jamo240

To get the windscreen (or rear glass out), it is easiest if you cut the rubber away from the body/hatch surround first. The rear window is toughened, so will come out in one piece if you're careful. The front glass (if modern) is laminated, so it will likely crack when you remove it unless you're a bit lucky and don't twist it in the slightest. If you want to get the glass out without damaging the rubbers (ie you intent to re-use them), then you need to free them from the body/surround as much as possible without cutting them, then lay on your back in the car and push the glass out with your legs as evenly as possible to get the rubber to comes away from the body in one area and then kind of work the rubber away from the seam to get the glass out complete with the rubber on it. Putting them back in (suggest you use new rubbers), you put a rope (similar to washing line rope, but without the plastic coating on it) in the channel of the rubber where it engages with the seam on the body. Overlap the rubber down the bottom of the glass...this is where you will start to get the rubber onto the body. Before you start, put a bead of windscreen sealer in the grooves of the rubber...both to seal the glass into the rubber, and to seal the rubber to the body/hatch. With that done, lay the glass on the opening, and where the rope overlaps, have a friend apply gentle pressure down onto the body, while you use the ropes to pull the rubber over the seam...you then start working the ropes out in each direction (one at a time), and inch by inch, work the rubber over the seam. If you do it right, the rubber goes over very easy, and when you go all the way around, presto, your glass is in! Then clean up windscreen sealer which gets everywhere off using turps. Finally, put your stainless steel garnish pieces back in using a shaped piece of fencing wire to get the lip on the rubber over the stainless garnish. CHeers Jamo

Heya...where is it? I would like to come if OK and if I'm not travelling for work. Cheers Jamo

Hey Pete...thanks for the kind words... I am happy with how it's coming together...the pics don't quite do it justice...I'm not much of a photograper. I wanted it to look how it might have looked if Nissan had installed an RB in a 240, and while custom cars are never finished, I reckon I'm getting close to where I'll stop with this one, and only a week or two away from being able to hear it fire up. From there, I will give it to Simon at Nizpro to tune it, and then I'll give it the agony and see whether it's any good or not. Cheers mate Jamo

Hey Sco...I am fortunate enough to have an original bodied Z without rust because I got it so many years ago and it's been garaged ever since....I can't bear to cut holes in things now! Anyway...it will have all the power I will ever need, and I don't take it out and wring its neck on hot days anyway, so any loss of power is not a problem for what I'll be doing. Here's a pic of the car on the deck too. Jamo

Thanks Dave and Garvice...it's getting a bit exciting now...getting down to all the little finish off jobs. I still have a few bits to get replated, but you know when you're bleeding the brakes and polishing the scuff plates that you're getting close! I will be happy to take you for a ride at the next event that's dry, and about 18-23 degree day! If it's wet or stinking hot, I'd rather just drive the Commodore!! ps: very happy with the new radiator...I had Richard at what was Supatrick (now Natrad) build it, and it is first class...you can also get the fin pitch on the rad core specified to what you want, which is great when you have an intercooler in front of it! Cheers Jamo

Hey Lads I have been a bit quiet, but it's still been happening. The old girl is back on the deck now, and I am sorting out the wiring before firing it up. The engine bay is finished now sans a clean up, and i have included a pic of the gearstick...I made it up out of the base of an RB25DET stick, welded to an L series stick...polished and then re-chromed. That way I get the original gear knob look that I am after. The wheels are a bit old school now, but came up ok with a polish i reckon. Cheers Jamo

Hey Roberto...you can cut the new grommet, fit it to the harness and then face the cut down and that will do a fair job of hiding the cut, but the fact is the grommets are usually fitted (at the factory) before the connectors are fitted, so it is difficult to fit them on large harnesses with the connectors in place. Cheers Jamo

You can check out my thread on making an RB25DET sump in the engine section of this site...fair bit of information from me and others on sump options for Z's. In a nutshell, you can use the sump off an Australian delivered Nissan Patrol that had the RB30 engine in it...but they're hard to find. The one I made was based on one of these, but modified for increased volume and performance under lateral G conditions. Cheers

Looking great Dave...you'll be ready to TIG the exhaust soon...! I get the final plated parts back and my new radiator on Friday, so I'll post a few more picks of mine then. Doing the wiring now, and then it's time to kick it in the guts! Jamo

I have a 73 240Z that originally had the L24, which I then turbocharged with a draw thru Stromberg carby (more power, but less refinement). Then I put in an injected turbo L28 with 400HP which went like a cut cat, but sounded and felt like the truck engine that it is. I now have a RB25DET at around 500HP, but probably less torque than the L28. THe RB25DET installation would have $15k of parts in it, and if you added the labor, closer to $30k. So why did I do all that? It wasn't for the power....in an 1,100kg road car, what can you do with 500HP that you can't do with 400? In a word....REFINEMENT. An L series can make plenty of performance, but an RB is a million times smoother. It's not just the engine either...the (larger) transmission and prop shaft and Uni joints deal with the torque much better and you get nothing like the vibration under hard acceleration...the RB sounds better too, and with VVT gives comparably good bottom end torque for an engine that also loves to rev. So, if you want refinement, go the RB, but you will struggle to do it for that budget, even if you keep everything stock. If I was doing it on a $5k budget, I'd just do the L series up to a warm config (perhaps go an L28), and put your effort into simple enhancements that won't cost much. I wouldn't worry about injection...twin carbs will make plenty of power, as will triples, but they cost money to buy and keep tuned. One of the most fun 240Z's I ever drove just had a warmed over carbied L28 and it had stacks of power for road use and was easy to keep running well and very durable. If you go the RB20 you will have less torque than the L28 due to both capacity and the flow characteristics of a 4 valve head....you'll take the car backwards for road use, although it may be more refined if you do it well. RB conversions go best when a fair bit of money can be thrown at them...if not, you'll get a better overall result enhancing the L series. Regarding some of your questions...I can assure you enhancing an L series is nowhere near as complicated as installing an RB in a Z. There is quite a bit to it if you want a nice result.....sure you can shoehorn it in and have all sorts of things not work or fit properly, but if you want to do justice to the potential of the base engine, you need to do the installation thoroughly and attend to all the little details that take time and tend to cost money, even if a few hundred bucks at a time. Finally...what's all this appeal of fuel injection??? Back when I was 19 and first bought my 240, it started up just fine with the carbies and ran plenty hard. Injection came along to deal with emissions, not make more power. If you've got an old car that doesn't need to meet emissions, stay with the classic look of carbies and enjoy using the choke lever on cold mornings!! Cheers Jamo

What Veloce says about MIG's is spot on. Wire feed is a HUGE issue in cheap MIG machines....if the feed mechanism is dodgy, the MIG can be so frustrating to work with that you'll stop trying, get a crap result, or both. The good machines have well sorted out feed mechanisms, but also have much more sophisticated current/voltage regulation to produce a nicer start and stop to the weld, as well as consistency and finish. Pay peanuts, get monkeys. Jamo

Hey Ducer My speedo (73 240Z) also fluctuates and bounces around a bit....i don't know if oil has worked its was up the cable over the years and trace amounts have made it into the head unit to upset the pickup arrangement, causing it to bounce around. You just kinda put up with it a bit...when I am crusiing at a steady speed it's fine...it's more an issue when accelerating...it tends to overshoot then bounce back down before settling down at a steady speed. Cheers Jamo

Why not use a Tremec T56? They're strong, and you can only hook so much power up in a light car like a 260Z, so even if you go to double throw-down super whammy turbos and make 9,847 RWkW, the box only gets loaded up to the point where the wheels break traction, which will be almost all the time with a TT Chev. Cheers, Jamo

Hey Thriller.... I would use gas. Gasless has its place (mostly outdoors on building sites where the wind blows the shielding gas away), but in my experience gas systems give a better result, especially for auto work. The right gas is Argoshield (CO2/Argon blend)...the blends are used to reduce spatter, whereas you use straight argon for a TIG. ESAB build the best welders in the business. I picked one up the other week for $750 second hand....it's a great unit. I have my old one available that you might be interested in if you can't find an ESAB or Miller. A good 170A machine is fine, and will work on a 15A circuit. 200A will kill it. Cheers Grant

Hmmmm....I can't agree on the big patch little patch being the same! Little patches that aren't structural in nature are relatively straight forward. To rebuild the floor and recreate all the flanges where panels come together and get spot-welded, along with internal structural panels (roof panel) that must be reproduced to maintain the integrity of the car is a horse of a different color. Sure it can be done, but it takes considerable skill, experience and equipment to ensure it is done well and production tolerances and appearances are recreated. That kind of rebuild is worlds apart from a few small cosmetic patches. I don't say this to be unkind, but to ensure newcomers to restorations are not lulled into an unrealistic mindset regarding the scale of major structural body repairs. Jamo

I agree with Chris...between the money you will need to pay professionals to recover this car, along with hundreds of hours of your own time, it will be far cheaper (and a better outcome) to put the money into a better shell and use this one as a parts car. Cheers Jamo

I bought mine in 1988 for about $2,300, along with access to a second one for parts, which had a 350Chev in it and had been wrapped around a tree. Even back then, it was a pretty rough 240Z, but all I could afford at the time. Fortunately, it didn't have much rust (very little by current standards that rough Z's are in), so the resto was fairly simple. It's part of the family now, so I can't imagine selling it at all. I'll probably give it to the kids one day if they want it, but if not, try to get it into the hands of someone who will appreciate it....Gran Torino style. Cheers

Hey six shooter...yes...you can't run the all red ones here in Australia legally, so I can't imagine anyone wanting to trade away a legal amber set for illegal ones. Cheers

Hmmmm....I lived in Los Angeles for two years, but never got to SF, so not sure if it's cool or not. But...dirty Harry did the famous 44 Magnum scene there "....feeling lucky punk".....so that alone must make it a little bit cool hey?! Jamo

Well hip, where to start..... The 240 could be considered the Cornetto car....the original and best....but more original than best. All the successors benefitted from the experience gained and are therefore more refined.....BUT, Nissan also lost its way a bit in trying to build a car to suit US tastes, which meant it got bigger and slower and lost its roots as a sports car. Z's went into the wilderness like American muscle cars (some of which had 600HP in 1965, but struggled to make half that by 1975) pretty much all the way through the mid 70's until the 90's. With the last generation 300zx's they built a good car again. I was an apprentice mechanic at Nissan during the late 80's and drove the California spec mid life 300ZX's, and they were truly forgettable. The VG Quad valve TT engines breathed life into the marque once again! They've got better since then. So...no Z is practical, although the current generation are closer to it....buy a 370Z if you want the most refined and practical car. For a really practical car get something like a diesel Ford Territory. If you are nostalgic and want to go back to where it all began, get a 240 and prepare to spend money endlessly to get it right and keep it right, noting that with all the money you spend, it will still feel like a car engineered in the late 60's and built in the early 70's. That's just how it is. The other ones have their pro's and con's, but you get the idea of the trade-offs you need to consider. I have a 240, and was lucky enough to get it 25 years ago when you could get them in pretty good nick for reasonable prices. If I were starting now, and wanted the early shape, I would try to get a 280Z (same body shape as 240, but not offered as original equipment in Australia), or a 280zx 2 seater like what Simon has...they are a nice car, and a bit younger than a 240 or 260, so you get a better base car....hard to find though...Japanese import jobs. Oh, the other thing is how much money you have to throw at it...don't take on a resto if you haven't got the money to finish it...otherwise, you burn up what money you have got and don't get any result for it...do the car you can afford. Cheers Jamo

Heya Basic electrical theory is that Power (P) = Voltage (V) x Current (I) => P = VI By example, if the power of the device you are running is known (eg 90/130W head lamps), then max total power is 130 x 2 (lamps) = 260W. So, 260 = VI => 260 = 12V x I So, I = 260/12 = 21.7 Amps So, in the case of a high beam headlamp fuse, you would run a 25A fuse minimum. I use heavy gauge wire in my installation, and use 30A fusing, which works fine, and will protect the wiring from a short. As one of the other contributors mentioned, the fuses are there to protect the wiring, NOT the device. Shorts are caused most frequently through short circuits (eg wiring abraided and shorts to earth) OR through a device failing (eg fuel pump short circuits, effectively conducting power through the pump with no resistance in circuit). In these cases, if the fuse does not blow, the wiring will heat up and potentially cause a fire and/or damage the wiring. By blowing, the fuse protects the wiring from this outcome...the device is already stuffed, hence the fuse is not there to protect it. Bottom line: The fuse needs to be 'big' enough to sustain the maximum current draw of the device when under load (including start up current), but small enough to blow BEFORE the wiring gets hot and fails. Hence, you need to know the power requirement of the device, and the power/current capacity of your wiring to design your fusing. Cheers Jamo

Well boys and girls. I thought it was time for another update. Things slowed down a bit through Xmas, but now I'm back on it. The mechanicals are all done, and the parts are still to come back from the platers who are all shut down at the moment. I am taking the time to sort the wiring out, and have reconfigured the radiator and feed pipes. Fortunately, the std R33 skyline lower radiator hose fits just perfect, provided you re-orient the bottom radiator spigot to be straight out, not a 90 degree upward bend. The top tank is a bit more fiddling, and I made a pipe to make its way around the turbo ducting into the inlet manifold (remember it's an end entry setup). I also put a thermofan switch in this pipe because i am not running the engine driven fan, and the ECU has no capacity to drive fans. I have also decided to go with a coolant recovery system, so I have had to make a coolant recovery tank that sits just in front of the radiator support panel and up against the inner fender wall. It's a bit of mucking around, but keeps your coolant system much cleaner (less oxidation) and also helps keep the coolant level at the right height within the system to reduce the risk of hot spots/air pockets in the cylinder head. I expect to crank it up in February! Cheers Jamo

Hey Mick I am not a fan of Holley Blue's due to the noise they make, and they provide more volume than you will need for an RB20. On my 400HP L28/240Z, I run a medium size Walbro inline pump to feed the surge tank, and a Bosch xx 090 pump as the main pressure pump (drawing from the surge tank). The 'lift' pump doesn't need to have the capacity of the main pump because its feeding fuel at no pressure, while the main pump has to maintain required fuel flow rate at 350kPa. The lift pump draws from the original tank pickup and fills the surge tank, and I run a 6mm overflow from the top of the surge tank back through the factory return port on the tank. That way the surge tank is kept full at all times, and passes excess flow back to the main tank. The main pump feeds the fuel rail and the excess flow is fed back to the surge tank. This way there is a degree of mixing and keeping the fuel cool in the surge tank. I have never had hot or cold fuel handling isses on hot or cold days. Cheers Jamo

Hey thanks Gareth...I don't usually show off my undercarriage until after the first date, but in this case, I'll make an exception and let you have a look when the car is all cleaned up and going vroom. Dave: Happy to TIG up your system when the time comes. One good turn deserves another. It's all getting very close now. The last bits are off to the platers, and I've got started on the wiring. I just might fire a shot before the end of 2011! Cheers lads. Jamo