The Brown Hornet - as NEW 1971 240Z - SOLD

[chris240]

Everything I hear or read about james as an engine builder is 10/10...

did he ever sell his orange 240 ? I loved that car  :'(

[Scoota G]

No bling just straight down to business, if Lurch was to marry this would be the background to his wedding photo. UnBeLiVaBlE. :S

[Zedman240®]

Friggin awesome...very nice!

[GV260]

Congrats thus far on the rebuild (very, very impressive - I'm gobsmacked!) especially the attention to detail and for undertaking the $$ commitment. I can fully empathise with the cost commitment as mine is very similar but as you have previously stated hopeful over time they will appreciate like GTHO's. They better otherwise my wife will divorce me.........

 

Where have you sourced your Nissan Motorsport tuned headers from?

[acf321]

Thanks guys for the feedback,

 

In answer to your comments, James' car is still available, but he has not really advertised it. He mentioned it to me at the outset, and it is magnificent, but I had already started the hornet. He suggested my engine will be a little warmer than his L24, but lets wait and see. He tells me his car is seriously fast, with the correct suspension set up.

 

James is sourcing the headers.

 

You're right .. nothing showy here, just old school fast road set up. Just the way the racing department intended in the day. You won't be seeing any momo drilled pedals on this car!

 

I'd argue James is 11/10. If you want to get the job done right, give MIA a call.

 

As for the GTHO pricing, I seriously doubt that, but if I could get back 2/3rds of my money i'd be very happy. I hope that my car appeals to a collector / enthusiast in the future.

 

I'll stick up a few more photos once the engine is completed. James is making up a proper set of race leads, so these should do the job nicely.

 

thanks again for your positive feedback.

 

Rgds

 

Adam

[acf321]

Week 49...

 

Nat's been doing more assembly work this week. Car is all but put together, with only chrome strips in glass, fuel filler lock and mirrors to go on the outside.  Suspension bushing is all new, with several of the body mounts being nolathane (these were here already and are as new condition). The suspension actually looks a little bit trick, so we might not need to do much once its running. Rear brakes are all on, with re-machined shoes and wheel cylinders. James said we're having to use an electric fuel pump, given the Kameari parts occlude the use of the usual fuel pump location. Interestingly all early 240Z's have a bracket on the front of the tank to hold an electric fuel pump, presumably for the race cars of the day (or perhaps given some markets required the use of electric F Pumps?).

 

Engine should be complete by now ... James and Nat are going to get together to put the motor in and fire it up in the coming weeks. Listen out for it, as you'll likely hear the rumble the day we get it started. We're going to make up a custom 2.5" stainless exhaust system with single race rear silencer.

 

Wheels are ready to go on, and once fitted properly, i'll get the new Dunlop's.

 

Got the seats back from the re-trimmer today. As expected, the seat covers are not a perfect fit but do the job nicely, and there's no way of confusing the fact these are the genuine 240Z seats. James is making up a bracket for the race harnesses, so as to fit them to the top of the strut towers. Have not purchased the harnesses yet, but blue Willans items will be used, to keep same colour schematic as the blue kameari engine parts.

 

Cheers

 

Adam

[acf321]

more shots.

 

[acf321]

last.

[Brabham]

Looks nice, did you use a 2-pak or acrylic and do you know what brand? I will be getting my paint soon and seeing what is out there. Cheers.

[C.A.R.]

After all that your fitting stock brakes & suspension!?

 

[acf321]

The paint is two pac, and the brand is cobra, a US manufacturer. If you want to go even higher, use Glasurit, but get your money ready, its about A$3k in paint just for materials. 

 

Lurch, re the stock suspension and brakes, I have given this considerable thought, but as I said at the outset, this car will be as close to standard as I can make it. In saying that, remember the struts, springs, and bushes are not standard, and I'll be using far from standard pads and fluids. Of course, with 40yrs of tyre technology thrown in also, the car should be a changed machine from what they could ever have dreamed of in '71.

 

Having said this, remember James Flett races against 2.7 and 3.0 Carrera's in Group S on totally stock parts (including 14" wheels on 60 series tyres, and OEM brakes, in keeping with Grp S rules) and regularly wins by comprehensive margins, versus cars with much much better OEM brakes. So I figure, why spend a bomb on a non-stock setup, when real world evidence shows that a properly set factory car can beat seriously fast and valuable sports cars on the track?

 

The appeal of this project to me was to have a 240Z as it was in the day, with a modestly upgraded NA motor (as was also done in period). I've always liked the purity of original cars, and no offense, but if I was to start modifying this car way beyond what it was in the day, I think the car would cease to be like a 240z, and more like something it is not. I want to develop the car to the maximum extent I can 'in period' and then take it from there. I appreciate that everyone has his or her own idea of what is a 'project', but for me, mine is 'old school' rawness that is often lost in a heavily modified non-OEM spec car.

 

Proof will be in the driving I guess. Of course if this car is a total dud, then I can always up-spec the brakes or whatever needs doing to make it more useable. I remember reading on this forum, that James' OEM spec 240Z (the orange car) was a complete monster on a Z track day and beat many other heavily modified cars, and even turbo's. I'm not sure of the real reason for this, but I suspect it comes down to driving, and that other seriously under-rated modification that Colin Chapman used to harp on about... "added lightness".

 

Anyway, i'm looking forward to getting this thing to Jindabyne or Tassy with you guys one of these years and checking it out against some of your much more developed cars. I can only live in hope!

 

Cheers

 

 

 

[NZeder]

Adam love what you have done with the project. I would love to a stock zed too to go with my hybrid build then I can have both which is why I did purchase a 240z but then in the end that needed to be sold to pay for the hybrid build as I used Glasurit and therefore can confirm the price of painting a car in this paint. If my brother was not a panelbeater/carpaint a good shop would charge 10-15K to a whole car like mine was ie bear shell inside and outside - still the material add up for sure.

 

Well done and I can't wait to see those new SS front and rear bars - are you happy with the product? I know they are not fitted but if you are like me I can wait to see them fitted. Rechroming bars here in NZ (from the good place) is now about $600 NZD (funny money to use Ozzies) each bar. So that makes these bar a good purchase IMHO

[acf321]

Thanks Mike .. the bars are very nice. Similarly with the cost in NZ, it would be between A$500 and A$700 per end apparently to have the factory bars properly straightened and re-chromed. I went with the stainless ones, because it appears they are a 100% exact copy, right down to the shape of the flaring underneath the rear bar. Its almost as though harrington has purchased or borrowed a factory dolly to make these things up.

 

Ok Lurch, just on that brake question, what would you suggest if I did want to upgrade my brakes? Would I go just larger front rotors and keep rear drums? or would I go rotors on all fours, and if so what brand would you suggest?

[Brabham]

Any idea of how many litres of top coat (orange) you needed to cover the car and how many coats of paint Nat used? I have got to do a clear as well so I am assuming I will have to almost double this? Did you do a clear as well? Also like how you are keeping it old school. Cheers

[C.A.R.]

Ok Lurch, just on that brake question, what would you suggest if I did want to upgrade my brakes? Would I go just larger front rotors and keep rear drums? or would I go rotors on all fours, and if so what brand would you suggest?

Well... IMHO you should use the period correct MK63 4-spot calipers & suitable vented rotors on the front.

And either the R31 rear disc brake conversion or the more period correct S1 280ZX disc brake conversion with a 1" M/C

[acf321]

Brabham, according to Nat, there is about 6 litres of paint used to paint a car, not including top coat, which is typically only one coat (so another litre). The Hornet does not have a clear coat (because that is not the way they were painted in the day - again 'old school' finish). The top coats do look excellent and tend to give a deeper wet looking finish, but I wanted the paint to look like acrylic, whilst using the tougher, more durable two pac. The way Nat has painted the car is with two light coats of colour, then two heavier (intermediate coats) to give it depth, and then a final fifth coat, applied after a few hours, but is much more thinned down than the earlier coats. The point of this last coat is to give a light, but more viscous coating that eliminates orange peel (again something that really has only occurred since the introduction of two pac).

 

Lurch, thanks for that advise on the brakes, appreciated. If I do find that the motor requires an upgrade (a potentially likely outcome), I will chase up the Mk63 option for the front. I presume these are Nissan? and not the Toyota hilux calipers that lots of people speak about? At the end of the day, its the fronts that do the bulk of the work, so this may very well be the option to go for.

 

As for your red car Lurch, IMHO i'd leave it just the way you bought it.... but thats just me (ok, maybe i'd change the wheels and lower it an inch or so). Its a beautiful and rare find, with very nice history.

[Riceburner]

I would also like to see/hear about the stainless bumpers. Are they the type that require DIY fitment of mounting plates? I recently got my rear bar straightened, holes filled where rubbers were fitted and rechromed for $300 Aus...

 

Any pics?

 

[acf321]

I have not got any photos of the bumpers, but you can see them on the Group Harrington website. They are an absolute 100% identical replica of the OEM bars, and they include new rubber strips on the ends. They fit and look exactly the same. They have all the bolts and fit to the factory backing plates. Nothing more to add, but have a look when you see them on the car. 

[acf321]

week 51...

 

i didn't take any photos of the hornet last week, but tomorrow i'll see what Nat's been up to. In the interim, I just wanted to stick up a few of my favourite cars ever... if money were no option (and these things were actually able to be found) i'd have a shed full! Oh and the red 240Z makes it (thanks Mike) as its just such a purposeful looking thing, and one of the nicest one's i've seen.

 

Cheers

 

Adam

[acf321]

my real favourite is the blue car!

[acf321]

here it is !

[NZeder]

wow my old 240z made the cut - honoured truly honoured 

[acf321]

pure horn mate, really is!

[mossy]

I love Mike's car too, for me it also has the perfect stance.

[acf321]

Week 51...

 

Just all the little things happening this week, that are not obvious. We're waiting on a few nuts and bolts for the engine and then it'll be over to James place to collect the motor and installation. Thanks to Gareth & Lurch, I won't be needing a new shifter, but we'll customise the existing one to fit. Need some small brackets for the front brakes and the wheel's will be going on. Exhaust needs to be sorted and then the hornet should again breath life (of spit flames!).

 

Not sure if I should black out the front radiator mount? Any thoughts guys?

 

The red car is Nat's new toy.

 

Enjoy.