A to Z

9-6-2022 UPDATE: I got the Z to run, albeit it was smoking like an old coal powered steam locomotive! Out of the garage in a circle and back in. First time I have driven it, first time moved under it's own steam since it's been here. Have to take the small victories! So, I spent some time trying to figure out why it was just drinking fuel like crazy, disconnect the chokes, pulled the tops, verified the needles, N54, mixture nuts all the way in, yet still not only running, but blowing dark grey clouds everywhere, so I stepped back and started reading up.....and after shooting a text to Sal Ceja, he told me what it was....I had plugged off the vents on top of each float bowl.....without the air, the float just jams up and you get full rich......so that is the next step!

9-4-2022 UPDATE: I managed to finally get the car running ELECTRICALLY. I had to climb underneath and with a long screwdriver I removed the mixture set screws on the SU carbs that was keeping me from turning the mixture screws all the way in and then back out 2 turns. Normally it as a 4 position wheel. So, now I just have to turn the other needles in and back out to a baseline so it will idle without me having to pump the gas. I also had to replace the ignition switch again, and put a new coil in. 1972 means everything is old, and is suspceptible to being replaced I guess. Work continued.....I went ahead and tackled the area under the master cylinder......I sanded out the metal, then blew it off and masked off everything, then painted it white and then top coated it with Caliper clear paint which SHOULD be brake fluid resistant. I Lastly I scraped off some sticker residue on the inside of the windows and put the factory "OK" stickers on both quarter windows. Small steps. Pics follow.

8-28-2022 UPDATE: Well it's wash day! pine-sol, a rag and water mixed in a bucket, wiped out and cleaned the entire interior of the car, vacuuming time and again, as I went until I finally succeeded in getting it back to where it was before I did the bodywork. 🙂 I swapped in my new ignition switch.....it is held on by 4 bolts, and 2 of which are they type that break off once they are installed....TERRIBLE! Well the new one came with 2 of them as well. So you can spend half the day drilling them out, or do what I did, I took my Dremel and just cut the bracket off. I installed the new one with 4 bolts being phillips head, no break off bolts! I wiped down all the tools and jack etc, cleaned out the storage boxes and got it all put away correctly and closed up. I then installed the arm rest, which is a Z store armrest I got from another member eons ago, as MSA doesn't make them anymore, and then installed my fire extinguisher again, over the Z floormats I got from Hung Vu. I think the red Z matches well with the red interior. I almost have the electrical issue solved. A lot of trial and error, ending up with the new switch allowing the engine to run, if I hold the Key in "start".....so I had this problem when I first got the car......I am thinking the ballast may be bad. It was cool to have the car start up again for the first time in at least 6 months. VERY rich and out of tune, but everything still works. Caught some rev's and got the lovely howl from that exhaust! Oh, on my old switch were 2 wires. I think that is for the lighting circuit to be on when in accessory....the new switch doesn't have the wires. Hmm....last night I plugged the switch in, and all the interior lights came on, accessory relay clicked, and nothing.....now engine runs in "start", no interior lights. Whew! Well, for motivation I took several profile pics of the car when the work was done. Plenty of pics attached. Cheers! 🙂

Thanks, Ken.

8-27-2022 I wet sanded my louvers with 2000 grit sandpaper and water, the pained surface is nice and smooth now, cleaned up the overspray on the sunroof area, removed the stickers on the sidewalls ( not an easy job by the way ) and gave The Z car a good bath. Afterwards, I dried her off and popped the sunroof galss panels out and cleaned up the rubber and foam seals. Proof positive that she spend the majority of her life inside....the seals are still supple and soft, not hard at all! After cleaning up the glass, and using steel wool on rusty spots to include the retention pins, I reinstalled them, and then brought the carpets and everything in and vacuumed them out. Next is interior clean up (again), install of the new ignition switch and further little bugs to get it on the street ASAP.

8-21-2022. Today I removed the original early version oil spray bar and replaced it with the Yoes oil spray bar. Then I changed out the fuel pump and installed the NOS one I bought. With the engine turning over the pump started filling up the fitler.. Working on the electrical issue, I was able to narrow it down to the switch, so I guess I need to buy one. I then finished the hatch.....cleaned up and installed the upholstered cover, and then I cleaned out the channel that was left after I removed the old seal. After cleaning it up, I went ahead and masked if off and painted it. I also had to jack the rear wheels up and do a tad bit of clearancing on the flares in a spot or two.....the springs settled a tad, and the tires were touching....all better now! Closer and closer!

8-20-2022 I spent a little time on the hatch lid compartment. I got the seams sprayed with Rustoluem Rust Converter, and then I cleaned up the upholstered panel and gave it a nice coat or 2 of SEM Napa Red. The small hatch seal was really cracked and dry rotted. I removed it, but I still need to clean up the channel and mask and shoot it white again. I already have a replacement seal that I got form MSA.....I'm not really seeing the purpose of it being there, as the main seal does the job.

8-15-2022. Spent a few hours on the Z today. I color sanded , hand buffed and waxed under the hood, and added a few stickers. Then I color sanded out the portion behind the driver's door handle. This area has for some reason been problematic....getting the paint to look the way I wanted it to. Well, I sprayed it yesterday, and went ahead and color sanded it down today , hand buffed and waxed it. Feels good to get this area done. I removed some overspray off the louvers, but they still need a tad bit of TLC. Lastly, I pulled the access panel off the hatch, and was pleasantly surprised it was not as bad I was expecting. Rust in the corners and crimped together areas. I will at a later date clean it up and spray it with some rust converter before closing it back up. Took a few pics, here they are.

8-14-22. I went out and worked on a few things today. I finished the valve cover and wire wheeled the bolts, then clear coated them. I then installed the valve cover and put on one of my billet oil fill caps I bought from a guy online. I still have one. Anyone interested? Then I took some 2000 grit wet sandpaper and blended out the paint over the wheel wheels and buffed it out. The rear spoiler I masked off and gave it a final coat. A little more paint correction, and then made a store run for supplies. Time to now clean out and vac the interior and continue to finish up the engine compartment, and that's about it. Once my fuel pump arrives, it will be time to go for a ride and then get a front end alignment. Oh, I also ordered a billet oil bar from Yost for the engine, as the early original I have is prone to cracking and resulting engine damage. Pics

breather port polished, letters polished

Thanks! As for the flow issue, look at the pic below. Where the line goes to the water heater, there is a factory valve that stops the flow. My valves are right before and right after that valve, so it shouldn't be an issue, as the flow was designed to be stopped.

I spent the day in the garage on the Z car. I started with trying to get her started.....I went thrugh and repaired some connections that didn't hold, and then tried something I read online. I bypassed the power wire to the solenoid, by taking a wire and tying it to the solenoid lead and then touching the other end to the postitive wire....engine started turning over......so it appears either the ignition relay in the passenger footwell is bad, hence I never heard it click, or the wire going to the ignition or the ignition switch itself is bad. So I will do some research, but as of now, worst casae, I can just wire in a hidden pushbutton momentary switch, and use it to start the car. Ok, so then the car tuend over but didn't want to start, so I looked the fuel filter, no fuel.....so I poured a gallon of fuel in and tried again.....no dice. So, the "new" mechanical fuel pump I put on there a year ago is already toast. I bought one of the NOS ones a guy is selling on here, and I will put that on here. The NOS stocker is perfect for my stock L24 setup, and being an NOS piece, it will last probably 40 years, or in other words until I am gone. So, I then took some time and used an old toothbrush and some brasso, and scrubbed on my intake manifold to try to get it to brighten up......it did a little, but it was a mistake, in that I will have to power wash the area to get the layer of dried brasso compeltely off. I got most off with a soapy busket of water and a soapy toothbrush. Lastly, I pulled the valvecover and got started on it's facelift. I found small nicks and scratches in the top where the stripes and leters are, and so with a bastard file, I flat filed them clean. Then I used a combination of steel wool, some 220 dry sandpaper and some wet 2000 on the letters to get it ready for paint. I then masked off the letters and the breather arm, wiped it down good with some denatured alcohol and painted it engine block silver. It's a Duplicolor paint. I had to do A LOT of very light coats to get it right. So, now it is in the garage curing before I remove the tape off the letters and then hand polish the letters with my can of Mothers mag wheel polish and a clean rag. Also of note, when the valvecover came off everything was so clean and nice, no wear at all.....another bit of evidence backing up the car's 50K original miles. Pics and a video to follow. Ok, my videos don't like to load here, click on the link below to get to it. Flip through the pics and the video will be at the end. (20+) Facebook

I remember them well. they really worked well. I will surely post up pics once she is out and about! Yesterday I started the project of installing brass ball valves on each heater hose. Then I started on my electrical issue......turn key nothing....put screwdriver across battery, starter spins but doesn't engage....hmmm. I also had time to wash down the entire engine compartment, which was full of dust from doing bodywork and paint. I took some pics and there are some videos of all the fun I had today. I will post them below. To see videos go to link below this, click through the pages, the last 4 are videos. This site doesn't like uploading my stuff. (17) Facebook

Why the valves? Well, I don't want heat. I also don't want to reply on a 50 year old heater core to keep me from getting antifreeze inside the car if ot leaks. I didn't want to gut everything out, so I decided to hook it all up, but leave it "dry".

Today I started the project of installing brass ball valves on each heater hose. Then I started on my electrical issue......turn key nothing....put screwdriver across battery, starter spins but doesn't engage....hmmm. I also had time to wash down the entire engine compartment, which was full of dust from doing bodywork and paint. I took some pics and there are some videos of all the fun I had today. I will post them below. To see videos go to link below this, click through the pages, the last 4 are videos. This site doesn't like uploading my stuff. (17) Facebook

Thanks. Well, the project phase is done. A driver/tikerer is what I set out to build, so I am happy.

Yes, the modern ones didn't fit in the housings correctly, and rather than butchering them up to fit, I just got some new original style sealed beam headlights.

Nothing quite feels like saying "Project Complete". When the car goes from being a Project to a Driver/Tinkerer car. 13.5 months, 413 days to make her a clean driver again. From being a 50 year old, dog eared "potential", to back in the game.......LONG journey. Blessed beyond measure and to have a 240Z now....is incredible. Thank you Lord Jesus. (build is chronicled under 240Z projects, "joe's 240Z adventure, if interested.)

PROJECT COMPLETE 413 DAYS / 13.5 MONTHS! WHEW! NOW: DRIVER CAR / TINKERER 2 AUGUST 2022 - ????????

8-2-2022 UPDATE. Real Progress. It was time to get the brakes bled and make it work this time. I installed the new Russell Speed Bleeders and it worked great except for the fronts. What it is, is there was a little bit of loose-ness in the threads for the speed bleeders.....so I backed them out a bit, and gooped up those threads with pipe dope and ran them back in and cinched them down tight. THEN I took off the caps on both resivoirs and pumped the brakes and I got a couple burps, so I got the air out, and yeah, I get to fix the paint under the master cylinder again.....but the brakes are good! I then re-installed the sway bar. I used new hardware, and put a dab of anti-seize on the threads. The original bolts barely came out without snapping off from being rusted in.....this makes that issue a thing of the past. It took a bit of jacking one side up and tugging and using a hammer handle as a pry bar, etc. to get things to line up, but once they were aligned it actually "popped" into posi!ion. So I snugged the bolts all down, and then went ahead and started masking off a bit under there, and using a combination of Rustoluem Rust Converter (very flat black), satin black, and gloss white urethane spray paint, I started making it look a little better. In the pics if you see a tiny bit of overspray in places, it's really no issue, it come right off with steel wool. After getting this done, I dropped the car and torqued down the wheels. In celebration of it being done as a builder and becoming a driver/tinkerer car, I took a few pics. One little electrical issue I will fix and then it goes to get a front end alignment. Then clean up the interior again, and clean up the engine compartment....but no longer a project The car is has now transitioned to a driver that I can fiddle with and tinker to fix little things, while being taken for drives as the mood hits me. 14 months.....she wore me out! I am in my 50's now.....it's not the same as it used to be dong this stuff all those years ago. Pics attached PROJECT CAR 16 JUNE 2021 - 2 AUGUST 2022 413 days, 13.5 months. Whew! DRIVER / TINKER CAR 2 AUGUST - ?????

Oh I lowered it! The smaller diameter wheels and with Eibach Pro Kit springs, it is quite a bit lower than stock! My exhaust is about 1.5 to 2 inches above the ground, and the rear tires have a bit of negative camber! The wheels I used made the gap even larger, and I wanted poke out. So, It has been lowered, and then I cutomized some universal flares the way I wanted them to look to tie it all in. Thanks.

7-31-2022 UPDATE: Rear flares installed! As with the fronts, it took some massaging to get them on, and yes, they do look different than the fiberglass and carbon fiber ones specially made for the Z car......but when you look at pictures of flares, you will see many different styles of flares and many different ways they have been mounted over the years.....so that is what I have, a one off setup. I think they look pretty good! I had to trim the inside lip on the new rear flares a tad and sand it smooth to get just a little bit more sidewall clearance. After this, I did some garage clean up and began getting the front sway bar ready to go back on. The bottom of the rails up front was still in bare steel, so I masked off the area and gave it a coiuple shots of gloss white paint, then cleaned up the mounting plates and bushing caps with some satin black paint I have, a couple nice thick coats. When I removed the sway bar ages ago, the bolts were so tight I can't believe they didn't break off.....so I have new hardware as well for the re-installation. I took a few pics. Oh! Also got a new set of speed bleeders so I can try yet again, to get the brakes up to where I want them to be. They are made by Russell. Pics!

Thanks. Yeah, I put some tape above the wheel wells, and it actually peeled some paint off! So, I will have to touch up a few spots.

7-25-2022 UPDATE. Continuing saga of flare installation. Well, I do not like well nuts. I removed them and put a washer and wax coated nut on each M6 bolt holding the front flares on. I finished up the driver's (left) front flare and moved over to the right side front. As with the first one, I was able to make cuts to the lip and pull out tabs with which I could drill the moles to mount the flare, and use the dremel to make all edges "not sharp". Pulling the tab down worked well on the front, as I had that much wheel gap between the tire and wheel well opening! I also found that the VW fender welting was exactly what I needed to make these look that much better. The flares that are made for Z cars, are made out of fiberglass, carbon fiber, etc., and are rigid....Flexible flares are a completely different animal. AND because they are a universal fit, it opens alot of options on how to mount them....to get what look you desire. BUT, there are drawbacks as well.....they don't fit as tightly, but the welting makes them work good. My goal has been to get rid of the tire gap, AND come out and cover the tire at the top. So, it is working. So, I then went to the rear, and started marking out where to drill and start the process back there. Because the wheel well gap was not as bad in the rear, I found that I was able to drill holes and mount the flare right to the 3/8" wide flat surface on the end of the factory flare, no "tab" to bend down. The wider rear flares that my kit came with are also a bit different, and so a lot of time was spent bending them and moving them around to get the best setup I could out of them. I even thought of putting "front" flares on the rear, but the tire coverage just isn't good enough. At any rate, I feel fortunate that I don't have to cur the quarter panels on the car, and the flares will work. Again, VW welting and my gold anodized washers with the M6 bolts will do the trick.....and M6 wax coated nuts and washers will help me get it done. These are 25 dollar flares I got off of eBay. I ordered 2 sets as I wasn't sure if I would use "frotns" all the way around, or "rears" all the way around. SO.....anyone needing a set of these, I have a spare set brand new, let me know. Lastly, pictures. Enjoy.

7-24-2022 UPDATE: I went ahead and tried bleeding the brakes again, making sure to loosen the speed bleeders only 1/4 of a turn, and then putting grease around the area, to try to ensure no air could get back in through the threads. Still not quite as strong pedal feel as I wanted. I may have to try another method. I then torqued on my spacers, and installed my wheels. First I mounted the rear wheel on, without the spacer to show that a 15X9 with a 245 will not clear if it is a 0 offset wheel. My spacer gives me -38 offset which is perfect for clearing the stock spring perches. Anyway....I then lowered the car back down to the ground, and she is LOW. You get used to her being a certain height from being jacked up in the air for months on end, now she is on the ground! I then started on my flares. I took one of my gold anodized washers and used it with a drill to get the holes in the flares right dead center. Then I mounted up the left front one, and started getting it on. By holding the narrow front flare up, I was able to see that to "eat up" all the wheel gap and cover out to the edge of the tire, that I needed to mount the front flares right on the outside edge of the existing factory flare!! By cutting relief cuts in the turned in part of the factory flare, I was able to bend them out and use them as tabs. Becasue these flares are flexible, they don't really like to sit flush when you start to tighten them down. So luckily I have the welting and I will put that in there to make it look better, For now, I think I will leave the flares matte black instead of painting them. I think it's looks great this way. So, anyway, here are a few pics of today's work.