Oddjob

Humm... From your description, it sounds like a high amp short... sort of like arc welding. Your alternator (assuming stock) does not produce enough current to do that kind of damage, so the current source had to be the battery. Look for some path where the positive battery terminal or cable came into contact with a ground. The older Zs are known for bad grounds, but this doesn't sound like it was caused by that. The starter wouldn't have much to do with it either, except that your positive battery cable goes directly there from the battery.

The first thumbnail below is a reverse angle shot of the aluminum driveshaft, and shows the driveshaft loop in the distance. In this shot you can see the upper part of the loop. The next shot was taken in the shop during the rebuild. Note the later years moustache bar. The rear end is an R-180 which I chose to retain. Since the car will ultimately have a warmed-up L-28, and won't be raced, the R-180 is more than enough. The rear end got a complete rebuild, with 4.11 gears and a four-clutch limited slip unit. The LSD took 6 months to find (new). These are apparently becoming rare. Ultimately, Courtesy Nissan http://www.courtesyparts.com/ found me one, which shipped in from Japan. The last shot shows the CV joint conversion which replaced the stock half-shafts and u-joints. If you are unfamiliar with this unit, I have attached a one-page PDF showing the details. The kit fit beautifully. wcrcvhalfshaftaxlekit.pdf

The car already had a later-years five-speed transmission conversion, which saved me the trouble. This is a must as far as I'm concerned. The transmission did get new seals and bearings, as well as a tight-pattern shift kit. The stock flywheel was replaced with a 14 pound aluminum flywheel. The clutch is a Centerforce II. Both clutch cylinders were replaced, a stainless line added, and naturally, the throw-out and pilot bearings were replaced. The driveshaft was replaced with an MSA aluminum shaft. Note that they only sell the longer shaft (later years, starting 1972), but since I was moving the rear end back 35mm anyway, I would have had to replace the driveshaft regardless. The driveshaft loop is a Summit G-7900, which is a universal-fit piece, but it turned out to fit particularly well. Note the exhaust pipe is routed through as well.

Here are a couple of more views of the six-into-one header. It is ceramic coated, not chromed. The stainless flex coupling is a Vibrant 4556. Note that the collector, coupling, head pipe, muffler core and tailpipe are all 2.5" The muffler is a turbo muffler. The car sounds very much like a small V-8 at idle and low speeds. It sounds more like what it is as the engine revs past 3500, but it still sounds good to my ears. It does not have any of that BLAATT!! quality you hear on the streets these days.

The front brakes were already on the car, and are the usual Toyota S-12 four piston conversion with a slotted rotor. The paint and the braded steel lines were the only change as this appeared to be a recent addition. However, the rear drum brakes were removed, and replaced by MSA’s complete disc brake conversion kit. They are expensive, maybe, but very convenient and relatively foolproof. The master cylinder is a 79-81 ZX dual cylinder, mounted on a rebuilt master vacuum. You can just see the adjustable proportioning valve on the firewall below the throttle linkage.

The ignition is an E12-80 “matchbox†distributor with a Flamethrower coil. The plug wires are NGK. The distributor was rebuilt as part of the engine refurbishment. Note the 10AWG (black) wire attached to the vacuum advance. This wire home runs to the ground buss. The headers are MSA’s 6 into 1 with a ceramic coat.

The early Zs had a reputation for overheating. Since this car is to be a daily driver in Florida, steps were taken to resolve this. In addition to the new water pump and fan conversion shown above, the radiator was replaced with the Arizona Z cross-flow aluminum unit. It should be noted that this unit is sized for the larger 280Z, but will bolt into the 240. However, it was found that mounting a fan shroud was not possible, at least not possible without far too much work. The expansion tank mounts to the right shock tower. The MSA oil cooler is also a key part of the cooling plan. It has been mounted on custom brackets. The water tube at the rear of the engine was rusted out, and was replaced with a custom aluminum fabrication. It is powder coated grey. The stock part is no longer available. The car has a 160° thermostat. It has been in the high 80s and low 90s since testing started here in Florida. The water temperature has not moved above 170°.

The engine was pulled during the phase 1 rebuild. It was stripped, and received a coat of blue POR15 engine paint. The aluminum oil pan from Arizona Z was added, along with a new high-output oil pump. All of the externally accessible seals and gaskets were replaced. All of the externally accessible bolts (rods, main caps) were checked for torque. The water pump is new, along with the fan conversion kit to the newer plastic fan, and a set of aluminum pulleys. The harmonic balancer was replaced with a lightweight version. The alternator is the 105A internally regulated unit from Z Specialties. The engine compartment itself was stripped and refinished with POR15 and a UV-proof gloss topcoat. The spreader bar had to be bent slightly in a hydraulic bender to clear the Nissan valve cover.

The basic engine was a stock L24, non-numbers matching, in the car when purchased. The engine tested too good to justify replacing it at this time. Eventually the car will get a warmed-up L28, when the present one dies a natural death. In the meantime, I concentrated on things which could be moved over to the eventual L28. The carbs are early model SUs, polished, completely rebuilt and upgraded with MSA's improvements. The detail shows the velocity stack inside the K&N filters. The fuel rail consists of a Holley fuel pressure regulator, 40 micron filter assembly, Earl's distribution log and a Summit fuel pressure gauge. The manifold has been powder coated grey, and the heat shield chromed. The battery is an Optima red-top. The grounding system can be seen to the left. I will give more details on this in a future post.

The first shot is between the seats, looking rearward. The tail light panel has been replaced with a speaker baffle. The speakers are JBL GTO-937. The second shot is looking through the hatch at the cover over the spare tire well. The next shot shows the inside of the left side of the well. The right side will contain tools. The next shot is a detail showing the spreader bar, the harness attachment and the roll bar. The seats are another holdover from the previous owner. The tuner harness is new. In several of the shots you can see parts of the floorpan finish. It has been stripped, coated with POR-15, covered with Boom Mat (a DynaMat clone), and then DynaPad. It will get carpet in Phase 3.

Pictured is the Autometer gauge cluster which replaced the stock units. The gasoline gauge and a voltmeter have moved over to the A-pillar. Note the mileage on the new speedometer: 115. The half dash cap came with the car, one of only a handful of items which were kept.

Rose’s Ride is a description of the project car which I am building for my wife. The car has previously been introduced in the New Members’ Forum, under the title New Z in Town. If you would like more detailed historical information, please refer to the earlier thread, which does include some pictures and a parts list. Summary: The 1971 240Z was found on E-Bay in August '07. It was someone’s daily driver-type project car. The car was purchased and moved to the shop for the first phase of the work, which involved most of the chassis, suspension, drive train, brakes, and electrical. Some interior work was also done. It has just now come out of the shop after a year and a half, and is being driven on short shakedown trips. There are still a few modifications left to be made in this phase of the work, and of course there are the inevitable bugs to be found and fixed. Once these remaining items are complete, the car will go in for bodywork and paint (phase 2). Over the next few weeks, I will post some pictures, drawings, documentation and descriptions of the project so far.