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my original 240z now a work in progress


JDM_240z

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Hey guys

 

i'm Jamie and new to this forum. Thought i might share with you my now project 240z i purchased a couple of months ago down south from perth. I got this car and it barely ran, looked rough but the interior was still really nice and the car still has matching numbers and is build number 803. I gave it a buff and a big tune up, fitted electronic dizzy and had the front brakes rebuilt. I recently took it to a work track day and evidently did some damage (suspected run cam bearing by the sounds of it) so now i'm taking this opportunity to do some resto on it. I'm going to do it in stages so it doesn't hit me all at once in the pocket and so i can still drive it in between etc. I'm going to keep it as original as i can but modify it to how i want it. all mods will it basically bolt on so if the need ever arose to make it how it was , it can be. I really want to put flares on it but can't bring myself to cut into such an original car, so insted of going 17x9.5 i'll go 17x8.5 that sort of thing.

 

Here are a couple of pics to show you what i have to work with

 

DSCN1984_zps45577968.jpg

DSCN1979_zpsf03fbb3c.jpg

 

as i go along i'll explain my steps on it and if you guys have opinions please let me know.

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Step 1: Remove engine, gearbox and basically take the whole front of the car off. Remove everything from the engine bay and from the window forward have it sand blasted and repainted white.

 

Had a couple of spare hours today so got stuck into it, as you can see the engine bay isn't the nicest looking so going to get this redone and then get the exterior painted at a later date.

 

DSCN1989_zps007eff5f.jpg

DSCN2008_zpsf5dbf5db.jpg

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Ah, Pat's old Z.  Did you buy it off a guy called Frank?

 

 

 

I can't remember the guys name, i think it may have been Frank, i got the car down in Bridgetown.

 

Had a bit of a play today trying to sweat out the hang over and got a bit done. Found a couple of things out about the car today as well. I took the gearbox out and noticed a couple of things that leads me to believe it wasn't a factory manual, such as the cross member not fitting nicely and the trim that goes around the gear leaver is homemade, but eveything else looks factory so not really sure.

Since i was on a roll I started taking the engine apart and removed the head. Finding out why it started making bad rattling and metal on metal noises from the top end. I found that one of the oil squirter bolts was either missing or has fallen out causing starvation on the cam. Once i had the head off it looks like i made have blown a head gasket but looking at the corrosion in the water gallery it was very close to breaching the bore anyway.

 

DSCN2027.jpg

 

The more I go into this build the more I want to get silly with it and fit 17x9.5's and flares. What are your opinions on this? Bite the bullet and do it or keep the car looking more original by not cutting the guards and fit 17x8.5's....

 

I really do want to model my build on something like this as it just looks look staunch.

 

phpOZoF6dPM.jpg

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Hi Jamie.

 

Being chassis #803 your car would have come with a flanged output shaft 71A gearbox and like most has probably been upgraded to a later 71B with a splined output shaft. The shifter on the 71B gearbox is slightly further forward hence the non factory look.

 

While I love ZG flares and the wide stance I would think twice about cutting up an early 240 unless the guards are really shot. You can still fit 8" rims with good 225 tyres which really look good. Your car looks really clean and dare I say original IMHO adding ZG's will devalue it.

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Hi Jamie.

 

Being chassis #803 your car would have come with a flanged output shaft 71A gearbox and like most has probably been upgraded to a later 71B with a splined output shaft. The shifter on the 71B gearbox is slightly further forward hence the non factory look.

 

While I love ZG flares and the wide stance I would think twice about cutting up an early 240 unless the guards are really shot. You can still fit 8" rims with good 225 tyres which really look good. Your car looks really clean and dare I say original IMHO adding ZG's will devalue it.

 

I agree with KatoKid i love the flared look buy and you can fit 225 on the rear no probs, as per my car i have 225's on the rear see the picks in the link.

 

http://www.viczcar.com/forum/index.php/topic,6764.0.html

 

John

 

 

 

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Be aware that if you stiffen and lower your springs you can run ZG flares without cutting the guards, I get a small scrappe every know and then on rough road or a hard turn into a tight corner but otherwise all good.

Rev.

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Hi Jamie, another WA 240Z great to see. Yes Pat's old car, always was a good one. There is a 240Z/260Z club in Perth that meet regularly, great bunch of guys and very helpful, a number of them compete in club Motorsport as well. There is a membership day in Mid February that is held at Belmont, either 17th or 24th. Come along and meet the guys. I will advise of date when confirmed at the committee meeting this month.

 

Cheers Billy

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Thanks for the info on the gearbox, that makes sense. He did mention he had changed it.

 

Thats what I thought about the flares, i just wanted to confirm it. I'll still add a front air dam and rear spoiler but i think i'll leave the flares as there isn't any rust in front gaurds and very little in the rear.

 

Would be good to meet some guys with cars, the info would be helpful and knowing the right people always helps!

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I'm pretty much set on running generic Z Mags.... Rota RB, just keeps that nice clean look and they are well priced. I find in my opinion those mags look ok in 15 and 16, but with a 17 it sort of has a bit of wow factor as they are large for the car but still suit it. I want as much dish as i can possibly fit, i'm going to roll the lips of the guards up but from what i've read 17x8.5 +4 is what fits? maybe even run a tyre size smaller for a bit of stretch to get the wheels out that extra little bit (the drift car driver in me coming out) then lowering the car to suit.

 

But mags are sitting at about step 3 at the moment but i'm constantly thinking about what to run

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http://custompinoyrides.com/2011/07/the-devil-wears-rota-400whp-rb25det-datsun-240z-a-k-a-devil-z/

 

If you are after low aggressive stance with 17", this the kind of fitment you have to do. Cause they are so big, if you want to get the car close to the ground like less than 10cm you have to make the gap between the fender/flare and wheel really small.

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yeah i'm definately thinking about 16x9 and 16x8.5 now, just trying to get them i think might be the issue. I'm going to borrow some friends mags and see how they fit with 16's and 17's then make my decision.

 

Purchased an engine stand last night so now the next thing is get the block out and start getting some quotes on getting a short block rebuilt. Any body have any suggestions ? I want to try raise the compression so i'm thinking flat top pistons and shave the head. I want to get a mild cam and run triples too.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thought i'd give you guys a bit of an update as I found some motivation and an engine crane today. I've finally got the engine block out and on a stand now.

 

DSCN2043.jpg

 

Once i got the engine pulled apart i found a piston skirt in the sump and the no.6 piston was the culprit. I also found a hairline crack around the pin area so i'm quite glad i made the decision to pull the engine down as a major failure was going to happen

 

DSCN2041.jpg

 

the engine still looks in pretty good condition, i think its had a cheap rebuild in the past and it looks like it has oversized bearings fitted and the crank looks perfect. Bores still show hone marks but i intend on going oversize on the pistons anyway. Still researching a couple of piston options but i'll be putting in flat top/high comp ones regardless for a little more power

 

DSCN2045.jpg

 

Still tossing up a couple of options on the head too as i'm not chasing huge power but don't want to leave it standard either so still doing my numbers on that too but its going to end up with a stage 3 cam and at least mild porting.

 

This weeks work will be getting the engine assesed and measured. I will also finish pulling everything else in the engine bay out, including fuel lines, brake lines and components for sand blasting at the start of next month, so things are progressing. Its good at this stage of the build as its not costing me money .....yet...... that part is to come and i know its going to hurt.

 

DSCN2042.jpg

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  • 3 months later...

Finally got my engine back from the reconditioners today. I have to dummy assemble it to check valve to piston clearances. The block has been bored to 60thou and decked to raise compression.

 

AD48E3FF-25E4-43AF-9DCA-A473D941F7C4-9234-00000E05FACF8E74_zps3b11d8ae.jpg

 

E23A820C-34CC-49C9-A1AD-221DDB324E38-9234-00000E0606833D0F_zps9467c7a9.jpg

 

The "reconditioned" head I got off eBay ended up being a lemon, they just skimmed the head but valve guides were shot, seats fell out and it was bent across the top. So after much machining, l28 intake valves were fitted with new guides, has had some mild porting done, heavy valve springs fitted with its performance camshaft

 

8F1960AA-068D-4C1D-A219-6D29DB9578EA-9234-00000E05BD48F9EE_zps063ae0e0.jpg

 

275B8FB7-19C2-423F-A4B8-89F0A8CBB355-9234-00000E05E9719346_zpsbaab199f.jpg

 

This should give me some motivation I've been lacking pretty badly, so very excited to get this engine together.

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What sort of static compression is your motor going to be running now and what is a stage 3 cam?

How many mm have been planed off the head and block now? Have the cam towers been shimmed?

 

 

 

 

I have 16x8 +4 Rota RB-Rs and i needed to roll the rear guards to fit them with a 225/50, good luck getting a 9" under there without a flare. They are like -13 offset too...

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Yeah i was just fishing with the idea of the 9s, from the research I've done 15x9's +0 but the wheels i want aren't in that offset and I'd be kidding myself if i thought 15x9 -13 would fit without flares. I'm going to try fit 15x8.5 -6 which has the same amount of poke as the 15x9 +0.

 

I need to work out the final Static compression ratio but it should be up around 10.5:1 i imagine. The camshaft company had 5 different cam options and I chose the one i think is best suited for my engine/what they car will be used for. which they specs are.

 

camtech_zpse9df3ec8.png

 

I did ask the engine builder to shim the towers as required and actually haven't unwrapped my head to see, if not done will have to be done, but that's no major.

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8.5 -6 will stick out. I made a tyre calculator for the rear of the zed in excel. 8 +0 rim will be flush with the outer edge of the guard.

 

 

To run unflared 9" rims you need like +20 offset

 

 

 

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15x8.5 will poke a little but it's what I want. I dummy fitted some wheels I borrowed from friends with the results below.....

 

15x8 -4

CF8370DE-86D1-4963-AE1A-A6255AA48178-9748-00000F15F174BA50_zps70fdecf9.jpg

41DB7F11-4D25-439C-9CD0-57619FE10975-9748-00000F15FD0C81AA_zps4e625029.jpg

 

15x9 -10 which obviously poke to much but wanted to see

EEB1B2FB-1195-4F48-9C79-1DDD5A79069A-9748-00000F160CF62BC4_zps583e9df3.jpg

04B3B788-B04E-4073-80C2-B1CDB09A241E-9748-00000F16046E528D_zps6a76a48a.jpg

 

And this is the look I'm going for and from what I can tell these are 16x8.5 -6 and maybe ill go 16s, just depends on my mood when it comes down to clicking the button.....

 

DB4A0DBC-4A6A-4897-9E1C-B3067FFAFE48-9748-00000F1D62CB0FF7_zpsd1c6a9eb.jpg

2E3E917E-81B3-4AE1-9594-40622BBB6650-9748-00000F1D6E3620D8_zps909c6f68.jpg

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16x8+0 with 225/50/16 semi slicks will fit with rear gaurd lips rolled, most road tyres have a rounder shoulder so may also fit in that size.

 

Blue car looks good standing still, but I'd be interested to see how much rear travel it has IF any.

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I see your point, that's why I'm thinking 15s with a slightly thicker sidewall to fill the guard but allow movement. I guess it's the kiwi in me, buy the wheels and make them fit  ;D

 

This is my drift car to give you some of why I like a staunch stance, obviously we pumped the guards but you get the idea I think

 

D06F84F1-57AD-482E-BA4D-7E993B774572-9931-00000F3AF27C659A_zps6d4ed4c7.jpg

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