boost Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Hi guys, Well after a month or so of roaming the internet I have finally found the car ! It's a silver 1974 260z. Bought it off the 2nd owner who originally bought it off an old lady. The car has never had an accident so it's structurally sound. The gentlemen I bought the car from has owned it for 26 years. It was registered for 6 years before he took it off the road and stored it away in his shed. While in the shed a smaller garden shed panels fell onto the drivers side door damaging it. It has a bit of rust on the driver side sill at the top corner Couple of rust holes on both front fenders on the top, don't know how these got here. Bit of rust on the battery holder and dogbones. I was worried there would be more rust on the dogbone but it seems to be pretty firm when I press against the panel with my thumb. It's got a couple of cracks on the dash and the seat covers need replacing as well. The windscreen has a massive crack so that will also need replacing. Everywhere seems to be in pretty good nick. The metal in the boot and floor round the seats looks to be in really good nick. Is there a test I can do to see how far through the rust has penetrated especially along the bottom side of the chassis beneath the doors. I'm trying to avoid hitting it with a flap disc or wire brush to remove the paint to inspect the rust properly. It's a matching engine & chassis. All the interior parts and panels are all there, all electrics works. The motor starts and she drives. Anyway here she is. Original paint. Faded as you would expect. Cheers Steve T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldmates260z Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 That's great, there's another barn find (literally as I can see the paddock). Looks like a very good base, especially everything working. The build begins..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted March 29, 2015 Administrators Share Posted March 29, 2015 Looks like you got a bargain based on what you've told me. Rear hatch slam panel looks pretty clean, well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CroS13 Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Looks like you got yourself a nice little car there! hopefully at a decent price too. There is no way to assess the rust until you hit it with a flap disk and hopefully you wont loose your grinder! Mine had 5-8mm of bog in some parts of the dog leg, so you press on it, and its solid as a rock, think that its 5mm thick of solid filler, its not going to flex at all. Wont lie, im abit Jelly right now! Looking forward to your build! Rudolf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted March 29, 2015 Administrators Share Posted March 29, 2015 Wont lie, im abit Jelly right now! I believe it also runs and has the original 5 speed gear knob and OEM radio still in it. Always a good sign that it's been left alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boost Posted March 29, 2015 Author Share Posted March 29, 2015 Yep it's exciting to see the interior bits all still there. I want to find out if there is most rust than I think but don't want to hit it with a flap disk yet. Only time will tell I guess. Still pretty stoked with the purchase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators PB260Z Posted March 31, 2015 Moderators Share Posted March 31, 2015 Congrats, lovely looking "Barn Find" just proves they are still out there waiting to be discovered. Looking forward to seeing you get her back on the road. Cheers PB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boost Posted April 1, 2015 Author Share Posted April 1, 2015 Thanks. So the car arrived today. Drove it up the steep drive way and it almost didn't make it up, felt like it was going to stall. I need to fix this problem. The fuel in the tank is extremely old. I don't know when the spark plugs and leads were last replaced. I don't know if the previous owner has played around with the carby adjustments. Would changing the fuel, spark plugs and leads make a difference to the sluggish performance. I don't need it to drive well but at least make it up and down the drive way without hesitation/stalling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldmates260z Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 If it has been sitting around for a long time, as a minimum: - take out all the fuel - clean out fuel bowl in the SU's and float needle - new fuel filter - new plugs would not hurt - flush radiator also a good idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris240 Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 Congrat z Looks clean and dry, how does the clutch feel ? Yep, do all the above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boost Posted April 1, 2015 Author Share Posted April 1, 2015 Would the haynes manual have instructions on how to clean the fuel bowl and float needle ? I've never touch a carby in my life... guess it's time to learn. It's a Hatachi SU round top btw. Seems to go into gear pretty easily. It's the lack of power when I rev it that causes the car to want to stall up the drive way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldmates260z Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 It is very simple but first look at the manual so you understand what all the parts look like. Do you have the manual? The bush mechanics (mine) fix instead of cleaning out the whole carbie. You just need to: - disconnect the fuel lines - undo the screws holding the fuel bowl on - remove bowl, careful not to damage gasket - you will see the float the that is held in place with a pin - remove the pin very carefully as this holds in the float needle - then remove needle and float at the same time (very fiddley) - clean out needle seat and all parts removed - blow through line where the fuel feeds in - reassemble float and needle - blow through again and raise the float to see that it stops flow and check at what height it switches fuel off - put bowl back on and you are away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boost Posted April 2, 2015 Author Share Posted April 2, 2015 should I change the oil inside the oil bath and giving the plunger a clean ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boost Posted April 16, 2015 Author Share Posted April 16, 2015 Hi guys, Been busy with work so I haven't had any time to work on the 260 since it got dropped off, only had time to get a better look inside and around the car. The floor seems to be in pretty good nick. The boot carpet seems to be ok to reuse but the carpet in the cockpit area has gone rock hard and crumbles to bits so that will need replacing. The chassis rail on the drivers side seems to be ok along the whole length, however on the passenger side under the passenger seat area there is rust. I picked at it and managed to create a hole the size of a 5cent coin so I suspect it will only get bigger if I pick at it some more. I won't have time to work on the for a long while. I want to slow down the rusting process. If I pump rust kill or etch primer into the chassis rail and plugged it up would that slow down the rust until I find the time to fix the problem properly ? Some photos.. What is this ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted April 16, 2015 Administrators Share Posted April 16, 2015 The rust won't get much worse if it's in storage, rust takes time to develop if you're not planning on leaving it a few years it is fine to do nothing. That last photo looks like some kind of fire extinguisher holder, not a standard part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boost Posted April 16, 2015 Author Share Posted April 16, 2015 It won't be inside a garage. It resides on the drive way with a car cover over it. The cover is excellent in keeping it dry when it rains. I'm more worried about the moisture making its way into the chassis rail while it is sitting there. I'm thinking of filling it up with the rust converter stuff then plugging the hole up so no more water/moisture can find its way inside the chassis rail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dat240z Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 Its the ground dampness which rises - thats the biggest killer when stored outside mate. And sweating under the cover isnt great for the paint either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boost Posted June 9, 2015 Author Share Posted June 9, 2015 Ever since getting the car home I haven't had much time to work on it. Over the long weekend I managed to find a couple of hours free so I started stripping the rear of the car. I'm having troubles removing the rear tail lights. I removed all the nuts on the inside and those plastic clips on top thinking the tail light and shroud would simply slip right off but it didn't. What's the secret to removing the lights and shroud ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted June 9, 2015 Administrators Share Posted June 9, 2015 Maybe they are glued in? Photo? They should come out relatively easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boost Posted June 9, 2015 Author Share Posted June 9, 2015 were they glued in during factory assembly ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted June 9, 2015 Administrators Share Posted June 9, 2015 Not that I'm aware of, but the old gasket might have been glued in at some stage to help seal (fumes from exhaust) and as the rubber deteriorated it may have helped reduce fumes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZED660 Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Have you removed the six plastic rivets along the top of the tail light garnish? You see them when you lift the hatch and they have a small plastic pin in the centre that you have to push out to remove the body of the rivet. The pins usually drop on the inside of the garnish and you can recover them once you remove the fitting. The tail lights are attached to the garnish with about 4 screws. There are two other rivets in the centre number plate panel that you see once you remove the number plate. Once you have removed the rivets and disconnected the tail light globes the garnish and tail light can be removed carefully from each side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boost Posted June 9, 2015 Author Share Posted June 9, 2015 Yep I have removed all those plastic clips at the top under the hatch lid. I see the two rivets behind the number plate. Where are the 4 screws located ? I can't see these screws. The only fasteners (nuts) I can see are the ones from the back of the lights going through the chassis from inside. There's about 5 iirc per tail light. Other than these nuts, the plastic clips above the garnish / under the hatch and the 2 vivet's behind the lic plate I can't see anything else holding the light shroud & light assembly to the chassis. I'm hesitant on using excessive force in case I damage the shroud. I'll give it another shot this afternoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boost Posted June 9, 2015 Author Share Posted June 9, 2015 Update. Got the bloody tail lights out. The gasket were pretty old and that bonded the lights to the chassis. It took a fair bit of force to push it from the inside out but. Now to undo the interior trimmings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boost Posted June 11, 2015 Author Share Posted June 11, 2015 Few photos of the parts removed so far. I must admit I was a bit worried as to the condition id find the chassis in with the panels and carpet removed but it doesn't look that bad so far. There was a bit (1-2mm) of filler just above the passenger side tail light where the hatch comes down. Thankfully it was only in that corner and not the entire length from left to right. I'm having troubles removing the quarter panel shown below. I have removed all the panels connected to or adjacent to this quarter panel and the panel itself moves freely but I can't seem to get the panel free. The lower bracket for the hatch strut is in the way. I don't want to bend or flex the panel in case I snap it. I've done a search and it seems flexing/bending/slow manoeuvring the panel around this bracket is the only way to get it free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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