My 240z Project

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So it's been a little while since I updated this. I found out that the nice new shiny part (brake booster) push rod isn't long enough for the new mastercylinder. I was told that the old original one just simply pulls out and you replace it. The old one was imperial thread and New was metric so this caused all sorts of problems. However I managed to meet a great local guy who owns an engineering company and he loves his cars which helped and he made me a new pushrod to the specs and lengths I needed

Pushrod that came in the booster:

Push rod that was in "original" booster :

The this massive machine: 

Made this

So after that was all sorted, I needed to put some new brake hoses in up front:

They were seriously seized on so had to be heated up to remove and then these nice new ones

Also the rear brake shoes weren't bad but thought I would replace the shoes, drums and also one of the wheel cylinders was dead so got 2 new wheel cylinders to replace also

Before: 

After with just the drums to be fitted:

So the drums are next but just before that, the brake pipes need a bit of persuasion to fit the new cylinders as the locator is in a different position. 

Also got some new front pads too :

Once this is done, it will be time just to bleed the brakes and wahey that's that done! 

I also fitted some new seat belts which is will get a photo of and now it's time to rebuild the carbs! Scary! I pulled one apart and saw the main gaskets which I could replace but when I saw the little bits in the rebuild pack, I quickly put it all back together again lol I will ask for help from an expert on this one! Lol[/quote]

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Things left to do are just the carbs for an mot! This is so close now! Once the mot is on the car, I can register it and then will service it and make sure all valves are sitting right. Drive it about for a bit while it looks rubbish to make sure it drives well. Then a final few big bits like exhaust, coilovers, refurb dash. Then it's time for paint! Then for all the new shiny bits

Getting it done for an MOT and getting the car Done are far apart! Lol[/quote]

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Hey all
So I haven't updated much as every minute I have had, I have been working on her. So just to confirm from above, the brakes are now done and New drums fitted. The bled all the brakes which was a great stage done!

So to carry on, the carbs were next. I took them into my local garage who is helping me and teaching me how to work on the car. We pulled one carb apart Together and he told me what bits I needed to remove and replace with the carb kit. So I got cracking! I checked with the mechanic before I put the 1st one back together and he said it looked fine. I then cracked on and did the other one after learning from the 1st! Such a awesome learning curve!! they weren't as hard as I thought, pretty simple surprisingly

Old gasket Inside:

A bit grubby! 

Then once apart, I cleaned everything out with carb cleaner and an air compressor to blow any muck out and started rebuilding with new bits:

Then fitted back on the car with new gaskets between the carbs and the manifold:


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So once the carbs were in. I left the filters off as would be easier to access to tune them. So I went to start her last week and she started! Wahoo! For about a minute -.- lol and then cut out. Could t figure out why she wouldn't start again so started looking into things.... she has lost spark and only 1 plug was sparking. Then found the rotor in the dizzy had broke inside so wasn't turning when trying to fire her meaning it was stuck on just one contact/one plug. This was the old rotor:

And old dizzy cap, you can see the contacts have taken a beating where the rotor has come loose: 

So i got on and ordered a new cap and rotor. 2 days later it arrived and went to fit it. Guess what.. didn't fit! This new 240z rotor and cap was way too small for the dizzy in the car. I did a bit of research and found a rotor online that looked like mine was a 280zx rotor. I got hold of the part. Inner and went back to parts store and ordered a 280zx cap and rotor. Today it turned up and it fitted!!! woop woop

Plugged it all back in and she fired up lovely! Such a great feeling! Tuned up the carbs fuel mixture screws and idle screws and checked the emissions wheels back on with new rubber, then also did the tracking. 
Then took her for a road test!! She ran lovely!! TODAY WAS A GOOD DAY!

She's going in for an MOT this week exciting times!!! :)[/quote]

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So Great News! She now has an MOT!! I can now and have sent off the paperwork to register her in the UK and just waiting on plates now!! Woop woop! 
Also now she's back home, I started the service today and done an engine oil change ( first time I ever done an oil and filter change- shows how much of a newbie I am to doing all this! Lol)  put some good old classic car oil back in her as what she was meant to have when built. Also some new plugs as the old ones were black! Got a new belt to fit this week and also rocker cover gasket as need to adjust the valves next weekend. He's really getting there now! 

Waiting for the oil to drain... lol






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So I have sent all her paperwork off and now waiting for my plates. Should be sometime this week!

In the mean time I learnt how to adjust the valves using a feeler gauge and did all the adjustments last week. She sounds so much better and a lot less tappy now!

Then I thought I better get cracking on working out why the gauges don't work. Speedo is the only one that does! 
I removed the gauges and tested them using a battery pack and they work so looked a little deeper and realised the temp sensor didn't even have a wire coming from it and the oil sensor wire was basically hanging off! Haha 
At the same time I need to refurb my dash and also clean and seal the fire wall so I removed the dash and wiring harness! Scary times! Lol 

Then today I cleaned up the firewall and rubbed it down, also I removed all the sound deadening from the rest of the car going through between the seats!was serious effort but now done and Down to the metal ready to prep and seal with a rust preventative paint/base coat!

Pics of Before with sound deadening and left over insulation:

Now stripped back and ready for paint

I have ordered degreaser,metal prep and POR 15 rust paint in gloss black to give it a nice finish
Also some grommets on the way too
Now need to sort the dash!!

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Oh yeah, while I was removing the sound deadening today, it started raining so I covered the car up in its cover while I was inside and used a torch! Lol Dedication & Commitment!!! Lol 
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Hey guys, so I got "cracking" (quite literally) with my dash! 
I read some posts and thought why not, let's give it a try to repair the original one and if all goes wrong, I will buy one of those covers. 
So I cut out the cracks to make a more smooth gap to fill: 

And then once dug out. I used some expanding foam to fill the gaps and let set. I did this a few times to try and ensure completely filled and solid: 


Then next, I cut the foam away to make more level with the dash: 

Next is to sand the dash to rough up the surface and read the blog again to check on next steps! 

Whilst doing the dash, I got working on the car. So after I had sanded down the inside of the car and firewall, I bought some POR15 paint which is a rust preventive and then a nice gloss back finish. 
1st was to degrease the area to work on and then spray with metal prep: 

Once dry, I started painting and you can brush the paint on and it doesn't even leave brush stroke marks

I did a coat then let dry and a couple of days later, coated again! And wow does this stuff dry! It dried rock hard but also a warning for next time ! Do not let get on skin! lol  it won't come off! Also definitely listen to the lady from the shop when ordering it. Do put some film under the cap when sealing back up and turn upside down ready for next time! I didn't and I had to use a hammer and a chisel to open the can like a tin opener! Lol 

Also, none of my gauges work other than the speedo. I know it was a pain but I put the wiring harness back in the car with gauges on without the dash so I could start testing the gauges. I found a bargain of some used gauges on eBay in the states and made a purchase! My gauges were physically falling apart so I thought I could swap bits between them all to rebuild. However it turned out that these new gauges were like new so I simply plugged them in instead to see if anything worked..... 

Nope..  
I found out that the Temp sensor didn't even have a wire going to it! Haha so I cut some new wire and figured out where the end of the old wire was previously cut: 

Also, on the same gauge is oil pressure, I took a look at mine and it didn't look great let's say: 

So a bought a new one and fitted it, stripped back some wires as the old were rotten: 

Next gauge was fuel and Amp. I did buy a new fuel sender because I thought it would be good to replace however not done this yet. Old fuel sender didn't have any wires connected so simply connected them. 
Then: wahey! Started her up and the gauges all worked:)

The only gauge that doesn't work currently is the Rev counter! It sits at 8 as soon as I turn the ignition. I think this is something to do with the electronic ignition that's been fitted previously so am on the hunt to figure this out now. 

And yes another step done! I had 1 key for my ignition when buying the car but the key didn't fit the locks which was a pain. I send my locks off and a local guy made 2 new keys for my existing locks which was great! I orders some lock rod clips to clip the rod back in when fitted. And now the car locks! 

Next is too grommet up the firewall holes and the floor pan holes with fresh rubber. Then going to buy some dynamat/fat may sound deadener. Need to speak to an upholsterer about my seats and possibly finishing the dash. Depends if I have the bottle to try and finish the dash or not! Lol[/quote]

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Also, I'm sure you guys will love this but I always love finding things in cars that I buy that were in it previously! lol 
I found some coins in the seats! And some were hard to read but one was dated 1973! 1 year after my car was born! lol I know... little things amuse! lol but it feels like a little something to keep from its old life! Lol 

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Sorry been a while posting, been very hectic with work! 
So back to the dash! Time to sand down the foam and then use a plasti bumper filler. 

Once the filler had dried, I sanded it down to make it level. Then I coated the whole dash in fibreglass resin: 

Then sat back and chilled

Once the resin dried, left it a couple of days, I coated the whole dash in the plasti filler again and started sanding. This got rid of any little holes from the resin and I could make it smooth: 

Once sanded and happy, I got hold of some textured paint and coated the dash. This did take me a few attempts going back and making sure it was covered evenly. 

When I was happy, I then coated it all in a satin black paint: 

She may not be perfect but a damn lot better than what she was, hopefully it holds up! 

While the dash was out, I painted the rest of the inside of the car and also got some dynamat sound proofing down on the firewall before the dash goes back in

Then time for the dash to go back in! not sure if I already mentioned this but while the dash was out, I put the loom in the car and wires up all the gauges and got them all working. Wahey the dash it back in the car! 

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March 2018: 

 

So following the last posts as I was working on the dash and re sealing the car with new sound deadening. I had sent all the paperwork off to the DVLA to register the car over in the UK. This was great fun as I didnt expect them to have to come out and inspect the car. They were aware it was a project but because the guy came out to see the z and its seats werent back in the car, he declined the application to register it. I then had to fit everything ( as tatty as the interior was) back in the car and compete an additional form along with a load of photos. It took approx 6 weeks but I finally got the car registered with all its correct engine number and chassis number on the log book and a age related plate for its year! Was very pleased

June to December last year, I didnt do much with the z due to work but was stored in a garage. I put some primer on it do it wasnt bare metal whilst being stored hence why you will see it grey in the pics.  The beginning of this year is when things started to progress again. 

I spoke to my local painter and he agreed to take the car in March this year to start work. I knew it wouldnt be a job he would spend every day on but somewhere where I can help out where I can. So stripping down started: 

One of my main areas of concern was that I wanted any dents on the z to be pulled out rather than just filled with filler. The bodywork was solid but every panel had multiple dents. 

Progress started by fixing some of the main dents: 

Took the car right back to bare metal and wow there was a lot of coats of paint to get though! 

Once down to bare metal, not to everyones cup of tea but I am building this car for me, I wanted to change some parts of the body but still keep the original lines. So I decided to make the body smoother by smoothing our the rear bumper (bumper brackets and groove line and also side bumper grooves and holes) , smoothed our front wing lights and rear quarter lights, removed aerial hole, also there were pin holes where trim originally was on the car so also had all these welded up. 

I also wanted the ZG style flares and when searching photos after photos, I noticed these all looked very different on different Zs. I discovered there are universal ones, people fit them the wrong way round and all sorts. So my inspiration was a blue 240z which is owned by Shoji who owns Star Road garage in Japan and the z with arches on looked perfect! I contacted Shoji and purchased some arches from him in Japan and they arrived on my doorstep within 1 week which I thought was very impressive! 

The arches have been designed by Shoji specifically for the Datsun meaning no adjustment needed as the arche was perfect shape for the lines of the car. 

To fit these, I was aware the would mean cutting the Z arches out which did scare me to be honest but then I thought well I am building this car for me to enjoy so I went with it! Cutting the arches and welding the skins would be later in the process.....[/quote]

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Then came going over the car constantly ensuring every dent is out and to ensure the body is prepped:

I was pleased there was no need for deep filler, it was all a fine layer in places that needed it.

More rubbing down. I couldnt believe how much work goes into prep!! 

Then came the etch primer where the z was taken down to bare metal, it needed to be etched 1st: 

Then black primed: 

Then further blocking down:

Then came grey primer

And painted the engine bay:

Painted the original grill and also the wheels that were on the car when I bought it (just to tidy them up until I get new ones)

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So after the car was primed, the arches were cut out (which almost made me cry!) lol and then the skins were welded together and the arches test fitted.

Then came the exciting bit! The Z in the booth with colour and then baked in the oven: 

Then the car needed fitting back together so both front windscreen and rear window fitted back in with fresh rubber seals: 

Then some further bits like the chrome trims and quarter windows, door locks and handles:

Before fitting the rear lights back in, I thought I would pull them apart and refurbish them to get them looking nice again!:

Before:

Progress:

Then fitted back in with fresh gaskets. 

In between all this I was fitting a full weatherstrip kit on the s as putting it all back together. 

Next up was to fit the coilovers! I went with BC Racing coilovers which have a 32 way adjustable damping setting and adjustable camber:

They were an absolute mission to fit! So this part I called upon a friend to help. To fit these we needed to cut the z original strut housing and insert the Coilover and then weld them on. It took a whole day but was so worth it! 

Then came more fitting together and lining up things

And arches fitted! 

The only parts left to fit externally to the car now are the wheels ( expected end of September ) the front bumper which i am having issues with currently ( seems to wide ) . lower the car some more to get it sitting right and sort the exhaust out as the van is currently huge!! Lol ( this was on when i bought the car)[/quote]

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So when I got the car back after paint it didnt start..... 
I searched high and low and learnt wiring diagrams very quickly! Found 1 problem which was restricting power to the fuse box (the connection between live and main feed to fuse box in 1 of the gauges) then the car would crank but had no spark! I sent the MSD electronic ignition box off to race parts in the Uk and they tested for me. Result was it was fried and nothing on it worked. New MSD box came next day delivery and fitted it. Started up on point

Following that I replaced the standard glass fuse box and upgraded it to a MSA blade fuse box which gave comfort to reliability moving forward (1 of the main fuses in the orignal fuse box is known to burn and melt through) 

I then went through all the wiring to everything on the car to ensure things worked and hardly any of it did so just made sure everything was connected along with fresh bulbs etc and wahey it is all now working![/quote]

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So this week I needed to do something with the interior. It was a state! If you dont remember from previous pics it looked like this: 

I was looking at door cards as mine were rotten. They seem to range from £200 upwards and have to import them from the states so add tax and delivery to that might as well call it  £300ish and 3 weeks at least to wait. I thought I might as well give it ago and try and make my own. Worst case scenario I am in the same boat as am now. I managed to create the shape of the door card using some 3mm plywood and then cut out all the relevant holes and fixing holes required. 

I then used some Faux leather and some sponge lining underneath to give it a more plush effect and this was th r result: 

Then fitted to the doors: ( I now have an arm rest on both sides and also the arm rests have been cleaned up) 

Ok so they are not perfect or as good as the ones you can buy but for £20, I think they dont look bad for now until I get around to buying some nice new ones.

Also I bought some carpet so I started carpeting the whole car this week which was another new experience lol but pretty pleased with the outcome:

And then also made the wheel well cover look nice: 
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So this evening, I spent some time changing the gear box oil and the diff oil. Put some nice fresh oil in as I havent got round to that since owning her. 

And also, until I make up my mind what exhaust I want, I chopped the silly can off the back to make it more subtle for now

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So Saturday night I took her out for the first time for a proper run. She did really well and drove great! I have one issue which happened on way home and it seems the car is getting to much fuel. The accelerator feels like it loses power and is very hesitant when accelerating (sometimes) not always. Also a really strong smell of petrol and some black up the back of the bumper makes me think its overfueling. Thinking its the carbs but dont know where to start at this point. Will be another learning curve for me and any suggestions are appreciated :)[/quote]

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October 2018

Right so I found the problem! 
Took a little while though lol so she idled fine every time but as soon as she was under any load, about 30 seconds later she would die on me. So this meant 4 nights of pushing her back down my road to home after not making it out anywhere lol lucky shes light! 
I did a compression test and compression is good which is great news! 
I then checked fuel pressure and well there..... wasnt any!!  just to be safe I pulled the fuel pipe off and yeah it was just dribbling out so either the fuel pump had gone or what ever makes it work in the block. 

I decided on an upgrade and bought a HUCO electric fuel pump along with a Filter King regulator. Installed it on a Saturday afternoon and boom.. she was running again and running well!

Took her to Goodwood breakfast club Japanese Sunday last week and drove great. 

Next is to fit new seats. I got hold of some Cobra CS Classic Seats for it. 
Wheels turn up next week! Which is cant wait to fit! 
Then be packed up for winter but need to do some work on the engine to get her running really smooth. Camshaft needs sorting as a lobe is worn and also stem seals, timing chain and few other bits and bobs!

Any one else at goodwood last weekend? There was some really nice Zs there!![/quote]

[Stutopia]

Thanks for sharing all this mate. Love these big builds, cracking to see all the work paying off.

[Keyser]

Excellent work enjoyed reading that lot and the pics 

 

great at work love the colour. 

[G1en]

I wish i had the money, time, skills and facilities to do something like this but i have none so will settle for gawping in awe at projects like yours. Well done. 

The old datsun 240 really is a fantastic looking car, love the colour too. 

[davey_83]

Super restoration, fabulous work - would like to see this one day. 

 

Grandfather Z

[scobie140]

Looks great, been good to see the full process

[Bullet]

This is awesome, 240z's are probably my favourite car in the whole world.

[PPod]

Loooove this