OustedFairlady Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 (edited) Well, I'm breaking down and making a build thread. It's going to go slow, since I've got to source parts here and there and, more importantly, scrounge money here and there. Here she is: She's a '71 (06-71, point of fact), 240Z, all complete, with an E31/P30 engine. Series one car, I believe, though a few things are making me wonder at it. It had a series one dash, but no "240Z" emblems on the quarters and no rear hatch vents, though it does have vertical defroster lines. I'm suspecting that June was the crossover month and they happened to have a couple extra dashes and stuffed one into this car. If anyone would be so kind as to clear this up, I'd be much obliged. Anyway, It has a few issues, but they're fairly minor (excluding a rather thoroughly seized engine), relatively speaking. The battery tray, as might be expected, was sadly missing, due to a leaky battery. The car, as you might have noticed, has a set of "Fenton Gyro" 14x6 wheels, all of which were in fairly presentable condition, excepting minor corrosion. The frame rail needed some attention under the tray, too, but the floors were surprisingly solid and the spare tire well was, apart from some surface rust, in mint condition, with the original tire cover (cardboard flap thing?). It's missing the fuel tank...I think the PO robbed it for another Z that he had, and the hood, front bumper, and valance are fairly sad. The bumper can be straightened, and I intend to do just that. I picked it up in Jackson, MS around the beginning of August. The poor thing had been sitting in a guy's front yard with the windows rolled down for God knows how long. He's a car enthusiast, but is unfortunately rather absent minded when it comes to his projects. Now the RHD stuff...I have a good friend here in Mississippi who is also an avid Z car guy. He managed to acquire a Fairlady Z 2+2 in Texas and brought it back to Mississippi several years ago. I'm not sure of its condition when he bought it but it was, unfortunately, in very sad condition when it shuffled off its mortal coil. Another individual here managed to talk him out of it and immediately parted the car out. He sold the RHD swap in a big, albeit incomplete, pile of parts, including the dash, steering rack, column, complete wiring harness, etc, to a guy in Jackson. Three years later, I managed to track the guy down. He was moving to another state and was liquidating all of his parts, cars, etc. I offered him a miser's bargain and managed to snag the car, complete RHD swap, extra SU carbs, extra intake manifolds, and a few miscellaneous JDM parts for $600 dollars. I took the car to my school (I'm 22, in college) where I've been working on it here and there as I could. Here is the car when I started my RHD swap. The ill-fated battery tray, after the grinder got it. And...yesterday. I'm pretty horrible about taking pictures, but I'm trying to keep a record of this one. My future plans aren't terribly complicated, I don't think. It's what I'm considering making my DD (LHD streets be damned!), so I'd like to put something somewhat usable in there. I'm currently torn between two engines; a carb'd 2.8/E31 setup, high compression, with triple sidedrafts, or a Toyota 7MGTE (which I happen to have lying about in my shop after a 2JZ transplant into my supra...). Anyway, I'm hoping to paint it myself (I've done all the fabrication, welding, repair, all that jazz, myself), since I'm something of a busybody on cars. I'm thinking of a dark metallic green (an homage to my first Z, a disgusting, torn up, ragged 280Z with a busted quarter panel that ran like a bat out of hell) or maybe orange, like the Z432s. I've got a set of poly bushings on order, and I'm trying to get my hands on a set of lowering springs, as well as a fuel tank. I'd also like to lower the car, install a set of ZG flares, a new front valance-- see the list. Anyway, so here's my list of parts I need. I'm making this more for my own use than anything else, but I guess it'd make a good way to track progress. Body - - Front Valance, with brake ducts - ZG Flares - Paint - New or fixed 240Z bumpers - Rear hatch weatherstrip - New, well...used better hood - New hatch (see above) Engine/Driveline - - Not a fried/seized/otherwise non-functional engine. - 5MT ZXT trans - Eventual swap or better engine - R200 LSD Suspension - - Aftermarket LCAs, tension arms, camber plates, etc - Lowering springs - Wheels, preferably 16x10 rear and 16x8 front. Aggressive offset. - 5-lug conversion Anyway, there's a lot of little things to fix, and I'll try to keep this updated. Sorry for the enormou-post. Edited November 23, 2010 by OustedFairlady Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rturbo 930 Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 That looks like a 260z/280z dash, and if it's got tool box doors behind the seats, it's not a series 1. BTW, vertical defroster lines were used up until about 12/71. However, being a non-US S30, I'm not sure all the same rules apply. I don't think it's a series 1 though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OustedFairlady Posted November 23, 2010 Author Share Posted November 23, 2010 (edited) In the spirit of future updates, here's the first! Today I pulled the engine. It's pretty horrid. It had a lot of carbon buildup in the exhaust runners, and the oil was the consistency of warm peanut butter. I dropped the pan and oil came out in chunks. The clutch isn't that bad, but I'm suspecting that it's pretty old and the linings are probably ready to die. The flywheel and pressure plate are pretty badly heat-checked too, so I may replace that, budget allowing. I'll have to snap a few pics in the morning. I'll try to get a better camera...my iphone seems sadly inadequate. Start: Getting there: Forgot to take a picture of the engine out, but I will tomorrow morning! Edited November 23, 2010 by OustedFairlady Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Braden Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 looks cool!!! you have your work cut out for you but you can do it!!! you should drop the i phone and you would have enough money to restore the thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OustedFairlady Posted November 23, 2010 Author Share Posted November 23, 2010 lol, I hacked mine. It's jailbroken and unlocked so I use it on my carrier. No data plan or anything. pretty sad as a phone, but I like it. By the way, if some soul happens across my thread with a RHD car that's especially rusty or wrecked, I NEED A FIREWALL, BADLY!!! Don't know if I can emphasize that any more. My firewall is pretty butchered (/slaps self), and I need a RHD one, because I HATE that I had to cut holes to get the RHD to work. In retrospect, I should've waited to put it in, but, well...patience is not one of my strong points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakeoster Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 Sweet build. What is it with the iPhone lol, I mentioned I had one in a thread and people jumped all over me for it lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LegnaZetr0 Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 @ rturbo 930, i don't think its a real fairlady, i believe he is converting it. And oustedfairlady, its gonna be a lot of work but just keep at it. You couldn't use the firewall from the parts car you sourced all the other parts from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drifterZ_74 Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 good luck with ur build! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OustedFairlady Posted November 25, 2010 Author Share Posted November 25, 2010 @ rturbo 930, i don't think its a real fairlady, i believe he is converting it. And oustedfairlady, its gonna be a lot of work but just keep at it. You couldn't use the firewall from the parts car you sourced all the other parts from? Yeah, you're right. It was originally a USDM 240Z (guess it still is, lol), from 6/'71. The Fairlady was a '74 260Z, series two, all that, 2+2 car. It was from texas, and sat in Mississippi humidity and all that for years and by the time the guy actually grabbed it, it was almost completely destroyed with rust. Almost nothing was useful, so every usable part was removed and the car was crushed. To my dismay, he left a good R200 and associated parts as well as the RHD heater box and parts, and the firewall in the car. If it had been me, I would've cut the RHD firewall out of the car (cut the spot welds, etc) and installed it wholesale into my 240Z, but unfortunately, I wasn't the one doing the cutting. As it is, I'm making lemonade out of lemons and working with what I have. I had to cut the USDM firewall with a grinder and weld in a new plate that I fabbed up for the pedal box and reinforce the firewall on that side, or well, I'm in the process of doing that, and I adapted the factory harness to work with the RHD stuff (read: I flipped the original harness around and stuck in the dash backwards, lol.) UPDATE! Today, I picked up a 260Z long block w/ electronic distributor from Pzary3233 (thanks!). I'm going to do a little cleaning and finish welding up some patches in my car on Monday, paint the engine bay, and get everything set up for the new engine. Probably yanking my crossmember, sandblasting it, and painting it. Well, that's for monday. I'll try to get pics up tomorrow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OustedFairlady Posted November 25, 2010 Author Share Posted November 25, 2010 That looks like a 260z/280z dash, and if it's got tool box doors behind the seats, it's not a series 1. BTW, vertical defroster lines were used up until about 12/71. However, being a non-US S30, I'm not sure all the same rules apply. I don't think it's a series 1 though. Sorry, didn't think to reply. It is a 260Z dash. There aren't any tool box doors, there ARE vertical defroster lines, the seats are non-adjustable, the side "240Z" vents are the later-style vented "Z" emblems, there aren't any hatch vents, and the trans tunnel is pretty big. I think it was a transition car, though I could be wrong, and if so, please correct me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rturbo 930 Posted November 25, 2010 Share Posted November 25, 2010 @ rturbo 930, i don't think its a real fairlady, i believe he is converting it. So it is. I was in a bit of a rush when I posted, didn't see that bit of detail. Sorry, didn't think to reply. It is a 260Z dash. There aren't any tool box doors, there ARE vertical defroster lines, the seats are non-adjustable, the side "240Z" vents are the later-style vented "Z" emblems, there aren't any hatch vents, and the trans tunnel is pretty big. I think it was a transition car, though I could be wrong, and if so, please correct me. That's really strange. Can you get some pictures? From what I've read, there's no series 1 cars with series 2 bits on them, it's either a series 1 or it isn't. As for the trans tunnel, as far as I know, all 240Z trans tunnels are the same, except for the shifter opening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aplyedmind Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 Very nice car looking forward to watching here grow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitz17 Posted November 30, 2010 Share Posted November 30, 2010 Goodluck with the build! Looks like you are off to a good start! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aplyedmind Posted November 30, 2010 Share Posted November 30, 2010 "I'm currently torn between two engines; a carb'd 2.8/E31 setup, high compression, with triple sidedrafts, or a Toyota 7MGTE (which I happen to have lying about in my shop after a 2JZ transplant into my supra...)." 7m power all the way would be so epic RHD and 7m . Friend just built a 3.2 7m and it is sick fast and built it for a good price to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OustedFairlady Posted December 2, 2010 Author Share Posted December 2, 2010 "I'm currently torn between two engines; a carb'd 2.8/E31 setup, high compression, with triple sidedrafts, or a Toyota 7MGTE (which I happen to have lying about in my shop after a 2JZ transplant into my supra...)." 7m power all the way would be so epic RHD and 7m . Friend just built a 3.2 7m and it is sick fast and built it for a good price to. Yeah, I have a couple friends who're trying their best to get me to do it. I'm not exactly reticent to do it, but I just bought a 2.6 block from a guy here on the forums, and I'd like to enjoy it stock for a while. I'm almost certainly going to do the swap, just in the future. Anyway, so updates! I got the new engine, as I said above. It's a 2.6, P30 block, E88 head, electronic distributor. I'm thinking of putting the points style on it just for amusement's sake, just for a while. I cleaned the engine bay today and started spraying it black. I started with flat black, but apparently I accidentally picked up a can of satin black and I'm honestly liking it a LOT more than the flat. I cleaned all the little pieces and parts, like the voltage regulator, inspection light, etc. and reinstalled them. The car is looking a LOT better now. I've located a local, and fairly clean '77 280Z shell (no motor, trans) for 500, almost rust free, MINT interior. I'm going to pick it up on Monday evening and bring it down to rob a few parts. I'm putting the body aside to use later for maybe a turbo L28 project. The new engine is going in Monday morning, and hopefully I can hear it crank up by the afternoon. I've also settled on a paint/body scheme, and, with the help of Forza Motorsport 3 (I lol'd), I've given it a little substance. I'm set on the Fairlady Z432 orange (don't know the name or code...can anyone help?) and black. No fender flares, and 16" wheels. Pictures of that as well tomorrow. Sorry, my laptop's battery is rebelling, and it's about to die, so I'll post pictures tomorrow. Cheers, all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OustedFairlady Posted December 6, 2010 Author Share Posted December 6, 2010 Got a new hood today. It's from a '76 280Z, and the paint's nasty, and there's rust, but there's no swiss cheese smashed up nose on it. It's a winner in my book, at least for now. Also snagged a fuel tank, R200 diff and related parts, hatch, heater box, dash finisher, and other assorted parts. I have pictures, too, but unfortunately, my iPhone's disagreeing with me and won't let me upload them. /sad face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OustedFairlady Posted December 7, 2010 Author Share Posted December 7, 2010 (edited) Well, today, I dropped the new engine in. Over the past few days, I've been cleaning and painting the engine bay, and got the little bits inside cleaned up and reattached. I also snagged a new hood for 40 bucks that's in relatively good shape, but in need of one louver (280Z hood). I also snagged a few interesting things for the car. See them below. And suddenly, pictures! Before cleaning, and... After! Here's the engine going in. And here it is in the car. There's the new hood. Bit of a departure from the dinged up one I had before. I got this battery box from a friend of mine. It was originally a 24volt NiCad battery on an F-86 Sabre fighter (it's a jet.) I thought it was pretty sweet, and it looks like a braille or other small battery will fit in it alright. Any suggestions on batteries? This is a floormat from a JDM Fairlady Z32 that my friend also had lying around. He sold his Z32 and offered this and a pile of stuff in trade for an Aeromotive A1000 I had. I thought they'd look pretty nice in the S30, and so they do! Well, that's it for today. I'm going to try to get the hood primed tomorrow maybe. Maybe get my brakes back together. *EDIT* Oh, and here's the paint I'd like to go with... Edited December 7, 2010 by OustedFairlady Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvgz28 Posted December 7, 2010 Share Posted December 7, 2010 Nice build! I have thought long and hard about going rhd but the only thing that gets me is a rhd steering rack... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OustedFairlady Posted December 7, 2010 Author Share Posted December 7, 2010 i'm told you can flip the LHD rack and it works just fine. I looked at it and it seems like it would, but the angle on the rod might be a bit wonky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvgz28 Posted December 7, 2010 Share Posted December 7, 2010 Ya i thought about just flipping the rack but the input would be at a steep downward angle. Maybe i could use a double u joint with a pillow ball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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