The Brown Hornet - as NEW 1971 240Z - SOLD

[acf321]

got the angle grinder out and did the left side rear arch. took about 5mm off the inside lip then took he for another spin. Needs another 1mm or thereabouts. I taped it off and primed it to ensure NO RUST !!!

 

Gotta do the drivers side too.

 

Brakes are amazing!

 

Car seems to have a bit of a wobble in the rear under (a lot of) load. I think the moustache bushes (or whatever those big chunky vertical bushes are) might be too soft as it felt like diff housing is moving ever so slightly under load. This happened when Nat was driving the car and pushed it hard into a corner. Nat questioned it, as did I. Any thoughts here would be welcome.

 

fixing the wiper washer bottle leaks and rear guards is on the agenda for tomorrow !!

 

 

[benny]

got the angle grinder out and did the left side rear arch. took about 5mm off the inside lip then took he for another spin. Needs another 1mm or thereabouts. I taped it off and primed it to ensure NO RUST !!!

 

Gotta do the drivers side too.

 

Brakes are amazing!

 

Car seems to have a bit of a wobble in the rear under (a lot of) load. I think the moustache bushes (or whatever those big chunky vertical bushes are) might be too soft as it felt like diff housing is moving ever so slightly under load. This happened when Nat was driving the car and pushed it hard into a corner. Nat questioned it, as did I. Any thoughts here would be welcome.

 

fixing the wiper washer bottle leaks and rear guards is on the agenda for tomorrow !!

 

 

make sure the washers/bushings are in the correct order on the mustachio bar mounting... easy thing to stuff up.

[George]

Adam,

 

I have spent all of my spare time in the last couple of days reading this entire thread. You recently said it was an epic project. I completely agree with you.

 

Well done and I sincerely hope you enjoy every moment with this car. You deserve it.

[acf321]

Took a good mate up the Old Pac Hwy VERY early yesterday. A couple of observations and comments, and I will get some footage in coming weeks as time permits. I was a little anxious as my mate only recently got rid of his GT3, so I expected him to trash the old Datto. To the contrary, he actually offered to buy the car off me on the way home!!

 

Some thoughts from the drive;

 

1) Handling is excellent at a fast pace, but the front end needs more caster accoring to James, and about 3cm taken out of the front struts (having said this, I did not notice the car needed either of these things yesterday). Coming out of a 74 2.7 MFI Carrera, I was just amazed at how much BETTER the 240Z handles over that car. There is very little roll (unlike the Porsche), excellent weight distribution (unlike the Porsche) and lots of grip, and the steering whilst heavy at slower speeds was just perfect on the move (aided I think by the Compe whee's smaller diameter, hence faster steering effect). Whilst not really necessary, I expect handling to improve with better turn in (from the caster angle change) and with a 3cm lower front that will mean even less roll (not that I detected any even with the current setup).

 

I can ABSOLUTELY recommend the Koni Yellow's and the Dunlop Star Specs .... amazing on both accounts. We firmed up the rear shock to 2/3rds on the way back, from 1/2 on the way (front set at 3/4) and it made another positive performance gain, without being hard or bumpy.

 

2) the MK63 brakes are as good as anything i've used and did not give me reason to question stopping power at all. I used them aggressively for a reasonable period of time, and can only say that mk63's with rear drums, in my opinion is all this car will ever need on the road. Turns out I have Ferodo race compound pads (as supplied by NZedder), and whilst they appeared hard at the start and not overly 'bitey' when I picked her up, they work perfectly and I see no reason to change anything.

 

3) the gap between 2nd and 3rd ratios is too wide. I thought that given the torque of the feisty 2.5L engine, 3rd gear was all I needed, but dropping back to 2nd had the revs sky high, so if I could, I'd go a very marginally taller 2nd cog to close out the differential between the two and assist with engine braking. With all the extra poke this car has, a taller 2nd I think will transform it. Its a rebuilt box from a 260Z and I will discuss this with James in the coming week. I thought 3 /4 and 5th cogs are perfect for my application, as is the 3.9:1 R180 diff.

 

4) the 45mm OER's and SWR headers work fantastically, and did treat up to the odd pop and loud crack on over-run, to the point that one sounded like a proper rifle shot right past our ears. I only wished they did it a bit more, but that's just selfishness

 

5) The car just LOVES the freeway (I mean REALLY loves it). I don't remember ever being on an open fwy before in a 240Z, but the Hornet just sits flat and gets on with its business in a very convincing manner. Its not overly loud or bumpy, and I suspect a 3 hour drive would be childs play. 110km/hr reads at 65 miles, so the 205/60/R15 tyres and wheels are not far off OEM size either. Had some moron that thought it was appropriate to sit literally on my tail in a white caprice, so I decided to see what would happen if I just buried my right foot to the floor from 70. I lifted my foot when the speedo read '95' but to be honest I REALLY just wanted to leave it there to see what she'd do, and to be honest I can very much imagine that it might have gone all the way to say 140+ such was the way the car was pulling even at 95.

 

6) I am totally smitten by this car ... the fact that my mate offered to buy it from me suggests he was too. There is still so many little things to do, including painting the console, installing carpet, getting front end geometry perfect, and ironing out some electrical gremlins, but thats the fun part. I do believe that the Brown Hornet is by far the best sports car i've ever owned, and that inlcludes a pretty long list of some fairly capable things.

 

Stay posted...

 

Adam

 

 

 

[George]

6) I am totally smitten by this car ... the fact that my mate offered to buy it from me suggests he was too. There is still so many little things to do, including painting the console, installing carpet, getting front end geometry perfect, and ironing out some electrical gremlins, but thats the fun part. I do believe that the Brown Hornet is by far the best sports car i've ever owned, and that inlcludes a pretty long list of some fairly capable things.

 

 

Good to hear Adam. Glad you're enjoying it so much after a long build. Looking forward to some footage and more so to actually seeing it soon.

[Brabham]

Sounds good Adam Like George I reckon I will be reading through your full build thread. What are the Mk.63's out of by the way? I have not heard of them before.

 

Cheers

[acf321]

James was telling me today that I should start to think about an all out 3.0 stroker motor!! He said he reckons it'll change my life!!!

 

I've only had the Hornet out 6 times and now this!

[WA240Z]

I thought we had already had this discussion.  It is dam tempting though isn't it.

 

I do know of a certain L24 that would love to acquaint its self with some of the internals and head of your L24 though. 

 

Billy.

[mossy]

James was telling me today that I should start to think about an all out 3.0 stroker motor!! He said he reckons it'll change my life!!!

 

I've only had the Hornet out 6 times and now this!

 

Adam you only just got it, your as bad as...hang on...me!!! 

[NZeder]

Sounds good Adam Like George I reckon I will be reading through your full build thread. What are the Mk.63's out of by the way? I have not heard of them before.

 

Cheers

They are not out of anything they are the Nissan sport option/FIA approved Sumitomo MK63 4 pot cast iron calipers that Nissan used on many cars, B210, 240RS, 710 (160J mk 1), A10 (160J mk2 to us in NZ land or Stanza to you ozzies), 240z/260z/280z/FairladyZ/FairladyZ432, Skylines aka most Nissan cars from 70-late 80's. They were factory fitted to the Nissan Presidents I believe.

[George]

Met Adam and the Hornet today and got to go for a little spin. Top stuff on all accounts!

 

 

[acf321]

Wow, thanks George really appreciate those, they're by far the best I have.

 

John (Sirpent) should be happy with my little fix ... Grabbed those stabiliser rods with a set of multi grips and removed them thereby returning the bonnet to very near OEM height.

 

Reason for the photos is that George and I met up at PeterAllen's place to have a purve at the GTO. That will be nice in about three weeks when he has paint on!

 

Cheers

 

Adam.

[sydney mike]

Met Adam and the Hornet today and got to go for a little spin. Top stuff on all accounts!

 

 

Good for you George! Hopefully some of Adam's perseverance and dedication to perfection rubs off on to you in regards to your "Lazarus". The Brown hornet I'm sure is an inspiration to us all.

 

cheers, Mike.

[gav240z]

Oi where was my invite to this exclusive boy's club? haha I was busy doing the god damn gardening anyway . Man I hate my lawn , no work on 240z .

[sexual_sushi]

Nice photos George!

[mossy]

Any in car gopro footage Adam?

[acf321]

Ahhh yes, the GoPro incar footage .... think I remember hearing that request once before!!

 

I don't have one, but a mate does so I will ask to borrow it before the next run up the hill (note hill name omitted). On another note, I've been looking for a 2.9 L26 box, which I've found and will graft into my existing jewel-like box that James did for me. Am also flirting with a 4.1/3 R180, and also need to do some reasonably meaningful suspension mods. Am just considering going for height adjustable top perches with threaded sleeves, using my Koni's (which I LOVE) and a set of King Springs. Might also stick in a set of adjustable control rod thingy's and a new set of front control arm bushes as the bushes in there now are precluding me from achieving any caster. There's also some camber tricks too, that i'me yet to learn about!

 

Reckon's i'll be ready to have a proper run with Mossy and Gareth pretty soon.....!!!

 

BTW ... Was speaking to Pete and George yesterday about getting together for a Sydney meet soon. If anyone's interested stick your hands up and lets talk.

 

cheers

 

[WA240Z]

Two fantastic photos. The Hornet looks outstanding.

[NZeder]

Don't get a go pro too expensive get a rollei much better value for money IMHO

[mossy]

Took a good mate up the Old Pac Hwy VERY early yesterday. A couple of observations and comments, and I will get some footage in coming weeks as time permits. I was a little anxious as my mate only recently got rid of his GT3, so I expected him to trash the old Datto. To the contrary, he actually offered to buy the car off me on the way home!!

 

Some thoughts from the drive;

 

1) Handling is excellent at a fast pace, but the front end needs more caster accoring to James, and about 3cm taken out of the front struts (having said this, I did not notice the car needed either of these things yesterday). Coming out of a 74 2.7 MFI Carrera, I was just amazed at how much BETTER the 240Z handles over that car. There is very little roll (unlike the Porsche), excellent weight distribution (unlike the Porsche) and lots of grip, and the steering whilst heavy at slower speeds was just perfect on the move (aided I think by the Compe whee's smaller diameter, hence faster steering effect). Whilst not really necessary, I expect handling to improve with better turn in (from the caster angle change) and with a 3cm lower front that will mean even less roll (not that I detected any even with the current setup).

 

 

Adam

 

Just saw this Adam about lowering another 3cm on the front, where you thinking of sectioning the fronts as you did the rears? The reason I ask is I just measured my koni yellows and they were around 362mm body length, i also measured an empty front strut tube and it was about 385mm so they could barely be sectioned.

[acf321]

Hi Mossy.

 

Ok, on the suspension front I was speaking to Stew Wilkins the other day about a new tranny, as the one I have has the dreaded 3.3 first. ANYWAY, when I was speaking to him I asked him about adjusting heights etc, and he highly recommended a system he uses that utilises; 1) the OEM leg, 2) my existing yellow Koni's, and 3) king springs. What he does is remove the top perch, then cleans the tube and places a threaded sleeve over the actual strut cartridge (with nut for adjustment)then replaces the top strut perch with a custom one, and installs king springs that have flat tops and bases, thereby making you OEM strut into a quasi coil over. Whilst i've not agreed to doing this, I did ask him lots of questions about it as the benefits (that he described to me) are; 1) I can set my height to the optimimum level for what I am doing - ie driving hard, or taking the Bride on a long HWY cruise, 2) I can eventually corner balance my car... should the need arise, and 3) I can adjust spring rate. This to me is much better than an all out coil over kit as that departs totally from stock, and by all accounts, they are pretty hard edged for road use.

 

It's just a thought, but certainly one I will consider before undertaking.

 

Hope that helps Mossy.

 

Adam

 

 

[mossy]

Thanks Adam, thats an interesting way of doing it, sounds like a bit of work though. I'm still undecided on whether its best for standard king lows like you or the coilover route with soft 175/200 springs at the moment, keep us updated with your suspension. 

[NZeder]

If you want to go a little lower in the front there is the old 80's trick that was done here in NZ and I assume other countries.

 

Take the oem top hat/bush thing aka the big thing on top with the 3 studs sticking out. Heat up the outer shell to break the bond of the rubber. With the rubber removed it is then trimmed down. The steel out shell is the cut not down but split down the side in a number of spots aka hack saw down to make 4 or 6 metal tags. The cut down rubber is installed back into the outer shell and the now tags are then bent/folded down to hold the rubber in the shell.

 

This old school mod should lower the setup by about 1/2 to 1" and the travel/shock length strut tube is not altered and you still have stock spring platforms

[PZG302]

Another option is to do what was done on my old race car to drop the static height, which was to cut the bottom spring seat and re-weld it to the strut.

 

We still used the standard length dampers and springs, just tie wired the springs in so they didn't fall out of the perches.

 

Probably better suited to a circuit car than a road car, but another option that may be suitable fir some.

[Scoota G]

Bit of an issue finding the right type of bolt for the coat hanger for this young gentleman. I ended up machining a bolt down and polishing the top for a chrome finish. Left is the original one and the center one is the base i started with, the finished one on the right. A drop of your clear nail polish (i'm not saying you have any) after you fit it will keep the chrome look. Will that work?