Fairlady Z Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 This car had more plans to it changed than wheels at formula 1 pit-stops. The long story goes....... Ever since I got my 2+2 back in 03 and found this forum I learned the differences between 2+2 and 2 seaters, like with most of us love at first sight. I just had to have one. Eventually I found one about a year latter while still working on the 2+2. It was local with blown headgasket, few layers of paint and quite a few kg of body filler an interesting collection of S1 parts bolted on it. I remember the day when Missus and I ,hooked up a trailer after work to my trusty R31 and went for a 50min trip one way to the hills to pick it up. When the car was of the trailer under my carport fairly late at nite I couldn't stop looking at it, walking around it, like a kid with his brand new long lusted toy he got for Christmas. The next morning as soon as sun came out I was out the trying to get it to start. it had a blown headgasket on a apparently worked L28 with twin round tops and uni filters and trumpets. The oil had water and oil mixed so looked like farmers union iced coffee for few years. Drained the radiator, removed the oil and filter and fitted new oil filter and oil. Installed a battery and gave it a few cranks. To my amazement she turned over. woohoo wasn't seized not that i cared as plans were fitting a RB engine. Still wanted to see it run and possible quick drive in it. never driven a S30 before. My 2+2 was still in workshop 50% finished. Once the carby was primed with fresh fuel i Gave it another go. And she turned and sprung to life. Datsun never say Die. Was running for few minutes somewhat very noisy and grinding through cams. The lobes were black from corrosion. I let it cool down for few hrs drained the oil and replaced with new one again. Gave it another short run and noticed the grinding was getting quieter. few more oil changes and few days later engine was running very quiet but somewhat lumpy on 5 1/2 cylinders. Max running time was 5 min due to having no water cooling. The 5min didn't stop me taking my first S30 for a drive and first 2 seater. It was awesome. even on blown engine she pulled hard. exhaust was loud and backfired at every gear change. my short 2min stint on the road, pissing off the neighbours was best thing I did. From then she was under carport and awaiting its turn of new life. It got moved around few times which was easy put a battery in and bring it to life. Always enjoyed moving the old girl as she was loud and mean. Till one day one of the moves I almost lost the car completely. After first failed attempt to get it to run, i didn't notice the rear carby had excess fuel pouring out. She back fired through the carby and the uni filters caught on fire. Flame over 1m high and rising. I jumped out of the car threw an old blanket over it , (lucky only minutes earlier used it as a floor mat to check under the car) ran like hell to get the water hose to put the fire out. Damage was my heart pounding and melted two uni filter socks. Tip they are dangerous things. keep a fire extinguisher near buy if using them. Forward 8years now and 2 more 240z sharing the garage space with this Z. Space issues is quite a serious problem as 2 other project cars are also in the picture. Hence the recent for sale of this car in a thread on this forum. But that's what sparked the interest and another plan change for this poor 240Z. so progress so far. Stage one engine bay stripped Guards removed Striped few unknown panels from 10-20mm thick body filler. This one is going to be at least 20mm overall narrower car than it actually was. and probably at least 50kg lighter. not exaggerating. the previous dimwits didn't know how to align the doors or repair dents. they just plastered on top of the paint few buckets of body filler and one huge plank to align it all up... Bit of pimp my ride style. Luckily due to 6 layers of paint and 20mm of body filler seems to have preserved the panels well. besides dents the doors have minimal rust. Seals are lot better than expected. only outer skin near dog leg needs replacing. dog legs and inner panels are clean no surface rust. Still original primer. (pics to follow) Not going to remove the sunroof at this stage its in good condition doesn't leak and underneath looks very good and factory like. (yes Roberto joining your elite Z club Z with sunroofs ) i don't mind the concept of a sunroof or Targa tops but only at nice summer nites cruising along the beach. Daytime preferred them closed. Replacing the rails and fixing the floor. Original floor is still in good condition. no idea why someone welded crap over it. the rails are buggered hence replacing it. Fixing the front rails first than she be going on the rotisserie to replace the rails and fix the floor. paint under neath and drop it back on its wheels and attack. the body repairs. Overall idea is. Initially fix the car and refit the l26 with all stuff required to pass inspection. (pretty much stock car) using stock color of 112 the lime yellow or but to me looks green but anyway. (but still debating about the color choice till I'm ready to hit it with color. Once that is done and regod, flares will be bolted and fat watts or superlites will be added with stretch tire JDM look. than turbo and efi the L26. drive it till it pops (if it pops, Its not dead till i see a piston flying through the block ) than we see. maybe a worked L series turbo or Sr20det. RB is more if someone wants it but i probably will not install an RB if i keep it as my 73 is getting the rb26dett. may keep this one old school. some mock up and progress pics from Saturday. (yep I got a massive shed filled with cars and stuff but working outside with this one. its all fun and i love it) Sunday had a migraine in the afternoon did some more paint stripping and removing panels. Haven't taken pics as my headache was unbearable and decided to quit for the day. Pics will be updated. bit of a nasty rust on left rail. But ordered a set from my mate Nato so both rails will be replaced. She needs to be able to take the power of the turbo L series or Sr20det. One of my stashed front spoilers mock up. not bad but we see if this one stays. PS: Opinions. Keep the 112 color or chose different? Mick has one in same color so don't want to copy Mick and we live in same state Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
import monky Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 Interesting read so far... hope u go forward with the sr20 cuz thats what im doing at the moment... would be good to get some knowledge and advice... peace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzzzed Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 It dosnt bother me if you take it back to the lime yellow. After all it is the colour it was born with. Paul also has a lime yellow one. So that would make 3 in Sa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairlady Z Posted January 21, 2013 Author Share Posted January 21, 2013 Dough another reason to change it. Forgot about Paul. Heheheheh Meh kidding i dont care if you guys have it. Its just a joke. A week to decide before I paint the engine bay. Missus wants 110 red. Me don't know yet. Still deciding how to go about it so than color choice will be easy.This car has so many plans changed its not funny. She wants red but allready have 2 red cars. We see how we go. Lots of striping to do next few days so plenty to think about and decide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brabham Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 I reckon go for the 112 lime. Too many red zeds! PS what is happening with the early girl original resto? Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairlady Z Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 Well its decided it wont be 112. Also wont be red. Just got to wait and follow the thread few colors are on the table from the original color list. Btw if anyone wants almost 4l of lime yellow solid 2pac spies hecker paint cheep let me know. Shouldnt have rushed in buying paint. Oh well. Early girl is on hold for time being. Its a project demanding lot of attention and detail. Cannot be rushed. hence this one has started as it easier and quicker repair than the rusty old girl. Got my s1 gearbox and tailshaft (thanks to TH) the other day so she mechanicaly complete now. Shes been looked after. Also with my gbox pack got the efi system thats going on this one. So she be L series still. lot of work planned for ozzy day. Sandblasting the front and engine bay and replacing both rails while having some snags and beer inbetween Very excited cant wait till its finished and on the road. Pics will be comming soon. Need to change the title from grinch to something else since its not going to be greenish yellow color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairlady Z Posted January 24, 2013 Author Share Posted January 24, 2013 last few days busy buying and picking up parts and eqiupment for the build. not too much progress. Its pretty much ready for sandblasting and chassis rails replacement. new rails and EFI system from L28. The gearbox is for the early girl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairlady Z Posted January 27, 2013 Author Share Posted January 27, 2013 More of deconstruction today than construction. Guess it has to get worse before gets better. Some pics. Engine mock up with l26 with efi and turbo straped to it. Drifters learn this is neg camber hahaha Engine bay stripped Rail almost off Both rails and rad support are removed Tommorow quiet removal of interior before i can make noise. After that blaster gets turned on and attacking the front of the car. Than hopefully some rust repairs and getting the new rails fitted. Not easy work but i love it. So good to be working on a Z, specialy on a 240. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ledge Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 Paint it lime man. Mick get your car down there and show him how bloody good they look lime. LIME LIME LIME im stamping my feet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riceburner Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 Wow John, your not messing around. Are those Nato's rails? +1 For Lime! It's an awesome color Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairlady Z Posted January 27, 2013 Author Share Posted January 27, 2013 Sorry bud missed ur reply. Sr20 are easy to install. Just need custom engine brackets. At the moment sticking with L series to make life easier getting it of defect. After that its up to the old L. If it pops than ill see if sr20 or rb or rebuild L28 to cope with bit of boost. Wouldn't mind keeping this one oldschool. Interesting read so far... hope u go forward with the sr20 cuz thats what im doing at the moment... would be good to get some knowledge and advice... peace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sirpent Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 Johnny All I want to know is what medication you are on and who is the despensing Doctor ? How in hell can you just fly through these projects. You are my Ferris Bueler ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairlady Z Posted January 27, 2013 Author Share Posted January 27, 2013 Heheh Paul no lime, lime belongs in corona's. Ive seen Micks and your rb26. Nice color but won't fit in with my plans. Gareth yeah they Nato's rails. Fit very well. They are lot stronger than flimsy factory stuff. This baby wont have any issues with bigger engines. No messing with this one full steam ahead. Need it on the road by end of March or im screwed. John few ciders, coronas, pepsi and water. Good wife that feeds me well. No meds. Cannot wait for tommorow. Sick of seeing that multicolored engine bay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Zedman240® Posted January 27, 2013 Moderators Share Posted January 27, 2013 I'm amazed at the speed you work at... a good classic color for a 240 is that dark metallic blue; a few zeds have it but it looks so good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairlady Z Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 Not happy with todays progress. Did manage to remove the seats and dash and some soundeadner. Seem to peel very easy so kept doing it till it got hard. More than half the tunnel done. And the ugly previous repaired passenger side. This will be removed. While i started well this morning and was on schedule as soon as 10:30 arrived was going to start the blaster. But nooooo mother nature decided to piss me off and started bucketing. Was soo cheesed off about rain. 2hrs later i went to dry the tarp from water. Put few fence sheets to stop the limited supply of blasting media flying everywhere. All setup just to put safety gear and hit it. With coarse media was going very well. Bad thing only had small amount of it so run out quick but did sizable area. Than shifted using fine. Results were good but very very slow. . Considering late start did ok. If wasn't for rain I probably would have finished 80% of the engine bay. Oh well tommorow continuation of blasting for few hrs after work. Though feel like I was all day at the beach with strong winds blowing sand everywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Zedman240® Posted January 28, 2013 Moderators Share Posted January 28, 2013 Battery area doesn't seem that bad.. After all this effort, I'm sure you're keeping this zed.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairlady Z Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 Battery area doesn't see that bad.. After all this effort, I'm sure you're keeping this zed.. Yeah not too bad, does have a hole but easy fixed. More issues below it. I dont get some people. If doing rust repairs GET RID of the rust than weld a plate over the clean metal if u too slack to flush weld it. Bashing rust in and welding on top just make it worse and problem re appears couple years later. Anyway due to some retard need to rebuild lower part of the skirt and floor area on passenger side. Shouldnt be too hard simple shapes. Still lot more blasting before cutting and welding can start. Yeah ill doubt I sell it Dimitri, like u said heaps of effort. Than again anything is for sale if price is right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted January 28, 2013 Administrators Share Posted January 28, 2013 Like Dimitri said I'm amazed at how quick you work mate. What do you do for work anyway? Do you work on cars for a living or something else? Every time I see a thread of yours I know it's going to turn out looking awesome. The area under the battery looks like it's seen happier times. I guess you're gonna be a rust repair expert after this. I have a question though when you remove rails etc.. How do you know your welding the car back together and keeping the chassis and everything true? Can this be adjusted later with a chassis jig of some sort? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairlady Z Posted January 30, 2013 Author Share Posted January 30, 2013 meh I had enough of looking at my cars in pieces so want them on the road to enjoy them and not to dream about while reading other peoples cars or playing on xbox. So motivation is through the roof. I don't have spare time its paying work (electronics R&D for big company), and then home work on the cars or finishing the bits around the house. No time to go out unless is buying stuff for cars or food. Soo in another words only life I have is work and cars. Gav No don't work on cars for living, just a hobby. Used to fix damaged cars but turned more into restoration recent years. More satisfaction out of the job. Bringing up a rust bucket to a new car brings bigger grin to me and to lot of other people on the road. I've been working on cars since I can remember. Helping my old man and later working with him. Also on my holidays used to work for free for a crash shop close by to learn more about chassis and crash repairs. Welding the rails back is no biggie. just got to keep measuring correctly and welding appropriately so welds don't pull the measurements out. Sometimes its not good over complicating things. Lot of time wasted for no reason.The unknown can be daunting to some. Its not everyone's cup of tea. Replaced few rails in my time and these are the easiest since. I know some people kringe at damaged cars yes there are butchers out there but also lot of great repairers too not all damaged cars are crap. If fixed properly there is no difference from previously smashed or new car. Also Nato's rails are perfect which makes job lot easier. good job mate. Shopping for goodies still going on. The expense climbs quickly. most of the hard to get stuff is on its way from US and Japan. Got to love the aus $. Still most stuff is coming along nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted February 2, 2013 Administrators Share Posted February 2, 2013 By the way mate, I vote for lime and if not, I reckon the factory yellow colour would be awesome - that way you don't copy Mick and you go with a colour I really don't see often on early Z's. 919 yellow. http://zhome.com/History/ZColorGallary/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted February 2, 2013 Administrators Share Posted February 2, 2013 Otherwise I think a great combo to do would be Silver 240z with either red interior or butter scotch interior. The butterscotch /silver was never a factory option but I think it's very period and looks great. I think Silver cars really really need a nice interior colour to set them off. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzxcPhQPrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairlady Z Posted February 2, 2013 Author Share Posted February 2, 2013 Cheers Gav, yeah silver and white was considered with red interior. But plans changed again. Going for more unique and as far as i know none like it in SA or possibly Au. This car will be getting the rb26dett bit later down the track. Color has been decided and bought to do engine bay insidethecar and under it. once painted will be revealed. Will be flared, with some cool rims fender mirrors and few more goodies from Japan. Still debating the sunroof saga. Its a good sunroof but what do I do. It will delay the project quite a bit if i decide to get rid of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Zedman240® Posted February 2, 2013 Moderators Share Posted February 2, 2013 If the roof doesn't leak or if it does and it's an easy fix, I'd leave it and enjoy it for what it is for the summer. Then later on, if you come across a roof, do a removal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzzzed Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 Your going pink aren't you Johny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairlady Z Posted February 3, 2013 Author Share Posted February 3, 2013 HOT PINK!! Mick. Thats y im not saying so ppl dont change my mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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