Popular Post Zeubin Posted April 14, 2015 Popular Post Share Posted April 14, 2015 Hi everyone, I recently acquired the car of my dreams and Greg (64Valiant) has told me to share it with you. I'm pretty new to forums but here we go: She's a 1972 Datsun 240z in off-white/cream. The previous owner had her since 1976. The Z was driving around 20 or so years ago, but has been parked up in a garage with a cover since around 1995. He passed away four years ago and the family decided to sell it through the Z Club to find an enthusiast to bring her back to glory. Luckily, I was the first serious buyer and the rest is history. NZ new car 85000 original miles I'm the third owner Interior is near mint (no cracks in the dash and factory radio still installed) Minimal rust (no such thing as a no-rust 240 haha) She runs but clutch won't engage, so is probably fused to the flywheel which should be interesting. The rego has lapsed and I'm trying to keep the black plates naturally, so anyone familiar with this process please shout out! Currently assessing what needs doing for Re-vin and looking at options after that. I will keep her mostly stock, only changing the suspension to something a bit stiffer and throwing on some 15 or 16" Minilites or Watanabes a bit later on in the piece. She's a real darling so I'm not going to deflower her with flares or an Airdam. I've probably forgotten something else important but I'm sure you'll all point it out. Looking forward to chatting and meeting everyone. Thanks for reading, -Reubin First fresh air for 20 odd years! Discussion Thread 58 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Zeubin Posted April 16, 2015 Author Popular Post Share Posted April 16, 2015 Mmkay, so I've had time to tinker and found two cylinders were intermittent. Changed out the old sparkies for new NGK's and replaced the oil which looked pretty yuck. Here are some more photos for y'all: Interior is super clean bar a couple of rips in the seats. I dig the red and black. very 70's. 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Zeubin Posted April 16, 2015 Author Popular Post Share Posted April 16, 2015 Extra bits of Charm: Original dealer's sticker in the rear window! Original petrol cap spill flap Came with the original papers and manual from dealer 24 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Zeubin Posted May 6, 2015 Author Popular Post Share Posted May 6, 2015 Righto, so things are moving on and the work has begun. I have replaced the rubber fuel lines in the engine bay, replaced the voltage regulator, had the alternator reconditioned, had the rear wheel cylinders and front calipers refurbished. Now on to finding some shocks to replace the leaky old ones which won't be passing inspection any time soon. Here are some snaps: Bits of bits of bits Polish takes 20 mins per wheel but looking nice. Because dat ass 19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Zeubin Posted May 13, 2015 Author Popular Post Share Posted May 13, 2015 Gearbox time!! Everyone's favourite time! With significant help from my good friend Nick (Cressy) the gearbox has been removed as well as the driveshaft and half shafts. The universals in the drive and half shafts are super notchy and have been sent away for refurb. I figure I don't want to be going in there again for as long as possible. Now the clutch assembly... not so pretty as you can see from photos! The main frost plug has been weeping coolant into the clutch assembly so the flywheel, clutch plate and pressure plate have been sitting in about 25mm of water for the last god knows how long. Needless to say the clutch and pressure plates were fused together hence the lack of gear-change-ness. I had anticipated this so already have a replacement clutch kit ready to go. I also got the flywheel skimmed by the good fellas at Waikato Clutch and Brake who previously serviced all the brakes. Now to take the scrubbing brush and degreaser to the rear of the block to make it nicer and put everything back together after I have the shafts back. I also got a new rear crank seal for safety. Things are coming together slowly, just ticking things off the list. Super excited to illegaly drive her for the first time soon haha! Churp Moment of victory! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW gooey rusty muck 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Zeubin Posted June 7, 2015 Author Popular Post Share Posted June 7, 2015 Greets Amigos, Since last update, The gearbox is back in with new clutch assembly, frost plug and crank seal. After that, we looked into the brakes which were bled for maybe 45 mins before all the air was out (hopefully). The rusty old pressure plate Shiny new clutch plate Also installed this weekend are four new heater hoses and a pertronix electronic ignition system which was suspiciously easy to install... one of the hoses ripped to bits as I took it off so probably worth the time it took to replace them. Heater hoses are my new pet hate! Awkward little suckers to get to but worth replacing since they are the 40yr old originals. Also installed were a new inner and outer shifter boot I got from the states. Now she's going to Speedwells in Hamilton to sort out the carbs and get her running properly. Currently only one carb is working so 3 cylinders are firing. Really need the compression to build up so we can see if the brake booster brings the spongy brake pedal up to a good spot. After that's done, it's just shocks and a windscreen rubber to put in and we can go for a vin check. Cheers, Reubin 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Zeubin Posted June 7, 2015 Author Popular Post Share Posted June 7, 2015 Oh, I forgot to show y'all something else: I wanted to replace the super hard original water squirty tubes that run from the washer bottle to the jets to clean the windscreen, so looked around and found an old IV line my dad brought home from work. It actually fit perfectly haha I also had a nosey in the back and found the original jack and toolkit (may not be original tools but look old enough) in their super secret drug smuggling hatches behind the seats: 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Zeubin Posted June 18, 2015 Author Popular Post Share Posted June 18, 2015 It's ALIVE! After sending the Z to Speedwell in Hamilton to get the carbs looked at, she's purring like a kitten. The old boy said all the needles were gunked up from stale fuel and the slides were stuck. Looking all snazzy in the fresh air. Also gave the radiator a proper flush and got a nice tray of gunk out. Might have been helpful to jack her up to get the tray under a bit more... Tinkle time! I really like this photo haha a little accident. To do list: -Shocks -Windscreen rubber -Exhaust and muffler -High stop light? -Sort out slow voltage discharge 18 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Zeubin Posted July 1, 2015 Author Popular Post Share Posted July 1, 2015 Managed to the the old girl out to the Hamilton monthly meet last Thursday. Unsurprisingly the car handled much better with air in the tyres Also replaced the windscreen rubber in the weekend. I have also removed the bumpers to take them to Onehunga Electroplaters to get a few dings out and add some sparkle. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Zeubin Posted July 22, 2015 Author Popular Post Share Posted July 22, 2015 Ordered some seat covers from the states and got Greg (64 Valiant) to fit and trim them to the seats. Before in not too bad condition considering. Vinyl was really brittle and hard. After! The lighting isn't great but you get the idea. Make-shift solutions are often the most comfortable... okay maybe not this one. I'm really happy with the colour match. Big ups to Greggles for his work. 19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeubin Posted October 29, 2015 Author Share Posted October 29, 2015 Aloha, I thought it might be time to update this thing since the last post was... July? damn. Much work has been done however! - Bumpers re-chromed and all the little rubber bits replaced (in hindsight, the cost versus snazz factor here was not great but hell, it's done now). - New Tokico Illumina adjustable gas shock inserts front and rear. - New Eibach "performance" progressive springs front and back. - New Ball joints in the front. - New Tie-rod ends and boots on rack in the front. - Full black polyurethane bushing kit installed with plenty of swearing and grease. - New Spindle pins for the rear control arms. (because we had to cut the old bastards out). - Sent front control arms, rear control arms, mustache bar, diff mounts, front cross member to powder-coaters for cost effective snazz factor and protection. - Bought a set of 16" Konig Rewinds with tyres (yeah yeah not OG but were cost effective and I like them lots). - Scrubbed the exhaust and painted with heat paint stuff so the VIN man doesn't see the ugly weld job so much. (will replace eventually) - New exhaust manifold studs to try fix the leak at the gasket. Righto, that's enough for now... have some Pics: Le shock inserts Uh oh shocks need SHIMS to fit snug... nothing in the packaging... time to go see Hayden! Hayden has a magical Shim machine All safe and snug for another 40 years. That was the front suspension, but the back was a bit trickier I will break these posts up since I have a few more pics for y'all... 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Zeubin Posted October 29, 2015 Author Popular Post Share Posted October 29, 2015 Part 2: the mangling. Right, so the spindle pins go in the control arm, through the strut base and back out the control arm. What happens when the pins decide to stay home? We get physical. Then we get angry. then we say "nah stuff it just buy new ones" The trusty Hack saw has been pulled out too many times... Sad face. It took a ten ton press to get that bastard pin out. BUT while the rear was out, we could have some hypothetical fun... tee hee Yeah these are the wheels I am going with. I got some centre-cap stickers too and likey-a-lot BREAK for refreshments... 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Zeubin Posted December 14, 2015 Author Popular Post Share Posted December 14, 2015 Howdy Pard'ner A few more bits and pieces of progress: Powder Coated goodness. It's a nice feeling looking underneath and not thinking damn son, you nasty. Also replaced the front wheel bearings because yuck Had the front rotors skimmed. Looked like the pads have worn down at some point, I wonder what song they would play on an old record player. Also found an old WOF in the sun visor. Might be good proof for the plates? And the ones I know you're probably here for... All complete and ready for re-reg just waiting to hear from LTSA about the plates. Hasta la Vista, BABY Hoping to be ready to potentially take her to Nats if time off is approved 25 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Zeubin Posted January 6, 2016 Author Popular Post Share Posted January 6, 2016 LEGALITY! Today I booked the z in for a vin at Nostalgia Motors in Hamilton expecting to come back and find two or three non-compliances (not that I could find any, but they can be super picky) I got a call at half past three saying she's all good to go and she "flew through" the vin! I buzzed her over to VINZ to get rego and plates confirmed and we're legit. $140 odd for a year's rego sounds alright to me. Looking at carjam, the last time she had rego was August 1990! Obligatory sticker photo: That's 8 months from buy to fly. Only two months over schedule but the critical deadline was the Kumeu show so no problemo. Special thanks to OS'ers Cressy (Nick), Evan (Evan), 64valiant (Greg) and Miniman76 (Hayden) for their input. Pumped! 31 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Zeubin Posted January 21, 2016 Author Popular Post Share Posted January 21, 2016 Howdy, Went to the Kumeu show on Saturday for the first proper road test and she drives suuuuper smooth. Sits at 60-65mph no problem, quiet as with nice temp and oil pressure. Suspension and steering are awesome but gearbox is a bit heavy and crunches going to first or reverse sometimes. Picked up Evan on the way and tried to beat the heat. Met up with the other oldschoolers, managed a park a couple of cars away. Because nobody likes a picture-less update: Photo cred to Karljsw from the Z club. Got heaps of different folks oogling even at a more V8/American/Muzz event (more than I expected anyway). My folks also got a new pup so I thought I'd get the token "bitches love datsuns" photo: Also got time off and signed up for nats so SEE YOUS THERE AYE 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Zeubin Posted August 4, 2016 Author Popular Post Share Posted August 4, 2016 Oh wow I do need to update this. Went to Nats. Got stung by a bee between me toes. Couldn't drive. Still had a blast. Shortly after that, the engine came out. There was nothing particularly wrong with the way she was running, but I wanted to be sure that gooey stuff that I could see behind the frost plug when the clutch was done wasn't too severe. Also, I'm a fussy prick and it looked scummy Opened up the go-box and found the bottom two inches of the block was full of brown silty goop from rust and coolant dropping out of solution is my guess. So the block came out, got soda blasted and re-painted. New cam chain, new rings, new head gasket, carbs cleaned out, new water pump, new fan belt, starter reconditioned, coolant overflow bottle installed, rocker cover blasted, all new frost plugs, resurfaced inlet valves & seats, replaced valve guide seals, probably some more stuff... Came out looking much better. I had a retired mechanic friend-of-a-friend do the difficult stuff. Engines have too much potential to grenade for me to risk my meagre skills. And that's it for build thread stuff. Next is still the exhaust. Apologies for the pic of my sexy feet. 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Zeubin Posted September 14, 2016 Author Popular Post Share Posted September 14, 2016 Fresh progress! I finally got an exhaust system for the old girl that doesn't look like it was made by a 6th former in metal tech. A while back, I ordered a stainless Fujitsubo Legalis R system from RHD Japan out of... Japan. The guys at RHD were really good to deal with, no hassles at all. I decided not to go Octopus leg headers mainly because I like my orange air box and I researched to find if you don't upgrade the engine, there can be back pressure issues with general performance. I kept the 6 into 2 stock manifold and had Sinco fabricate from the stock manifold to just behind the firewall out of stainless and they did a better job than I was expecting. Very happy with the result. The two main reasons for the upgrade are the look of the can on the back and that the crappy system was leaking all over the place. Also, it sounded wimpy. Here are some Pics Before: Also before: PITSTOP! After: Also after: I was specifically looking for the vertical stack and diagonal cut. I then found out it's like that on the 432 models which is kinda neat. She has a good rumble now and looks the part. Bonus pic for rebel points: It can be our little secret. 18 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeubin Posted August 23, 2018 Author Share Posted August 23, 2018 So the old girl has been sent to the painters for a bare metal re-spray (not removing interior or engine+drivetrain). After doing a couple of Gumboot Rally excursions, the stickers they give you were a bit too strong for the poorly bonded paint applied by the previous owner and it peeled off :/ So after a bit of saving I've stripped her out and decided to invest in some panel and paint. Also got a full weatherstripping rubber kit and shiny new badges out of the states since most of them broke when taking them off. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeubin Posted August 23, 2018 Author Share Posted August 23, 2018 The good thing is it was white underneath too I guess. Feels bad man. 6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Zeubin Posted August 28, 2018 Author Popular Post Share Posted August 28, 2018 Rust found has been minimal as expected. Behind rear arches, in the rear dog-leg and the bottom of the front quarter panels. Would have spread over time so good to get it chopped out anyhow. Found out she has been in a bit of a crash probably back in the 70's since the rear left panel on it was bonded with lead joins (proper OS). Doesn't bother me since the repair has stood the test of time very well. 25 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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