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The Midnight Warrior - 71 Datsun 240z - Australia


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Hey Guys, 

 

Just wanted to share my build project with everyone. 

 

Just a bit of background, I am a 22 year old Australia, currently living in Melbourne. 

 

Ever since I was a kid, I loved these cars, so on my 18th birthday (Legal driving age in Australia) I purchases my first 260z 2+2. I mucked around with that for a couple of years, and eventually sold that to fund my 240z build. 

 

This is what it looked like when I purchased the car. 

 

Check out the build thread on : https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Midnight-Warrior-Datsun-240Z/469346503080900?ref=hl

 

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As you can see, there is a lot of work that needs to be done on the body, engine, interior... Well everything to be honest!

 

So it begins.....

Edited by Midnight Warrior
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Welcome to the site.Enjoy the ride. I do not mean to sound negative and I do not know how the availability of Z cars is in Australia, but If I was going to invest a lot of time and money I would want to start with a car with less rust. In your cars current condition you will have a lot of time and money tied up in just eliminating the really bad rust areas. If you work in a body shop and are acquiring skills for a life time job the project will be worth while. I have seen projects in other countries where the Z is rare start with cars with similar rust conditions. Evaluate your options before you have a lot of time and money invested. A Z from a non-coastal environment might be worth looking for. Then you can spend your money on performance goodies.

Just my opinion and it may not fit your situation.

 

Good luck and have fun.

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Welcome to the site.Enjoy the ride. I do not mean to sound negative and I do not know how the availability of Z cars is in Australia, but If I was going to invest a lot of time and money I would want to start with a car with less rust. In your cars current condition you will have a lot of time and money tied up in just eliminating the really bad rust areas. If you work in a body shop and are acquiring skills for a life time job the project will be worth while. I have seen projects in other countries where the Z is rare start with cars with similar rust conditions. Evaluate your options before you have a lot of time and money invested. A Z from a non-coastal environment might be worth looking for. Then you can spend your money on performance goodies.

Just my opinion and it may not fit your situation.

 

Good luck and have fun.

Thanks for that feedback,

 

I think with hindsight, I should have definitely considered a different project base. However for the price that I got this car for, and the fact that there weren't that many around swayed my decision. The car was left on a hill, which meant that the left side of the car was pretty rusty, as well as the rear hatch area. 

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Once the doors and the dogs legs were completed, The rear hatch was tackled. 

 

As you guys can see in the initial pics, the rear hatch area was a complete mess. It needed all new light housings and a complete beaver panel. 

 

Rear Hatch:

 

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As mentioned above, the car was sitting on a hill for a good couple of years. This was both a good thing and a bad thing. It meant that only a few areas were badly rusted out, as all the water gathered in set areas. It however did mean that the areas that were rusted out, were pretty badly rusted out. 

 

The next area was the roof area.

 

Roof Area:

 

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Surprisingly the floor and rails of the car were in really good condition. The only other areas that needed work to be done to them was: 

 

1. battery tray area

2. Windscreen area 

3. Front fenders

4. Firewall (Where a crappy after market aircon unit was)

4. flares 

 

Battery Tray:

 

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Windscreen Area:

 

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Firewall:

 

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Front Fenders:

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Flares:

 

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Once all those area were completed, Dare I say that the car is 100% Rust free (is there even such a thing with a ZED?)

 

It was then sprayed in a flat black to water seal the car. 

 

Here are a few random pics. (One of the other members had a V8 custom hood, so we thought we would try that out) 

 

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Once all the "Rust" work was completed, I set my eyes on the engine bay. 

 

I repainted the engine bay in a gloss black, and concentrated on getting the mechanical of the car working smoothly. 

 

Here was my list of things to do: 

1. Remove old busted L24 (non matching engine)

2. Pull out a rebuild L26 that I had from my previous 260z and drop it in.

3. Do a manual conversion 

4. Fix the electronics

5. replace busted starter motor

 

Engine Bay:

 

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Once the engine was sorted, and the car was running. I then turned my attention to the inside of the car. 

 

I put a set of RX8 seats in, (Which fitted really well, and didn't need much work to install). All that needed to be done was drill 2 new holes for the front of the car, and attached a metal bracket in the back to mount the rear holes. 

 

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I also fat matted the entire inside

 

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Here is what the car currently looks at as at today. 

 

There is a still of work that needs to be done. 

 

1. Needs to be Registered 

2. Dash reskin 

3. Centre console 

4. Badges 

5. L28 upgrade 

6. Triple Webbers 

7. Rx7 seats rather than Rx8

8. Sound system

9. Weld on battery tray 

10. Mount rear spoiler 

11. Tune

 

But in the most part its pretty much there. 

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