shaun240 Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Hi guys, Thought it was time to start up a build thread to share our works in progress and keep a record for the car. I posted a short story last year which can be found at the link below which gives you an insight into the family story and where the passion for Z cars has come from. http://www.viczcar.com/forum/topic/12374-new-240z-member-sydney/ The car was purchased in March 2014 year from a gentleman in Brisbane who had owned it since 1990. The car spent most of its life in Melbourne, where is had a restoration undertaken in 2000 by Lowood Welding Works where the body was taken back to bare metal, lead wiped and resprayed. The motor is original matching numbers which has assisted in our decision to stick with the L24. Our plans for the car are to make it a nice street driven car that can be taken out for weekend drives without having too many issues, yet also enjoy the odd windy road. The car itself has been quite well looked after but needed some well deserved attention in a few areas, especially the suspension / mechanics, so we decided this would be a good place to start. The shocks and rubbers were completely worn out, so we purchased a set Koni Yellow Race shocks and a DIY Ground Control coilover kit. Also bought a set of new bushings all round to help take the boat feel out of the car. We were lucky enough to use our Dad's engineering factory, including the help of a competent welder, to complete the harder works such as cutting, welding, sandblasting etc. They took longer than expected to complete but we are very happy with the result. They seem like quite a good quality product, and they look good pretty good as well. While we had most of the suspension components out of the car, we decided to give it all all clean up by sandblasting and epoxy painting. This included the control arms, sway bar, tension rods, a-arms, moustache bar etc. Pretty happy with how they turned out, although it makes the remaining dirty undercarriage stand out even more, however we do plan on treating these areas in the future. The brakes also had an overhaul while they were out. We stripped them down, cleaned, replaced broken boots etc and rebuilt them to original specs at this stage. One of the front pistons was seized open which probably didn't help with the lack of brakes. We didn't spend too much time on them as we do plan on some upgrades eventually. After a 3 month wait, the Wats turned up from Otomotto. Temp fit had us a bit worried at first as it looked like they were never going to fit!Time to go get some tyres.. oldmates260z 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Awesome! Your car's going to look almost identical to my car from suspension right down to wheel and centre colour choice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Looks good mate partial to a Casper 240:) Alot of good can be said for retaining the drum rear - simple and effective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riceburner Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Nice ride! Good job with the coil overs, what spring rates did you go for and how do you find the ride after the upgrade? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaun240 Posted October 1, 2015 Author Share Posted October 1, 2015 Thanks Gents, We really love the white and gold wheel combo.. we have stuck with the styling to match our Dad's old 240 from 35+ years ago (which is now mossy's orange Z). Check out the aerial! Gareth - can't recall the spring rates off the top of my head and to be honest we haven't really had a chance to take it for a good run yet so will let you know once its back on the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 Nice build mate. I've got the same eibach coilover springs with koni yellow sports on my car, went from spring of 225/250 pds to 175/200pds and for a street car only its perfect for me. Nice to see those pics old pics of my 240z, looks pretty much the same except for the colour. How long did you guys own it for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaun240 Posted October 6, 2015 Author Share Posted October 6, 2015 Nice build mate. I've got the same eibach coilover springs with koni yellow sports on my car, went from spring of 225/250 pds to 175/200pds and for a street car only its perfect for me. Nice to see those pics old pics of my 240z, looks pretty much the same except for the colour. How long did you guys own it for? 001.JPG Thanks Mossy, Dad owned the car for about 5 years then sold it on. The new owner had it resprayed and sent through some photos (below) It's great to see you have brought it back to life after all these years. It has to be one of the best getting around - Congrats. Hopefully we get the chance to see it again in person one day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaun240 Posted October 6, 2015 Author Share Posted October 6, 2015 While the suspension was out we stripped down the R180 diff, half shafts, tail shaft etc and replaced all the uni joints as these were quite worn out and had a lot of play which was causing some interesting "clunk" noises, which wasn't helped by the unforgiving original auto box. The diff seemed in ok condition for its age so we gave it a sandblast / respray and it went back in the car. We may go down the LSD path in the future but for now we will remain with the open R180. We had a few hick ups with some of the bushings and internal sleaves, in particular those on the rear A-arms. As you all would know a job which you think will take 10 mins turned into 1.5 hours... The moustache bar was cleaned up and new bushings installed along with a new machined sleave as the original pressed item was damaged on one side. While the struts were out we also pulled apart the hubs to check the bearings / seals etc. They seems in quite good condition and believed they had been replaced not too long ago so they were soaked in kero, scrubbed clean and regreased. We also took the time to clean up the remaining suspension / brake components. It was quite time consuming to sandblast and repaint all the different parts as we only had limited time on weekends to use our Dad's factory, so at times the painting was done at home on the clothesline on a nice sunny day. Mum was not impressed.. Front and rear suspension was then fitted back into the car. We also cleaned up the wheel arches at the same time by stripping back the re-applying bitumen sound deadener. Now it was time to fit the wheels.. We're really happy with how these works turned out, we are yet to take it for a good drive and test out the ride yet and do a full alignment. We also haven't rolled the guards yet (and if possible would prefer not too but we'll see how it goes) or done fine tuning on the ride height which will be done when we are closer to being back on the road. Next step is the manual conversion and L24 engine refresh / rebuild. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cozza Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Looking great, You are getting along quickly, keep up the good work. It'll be good to see another one back on the road. Mick shaun240 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Thanks Mossy, Dad owned the car for about 5 years then sold it on. The new owner had it resprayed and sent through some photos (below) 1409273664985.jpg It's great to see you have brought it back to life after all these years. It has to be one of the best getting around - Congrats. Hopefully we get the chance to see it again in person one day! Yep thats what it looked like when I bought it, only a lot rougher!! Feel free to contact me if your in Melbourne and want to have a look. shaun240 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBR Jeff Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Looking good. I like the direction you are heading with this car. Jeff shaun240 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Zedman240® Posted October 6, 2015 Moderators Share Posted October 6, 2015 Awesome looking Zed, would love to see it in person one day! Great attention to details. shaun240 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dat240z Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Rim and stance combo are mint mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cracker Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Rim and stance combo are mint mate Second that! Really nailed the ride height I reckon. What are the specs on the wheels? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted October 6, 2015 Administrators Share Posted October 6, 2015 It's awesome that your dad is able to relive the experience of his old 240z, through this new 240z. I recall my mum saying when she saw the 240z in the showroom in the 70s she wanted 1 but couldn't get 1. When I first got my 240z, I didn't have my full license at the time so she used to drive it to pick me up and then sit in the passenger seat and I'd drive it home. I was happy that she finally got to experience driving a 240z all those years later, after giving up so many things to have us kids. Sports cars being 1 of them. . She never openly said it, but I could tell she enjoyed driving it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaun240 Posted October 6, 2015 Author Share Posted October 6, 2015 Thanks guys, Second that! Really nailed the ride height I reckon. What are the specs on the wheels? Fronts are 15 x 8.0 - 0 offset, rears are 15 x 8.5 - 6 offset Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaun240 Posted October 29, 2015 Author Share Posted October 29, 2015 Over the past few weeks we have started overhauling the original L24 motor and completing the manual conversion. We started by stripping down the block, removing the head / carbs / manifolds / radiator etc to give us plenty of working space and then used a hoist to remove the motor and box. We had some difficulties getting the head bolts out (one snapped and 3 others were nearly impossible to remove) but eventually came with some force and a lot of working back and forth. Once the block was out of the car we put it up on a stand and stripped the sump, timing casings and welsh plugs to inspect the block / crank / reservoirs etc. It was quite surprising to see the amount of fine rust that had built up within the reservoir which would have caused some major flow issues around the piston walls. We removed as much as we could with a flexi magnet but thought it would be best to send it off to get hot tanked and acid washed so the crank, pistons, oil pump and remaining items were removed from the block. Once we got the block back it was a relief to be able to see clearly through the block via the welsh plugs. We recommend anyone that is doing a rebuild pay the money to get your block hot tanked and acid washed, its worth every cent! We also took the chance to hone down the cylinders, refit the crank and prep the block for some paint. We removed the surface rust that had started building up over the last week and an anti-rust coating was applied before painting the block. We visited Stewart Wilkins Motorsport who has helped us source a heap of parts for the rebuild including new inlet / exhaust valves, main and conrod bearings, piston rings, head bolts, timing chain and tensioners / guides, gaskets etc. Very quick and easy to deal with. We were also lucky enough to source a rebuilt 260z 5 speed gearbox and misc manual conversion parts from Les Collins Racing, thanks to Locky and Les for sourcing the parts for this! Next step to complete the motor rebuild and fit up the gearbox which we are hoping to complete within the next month or so.. gav240z, hmd and 3fiddyz 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mother240 Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Hi All, Thought I would post a quick update of the progress of late. The engine has been put back together and is looking the business (fingers crossed its starts once it’s back in the car). Plan is to lift it back into the car this weekend. Whilst the engine was out we decided to take the opportunity to tidy up the engine bay with a thorough clean and a fresh lick of paint. Slightly cleaner than before we started!!! We also pulled the steering rack apart for a refurb with some fresh grease and new paint. Luckily all the components were in good nick showing minimal signs of any significant wear. Hopefully will have some pics shortly of the engine back where it belongs. blu260z 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GongZ Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Very nice work - and keep the photos coming please! How about getting your brother to add this car to the register (http://wazregister.com/), or maybe add it yourself? It is still the highest known 240Z chassis number in Australia. Purchased HS30 - 103781 last year from QLD, may be the car PeterH was talking about!White - 3 speed auto. Will add car details to the register shortly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mother240 Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 Very nice work - and keep the photos coming please! How about getting your brother to add this car to the register (http://wazregister.com/), or maybe add it yourself? It is still the highest known 240Z chassis number in Australia. Hi GongZ Thought I had added details a little while back when you first mentioned it, anyway I have re-done so should see on there next time the register is updated. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GongZ Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 Good one Mark. Is your father enjoying the build as much as you and your brother? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mother240 Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 Hi All Good progress over the weekend. Engine is back in!!!! Before we picked up the hoist spent some time cleaning up the intake manifold. The coolant passages were near completely clogged up but after a bit of time cleaning all the gunk out and a quick sandblast and wash they are looking like new. The time had come to lift the engine back into the bay. The old man's rig did the job nicely and we got the engine and gearbox in place without any drama's. Its coming along nicely and hopefully will have the engine turning over in the next week or so. Cliff 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mother240 Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 Good one Mark. Is your father enjoying the build as much as you and your brother? Hi GongZ Yeah I think so, I'm sure its bringing back some good memories. Certainly spending a fair bit of time working on it of late. Below are a couple of pics of him in action, the first is from over 30 years ago!!!! oldmates260z, Yamahacam, shaun240 and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted November 23, 2015 Administrators Share Posted November 23, 2015 Now that is a cool couple of photos. Even put the inspection flaps up, don't think those details were lost on me! . andyk_79 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GongZ Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 Hi Mark, Just a quick question; What month is stamped on the compliance plate of this car? Peter's car (HS30-103779) is 9/73, as is mine (HS30-103724), but Gareth's car (HS30-103771) is 11/73. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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