jhm

Yeah, getting rid of that crappy worthless "undercoating" is very satisfying and worthwhile....as well as all that 50-year old dirt, gravel, and grease! Looking good! P.S. While you've got it stripped down, this is a great product for protecting your frame rails and other hard-to-reach areas on the chassis: https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-internal-frame-coating-14oz-aerosol.html

Nice. The strut brace may not be really necessary; it sounds like you'll be making the upper rad core support stronger than original. 👍👍

That's one clean-looking shell....she's coming along nicely!! 👍👍 Have you made the upper portion of the radiator core support bolt-in? Done that with my last couple cars and it makes engine pulls sooooo much easier! As long as you have a decent front strut tower brace; there's very little stress on that section of the shell, IME.

Ditto what @74_5.0L_Z said....same experience for me, but in a 4" backspace vs 5" (i.e. 0et). The 245/45-16 fit front and rear with my standard-size ZG flares, which I believe are similar to your setup? What tires/treadwear rating are you thinking of running? I've actually found a *slightly* better selection of tires in 15", especially at the performance end of the spectrum; but then you start running into interference issues with brake and steering/suspension components.

I have seen some folks add a Ferrrari-style "pop-up" gas cap and filler; but it's not a trivial mod cost- or work-wise. And it's usually done for asthetics vs functionality, IME. I'm curious....are you using this style cap? It's what I use; and have no problem with spillage/leakage at the track, even when the tank is fairly full. https://www.zeddsaver.com/collections/gas-caps/products/240z-280z-gas-cap-with-retainer-ring I'm interested to see what other folks have to say -- following. Hope you find a solution that works for you!!

Another source of frame rails and chassis reconstruction pieces is Charlie Osbourne of "Zedd Findings" in Ontario, Canada. He used to have a website; but I think his only online presence is on FB, and he retails his products through MSA Auto. I've used his frame rails and can vouch for their quality and fitment...he's an extremely reputable vendor. https://www.thezstore.com/product/5249/premium-front-frame-rail-kit-70-78-240z-260z-280z I've used Apex Eng for their steering knuckles and some other pieces; and have always been impressed with their quality of construction and customer service. I really like the design of their low-profile outer tie rod ends, which should be a great choice for your 15" wheels. Keep in mind that wheel design and construction, and wheel offset, can still affect interference between the rim and the outer tie rod ends. If you know your specific wheel model and width/offset, I can probably give you more definitive answer based on my own experience. Not to take anything away from AE; but have you looked at the other vendors for those pieces (e.g. T3, Futofab, etc?) They all have their pros and cons; so make sure you've done a full industry survey before spending all that cash. And nearly all of them also offer Black Friday specials; so you're smart to wait a few weeks before making your purchases. Good luck with it -- it looks like you're really digging into this project aggressively; looking forward to seeing your progress!!

All my wheels are 15" and 16", so I can definitely feel your pain. Have you looked at the Yoko Advan 052? They make it in a 245/45-16 size, and it's pretty high performance. I'll probably get myself a set, once I talk myself into the that high pricetag. 😜 I've been running the Bridgestone Potenza Sports (300tw) in that same size the last couple years; and have been fairly impressed with them. Great street tire, wear like iron, and can even put in decent trackday lap times with them once they've got some heat in them. Your car's looking great....I love seeing the updates!

Nice find! I really lucked out with my late-model 260 as well (similar vintage and condition as yours), and was super happy with the condition of the shell. My current car (early-model 260)....not so much. 🤣 Looking forward to seeing your progress -- best of luck with the build!! 👍👍

Oh, that is so unfortunate -- sorry to hear about the rust and structural damage. I hope you are successful in the legal claims against the seller and auction company. Sadly, that is all too common on these old cars....it's quite rare to find one without those types of issues, especially in climates like yours. This project suddenly got a lot bigger; but it sounds like you are up to the challenge!

Wow, that's like something out of a Rube Goldberg cartoon! Great progress you're making....keep the updates coming!! 👍

It can be confusing when talking about technical areas vs car model areas, but we do have the "Ignition and Electrical" sub-forum here: https://forums.hybridz.org/forum/16-ignition-and-electrical/. Yes, I think it's fairly common to add new circuits/etc to these old cars. I've done it to the last couple of my cars to simplify/improve the electrical capabilities over the stock harness. I've always used off-the-shelf breakers, relays, fuse panels, switches; but there are a bunch of pre-built kits that are available through numerous vendors. I like to use marine hardware if I can find it; as it's typically extra beefy and durable. Good luck with it; and please be sure to post your results once completed!!

First off, welcome to the forum and good luck in your search for a Z car. In our "FAQ" section, you'll find hundreds of excellent discussions on common issues, modifications and repairs on the Datsun/Nissan Z cars. Without knowing the asking price, your mechanical abilities, and your ultimate plans for the car....here are a couple of things to look for: - Inspect the floor pans topside and underside, the frame rails, the rocker panels, and the inner fenders for rust/damage/shoddy repairs/fiberglass/bondo. These are some of the areas most often rotted out and/or poorly repaired. If the car really has "all new metal", it should be apparent via inspection. - Are you comfortable buying a built engine just based on listening to it run for a few minutes? If it smokes heavily, has significant clatter and/or rattle in the valvetrain; those are just a couple of signs that the internals are suffering. Visually inspect the oil, trans fluid, coolant, and brake fluid to ensure they all look clean, fresh, and uncontaminated. The car looks neat from those couple of photos; but unfortunately, people often buy someone else's unused "toy" only to find that it doesn't live up to their expectations for one reason or another. Do as much research on old Z cars as possible before buying anything, to ensure that you don't fall into this trap. Looking forward to you joining us as another proud and happy Z owner!

Can you fit vice grips on the nut? That may work. Otherwise, your idea of grinding/cutting the nut off with a cutting wheel should work as long as you have room to get it in there.

That's a great suggestion. Adam's very responsive; it seems like FB is his preferred medium -- here's his page: https://www.facebook.com/DatsunRescue

@GavinG, if you don't find one here; I would also check on ClassicZCars: https://www.classiczcars.com/