TobyMyers Posted December 25, 2014 Share Posted December 25, 2014 Hey all, been lurking around for awhile and thought it was about time i introduced myself and my father. I have grown up around datsuns and only realised my passion for them when dad took me for a ride in a 180b late last year, i loved everything about it and have since spent many hours at the workshop, on the internet, reading up on anything datsun, and racking dads mind with what im sure by are now hundreds of questions. Dad worked for nissan in the 70s, racing and rallying 1600s, and was involved in the race and rally department. He bought a 1970 240z 00184 in 1972, completely stock. Since then it has been modified quite abit, with many works parts finding there way onto it. It was driven hard and fast until 1989, when it was parked after dad bought a porsche. It sat in the shed until the start of this year, when after a lot nagging i manged to convince him to pull it out one afternoon(after realising what it was and only seeing glimpses of it from under all the crap on it i was eager to see it in all its glory). 20 years of sitting had taken its toll, the exterior in dire need of paint, while the interior remained Mint condition. The engine had also appeared to have not fared well. The webers were covered in gunge, the linkages seized, and we feared the worst for there insides. We had a couple of attempts at starting it straight off the bat, but after having petrol pour out of 2 ram tubes we left it at that. After a few months we eventually got to tow starting it. Having taken the tops of the webers and seeing that they appeared in working order, we moved onto the brakes and clutch, and surprisingly the brakes came up 100% after a bleed the clutch master was seized so we left it. The attempted tow start was great fun, being towed around in the zed was pretty surreal, we had so many people staring and looking at it unfortunately it wouldn't start, and the alternator also seized during this. we thought it was lack of spark and called it a day. Next stop was the workshop. With the Adelaide Datsun club meet at birdwood it was time to get serious. A week before it we took it down on the trailer, and began partially stripping and cleaning the top half of the webers. Because of the state of the engine, it being a tired L26, we figured we'd give it a good crack at getting it going, otherwise it meant serious work. We spent every night after school down there, cleaning and soaking every visible part on the webers, as they were completely gummed up with fuel turned to 'varnish'. After Two failed starts we were pretty bummed, and only had one day to get it going, so we went through all of the jets, cleaning and replacing where necessary,(the old man has a collection of weber bits). We tried starting it again and it quite literally roared into life. id never heard webers in person till then and they were loud! We got there at 6:30 the next morning and replaced the clutch master and slave, all radiator hoses, the fitting on the block came off in two pieces, and the top fitting had both bolts snap. After getting through those we had overheating issues and gutted the thermostat, mounted a front spoiler, and finally left at about 2pm The drive to Birdwood was incredible, the Zed is bloody quick, Dad definitely hasn't forgotten how to drive it Triples sound amazing under load and at high rpm, barely stopped smiling the whole time Currently it is at the workshop, the works extractors are coming off for a resto and are being temporarily replaced with a set of Motivator extractors. it needs a set of wheel cylinders, and we are installing an ally radiator. The idea is to get it streetable/driveable so we can have some fun in it while the weather is good The adventure continues..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldmates260z Posted December 25, 2014 Share Posted December 25, 2014 Wow, that a great story and sounds like another chapter is starting....need to get the Journal going and show the progressive photos. It always amazes me how they come to life after a long rest in a shed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators PB260Z Posted December 25, 2014 Moderators Share Posted December 25, 2014 Gidday, Great read, got any photo's of the car ? Looking forward to reading more as the story continues. Cheers PB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris240 Posted December 25, 2014 Share Posted December 25, 2014 Welcome to the blurbs. As the boys ^^ have said, great story. Need pics ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Posted December 25, 2014 Share Posted December 25, 2014 Love it. So many cars coming out of corners of sheds and getting the attention they deserve. Good luck and keep us updated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted December 26, 2014 Administrators Share Posted December 26, 2014 Yes pics are a must, lets see it in all it's patina'd glory! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TobyMyers Posted December 27, 2014 Author Share Posted December 27, 2014 This does the paint a lot of justice, its the 'nice' side of the car will take some of the Patina'd paint next time i see it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators PB260Z Posted December 27, 2014 Moderators Share Posted December 27, 2014 Certainly looks nice in that photo. Need closer ones, we love detail Cheers PB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted December 27, 2014 Administrators Share Posted December 27, 2014 Ask Dad what happened to the fender mirrors? Since he owned it since 72 did he change them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TobyMyers Posted December 27, 2014 Author Share Posted December 27, 2014 Unfortunately They were one of the first things to go as they were considered Nerdy/unfashionable at the time, so they are long gone :-\. They were also didn't comply with the ADRs at the time Also removed the Webers and extractors today, in preparation for the resto of the works extractors. The increased free flow difference is pretty substantial when comparing the works extractors to the street version The webers also need a rebuild after 20 years, but that will come later, we've already started gathering what we need for that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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