Jump to content

Kato Kids BMW M3 powered 71' 240Z


KatoKid

Recommended Posts

Hi all.

 

A few months ago I purchased a 77' 2+2 with the intention of doing some serious mods (RB25DET) to it however the car is very original, came with RWC, original rego, lots of paperwork all matching numbers etc and is in good condition so Ive decided to keep it as a weekend driver while I looked for another candidate that I wouldnt loose sleep over inflicting some serious mods too.

 

Wasnt too long before I got lucky.... through a friend of a friend I heard about a Z that had been sitting in a garage for many years and manged to convince the owner to let me take a peek. Initial impressions wernt that great but as I looked closer I realised it had some potential.

 

Car is a 4/71 plated HS30 chassis #  00728 and had been partly stripped 17 years ago for a resto by the current owner but he lost interest and never went any further. The full drive train and underbonet were undisturbed but he's pulled all panels off as well as the interior and paint stripped the shell. All parts were in boxes and marked.

 

Overall condition of car:

 

Good Bits

No "visible" holes under the battery tray.

No holes near bonnet hinge mounts

Fuel filler excellent.

Rear hatch and hinge mounts excellent.

Slam panel, rear valance and beaver panel excellent.

Spare wheel well excellent.

Roof excellent.

Drivers floor and rail good (I think).

Firewall good.

Bonnet has a small hole.

Rear wheel arches are pretty good 8/10.

 

Not so Good Bits

Both doors will need skins.

Front guards will need repair sections.

Dash...as expected

Reinforcement plate on chassis side near caster rod has holes on battery side, drivers side looks suss.

Passenger rear floor and rail will need repair, front half looks OK.

Both dog legs, rear section of sill and inner section are pretty bad.

Passenger front sill panel (behind guard) stuffed.

Top radiator support panel had a foam seal glued to it and is pretty sad.

 

I finally convinced the owner that it was better off in my shed than his so we swaped cash and car.

 

Overall Im pretty happy with the acquisition.

 

It had been repainted from the beige original colour to a dark red and is covered in residual paint stipper and superficial surface rust. Plan is to get it on a rotisserie and have it blasted to reveal the deeper evil.

 

Thanks to Lurch for looking over the 2+2 and advice thus far and thanks to all on the forum for the inspiration to take this on.

 

Will see you at the BBQ tomorrow night.

 

David.

 

post-1672-144023558358_thumb.jpg

post-1672-144023558363_thumb.jpg

post-1672-144023558368_thumb.jpg

post-1672-144023558374_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Still weighing up options.......RB25DET is easy power but the more I get involved with Z's the more I appreciate the history so I'm leaning towards a tough RB25DE with TBI like you did. Even better would be a RB30DE.

 

If you're going to the BBQ tomorrow would like to hear your thoughts on what was good about the RB25DE combo and why you didn't stay with it.

 

David

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators

Yeah, I'll be there and can tell you about it all. The reasons I didn't stick with the RB was no fault of the motor, it was my lack of funds to develop it more to make good power! In its place I installed the matching number L24 just for originality.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Went to the PO's place last night to pick up the doors and rear hatch that I couldn't take with me when I picked up the car. Rear hatch is pretty good, just one small rust hole in the window channel. Door frames are good but skins will be required.

 

Bonus time.....the deal included an old engine that was under the PO's house, he didn't know much about it and I hadn't even looked at it. We pulled it out and when I got home I compared the numbers on the data plate...bingo they match, so Ive got the original engine!

 

Head is an E31 casting, from what I read these are sought after??? Engine hasn't had a sump on it but inside the crankcase isn't rusty and it turns freely so will crack it open  and see what I find inside.

 

David.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators

What a piece of luck with the numbers.. well done. First thing is check for corrosion in the head to make sure it's fine. When I got my engine built, they couldn't use my E31 head because the alloy went too "soft"? Ended up using a head from a R30 Skyline.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Progress report...

 

Mechanically the car was complete when I purchased it so before I pulled the engine thought I would check what condition it was in. Changed the oil, pulled the plugs and cranked it over for a while to get some oil pressure and fuel to the carbs, refitted the plugs and she started straight away and ran really well. Not bad after 17 years. Couldn't drive it though as the brake MC had no fluid in either circuit.

 

Anyway, pulled the engine and gear box last week. The front edge of the shifter opening in the trans tunnel had been enlarged by about 100mm which suggested it had a later gearbox installed, and sure enough the oil filler is on the left hand side so probably a 280 box??? Then I did a bit of a double take when I saw the tailshaft with two slip joints! Cant say Ive ever seen this before so unless Nissan had some weird tailshaft theories going on I'm guessing that the car was originally equipped with a 71A box with the flange and to fit the later box someone has taken the flange off the front universal and fitted the slip yoke in its place resulting in what you see below. If universal joints the same size then its possible.

 

Car is 2/71 and chassis 728, is this early enough to have a 71A fitted from factory? Any comments appreciated.

 

She's basically stripped now and once the front and rear suspension is out its time for the rotisserie. Fuel, handbrake and brake lines will be removed on the rotisserie.

 

Cheers.

 

David.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

post-1672-144023561289_thumb.jpg

post-1672-144023561298_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good work Kato....will you stick with the L series now? Looks like you've got some work ahead of you, all good fun though. It's amazing what's in sheds around the place.

 

Why is the Burg half a KTM? If so, does that make it a quarter a Husky? remember they took all the best bit's to Italy...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bluerat,

 

Still want to do a tough NA RB30DE or even a M3 if I can find one.

 

Ive had KTM's for many years and wanted something different, since KTM bought Husaberg they've really made a difference. The Burg is all KTM except the actual frame design. Even the cylinder head and gearbox internals are mostly pirated bits from the KTM parts list. Should hook up for a ride if your local.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

AHA that explains it!! I just read in ADB that KTM are thinking of a 2 stroke 'Burg!! If im ever in Melbourne with the bike, I'll look you up, there seems to be heaps of top riding in the Vic highlands. We're pretty spoilt down here in Tassie as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Update time.

 

Finally got the rotisserie built and got the car up on it. Its so good to be able to flip it over to work on it! And before Lurch or anyone else jumps on me, yes I still have to add the tie bar between the front and rear pivots.

 

Thought I would be clever and bought 2 x $99.00 Chinese engine stands with the idea that I would just add some height and width to these as it would be cheaper than buying all the steel and wheels from scratch. Turns out the Chinese engine stands use 60x60 RHS and we only have 65x65 RHS in Aus so ended up building most from scratch in 65 and only used the pivots/plates and wheels. Used 50x50 Duragal for the chassis mounts cos I had it lying around.

 

Its nice to see the underside in good daylight and refreshing to really confirm condition of the floor pans.

 

Next on the list is to remove the sound deadening on the inside, has anyone tried the dry ice method as opposed to a heat gun. Any feedback apprecited.

 

David.

 

post-1672-144023564438_thumb.jpg

post-1672-144023564448_thumb.jpg

post-1672-144023564457_thumb.jpg

post-1672-144023564864_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Been a bit distracted with other things but have manged to get some work done on the 240.

 

Striped all the bitumen sound deadening from the floor with a heat gun...what a PITA! Good news is that I didn't find any surprises.

 

Next was to get started on the rust repairs....both strengthening plates on the chassis rails just forward of the firewall had rust holes in them so I drilled the spot welds and then cut out what was left of the rail just enough to get back to some decent metal. Because if the location I decided to overlap rather than butt weld the new section of rail in place and then made a new strengthening plate to replicate the original and plug welded it in place. Will seam seal prior to painting to exclude any moisture.

 

The passenger footwell had been clobbered by something in its previous life and the PO had used a bit of heat and a hammer (not very successfully) to bash it back into shape but had left it with some serious creases and no amount of massaging was going to get it looking good so I decided to cut it out and start again.

 

post-1672-144023576492_thumb.jpg

post-1672-144023576501_thumb.jpg

post-1672-144023576508_thumb.jpg

post-1672-144023576515_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good luck with the project mate. Hope to find a 240 or 260 to play with after I finish the 2+2. Had to keep looking over my shoulder to make sure the wife couldn't see me typing the last bit. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...