fcdrifter13 Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 OK so if you read my last thread I mentioned I bought a z without a job and now work at wal-mart making what normal people make. With that said I took on a challenge, the Zs 40th anniversary which is in a couple of months and this thread is to help me get through it, and actually drive this $800 gem to Nashville for the big ole party. A little background story on how I got this jewel baby. When I was 16 I owned a white 71 240z, and as many of us were I was a dumbass and crushed the car. Yes CRUSHED a Z because I could not get it running and money was really tight and I thought that if I could get out of it at the crusher what I had in it I would be good. Then I started on the whole RX-7 kick and build a couple of cars and the like, and wrecked some good ones to, but in the back of my head I still wanted that old z back, and by the time I was 18 the search was really on for the right car at the right price, I passed on a couple of questionable cars, then money got tight again so I still looked but tried to trade my soul off for one. Fast forward to last Dec. Business was looking on the up and up and all so I started looking hardcore, then it happened my dealership had closed down and I was out of work but I still had plenty of play money saved back so I continued looking. Then the day came and I finally found one that I wanted, it needed pans and rockers and the motor was making some noise, but at the price of $2000 on the east coast for a z I was ready to jump in. Me and my friend are making arrangements to go pick up said car that was about 400 miles away one way and I get a phone call from a friend of mine attending Marshall University in Huntington WV and he tells me he passed a solid looking z but couldn't see if it was 240, 260, 280, or a ZX sitting behind a garage beside the river, I became ecstatic and we drove there just as fast as we could to look at something that may be a total waste of time. We get to Huntington and start looking for the place my friend described, and behind about 40 garages with nothing to be found. Then as we were about to call him back a primer grey thing with some round lights was sitting up in the air on a mound of dirt. Have you ever seen a 3/4ton ford drift a u-turn at a stop light and lay the black smoke, and tire smoke so bad you couldn't see a Ponderosa, well if you had been at that light when I saw that car you would have. We pull into the parking lot of what seems to be a antique car dealership and as fast as I could get the door opened on that POS I call a truck I was in the door playing 20 questions with whoever happened to be front of me or in shouting distance. They say it was F/S but it was not theirs, a friend of a friend had left it there and the car had been sitting for 9 months in that spot. I said that I didn't care and that I am very interested in the car, and I havn't even looked it yet. My buddy morgan finally makes it in the door and calms me down and says I should actually look at it before jumping in, what the hell does he know anyway right. We walk out side and there is about 8in of snow on the ground. And there it sits, the ground around the tires had eroded away and the car sat on a mound of dirt maybe 10ft from the rivers edge. We start to look over the car top to bottom, no exhaust, brakes are iffy, rockers are bad, tires dry rotted, and rear quarters are filled to the brim of bondo, and the doors are in need of replacing. We walk back inside and ask the price and the gentleman say $1000, and out of sheer hope I cut the price in half, and list off my reasons. We bartered for about 5mins when we both agreed upon $800 and I pick it up. Gladly accept and tell them I will be back in the morning to pick it up as soon as they open. The next day we gather up some tools a tow dolly, hoping the car will make it in one piece back to the house, and an extra set of hands. WE arrive at the dealership and hand over $800 on a car I am not even sure that runs, or will move under it own power and get to work. After alot of tinkering we notice that we cannot get any fuel from the tank so I crawl up under the car to investigate. To my disbelief a spark plug was inserted into the return line, and that the main supply which had been replaced with rubber was pinched on the ground, so we decide to start the car off of some extra air line I happen to have in my truck and a 5 gallon gas can, around mins go by and it is looking grim as the car is not hitting. I drive the diesel around to where the z is and pray that I do not get stuck as the snow is melting and the ground is getting soft. We hook the jumpers to the tired battery and let it sit for a min and try again and she hit, and stayed running. We checked the oil pressure and prayed that the gauges in the car were right, put some air in the tires and tried to move, and then no clutch, pop up the inspection cover and notice that there is no fluid in the reservoir put some in but cant bleed it, but luckly enough I had some pedal just off that. Pulled the car from it's resting place and pulled into the parking lot, and a very surprised looking PO stepped out and could not believe that we got it running. Hell it ran so well that if It had brakes I would have drove it home. Loaded the car up and brought her home. And this is what she looks like. And yes that drivers window is made of plexi. So now the fun begins, I have already fixed a major grounding issue, you know not having a ground at all. I am also getting ready to pull the tired old L24 and 4spd and put it away in storage because I sourced an entire 280zx that runs for $300 that has a good l28 swap that I am going rebuild to stock specs for now, and disc brake swap, and a couple other things, I am also looking for an l28et block so I can build my 3.1l tt motor throughout the next few years. Right now I am only worried about one thing, July 28th. That is the day the car needs to be on it's way to TN for the anniversary, that means new quarters, rockers exhaust, brakes, inspection, tags, tires, motor rebuild and alot of praying I can get it done. The real question is can I do it while still paying what bills I do have, and sustaining myself on a normal budget, this should be fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Nice read. Long, but still pretty entertaining. Looks like you have your hands full. It should be fun, good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Konish Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Neat early car. Please, don't hack up the center console to install a 5 speed they are expensive to replace and hard to find good, genuine ones in presentable shape. If you do decide on a 5 speed (like I have installed) modify a Datsun truck shifter...do a search on google, there is a great write-up. Also, the fuse cover/cigarette lighter cover is $...if you can find one (hopefully its on the floorboard ). You can make one from a cardboard template, fiberglass and SEM texture paint. It won't look original, but it'll be close enough on a budget. Aside from the tunnel vinyl and door panels, looks like your car has the original Butterscotch interior installed (which explains the green paint) . BS pieces are harder to find and the reproductions all vary on the actual color (they are black pieces painted BS) and the BS door panels are NLA which is the BIG hurdle in my mind for BS interiors. If you don't decide on an entire black interior conversion you can get interior paint that closely matches but it'll never be concurs...but I'm guessing on a budget and a new motor swap you don't really care about that. I got a killer carpet set that was a caramel color for under $200 on Ebay and resprayed some black pieces and they looked pretty good. From having messed with getting BS or caramel or camel or sunset brown etc etc colors to match, I'd think you'd be *way* ahead of saving some cash by just making it all black. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModernS30 Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Looks like a good find. Heads up add a location, they are liking to ban people for that. If you decide to rid of it, message me, I would probably buy it! Looks more solid than mine from whats pictures, but we all know first gen. z's ALWAYS look better in the pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fcdrifter13 Posted March 25, 2010 Author Share Posted March 25, 2010 I actually have the fuse cover and stuff, we took it off to check everything out before we put the battery in. I am not going to keep the BS interior, it looks ok in the pics but the majority of it is pretty rotted, and or painted black in the back for some reason. Trust me I am not getting rid of this car, I have been looking for far to long to let it go, it has a nice little pace in a storage unit that I can work on it in, and not work on it in and keep it out of the weather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModernS30 Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Sounds good to me, just a great find, not sure if you noticed but you got yourself a series one. Is it a 1970 or an early 71? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fcdrifter13 Posted March 25, 2010 Author Share Posted March 25, 2010 yep build date of 11 70, number 13724 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModernS30 Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fcdrifter13 Posted March 26, 2010 Author Share Posted March 26, 2010 well here is the progress I have made today, I have got the interior stripped as best I could, left the drivers seat, and dash and column so I can still move it. Got some info on a 280zxt that is supposed to run so I am going to try and pick it up and go ahead and do the turbo swap instead of waiting for a bit, everything I need is there for it so it should take a day or so to get it done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModernS30 Posted March 26, 2010 Share Posted March 26, 2010 Sorry but I have to say WRONG! How much wiring have you done before? Have you done an engine swap before? The turbo swap doesn't just drop in. Yes, the engine will bold up. You have to rewire a few things. Not very many but a few. You have to use the turbo car's engine harness. Then you have to make a down pipe and exhaust to work with it. You can make just a down pipe to work with the current exhaust if you wish. I just don't want you to think that its as easy as unbolting and bolting in. It will take a good solid day for you to swap the engine in and out if you have the tools and are doing it in a driveway. I am not saying don't do it, definitely do it. Just be careful, don't just think it will be a 123 done kind of deal. It will be frustrating and take a little more time than 2 or 3 days most likely. Wouldn't you want to repaint the engine going in? Clean the engine bay up? Paint the engine bay? Replace the steering coupler and rack bushings while you have the extra room? Just things to think about. Take your time. Make it look good, do it right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two80z4me Posted March 26, 2010 Share Posted March 26, 2010 Sorry but I have to say WRONG! How much wiring have you done before? Have you done an engine swap before? The turbo swap doesn't just drop in. Yes, the engine will bold up. You have to rewire a few things. Not very many but a few. You have to use the turbo car's engine harness. Then you have to make a down pipe and exhaust to work with it. You can make just a down pipe to work with the current exhaust if you wish. I just don't want you to think that its as easy as unbolting and bolting in. It will take a good solid day for you to swap the engine in and out if you have the tools and are doing it in a driveway. I am not saying don't do it, definitely do it. Just be careful, don't just think it will be a 123 done kind of deal. It will be frustrating and take a little more time than 2 or 3 days most likely. Wouldn't you want to repaint the engine going in? Clean the engine bay up? Paint the engine bay? Replace the steering coupler and rack bushings while you have the extra room? Just things to think about. Take your time. Make it look good, do it right. slow down there seabiscuit. I have a zx motor in my datsun, yes it bolted in, the only thing you HAVE to wire in is the zx distributor which can be done with the E-80 Distributor upgrade diagram or you can Pm me and ill get some pictures for you and actually you will have to UNDO more things than wire them up, I.E. I removed my knock sensor because the 280z wiring diagram doesn't have that, and I had to change the thermostat back to the stock 280z's, but most important make sure you have the o2 sensor hooked up, your computer should adjust and have it leveled out, regardless of boost. Merry swappings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModernS30 Posted March 27, 2010 Share Posted March 27, 2010 No, he said turbo. Turbo doesn't just bolt up. 280zxt. Your not running a turbo engine now are you? Cause the turbos you have to wire stuff. You can't run your N/A ecu. Plus, this car is a 240z. Not EFI setup, so you would have to either get a 280z one or run the 280zx one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two80z4me Posted March 27, 2010 Share Posted March 27, 2010 eh, Im getting my threads mixed up... In that case, yeah have fun with the ecu swap, its not as bad as you think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fcdrifter13 Posted March 27, 2010 Author Share Posted March 27, 2010 (edited) I am understand the wiring the car will take, and on my old race cars the MS standalone really cleaned up alot of things but getting rid of alot of the useless extras that the government had installed. But for now mounting the stock ECU under the dash, or possibly extending the harness a couple of feet would allow it to be mounted behind the passenger seat. As far as the cleaning it has already started, hopefully it will turn out as well as miata, the same goes for the valve cover. I am going to go satin on the bay instead of matching it to w/e the body color is because I think it looks better, that and my 2 color choices are white or blue, and I hate cleaning a white engine bay :banghead: Sorry about the dust in the same hour or so we went on a spirited drive through the mountians and it was kinda dusty. Edited March 27, 2010 by fcdrifter13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two80z4me Posted March 27, 2010 Share Posted March 27, 2010 lol nice, have fun trying to drift the datsun, major whiplash considering your resting your ass on the rear wheels... and have no power steering lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fcdrifter13 Posted March 27, 2010 Author Share Posted March 27, 2010 lol nice, have fun trying to drift the datsun, major whiplash considering your resting your ass on the rear wheels... and have no power steering lol I dont think I will be drifting the old datsun, dont wanna mess it up anymore than it already is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slownrusty Posted March 27, 2010 Share Posted March 27, 2010 Great save!! Bring her back to life!! Looking forward to updates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fcdrifter13 Posted March 28, 2010 Author Share Posted March 28, 2010 I know, I know more quarter pics but I am actually excited about it, it is not nearly as bad as what I thought we would uncover. The drivers side I should be able to patch the correct way instead aof HVAC sheet metal, and the passenger I am going to order from Black Dragon. The only reason I am not going to rebuild the passenger is because the PO let the bondo crack where it had been fixd and water got inside and ate at the metal and made it terribly thin, an issue I do not want to deal with don the road. I didnt get a shot of my hood but it is not salvageable to me, the from is bondo about 2in think and looks as though the car may have been in a front end collision because the fenders look to be new, along with the headlight buckets, and a painted grill. Also if you guys can tell me by those pics does the passengers side tire look as though it is closer to the front of the car than the drivers, my friend suspects a rear collision but I cannot find any seems in the mess of bondo that would suggest so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two80z4me Posted March 28, 2010 Share Posted March 28, 2010 well, in my newb opinion, judging that one side has more room on both sides of the wheel and the other has room on one side, id say someone has rebuilt that fender before and did it wrong, but I would measure the farthest point on each wheel well and make sure they match up then I would assume the axles are jacked or whatnot because of an accident if they match up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19762802+2 Posted March 28, 2010 Share Posted March 28, 2010 well, in my newb opinion, judging that one side has more room on both sides of the wheel and the other has room on one side, id say someone has rebuilt that fender before and did it wrong, but I would measure the farthest point on each wheel well and make sure they match up then I would assume the axles are jacked or whatnot because of an accident if they match up +1 If you look at the clearance from the back of the quarter panel to the tire it is about the same only the front is different, So probably just a bad repair job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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