Yet another toy....73 240Z

[Matt300ZXT]

I picked this up from a guy in Loganville. He bought it from his friend who parked it a few years ago because of an engine knock that started. Then he had a stroke and couldn't drive it anymore anyway. I'm going to get the battery charged and let some acetone soak in the gas tank for a few days to help clean it out in case there's any varnish or goop in the tank. After I blow out the lines and put some fresh gas in it, I'm going to change the oil and put some Lucas in with it and fire it up. Hopefully the knock was just in this guys head. If it is knocking and checking the timing doesn't fix it, then I can just buy a new bottom end or full motor from someone. Luckily there are guys selling motors all day long for just a few hundred bucks. Would be a great time to upgrade to a 5 speed while I'm at it.

Anyways, it does have some upgrades. It has some much larger aftermarket sway bars and strut braces on the front and back. It also has some seats from some other car, though I have no clue what, and racing harnesses. It has Weber DGV carbs from Redline Webers and Accell 8.5mm plug wires with a coil from some company called Allison it looked like. It may have some springs though it doesn't look like it's been dropped much if at all, and I haven't looked at the shocks to see if they're OEM or upgraded. The car also has some Ultra mesh wheels with some 225/50/15 tires. There's a JVC cd player as well but I could care less about that.

I only have 1 picture of the car for now from the guy's ad. I was too busy yesterday to snap any and too tired right now from cleaning on it and such.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f311/Matt300ZXT/Yellow-240Z/z.jpg

[Matt300ZXT]

I did do some cleaning on it today. I got some Simple Orange and a light bristle brush and cleaned out all the engine bay that I could reach. Under the inspection lids, on the fender where the hood runs down beside it, the radiator support, frame rails, inner fenders, etc. It cleaned up pretty well. I even took the cowl off and vacuumed all the leaves and pine needles out and cleaned that area. Then I brushed Ospho onto the area under the cowl where any surface rust was to keep that area from rusting out eventually.

I might snap some more pictures when I get back outside later but right now I'm in veg out mode and about to watch some football.

[CSquared]

Cool shit man. Saw a 280 at the pullapart today that looked like it was actually in pretty decent condition. Seeing nice old cars like that get junked always makes me sad.

[Matt300ZXT]

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f311/Matt300ZXT/2012-12-02_15-48-51_545.jpg
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f311/Matt300ZXT/2012-12-02_15-48-55_988.jpg
Not the best side photos, but I'm limited in space due to the garage doors, other cars, and stuff like that.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f311/Matt300ZXT/2012-12-02_15-49-40_964.jpg
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f311/Matt300ZXT/2012-12-02_15-49-50_49.jpg
I hope to do away with these carbs and install some Triple Weber DCOEs.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f311/Matt300ZXT/2012-12-02_15-50-23_306.jpg
There she is, right by her sister, the Z32 ;)

[Matt300ZXT]

I put a gallon of acetone in the gas tank to clean up and thin out any gunk/varnish/goop that might have been in the tank due to sitting for a few years, in case there was any gas left in it. Waited 24 hours and drained the tank, the acetone came out just as clear as when it went in and didn't stink of gas, just the normal horrible acetone odor. So today I poured about 5 gallons of fresh gas in it and changed the oil. Had to jab a damn screwdriver through the old filter as I didn't have an end cap wrench big enough and the strap wrench type was just crushing the case. But it came out and the oil was black as sin. It was damn near sucking light into it it was so black. Anyways, going to drain the coolant out of the block and radiator and put in fresh antifreeze and water and try to start it maybe today or tomorrow and see how it sounds.

I'm hoping the knock in the engine I was told about might be the oil spray bar broken or loose so I can just swap that out....but I'm sure it'd be my luck that it's a damn wrist pin or rod bearing. Oh well, Z engines are a dime a dozen ;)

[metalmatt47]

Nice, dual Weber down drafts is a pretty uncommon thing to find.


You ought to jump on Ratsun.net

[RandomGuy]

if the motor is shot, look up the vg33e, you can get them dirt cheap and it's not too involved of a swap.

[BenjaminJunu]

if the motor is shot, look up the vg33e, you can get them dirt cheap and it's not too involved of a swap.

what about a vg33er?

[Matt300ZXT]

Not interested in swapping to another Z engine. The only Nissan engines I'd consider are an RB20/25 or SR20/KA24DE if I wanted a 4 banger. Most likely if I was going to swap it'd be either a 350 or 302.

Anyways, I'm looking at a guy's setup from 240Atlanta. 2.8, Triple Webers, headers, cam, MSD ignition box and coil, and 5sp for $2k obo.

[green91]

Hows the interior? I've wanted one of these very badly for many years. Maybe I'll get off my ass and pick one up.

[Matt300ZXT]

The carpet kit has been pulled mostly, and the seats are from I don't know what, but it has the racing harness. The dash is split of course, the doorskins are decent, and the console is in pretty good shape. But it's not really a full interior by any means.

[quickdodge®]

Z32 would not be a the "sister."

[eraser4g63]

Bad ass car, and fuck you. Sorry that last bit was harsh, but I'm jealous.

[bu villain]

Make sure to check the floor panels as that is a common rust area. I almost Fred Flinstoned my first Z. It looks like your bumpers are in pretty good condition too which is nice. Can't go wrong with triple webers.

[Matt300ZXT]

Ouch....got a battery in it and went to crank it over and it makes a pretty sick sound lol It spins over fairly slowly but it makes a clunking noise when it does. Almost as if there's something broken in the bottom end and everytime the crank reaches a certain position it clucks, maybe as if the broken item were shifting, popping, or falling only to get spun around again because it's rotating. The guy said the bottom end had a knock but that sounded more like a busted engine lol

I went in expecting to need a motor put in it, which is no biggie. I'll just pull the carbs to sell them and use that $ towards the triple Weber 2.8 motor I found.

[Matt300ZXT]

I went up just past Knoxville yesterday to a guy's house with a 76 280Z. The car fired right up without hesitation so we pulled the motor and trans and I brought it back with me. It's raining outside today so I can't really get out there and get it ready to pull out of the truck to put on the engine stand but I did get the trans separated from the motor...it definitely needs a rear main seal lol

I'm going to be purchasing a water pump, timing cover gasket set, valve cover gasket, oil pan gasket, thermostat and rear main seal to put on the engine to rebuild the outside of it before I go through the trouble of installing it in the Z. I want it nice and clean and fresh before it goes it...then the triple Webers and header go on >: )

[scarimports]

Great project mate on a great machine

[Matt300ZXT]

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f311/Matt300ZXT/Yellow-240Z/2012-12-21_11-39-13_315_zps0f3ad974.jpg
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f311/Matt300ZXT/Yellow-240Z/2012-12-21_11-39-25_805_zps258e47cd.jpg
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f311/Matt300ZXT/Yellow-240Z/2012-12-21_11-39-43_697_zps24c624ee.jpg

Lookie what the Fed Ex man dropped off ;) Rebuilt Webers, shiny airhorns that look unused, and a sandblasted Cannon intake manifold...this should be good for dropping a few panties in the Spring when she rolls out.

[JITB]

Love the color, nice project!

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2

[bu villain]

oooh purty

[gogriz91]

sex in a box, so to speak...

[Matt300ZXT]

Got the old 2.4 out today...that was a royal pain in the ass! Got all the bolts undone, even the one at the bottom of the bellhousing where there's supposed to be 2 smaller bolts. Lifted, wiggled, etc and it wouldn't come loose. Then I decide to remove the clutch slave for the hell of it, and see a damn bolt hiding behind it too! So I get that off and finally am able to get it out. Figured it'd be easier putting it back in with the trans attached so I just pulled it out through the engine bay easy enough. Now to get rid of this old 2.4 somehow and then prep the 2.8 to go in with a new water pump, oil pan gasket, rear main, etc.

[bu villain]

yeah it's no problem to put it in with the transmission attached