1973 Fairlady Z - refurb and fix

[SacCyclone]

That's a beautiful shop by any standard.
I second the GMC story. Been in the market for a second hand GMC truck with the 6.2L but they are still strong in the secondary market so waiting for the recession to take a bit more hold later in the year.

 

[Rob Gaskin]

I thought it was time for a bit of an update. Apologies it has been a while..

I have been working in my old shed at home for the past 20 years and it's been a useful space, but not ideal. I've got room for three cars plus parts storage and a lot of outdoor space, but the building is hard to heat effectively so is generally cold and damp. The concrete is also marginal so I've never risked having a ramp. As my toy collection gets bigger (Mrs. Behr, if you are reading - this is a humblebrag - I haven't got any more than this car - I'm just making it up), I decided I needed a space to do justice to my projects. Somehere I can convene to do work and have mates come and visit.

So cue the new DatCave. It's a 1,350 sq.ft unit to which I have fitted a 1,000 sq.ft mezzanine with a lift to put cars upstairs. To this I have added a four ton baseless lift and other goodies. My last 4 months have been taken up largely with fitting this out with the ramps, wiring it, plumbing it - etc. But yesterday I found the time to do something car related.

It's not all been without issue. My BMW 2002 decided to reward my good stewardship by emptying both of its brear brake master cylinders over my beautifully epoxied upstairs floor. This has left two nice black tyre tread imprints. Hey ho.

So yesterday I went in to this beautifully organised scene (note my new GMC winter whip which I adore - it has a great story too)

View attachment 56649

View attachment 56650

View attachment 56653

View attachment 56654

So the first thing car related: replace the brake servo on the Fairlady Z. I bought this reman unit from Rock ages ago and it has been languishing in the boot. I thought it was time to get it done as I'm keen to get it back on the road. Sadly - and to my surprise - the brake master cylinder has been leaking so I daren't put it all back together.

View attachment 56651

View attachment 56652

Anyways, more to come on this soon. And hopefully some tangible updates on the 280Z.

You are just showing off here! Also 5 LRG (what is that car?) - daren't show my lad his initials are LRG!

 

[Faster Behr]

You are just showing off here! Also 5 LRG (what is that car?) - daren't show my lad his initials are LRG!

That’s a Mustang Bullitt V8. It was my umpteenth birthday present to myself - back when I had three paper rounds plus the Sunday supplements.

The number plate is from my crane lorry. I recall I bought the number some years ago. It reminded me of Arthur Daley . It suits the car I think.

The GMC story may only be told in person, sorry .

 

[Faster Behr]

Today has been a good day.

I finally had a full day just tinkering and doing my own thing so I treated the Fairlady to a good old fashioned tune up.

The first thing on my list was to get it on the ramp and have a look under the back end. I knew from working on it on jack stands that the rear setup looked in good condition. I didn’t realise until I got it properly up in the air by how much. Essentially everything has been repainted, re bushed and nicely done. The handbrake cables look new, as do the dampers and springs. I was genuinely quite surprised by how nicely it had all been done.

Imagine my additional surprise when I saw that I had an LSD fitted too. I knew from previous shenanigans that it had a later 280ZX 5 speed trans, but the LSD is cool also. I treated it to an oil change with the correct API GL-5 for an early Z31 (the diff code was 38311 P9000 which I’m assuming is right for Z31?)

Some pictures (the flash makes everything look dirtier than it really is)











Whilst at it, I also did an oil change on the trans with the same fluid. I figure the trans was about 200ml shy of full, judging by what I recovered vs. what I refilled. Neither were very dirty.

The new brake master cylinder arrived from Rock in good time so I finished up the installation of the new servo, bench bled the cylinder, fitted it all up and bled the brakes. They are probably a little too good now. There is a little dead pedal so I will add in some adjustment later once everything has bedded back in.

I also went under the front and serviced the fan belt again. I’ve tightened it three times now. If it goes loose again I’ll have to have a closer look at what might be going on. It’s a new(ish) Gates belt and a new alternator. Meh.

After that I broke out the grease gun and greased the lower front ball joints and rod ends. Yum. This was followed by a good dose of checking and inspecting hoses, wiring etc.

The test drive home was great. I can’t wait to get out and about in the car this summer.

 

[Rushingphil]

Wow, that underside looks super clean

 

[Rob Gaskin]

Wow, that underside looks super clean

Yes it does. How did you confirm it had an LSD?

 

[Faster Behr]

Yes it does. How did you confirm it had an LSD?

Each rear wheel rotates in the same direction when the opposite is turned. When one wheel is held, the other turns the prop - so it's not welded either. I'd like to say I lit up both rear tyres in a third gear burnout, but that was me aged 18.

I have since learned that the 38311 P9000 number I quoted above is just a casting number for the housing and could hold a mulitude of combinations of gearing. Again, this site and its contributors make a great resource. There are a few other numbers which look to be lightly hand punched in the casing which I didn't pay much attention to so I'll note these down today and do some more hunting. Not that it is hugely relevant, I just find it fascinating.

 

[toopy]

Imagine my additional surprise when I saw that I had an LSD fitted too. I knew from previous shenanigans that it had a later 280ZX 5 speed trans, but the LSD is cool also. I treated it to an oil change with the correct API GL-5 for an early Z31 (the diff code was 38311 P9000 which I’m assuming is right for Z31?)

Whilst at it, I also did an oil change on the trans with the same fluid. I figure the trans was about 200ml shy of full, judging by what I recovered vs. what I refilled. Neither were very dirty.

Information from Alan in another thread would be to put GL4 spec oil in a 280zx box, because of the Warner/Brass type synchros.

 

[Faster Behr]

Another fun day today.

I thought the clutch was feeling a bit spongy on the way to the garage this morning. Then I remebered I’d purchased a slave cylinder months ago for this very reason. I was vindicated once I started to dig in to the old one.





A few minutes later the new one was in along with a new hose.

My next job was to tackle the steering rack bushes. In full disclosure, this is where a little bit of complacency crept in.

These are the old bushes removed. The offside has turned to mush after being oiled from a small persistent leak on the timing case.



My complacency was recognised when I fitted the new set of urethane bushes I’d purchased ages ago. Once reassembled I had almost a quarter of a turn of the steering wheel with no tangible steering output. This was due to the rack shifting back and forth in the bushes a good 3/8” when the wheel was turned. Following some head scratching and research I came to the realisation that there are two sizes of rack bushing. I was so merrily working away that I hadn’t noticed what a poor lateral fit they were.

It seems my car needs the thicker bushings commonly reserved for the 280Z. If what I’ve read is right (and if my interpretation of the vagaries of US/rest of world models is also right), then 240Z use the thinner bushes. From what I’ve read and pieced together, and again, assuming it’s right, 240Z has a cast alloy pinion housing which is bulkier than the iron 280Z which is smaller. By virtue the 240Z has less of a gap to fill, therefore has narrower bushes.

As my car is RHD it can’t be a 280Z derivation, therefore by inference I’m guessing it’s a 260Z rack. This would tally with what Alan stated earlier in the thread that the Fairlady Z uses 240Z and 260Z parts. There’s a lot of assuming going on so I stand being corrected.

Anyhoo, I’ve got a set of the thicker bushes on order so will have another go next week. Every day’s a school day.

 

[Faster Behr]

Information from Alan in another thread would be to put GL4 spec oil in a 280zx box, because of the Warner/Brass type synchros.

Thanks for this. I had read that thread only this morning and it’s been in the back of my mind all day. I think I’ll run it up hot next week and then drop it out again in favour of the SWEPCo. I don’t think it’ll come to much harm in the meantime. I’m a big believer in having the right oil chemistry for the job.

The SWEPCo isn’t that expensive when you compare it to some modern day speciality ZF ATF fluids!

 

[Albrecht]

As my car is RHD it can’t be a 280Z derivation, therefore by inference I’m guessing it’s a 260Z rack. This would tally with what Alan stated earlier in the thread that the Fairlady Z uses 240Z and 260Z parts. There’s a lot of assuming going on so I stand being corrected.

However, I think this is the wrong way to think about it, and - worst case scenario - it may even trip up your efforts to understand the car properly and source parts for it correctly.

The parts are simply shared across the contemporary variants, that's all. A '260Z' rack is only a 260Z rack if it came off a 260Z, and there were even different rack ratios according to the '260Z' variant that it was fitted to.

All are S30-series Z cars, sharing parts where appropriate and/or necessary. Many of the same mechanical and electrical parts were shared across other Nissan platforms of the period too. The best companions for a Japanese market car are the appropriate factory parts manual and the specific factory service manual.