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New, Old Z Owner


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Hi All,

 

Wanted to introduce myself and my 72 Z that I purchased last November. The link is the PO's photo bucket site and hopefully it works.  If not, I will post some pic's after work.

  

 http://s1117.photobucket.com/user/dalepixley/library/240Z%20white

 

Took delivery and as usual, there were a few issues not disclosed by the seller having to do with the engine.  I initially took it to Awesome Z in Houston,  which was a waste of time and money. Currently it is at A/S auto in Humble.  The owner Moshier has been my mechanic for my other cars for 5 years now. He had a former employee who just returned from the Philippines that knows everything about Vintage Japanese and British cars. Rollie and his brother own two shops in the Philippines that modify cars for the drift and drag scene in Asia. He agreed to work on mine as a favor to Moshier.  Wish he had been here before I wasted my time at the " Z experts".  

Here is where I am at right now:

 

1. Sent entire engine to Scoggins machine, a very respected rebuild shop here in Houston. Was told that my  E 88 head was bad and irreparable.  Al Allen at Datsun Car parts in Rancho Cucamonga, CA replaced it with a slightly modified E88 with progressive cam and other components.  Received last Friday.  Looks great.

2. Was also told that one of the keys in the the crank was damaged and they would need to repair it and re-balance /grind the crank. The block is good we are giving it all new guts and increasing piston size to 30.

3. Sent the SU's to Z Therapy in Oregon for a completed rebuild and polish.

4. Rollie drove my car a few days to get to know it.  He said that I have some noise in 1st gear and said if I could afford it to rebuild the 4 speed transmission and replace clutch. ( he suggested the 5 speed but I want to keep it stock as possible.)

5.  He also said that with the increase in performance that I will see from the head and oversize piston that I should replace the stock exhaust system with one that will let my engine breath better. 

 

I have located a NOS 35 year old ABARTH complete system that was an aftermarket designed for the 240 Zs to enhance performance. It is a free flow system that bolts directly to the stock header and no modifications are required.

Does anyone have any information on this system.

It is brand new, but is 35 years old.  Any thoughts or ideas.  Also it has a noisy electric fuel pump added by Awesome Z and the points were replaced with Pertronix as well at their suggestion. ( Another fiasco as well)  

 

Thanks

 

Lon 

hawaiiusmz

  

  

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The car looks great. It is in beautiful cosmetic shape. I personally do not know why any one would want to keep a Z stock as you can see in photos of my car. http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/83577-the-build-of-a-240z-by-310z/ 

However everyone has their own ides and I respect that. Your car has either been maintained exceptionally or redone well. The cars are old and by today's standards many of the systems are not up to what we are accustom to. The cooling system is one that will not stand up to your Texas heat well especially with an air conditioner that I noticed in your photos. Based on your writing it appears you know what you want and like but may not have in depth mechanical knowledge.Then a shop you trust is everything or a shop can just drain your wallet. There are ways to up grade the car and still leave things stock appearing so function can be up to a modern standard. Such as while you have the 4-speed transmission rebuilt for storage install a 5- speed, only you know it has a 5- speed. When and if you sell it as stock you have the proper transmission to go with it. Aluminum radiators are the only way to go if over heating is an issue. Small things like that make a big difference. just my 2 cents.

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Wow yours is no shrinking violet either. Beautiful car!  If I could afford it right now I would have two Z's, this one and one to modify, especially with Rollie here for the next 6 months. ( his family is here, he goes back home to look in own business and take care of other family).  My car was part of a collection that was in climate controlled storage from 1987 till 2012 when the PO purchased it and had it brought back to California.  

He replaced all the rubber and basically refurbished everything that could deteriorate over a two year period. As you can see the body is great and there is zero rust. Health problems ensued and he decided to sell it. He also has a mint 73 automatic that he kept. 

I was told about it, called him and purchased it right then.  The car ran good but seemed to have low idle issues, and some of the plugs were inconsistent with their color.

I took it to Awesome Z to have them diagnose and correct the issues.  As I said it was a waste of time and money.

The radiator is an oversize model that could be ordered at the time of purchase. So far there have been no overheating problems during the times I have driven it...even with the A/C running.  I did change out the thermostat for a 168 degree version.

Rollie also suggest that I go back to points, he said that for some reason the stock or slightly modified versions seem to do better. Otherwise he said ditch the Pertronix and go with a MSD system.

I'll take yours and anybody eles's  two cent's anytime!

 

I will be posting more as soon as we get her all together.

 

Thanks

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Given that you want to keep it as stock as possible, I think you might find yourself more at home on classiczcars.com. That looks like a very nicely preserved Z though. I think I'd keep it stock too - that one is simply too nice to modify, and they're only original once.

 

I agree with 310z - keep the 4 speed in storage and install a 5 speed. In a '72, I believe that's a bolt in swap, so you can put it back to stock without a trace. Same with the radiator - keep the original, and swap in an aluminum one which will cool better.

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I may do the 5 speed since it will be my 3-4 day a week driver. I will talk to Rollie, can you guys point me in the right direction to pick one up.

 

Thanks.

 

 I will check out the other site you mentioned but I really enjoy looking at what you guys do to make a great car "greater". I also have a 1987 928 S-4 Porsche that is my other vice. It too is in super condition. I bought it in Germany from another Marine pilot who was shipping out to Iraq.  Sent it home just before they changed the rules governing shipment of personal vehicles by the military. 

 

They complement each other.  The Porsche being refined engineering/performance and the Datsun being raw, solid dependable performance. Both have their unique place in history.

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Better have that head from Datsun Parts/California Datsun/Al Allen checked out thoroughly.  He's had some issues.  At least two heads with the wrong lash pads, causing the cam lobes to ride off the ends of the rocker arm pads.  Apparently Al is a likable guy but the people doing his work aren't experts.

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Thanks, he was a suggestion from Z car parts in Arizona.  I will have it checked out this week.  Maybe that's why the customer who ordered it cancelled...

Better safe than sorry especially after all the $$ I am investing.

 

Thanks

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On the transmission swap look for an 1983. I think it is a direct bolt in. i do not remember what gear ratio is in the rear end of a 4-speed but I think you will be OK. A little searching and you can find what rear end gear ratio the 4-speed came with. A 3.70 to 3.90 will be great.

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  • 2 weeks later...

   Thanks for all the help and suggestions. The car is up on the rack, no engine, no transmission.  The Abarth 35 year old complete performance muffler system came in yesterday so I will be selling my stock system if anyone is interested.  The block is finished just waiting to be painted with the special "blue" Datsun paint I purchased.

   

   I also have an extra 4 speed transmission that the owner included with the car. I was told that it came out of a donor car and worked fine when removed. It has 87k miles on it and I will be selling it as well.

   

 

    Took pictures yesterday of the shell and will post them later this afternoon when I get home from work.  I was able to go over every nook and cranny and as you will see there is not one speck of rust on the entire car. ( a couple of light surface rust areas that came off easily with a little elbow grease.

 

   Should have everything back from the shop this week and will update w/ pics the assembly process.

 

 

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I agree that a 5-spd would make the car more enjoyable to drive.  Get one out of a 77-78 280Z.  The ratios will be more compatible with your existing r180 differential. You can go online at classiczcar and find the 4-spd and 5-spd individual gear ratios to do a real side-by-side comparison.

If you have an OEM "oversize" radiator I'd stick with it.  Early 240Z's came with 2-row radiators because they didn't come with AC from the factory.  It was a dealer added option. Just for grins you might have your shop look at it and see if it's a 2-row or a 3-row. My '77 280Z had a 3-row radiator with AC and I never had an overheating issue in the DFW area.

Edited by Phantom
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