1970 240z - A painfully slow 'restoration'
Discussion
Due to a couple of PM's I thought i'd start a little thread on my 240z. I was going to just get it MOT'd+ registered however after seeing a couple of very nice 240z's and a couple of very rare versions I decided that I needed to do it properly.
After a none start with another and a lots of searching I found a car, it was the model I wanted, an early 1970 spec car, this was mainly as I prefer the badges on the rear 3/4 over the vents, along with the vents on the boot.
I did cheat a little by getting a LHD car, it was a 2 owner car that had lived in Arizona for all its life.
After a drive on a 'closed' stretch of roads I decided what I was going to do with it.
Basically a bare shell rebuild. As this will take lots of time and I don't have too much spare at the minute it'll take a while.
Also I discovered just how hard it is to get some of the parts for these and how many just aren't made anymore. This will add extra cost and time. Its not going to be a build to factory spec but tweaked in a period fashion while being standard inside.
After a none start with another and a lots of searching I found a car, it was the model I wanted, an early 1970 spec car, this was mainly as I prefer the badges on the rear 3/4 over the vents, along with the vents on the boot.
I did cheat a little by getting a LHD car, it was a 2 owner car that had lived in Arizona for all its life.
After a drive on a 'closed' stretch of roads I decided what I was going to do with it.
Basically a bare shell rebuild. As this will take lots of time and I don't have too much spare at the minute it'll take a while.
Also I discovered just how hard it is to get some of the parts for these and how many just aren't made anymore. This will add extra cost and time. Its not going to be a build to factory spec but tweaked in a period fashion while being standard inside.
From what I can see and tell from the photos you have An incredibly Original Z survivor. And a 70 car as well And in One of the best and scarce colours !!
I have had 3 of these ( VPK 426 M a Silver one ) was my daily driver during 86 / 87 and I urge you NOT to pull that Z apart , it doesn't need it !!
Ifs it's an Arizona car it won't / shouldn't be rotten , all your car needs is a sympathetic rolling refurb, but fit a UK 5 Speed box to it .
I have had 3 of these ( VPK 426 M a Silver one ) was my daily driver during 86 / 87 and I urge you NOT to pull that Z apart , it doesn't need it !!
Ifs it's an Arizona car it won't / shouldn't be rotten , all your car needs is a sympathetic rolling refurb, but fit a UK 5 Speed box to it .
Not wishing to hijack this thread, I've been watching this one here in New Zealand. http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/other/24...
Would it be a desirable model and worth the £15,000 asking. Can these be investments?
Would it be a desirable model and worth the £15,000 asking. Can these be investments?
neutral 3 said:
From what I can see and tell from the photos you have An incredibly Original Z survivor. And a 70 car as well And in One of the best and scarce colours !!
I have had 3 of these ( VPK 426 M a Silver one ) was my daily driver during 86 / 87 and I urge you NOT to pull that Z apart , it doesn't need it !!
Ifs it's an Arizona car it won't / shouldn't be rotten , all your car needs is a sympathetic rolling refurb, but fit a UK 5 Speed box to it .
It did look like that, and while not in terminal need a few things I found pushed me in that direction.I have had 3 of these ( VPK 426 M a Silver one ) was my daily driver during 86 / 87 and I urge you NOT to pull that Z apart , it doesn't need it !!
Ifs it's an Arizona car it won't / shouldn't be rotten , all your car needs is a sympathetic rolling refurb, but fit a UK 5 Speed box to it .
A poke about looking for soft spots...
The same on each dog leg area, coupled to the fact that on one side I noticed that the swage lines didn't like up and had traces of filler.
I was going to repair this with the car as is. I started looking around for hidden rust, basically these cars can trap any moisture. When taking the interior carpets out you could see the factory sound proofing had a few bubbles, these could only be caused by a slow corrosion process..
You couldn't see any holes before looking under the sound proofing, if left this would spread and rot the floors out.
A few other small holes were found.
These were confined to the floors, i'm not sure if they were from the inside out or moisture from underneath the exterior underseal??
These were found without removing the underseal which had to come off as it was dried out and flaky in a lot of areas.
Other problem areas on these were 100% solid.
All original panels and spot welds still visible.
These were confined to the floors, i'm not sure if they were from the inside out or moisture from underneath the exterior underseal??
These were found without removing the underseal which had to come off as it was dried out and flaky in a lot of areas.
Other problem areas on these were 100% solid.
All original panels and spot welds still visible.
Yep!
The battery tray area underneath is solid, its on the seam from underneath maybe?
A few other issues were..
Diff only driving on wheel and a slight bit of white smoke even when warm, no sign of the normal headgasket issues so I pulled it off...
a slight weep between the water jacket and chamber across the jacket, also the issues with that chamber. Looks like its dropped a valve before.
This was the point I decided to to a full rebuild/bare shell.
The engine had to come out
the diff had to come out
I had a few bits to sort out on the floor/dogleg's.
Do it properly and do it once right?
The battery tray area underneath is solid, its on the seam from underneath maybe?
A few other issues were..
Diff only driving on wheel and a slight bit of white smoke even when warm, no sign of the normal headgasket issues so I pulled it off...
a slight weep between the water jacket and chamber across the jacket, also the issues with that chamber. Looks like its dropped a valve before.
This was the point I decided to to a full rebuild/bare shell.
The engine had to come out
the diff had to come out
I had a few bits to sort out on the floor/dogleg's.
Do it properly and do it once right?
Basically brings me to its current state
As you can see very very solid on the whole. Needs new floor rails due to dodgy jacking in its previous life.
Scraping the underseal off has revealed a few pin holes on the floor in clusters, I guess due to the grade of metal used and the cars original paint/prep process?
As you can see very very solid on the whole. Needs new floor rails due to dodgy jacking in its previous life.
Scraping the underseal off has revealed a few pin holes on the floor in clusters, I guess due to the grade of metal used and the cars original paint/prep process?
I'll be interested to see your updates as they come. I started fixing a relatively small problem on my own '70s classic in January 2008 and that turned into a complete bare-shell resto too when I found pinholes in the floorpans that had previously been covered with fibreglass. It's all part of the fun. Apparently.
OlberJ said:
You sold the GKD then?
Excellent, excellent project. Will be watching with anticipation. 240Z is one of my favourite cars. Tempted to change the engine for something beefier?
1UZ-FE
Yep sold the GKD about a year ago.Excellent, excellent project. Will be watching with anticipation. 240Z is one of my favourite cars. Tempted to change the engine for something beefier?
1UZ-FE
I'm not going to change the engine, I want something I can use and enjoy. The shell/car is too good to cut about to fit some turbo lump(I'm of the opinion turbo's should be saved for oil burners!).
Its getting a tweak.
+1 mm high comp pistons
Balanced internals
lightweight flywheel
proper engine damper
Lumpy cam
triple 40mm carbs
proper exhaust
better dizzy/cdi ignition
4.4 ratio LSD
s14a gearbox.
Nothing major but it should deliver a solid 170bhp and be a good fun engine, more importantly completely usable.
I like the idea of retaining the original engine in an original car
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