of the hooks facing down.
 
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