240Z restoration & car life
Finally some progress on rebuilding the engine. Spent lots of time controlling the bearing clearances, gapping piston rings etc. Doing my best to make sure everything is done correctly the first time. The block has been bored 0.5mm, as the cylinders weren’t perfectly round.
Last year, we did the restoration work and repainted the engine bay on the Z. A bit of bad luck with the clear coat made it yellow in a few spots, and along with a few other small mistakes, made me want to respray the engine bay. Although the car is originally “tennisball green”, I wanted to keep it white. We scanned the paint, and found it to be a Toyota color. However, I wanted the car to be a little bit more than just plain white, and at the same time I wanted to use a Nissan paint code. So after a bit of research, I ended up chosing the Nissan QAB paintcode, called Brilliant White, which is a… Read More →
I had to dismount the carbs from the intake manifold, so I figured I’d take a couple of pictures for reference. This intake manifold is, according to Wolfcreek Racing, a genuine Datsun Competition item. I looked it up in one of my books, and it could be the intake part number 14002-E4620. Now, the manifold has no marks or ID cast into it, so there’s no way for me to know for sure.
Dropping off the block for some work soon. Having the cylinders honed and the surface of the block and head skimmed, to make sure they’re completely flat. Looking forward to start assembling the engine again, not to mention driving the car again! That’s my buddy’s car in the background, staying in my garage for the winter. Hoping to make mine as clean as this one.
We have paint! After a layer of filler, sanding and a few primer touch-ups, it was time for paint. Enginebays are difficult to paint, as there are so many small hard-to-reach areas, but my painter managed to get a nice even coverage. Unfortunately, the clear coat didn’t go so well, as it’s turning a little yellow in a few spots. So that means sanding down a little, and a new coat of color and clear. More to come later!
Finally had the front end sandblasted. The blasting revealed a couple of more small spots of rust that had to be taken care of. The blaster didn’t reach all the parts, so a few hours were spent grinding and spotblasting to remove the last remaining bits of surface rust and paint. All welds were treated with a special primer before applying tin, and finally sanding / smoothing out the tin work. The sandblasting leaves a pretty rough finish, so everything was rubbed down with 120 grit before wipedown and 3 coats of epoxy primer. Next up will be filler, more primer and hopefully paint before the week is over.
So earlier I’ve been posting pictures of the bad repairwork done to the Z sometime in it’s past. The last few days me and my good friend have been righting what used to be wrong. At first we thought just to replace the strut towers and repair elsewhere as needed, but as we measured the front end alignment, we found the car to between 1 and 2 cm crooked. That, in addition to all the dodgy welding, made it easier to replace the complete front end. So out came the saw.. Now the front end is completely straight, down to +/- 1mm, which I believe is well within factory specs from 71. Next up is sandblasting the complete front end,… Read More →
I finally received the rest of my engine parts. I’ve now got all rebuild parts ready, including new crank, rods, pistons, all bearings, bolts etc. Can’t wait to get started rebuilding the engine. Now I just need to start thinking about exhaust and ignition. Carbs have also arrived, and they look absolutely fantastic. Todd @ Wolfcreek Racing did an amazing job. So if you’re looking for a good carb setup for your Z, Todd is the man you need to talk to.
..and a few steps back. Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve completely disassembled the front end. Discovered some rust, and some old damage to the front end. More stuff that needs to be sorted, but hopefully I can get it in good condition again, and make the car last for years to come.
Carbs finally ordered. Huge thanks to Todd @ Wolf Creek Racing for outstanding customer service so far. Some other good news as well, my engine parts are on their way back to me again. Let’s hope the mail service gets it right this time. Can’t wait to get started.