New owner of 72 240Z

CheZ

CheZ

Well-Known Forum User
Hello all,

Have just negotiated and bought a 240Z that was a California car. It is in need of full restoration but does not have any major rust so that should be a good start.

Got a good price for her, planning a full mechanical resto first and then will move onto the body.

Have found myself a few books and articles online for engine rebuilds etc so will hopefully have her up and running in the near future (hopefully by Summer 2016!)

Will start a post on the forum when I start dismantling her and post updates when I can as the work progresses.

Ideally I want a hi-tune street weapon out of her for those lovely Sussex A roads and a few track days.

Will post pictures when she arrives.

Any information or pointers in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks and look forward to contributing towards this forum.

Best regards

Luke
 
moggy240

moggy240

Insurance Valuations Officer
Staff member
Club Member
The first thing I would is put it through is a MOT then you will know what needs doing and what does not.
 
CheZ

CheZ

Well-Known Forum User
Thanks everyone, will get photos up here as soon as she arrives.

@Moggy240. Should have mentioned the car is a non runner and has been sitting for a while so probably not going to pass any MOT's just at this moment in time.
 
Paul Henley

Paul Henley

Club Member
I'd give the the body a thorough inspection before you do anything and I'd tackle the body before the mechanics. Lots of people have spent lots of money doing the mechanics only to be devastated to find out later that the body has hidden perils. I'd also take thousands of reference pics before you start stripping, they'll be invaluable when you put it back together (particularly if you don't have another Z to view for reference). Hope you post plenty of pics it'll be great to follow progress.
Paul
 
uk66fastback

uk66fastback

Club Member
I restored an old Mustang a few years ago and while I did take some pics of the car before it was taken apart - it wasn't that much more than a shell in some respects - I always regretted not taking 100s more - you may feel you are wasting your time doing it - but there'll be that one time when you think, if only I'd pointed the camera/phone etc three inches to the left, I'd know how that went back together. I'm such a klutz at times, I need to take many, many pics of any disassembly.
 
CheZ

CheZ

Well-Known Forum User
Thanks for all the good advice.

The car will be arriving in a week or so. So pictures to follow then.

I will of course be checking over the whole car first to find out the problem areas whilst I start the strip down, many photos will be taken.
I was looking into the idea of building a car to FIA specs for historic racing but seeing as the car is only eligible for open class races and is not pre 66 I will probably go down a different route.
So, looking into what to do engine wise. Have already got myself a set of Weber 40 and 45 DCOE's so either ones will be going on.
Kind of prefer the option that does not involve increasing CC capacity but creating a high revving engine with high quality internals.

Will post up when car arrives.
Thanks
 
SeanDezart

SeanDezart

Well-Known Forum User
CheZ said:
Ideally I want a hi-tune street weapon out of her for those lovely Sussex A roads and a few track days.
Click to expand...

CheZ said:
I was looking into the idea of building a car to FIA specs for historic racing but seeing as the car is only eligible for open class races and is not pre 66 I will probably go down a different route.
Click to expand...

Not nit-picking but in the space of 2 weeks you have radically changed the possible end-use of the car.
I would think carefully about your finished product :

what do expect of it
where do you intend to drive it
what tech spec should it have
strict MSA/FIA homologation or not

CheZ said:
....the car is only eligible for open class races and is not pre 66
Click to expand...
...Are you sure ?:confused:

CheZ said:
Got a good price for her, planning a full mechanical resto first and then will move onto the body.
Click to expand...

There was some good advice posted above - body first !;)
 
CheZ

CheZ

Well-Known Forum User
Hi all, so car arrived the other week without notice from the transport company, had to rush home in my lunch break and meet the truck and car for the first time.

Some things were better than expected and some things were not but all in all as I was expecting.

Was going to jet wash the engine bay to start with and get some of the grime off but the jet wash worked for about 5 seconds before imploding! Have another one now so will do this on Saturday and then she can dry off before I start the strip down.

Let me know your thoughts.
 

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richiep

richiep

Club Member
It has certain well-patinated look doesn't it? :D

More seriously, I'd be paying close attention to those roof corners above the quarter glasses. It looks pretty rough on both sides there and that area can be a bit of a horror if rusted internally (speaking from experience).

If a tuned street weapon is the target, do some reading up on the forum of the inferiorities of the standard spec US car compared to the JDM, UK and other export variants. You can then make your list of necessary upgrades to get it up to speed! :thumbs:
 
richiep

richiep

Club Member
SeanDezart said:
Dispels the myth that Cali cars are rust-free - I love your garage doors.
Click to expand...

Thing is with CA, that the most heavily populated areas are right by the sea. So cars that have lived in the beach cities will have inhaled a heavy dose of salt air in their lives. Plus, those high temperatures and year round sun mean cooked batteries (hence the standard issue battery tray rust) and well-used leaky air con units (hence all the rotted floors).

Now Arizona cars - they stand more chance of being rust free! :eek:
 
CheZ

CheZ

Well-Known Forum User
richiep said:
It has certain well-patinated look doesn't it? :D

More seriously, I'd be paying close attention to those roof corners above the quarter glasses. It looks pretty rough on both sides there and that area can be a bit of a horror if rusted internally (speaking from experience).
Click to expand...

Thanks for the responses, to be honest this area is probably the most worrying part of the car.

Have not had the nerve to get in there with any tools or paint/rust striping disks yet.

Most probably will take the car to the country where I have more room and get the Soda blaster up and running once the car is stripped and I can see what exactly needs attention.

As for engine, it will remain an L but not sure yet what way to go.

Will keep you updated with pics and progress
 
uk66fastback

uk66fastback

Club Member
Where does Texas stand in the 'possibly free from rust' league table?

I think it rains more in Texas than Arizona that's for sure.

Does the car run?
 
CheZ

CheZ

Well-Known Forum User
uk66fastback said:
Where does Texas stand in the 'possibly free from rust' league table?

I think it rains more in Texas than Arizona that's for sure.

Does the car run?
Click to expand...

Car does not run at the moment. Will not be trying before strip down.
 
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