Street Spec 1973 240Z

[mother240]

Hi GongZ

 

Plate is stamped 9/73.

[GongZ]

Thanks Mark 

Edited November 25, 2015 by GongZ

[mother240]

It's alive!!!!

Yesterday was a big day as we got the motor fired up.

 

After getting the motor in last weekend we have spent the last couple of days cleaning the carbs etc and hooking everything back up.  All in all it has gone relatively smoothly, except we did run in to a small fitment issue with the headers clashing with the thermostat housing.  It was only just fowling so a couple of millimetres were shaved off the end of the mounting plate.

 

       

 

Next up is to install the exhaust and finish off the manual conversion so we can get the thing moving.

 

 

 

 

[PB260Z]

It's alive!!!!

Yesterday was a big day as we got the motor fired up.

That must be a great feeling and one I hopefully know in the next week or two.

 

Well done.

[mother240]

Thanks PB

Yeah very happy with it.  Can't wait to take it for a spin.

Here's a quick vid for some inspiration.

 

https://youtu.be/kfVIsH0sTLU

[PB260Z]

thanks for posting, sounds great.

When I first start mine it was also have no exhaust past the engine pipe.

 

Cheers

 

PB

[mother240]

So last week we finished off the manual conversion, fit up the exhaust and took the car for a quick spin (quick as in short..... not the car  ). 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT9dGmVsycY&feature=youtu.be

 

Really happy with the sound of the exhaust, not too loud but not too quiet either.  Its hangs up nice and tight under the car but is lower than the old system so we may need to play around with the ride height before we throw the wats on.

 

Next to do is tidy up the centre console and fit the front bar.

 

 

 

[shaun240]

Further to Mark's post above I have included some additional photos of our progress over the last month or so..

 

  

 

The auto tunnel has been slightly modified to fit the manual box. We also had to heat and bend the gear shifter as it was a little to close to the heater panel / dash.

 

  

 

We have fitted up new clutch / brake master cylinders and mechanical fuel pump.

 

     

 

The Fujitsubo headers and exhaust systems installed and sounds / fit great.

 

     

 

Mark has also taken the time to tidy up the old parkers. Surprised what a little cleaning can achieve - they have come up pretty good! (Right one is yet to be cleaned..)

 

 

We are still a little undecided on what to do with the bumpers. The front has some small dings in it however the chrome is overall not too bad. The rear however has completely lost the chrome in areas and has some nasty rust showing around the overriders and mounts. Pictures below.

 

        

 

Has anyone restored their original bumpers, in particular in Sydney, and if so do you think these are salvageable? Or are we just better off buying some reproductions? I have seen some for sale on All Muscle Car Parts in Moorebank and Phils Rotarys in QLD just not sure on the quality / fitment / thickness etc as I have heard that some may be quite flimsy. If there are other suppliers that you have used or know that make good quality 240z bumpers feel free to let us know!

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Shaun

 

 

[d3c0y]

I had the Phil's rotaries bumpers; they look nice and fit ok. The chrome isn't quite as quality as the factory items, but if you car sits in a garage i don't see it being a problem. I don't think that they are any more flimsy than the factory ones.

You can get front and rear for around $400 which is less than what it will cost you to get one factory one rechromed.

[mother240]

Thanks d3c0y

Doesn't look like they have any rear's at the moment but will keep an eye out.

 

Couple of pics of what's been happening of late.

 

Bought a nice little wooden shift knob.

 

Installed the front bar for a test fit.  As most of you would know the centre portion of these bars are really flimsy as there is no support, so the old man fabricated a couple of supports out of some alloy flat bar.  Fibre-glassed them to the back of the bar and they will fix back to the chassis under the radiator.

   

 

Coat of primer and ready for some paint........... when the weather cools down!!!!!

 

Installed a new set of badges all round.

 

[gav240z]

Funny, but it's amazing what a difference a set of badges makes isn't it?

[GongZ]

There is also the option of the Harrington Group's stainless steel reproduction bumpers;

 

http://www.groupharrington.com/en/part/36/datsun-240z-and-260z-bumpers.html

http://www.groupharrington.com/en/page/42/about-bumpers.html

"Please note, we offer bumpers with rubbers as original, hence the bumpers come with holes. If you want your bumpers without rubbers and holes, you need to inform us at the time of purchase."

 

I bought a set a few years ago when the price and the exchange rate meant that they were less than the GST limit of A$1,000 (not including freight).

Unfortunately, as of today, they are £765.00, "Buy today and save: £66.00" (they always seem to have a 'deal' on offer) = £699 (GBP) which is approximately A$1,452!

Freight is £59 (GBP) giving a total of £758 (GBP) which converts at today's rate to A$1,574. You would then expect to pay GST of A$145, giving a total of A$1,719 - ouch!

[Retro Z]

I bought my chrome rear bumper from Rare Spares Adelaide for $325 delivered.

[mother240]

Funny, but it's amazing what a difference a set of badges makes isn't it?

That's for sure Gav.  Shaun bought these a while back and we where going to save them for when we respray the car.......... but that's probably not going to happen for a while so why not throw them on now for a bit of bling! 

 

 

There is also the option of the Harrington Group's stainless steel reproduction bumpers;

 

http://www.groupharrington.com/en/part/36/datsun-240z-and-260z-bumpers.html

http://www.groupharrington.com/en/page/42/about-bumpers.html

"Please note, we offer bumpers with rubbers as original, hence the bumpers come with holes. If you want your bumpers without rubbers and holes, you need to inform us at the time of purchase."

 

I bought a set a few years ago when the price and the exchange rate meant that they were less than the GST limit of A$1,000 (not including freight).

Unfortunately, as of today, they are £765.00, "Buy today and save: £66.00" (they always seem to have a 'deal' on offer) = £699 (GBP) which is approximately A$1,452!

Freight is £59 (GBP) giving a total of £758 (GBP) which converts at today's rate to A$1,574. You would then expect to pay GST of A$145, giving a total of A$1,719 - ouch!

Thanks GongZ.  They look super nice and lifetime warranty on not rusting is a good incentive ....... but a bit too pricey, as you say "ouch" indeed.

 

 

I bought my chrome rear bumper from Rare Spares Adelaide for $325 delivered.

Thanks Retro Z.  I didn't see any on their website but I will suss them out.  Bought some floor pans from these guys previously.  Great to deal with.

[mother240]

Quick update of late.

Finished painting the front air dam and installed the new chrome front bumper.

Couple of blurry photos (must remember to clean the lense next time).

 

[PB260Z]

Hi Mate

 

The car is looking awesome.

What size tyres are you running on the front 225/50/15 ? They look perfect

 

Cheers

 

PB

[jeff43]

I love the look of this car, great stance, ride height and wheel size combination is just right IMHO. Great job.

[shaun240]

Thanks guys.

 

Tyres are 195/55/r15's all round.

 

Front fit really well on the 8.0's and backs are slightly stretched on the 8.5's but that was the look we were going for.

[CBR Jeff]

Very very nice car.

Just love the direction you have taken with this car. It's very subtle and traditional without being over the top.

Nice.

Jeff

[dat240z]

Cars looking great. If it were mine I'd ditch the amber bumper lights and add some Amber globes to the indicator lenses. Top work all the same

[GongZ]

Cars looking great. If it were mine I'd ditch the amber bumper lights and add some Amber globes to the indicator lenses. Top work all the same

 

On Australian delivered 1973 240z's the front indicators are separate amber lights as seen on this car (except that they were fitted on top of the bumper).

The lights under the bumper, in the valance corner pieces, were parking lights only.

 

I assume that earlier 240Z's used dual filament bulbs in the valance mounted lights with clear lenses, to act as parking/indicators. 

(Can someone confirm this please?)

 

The options to delete the separate indicator lights are therefore;

 

- Fit dual filament bulbs and wire up like the earlier 240Z's (I think this would be technically illegal because amber indicators was a new ADR requirement in 1973).

- Rewire the valance lights as indicators with amber bulbs or lenses and use H4 headlights with built in parking bulbs, wired appropriately.

- Find a pair of 260Z style valance lights which have a split clear/amber lens and separate bulbs for indicator and parking lights.

[dat240z]

There you go, never knew that. My 240z is a 71 with the dual valance indicator lenses, so I assumed they all were like that. Funny that the 260z reverted back to the original "early 240z" type after the alternative setup.

[EJ101]

So last week we finished off the manual conversion, fit up the exhaust and took the car for a quick spin (quick as in short..... not the car  ). 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT9dGmVsycY&feature=youtu.be

 

Really happy with the sound of the exhaust, not too loud but not too quiet either.  Its hangs up nice and tight under the car but is lower than the old system so we may need to play around with the ride height before we throw the wats on.

 

Next to do is tidy up the centre console and fit the front bar.

You can't beat the look of the Fujitsubo exhaust. IMO nothing looks as good.

Excellent clip you did with clear audio of the exhaust, sound is great.

Probably the only clip I've seen/heard of that system with the car accelearting.

 

I hope you noticed your reverse lights weren't working?

Edited January 1, 2016 by EJ101

[mother240]

Thanks for the comments gents.

Its starting to come together but there are still plenty of little things to sort out before we can get it back on the road.

 

 

Cars looking great. If it were mine I'd ditch the amber bumper lights and add some Amber globes to the indicator lenses. Top work all the same

Thanks dat240z.  In two minds about keeping or ditching.  As GongZ mentioned the bumper lights were standard on the '73 model, although they were on top of the bar, not hanging as they are currently installed.  The new chrome bumper only has holes on the underside and I couldn't bring myself to drill holes in the new chrome as we will likely get rid of them eventually.  There's a bit of stuffing around to move the indicator bulbs into the lower valance so its a project for down the track.  Im planning on moving them back under the bar a little so that should look a bit better for now (not sure how far under they can go before they are not legal??)

 

 

You can't beat the look of the Fujitsubo exhaust. IMO nothing looks as good.

Excellent clip you did with clear audio of the exhaust, sound is great.

Probably the only clip I've seen/heard of that system with the car accelearting.

 

I hope you noticed your reverse lights weren't working?

Cheers EJ101.

Agree they do look the part.  They are a quality bit of kit.

Have been wanting to get some in car footage but haven't finished installing the shifter boot / centre console so the road noise coming through the hole sort of ruins it.  Should have this sorted shortly so will be sure to post another clip.

And yep, reverse lights not currently hooked up.  Another small job on the 'to do' list.

 

I'm sure its mentioned elsewhere on the forum but I must say the Fujitsubo system does hang lower than the standard exhaust due to the twin pipes not being designed to fit up into the recess adjacent the diff.  Something to keep in mind for anyone thinking of running one on a low car........ speedbumps will not be your friend!!

 

Mark.

 

 

[mother240]

The standard heat shield no longer fits with the Fujitsubo headers.  We were going to try and mod the standard shield to fit but it wasn't really going to work without looking a bit s#&t so we decided to make up a custom heat shield.  Purchased some heat shield material and decided to give it a go, time will tell if it works.

 

The old man bent up some support brackets that attach to the old mounts as well as another bracket underneath to pick up the springs.

 

The material is only thin so is easy to work with and was cut to shape.

 

Doesn't look too bad with the freshly painted filter back in place.  The engine bay is nearly finished....

 

 

Mark