Tannji's 71 240Z hybrid unburied at last

[tannji]

After 4 years of "Storage" in my detached garage, I finally rescued the Z from our version of Fibber McGee's closet. The GF had stuffed anything visually undesirable into the garage, to the point where not only could I not get in.. but I couldn't even see the Z. I spent 2 hours loading stuff directly into a 2-yard garbage truck, and another couple of hours cleaning the mess left behind by the raccoon family who recently got evicted. I don't know who rolled down the driver's side window, but that led to a number of unpleasant discoveries within the Z. Apparently this family lived, loved, and fought in my car. They also had a taste for squirrels, if detached tails are a good indicator. Given a couple hours with a dust mask, shopVac, F'breeze, and a strong mix of glass and surface cleaner, the Z now looks merely neglected, instead of criminally violated.

 

 

 

Pictures DO NOT do justice, this paint looks infinitely worse in person.

 

 

Non-JTR mounting of a 87 Camero TPI 350. Between the forward positioning, low-end torque of the TPI, and the 700r tranny, I am not in love with driving this car. Fun, but not ideal.

 

 

Someone thought that running the fuel pump wiring up through a raw drilled hole in the hatch was a good idea. The resulting short toasted one, and possibly two TPI ECU's. (wiring tastefully secured and blended with duct tape.)

 

 

meh. Someone liked the seats... I hope. You can see Nissan wiring for ZX power mirrors along the tranny hump. The raccoons are only the latest reason the seats are leaving.

 

 

Raccoon tracks around the large light leak in my roof. They add character to the ghetto paint, I think.

 

 

Humble pie workbench... I actually like this better than the paint on the Z.

 

 

First time in daylight for about 4 years.

 

 

So... my car has been introduced. As soon as I add proper electrical service to the garage, progress updates will follow. Next step is to see how badly I was lied to about rust on the car. I am severely tempted to make a rotisserie and do any repair, re-enforcing, stitch-welding required before deciding how much of the body gets converted to Reaction Research stock. Hood, nose, and tail for sure, haven't decided between ZG arches and SubtleZ flairs. After the body is "done", I start on the new powerplant that will replace the 350. That most likely means that a good condition 350 TPI and 700r combo will soon be on the market.

 

tannji