got my 240z and got my ratsun account

[rinigado]

I guess my first post should be an introduction! I just joined here and just picked up a 72 240z. The car is really (really!) rust free, with only a small superficial spot at the very corner of the dogleg in front of the rear passenger wheel, and another little spot on the bottom sill of the rear hatch. It's been sitting stored for about 22 years, so the rain it saw today when I'm picked it up is probably the first water it's seen in decades. The paint/metal are in really good shape for its age, rubber weather stripping is still soft and squishy, and the dash plastic is in perfect condition. There are various small dents to work out, and a bunch of mechanical debt to work through though. Seized rear drums are first on the list, then brake and clutch master cylinders, fuel pump, probably a good layer of gunk in the gas tank, some stuff that probably used to be oil in the engine, and some attention needed on seat reupholstery. 

 

I'm looking forward to digging into this project! Apologies in advance for the upcoming noob questions as I work on getting this car road worthy :P

 

 

[Slowpoke]

Damn, that looks clean! Nice find.

[thumpgun]

Nice car! I really like that. Does it have white interior? Post some oics of it. And I love the Libre wheels too.

[rinigado]

I'll post a few more pics shortly. Yes, white interior. How common was white in these cars? The original seats are trashed, but it did come with a nice set of new covers. Just need to replace foam and maybe webbing before getting those in place. The floor mats are done for too. White-ish panels on the doors will at least need a bit of a reconditioning. I'll take a better look at the roof liner today to see how it looks, but at first glance yesterday it looked ok.

 

Other things I'm curious about: it has what is reportedly dealer or factory installed air. I didn't look too deeply yet, but the old compressor is there in the engine bay. How common would that have been on a 72? Would that have been a dealer add-on, or installed at the factory? Likewise, would the libre wheels have been a dealer/aftermarket option or factory option? And I assume louvers were always an aftermarket thing? I got a set thrown in to the deal, but they attach via a couple of screws on either side at the top, and I'm not yet sure I want to make more holes in the hatch for them. 

[thumpgun]

Wheels were after market. American Racing made the Libre's and there are possibly other brand copies as well. All Z's came with steel wheels and hubcaps. Wheels were dealer or owner added.

The white interior is not that common IMHO. I believe the AC is dealer is dealer installed. Some of the Datsun lifer's can probably elaborate more on all of your questions.

Yes louvers were after market. I understand, I wouldn't want to make holes for louvers either. I like them, but not that much.

That's a great car. I can't wait to see some more of it.

 

Someone on here will be able to give you more in depth info than me. They've have always been very helpful with my questions.

Just search the forums with your questions on certain issues and there may be a thread that will help you. If not you can post questions and the photo's usually help out too.

[rinigado]

A few more shots. Anyone have any good mix tapes?

 

 

 

[rinigado]

Here's a quick photo inventory of rust and other things to fix. There are also various little dents along both sides that need to be fixed up, probably from lawnmower and rake handles or other garage mishaps while it was stored. Maybe there's more once I really get into it, but looking under seats, carpets, around floor and spare tire well, around rear vents, or battery tray and firewall, everything else looks exceptionally solid.

 

passenger-side dogleg rust. poking at it, it's mostly solid so the damage seems fairly tightly confined to this spot:

 

drivers/exhaust side rear hatch sill. Passenger side is pristine, but it sounds like exhaust gas accelerates damage on this side?

 

oil about halfway to becoming a dinosaur again:

 

A little bit of broken plastic on the headlight shroud:

 

driver's side dogleg and rear part of rocker has just a touch of rust to clean up:

[rinigado]

fancy 1972 air conditioning controls tucked in next to the steering column:

[thumpgun]

Great car. I'd keep it clean and simple. Congratulations on scoring a very clean 240Z. That white interior is great! Life is better with a Z.

[rinigado]

I was originally looking for something that I'd put flares on, get some fender-mount mirrors, but since it's already in great shape, I'd feel back screwing with this car, so I think I'll be sticking close to stock.

[datzenmike]

Flairs are ok if you run wider rims outside the fenders.... but it's non reversible as the wheel arch has to be cut. Now if your fenders were rotten with rust cancer.....

[rinigado]

that's what I was thinking. If I found one with typical amounts of rust, I wouldn't feel too bad about cutting out sheet metal. I couldn't take the guilt of messing up perfectly good fenders though.

[datzenmike]

They are kind of nice. Thinking of lowering the ride height any? (not saying you should)

[rinigado]

My laundry list of things to get this running is deep enough that I hadn't thought much about lowering options yet. How much can you get away with via lowering springs without screwing up geometry too much?

[CGraves]

IMO if you go flairs you should design the whole car with them in mind with wheel spacing and height.

 

It looks bad when someone slaps flairs on a car that doesn't even need them.

 

As for lowering it you can't go hellaflush without some modification to the struts because of the way they are made. But I've got eibach racing springs on my Z and it's low enough that I drug the header and resonator on every speed bump on campus and the frame rails have kissed a couple roads.

[rinigado]

I think this one will stay pretty stock, so likely just a mild drop in ride height. I was looking at an eibach spring kit as the likely candidate. I guess another inch or two could be had messing with different tire profiles.

[CGraves]

Yeah for sure man. They give a pretty good drop and the ride is way better than any of the other old shit I've owned. Here is a picture of how mine sits with the eibach pro kit springs and 15x8 wheels and the T3 rear LCAs with a bit of camber in them if you want an idea of how much drop they'll give. Also pls don't make fun of my dirty wheels.

 

But yeah you've got a solid base to start on. I'm excited to see how it turns out bud!

 

[rinigado]

that ride height looks just right. I can't say much about dirty wheels. I did have a focus st I just sold a while back and the wheels were very regularly black from brake dust. Those looks clean enough!

[thumpgun]

I originally wanted to get a 240 and flare it. But mine is actually pretty decent and there's no way I'm cutting the fenders up for flares. If it was rotted, yeah I'd do it with no problem. MIne has the Tokico springs that drop 1" and I'm pretty happy with the ride height. My wheels are 14X6 but my plans for alter on are 15X8 wheels.

[rinigado]

what tires are you using on those 14x6 wheels? Looks like there aren't so many choices that fit nowadays, but I'd like to use these wheels for a while..

[thumpgun]

Mine are some older Goodyear Invicta 195 75 14's on front and some cheapo tires on back that are 195 70 14. They were on the car when I got it 2 years ago. I'm not planning on buying any until I get new wheels. I'd just search the size you need online and see what you can find. Probably not a lot of premium companies making 14's anymore at a guess.

I like the Libre's they're very cool and classic looking. Even if I got new wheels I'd keep them put back.

[Bleach]

Looks like a great project! Thanks for sharing.

[rinigado]

I'm looking forward to the weekend to get started on things :)

[rinigado]

so it turns out the wheels on the car are libre copies; they're Shelby Viper's 14x5.5

 

Anyone have any opinions on how big the tires can go on a 14x5.5 wheel?

[CGraves]

Honestly I wouldn't go wider than a 215 but you'll have problems finding tires that will even fit that.

 

I'd just hit up craigslist/facebook and find some 15x8 wheels at least.