First Z Car

[Chubbs]

Hey guys thought I'd introduce myself. Name's Critter or Chubbs. Just picked up my first 240Z and new to the whole Japanese car world. The last 8 years of my life has been spent driving BMW M3's. I've owned multiple E36 M3's from stock to 700whp turbo to GTS track cars and a couple E46 M3's as well so I'm no noob to RWD performance cars but lately I've grown to love the styling and raw character of the 240Z. It's come time in my life to buck up and buy my own house so I was looking for something somewhat beat up that's cheap and can always use work if I am bored and looking for something to do. I work at a shop here in Denver and quite a few of the guys are Japanese car guys so I've got a lot of excellent skills around to help with whatever I want to tackle.

 

Picked up this 72 240Z 4spd. It's got some rust on the floor boards, leaks like a siv, and rattles like a marching band but in the few miles I've driven it it's been an absolute blast. 10 minutes into owning it, it broke down on me and the jank Electric fuel pump the PO had installed took a shit. Ran to auto parts store and an hour later wallah back to running. I'll have to go over the wiring and wire it in correctly on a relay or switch but for now I just wanted it running!

 

Pulled the tail light surround and sprayed it black as I think they look much more aggressive not body colored

 

 

So now it's time to do some research on wheel/tire fitment with the ZG Flares (Not entirely sure mine are ZG, may sell these and buy the actual ZG flares). Trying to decide between 15's and 16's but it looks like either way I'll go with 9" wide and a 25mm spacer on the rear and 12mm spacer in the front?

 

Plans are to fix the floor boards, slowly start to tackle the body and have it resprayed, and throw on some suspension. Thinking Tokico struts and Swift springs cut down to fit ride height as I'm too poor for the full T3 coilovers right now. Any idea on spring rates? Then wheels/sticky rubber and some brake work and drive the piss out of it.

 

 

Here's a quick picture of my daily driver

 

 

And a quick picture of some of the work we do at the shop

 

Have so much to learn on these bad boys, don't flame too hard if I can't find info and ask a question for the millionth time

Edited January 6, 2015 by Chubbs

[Phantom]

Chubbs,

Those look like ZG flares to me but it's hard to tell for sure from the photo.

You might want to consider going with 17" wheels & tires.  You'll need something larger than 15" if you ever want to upgrade with a big brake kit and 16" tires in sizes that fit the Z are getting harder to find.

[RPMS]

 

You might want to consider going with 17" wheels & tires.  You'll need something larger than 15" if you ever want to upgrade with a big brake kit and 16" tires in sizes that fit the Z are getting harder to find.

 

Amen to that, brother.  I've been shopping for a wheel/tire combo to replace the 14's on my car, and was thinking that 16's were as large as I wanted to go.  Anything larger looks like wagon wheels, to me.  But it's becoming increasingly apparent that if I don't want to spend a mountain of cash (or roll on bargain-basement tires) I'm going to have to change my outlook on things.  17's are apparently where it's at, these days. 

[RPMS]

Howdy, Chubbs!  Welcome to our crazy little corner of the universe.   Seeing your new Z made me chuckle a bit, because it looks so much like mine, only blue instead of red.  

 

 

 

I bought mine a little over a month ago, and like you I'm working through the bugs.   There have been surprisingly few so far, and they've been easy fixes.   At first I wanted to give it a paint job, but I've grown fond of the "rat-rod" look.  An ugly body with a heart of gold!

 

I love the way your M3 hunches over the wheels like it's ready to pounce.  That model is one of my favorites, and yours looks like a beauty.   My "real" car is an e90 335i, but I'm selling it as soon as I can to free up space in the driveway.   Trading a modern, fast, powerful, comfortable BMW for a 41 year old Datsun probably wasn't the most practical thing to do, but that's the way these cars are - they get under your skin.  They're simple, reliable, involving cars that make you feel more special than if you were driving something far more expensive.  

 

Don't worry about being a noob to Zs!  Most of the folks on here will be happy to help you through any difficulties.  One of the great things about these cars, especially the early ones, is that they're simple as dirt and easy to fix, and the solution to any possible problem you might have will be very well documented by this point.   If you can't figure something out, don't be afraid to ask questions.  A word of warning: There are a few individuals on this site who will attempt to berate you for asking the "wrong" questions.  Feel free to ignore them, because they're in the minority.  Most of us are more than happy to help.   Although these cars are mechanically simple, there are some simple issues which defy conventional solutions until you know the secret. 

 

I envy you, my friend, for the journey you're starting out on!  I hope you find it as rewarding as I have.

Edited January 8, 2015 by RPMS

[Chubbs]

Chubbs,

Those look like ZG flares to me but it's hard to tell for sure from the photo.

You might want to consider going with 17" wheels & tires.  You'll need something larger than 15" if you ever want to upgrade with a big brake kit and 16" tires in sizes that fit the Z are getting harder to find.

Hmmm, for now it'll just be new rotors and some Hawk or EBC pads. 17's really? I love the way these cars look with some meaty sidewalls, was planning on just running the 225/45R15 since plenty of DOT sticky tires available, Rivals, R1, RS-3 ETC ETC 

 

They might be ZG IDK, they are kinda wavy and look somewhat cheap. Had a buddy with a Z and had the wide ZG flares and his looked a lot more professional.

 

Howdy, Chubbs!  Welcome to our crazy little corner of the universe.   Seeing your new Z made me chuckle a bit, because it looks so much like mine, only blue instead of red.  

 

I bought mine a little over a month ago, and like you I'm working through the bugs.   There have been surprisingly few so far, and they've been easy fixes.   At first I wanted to give it a paint job, but I've grown fond of the "rat-rod" look.  An ugly body with a heart of gold!

 

I love the way your M3 hunches over the wheels like it's ready to pounce.  That model is one of my favorites, and yours looks like a beauty.   My "real" car is an e90 335i, but I'm selling it as soon as I can to free up space in the driveway.   Trading a modern, fast, powerful, comfortable BMW for a 41 year old Datsun probably wasn't the most practical thing to do, but that's the way these cars are - they get under your skin.  They're simple, reliable, involving cars that make you feel more special than if you were driving something far more expensive.  

 

Don't worry about being a noob to Zs!  Most of the folks on here will be happy to help you through any difficulties.  One of the great things about these cars, especially the early ones, is that they're simple as dirt and easy to fix, and the solution to any possible problem you might have will be very well documented by this point.   If you can't figure something out, don't be afraid to ask questions.  A word of warning: There are a few individuals on this site who will attempt to berate you for asking the "wrong" questions.  Feel free to ignore them, because they're in the minority.  Most of us are more than happy to help.   Although these cars are mechanically simple, there are some simple issues which defy conventional solutions until you know the secret. 

 

I envy you, my friend, for the journey you're starting out on!  I hope you find it as rewarding as I have.

 

Nice! That's all we do here is make downpipes for the 335's and newer Turbo BMW's (AR Design). Yeah I know E30, E36, and E46 BMW's inside and out with my eyes closed but simple things on the Z like proper wheel fitment, removing tail lights etc having to google hahaha