SlicktopS130

Just got her today. Those that saw my teaser post kind of have an idea of what i bought. But for those who haven't, it's a Series 1 240Z that has been sitting for 3 years, due to the PO having lost the keys to it. Paid only $1600.

It came with a TON of spare/original parts for the exterior, engine, and interior. Being a Series 1, it has the rare E31 high compression cylinder head (9.2:1) vs later years having the E88 Head (8.6:1).

Another reason for it sitting was due to a cracked radiator that the PO never got around to replacing.

It has a 5-Speed swap (FS5W) from a 280ZX, though for some reason they had to cut part of the trans tunnel and center console to fit the shifter... Not sure why that is. It's also got some badass vintage twicepipes.

There isnt much rust either. The underside is very clean, with just a bit of surface rust on the front bumper and steering rack assy.

There is some surface rust on the body as well, but that can easily be sanded off.

The first step is to get some keys made, so i'm having a locksmith come by early this week to sort that out.

PredatorZ

One of the early early cars with the vents in the hatch, pretty cool. Nissan / Datsun were making updates to the new design all the time, that was a short lived variation.

SlicktopS130

Yep! I definately think i scored. Another thing i noticed was that the oil pressure gauge reads up to 140 PSI... I doubt the engine could build that much pressure though. Maybe 70 PSI at most with the stock pump.

I also noticed that there's no coolant reserve/overflow tank... But then again i don't see any mounts where one might go. Did these cars come with such a thing?

SlicktopS130

Started working on her a bit today. First thing I did was work on the interior a bit. I slipped on a spare leather shift boot I had laying around, and fabricated a cover for the stereo slot to cover up those nasty wires.

Then, I worked on removing the old nasty battery that puked acid all over the battery tray, making it rusty. Luckily I found some rust remover that I will use to refinish the area to prevent any further corrosion.

SlicktopS130

Here's a better pic of the improved center console area.



Also pulled a door lock to send in and get a key made.

zxguy1986

No manual at Xenon for a '71. The '72 manual shows a 'reservoir tank' on CO-5 so your '71 may have had one.

I'm really impressed with the amount of work you have taken on. That Z is 44 years old. It will be a huge hit when you're done.

SlicktopS130

Hmmm, interesting. And thanks!
I have actually made HUGE progress and have been taking pics, but literally since i got the car i have been spending all my afternoons working on it so i haven't ben getting around to updating my thread.

SlicktopS130

Last week, i made a HUGE milestone in my S30Z Build...

I got her to start up!!!
I went out, bought a new battery, played with the lights and horn for a while and then i decided to get creative. I took the switch out of the ignition lock, manipulated it with a screw driver and got the engine to crank! After three years, all she needed was about 30 seconds of intermittent cranking and pumping, and the engine fired right up! On old gas too!

I topped off the radiator, added some oil and i even took the car around the block!

Pulled her into the driveway and began tuning her up. Oh, and i got the lock back from the smith so now i have a pair of keys to lock the car with.

lumens

My 72 does not have one. Just an overflow tube on drivers side on radiator.
No tank is shown in the parts manual I have either. What shows in the FSM is probably a generic diagram I think. I don't recall ever seeing one on a 240Z. You have a great start as the car looks complete. Spares are always
a big plus as well.

PredatorZ

You made great progress, now she is a driver and just not a Datsun lump in the drive way, way to go ! Unless you are a purist, which is OK, you can add an overflow bottle of some type, even get rat rod creative if you so desire. I personally am not keeping my Z stock, as a matter of fact, I am willing to replace everything I can with free stuff off my 2 z31's, I have tons of parts that I can adapt, and save money !

SlicktopS130

I will probably use a removable overflow bottle for when i take the car to the track since thats the policy there. Other than that, no overflow.

SlicktopS130

Changed the oil, gave the engine a full tune-up and replaced the totally rotten radiator.

It's an aluminum two-row i bought for $130 on Ebay.

I made a very shocking discovery when i was pulling the hoses off. I had no idea that this was actually possible. This is probably a result of the P.O running straight water in the system.

Also removed some A/C components such as the compressor and condensor.
The old stanky radiator literally had six holes in it.

Lazlo

I think I'd flush the entire cooling system about 27 times before you foul up your new radiator with gunk sitting in the rest of the system. There's a flush plug on the driver's side of the block at the rear.

Mine looked nowhere near as bad as yours and I had to scale away a "rust stopper" that was sitting behind the plug to get the system to flush properly, but it was WORTH it.

PredatorZ

metal rot, I had similar issues with the water outlet on the passenger side for the heater, metal was so thin you could crush it like a pop can. Nice new radiator, like Laslo says I'd flush the system real good, but I bet you already had that planned.

theramz

Just so all of you know, the Z motor requires zinc in the oil for proper cam lubrication. They stopped putting it in motor oil because of emissions. Mobil One is great oil but does not have it. The only way is to add zinc available at auto supply. Valvoline Racing Oil has it and now Royal Purple has a new oil with it.
The new synthetics seem to leak around the old seals, my '70 leaked really bad with it.

SlicktopS130

Well well well, would ya look at that... She's starting to look kind of nice.


As soon as i made that scary cooling system descovery, i got on using additives as soon as i installed the new radiator. They seemed to be working, because all of this clumpy brown stuff started appearing in my coolant, which i then flushed out again.

SlicktopS130

But then, some bad news. As we know, the cooling system on this engine is in very very bad shape. I took the car in for brake work a little over a week ago, and it seemed to be running better, and not getting as hot in traffic. I pick the car up and its running like $#!T, probably on 3 cylinders. Odd though, once i gave it a little gas the engine seemed to clear up fine.
Then, another mile down the road and my temp started to shoot up, like rapidly. Pegged the redline on the temp gauge but got the car home. Checked over some things, and went to start up again. The engine was locked up, and i heard hissing coming from the head.
Yep, it was exactly what you're thinking. Head gasket blew, warped the head, hydrolocked the engine, and displaced nearly all of the coolant into the block. Pulled all of the plugs and cranked. Water and oil sprayed like a hose out of the cylinders. She's done for. I guess that cleaner flushed out a bunch of crap that was probably holding the engine together. Anyways, i'm sure as hell not giving up on this car.
Here's a little teaser:

Funny thing is, i was actually able to start up and move the car the other day. Didn't run too bad either. Just had to drain all of the coolant out to make sure the engine wouldn't lock up again.

lumens

You will need to pull that head and take it to a machine shop.
Have it checked to see if it is badly warped. If so you can pick up
used heads for $150. Also I would not waste money on synthetic
oils on an old motor. The quality of motor oil is so much better than
it was in the 70's. Modern zinc content is not a problem with these
motors. The big concern is for the old flat tappet cam push rod motors.
I would be concerned the engine is just as full of sludge as the cooling
system. Use an oil with the very highest detergent content.

SlicktopS130

Based upon all of the given factors of this engine, I decided just to get an entire whole new engine. I mean i could have gone through the steps to rebuild it, but who knows. Corrision would have probably eaten its way through the cylinder walls by then or worse (if possible).
This is what i bought.

It's an L28E, F54 block N47 head 9.7:1 Compression. Not sure if head is from a maxima or not, but there is a spray bar on the cam. Mileage is unknown, engine came out of a '75 280Z with 88K, but this is a mismatched engine so who knows. Came with a 4 SPD tranny which i will be selling.

PredatorZ

To bad you lost the motor, good move imho to just replace it, hard to tell what might be lurking inside. Upside, you have spare engine parts now. If I had a 2nd engine sitting around I would polish one of the valve covers ! Hard to do on the engine, and I need a spare so I can drive the car, since it's my DD now.

SlicktopS130

Yeah. I half expected something to go wrong anyways. I liked that L24, lots of high end power. Not sure how high i can safely rev this L28... Hopefully to 6K. I'm definately going to do some engine bay cosmetic work. Not sure if ill go polish, but maybe a flat red with the letters and trim white, paired with yellow plug wires. I think that'll look cool.
Due to this engine not having that vacuum port on the head for the stock pump, i am going to have to go electric.

This is what i bought. AND YES, THE MYTH HAS BEEN CONFIRMED! Nissan had installed factory accessory wiring to accomodate for something like this. In the radio compartment, taped to the major harness there is a T plug with two wires, GRN and BLK with a white stripe. Connect those two together (Preferable with a fuse in between) and you'll get power to wires by the tank that are also taped up, but to the fuel sender harness. Connect those wires to the electric pump. What all of this does is enable the pump to work automatically once the ignition is turned on. Now i just gotta figure out which fuel hose is the main hose to the carbs...

PredatorZ

My L28, I am guessing is bone stock, it revs pretty hard to about 5800 rpm, I was getting some valve float I think, so I shifted.

PredatorZ

very cool, that is info that needs to be handy for everyone, nice job figuring that out ! Cheers !

SlicktopS130

The highest i've revved my ZX is 6300 RPM, which was from peeling out leaving a dirt turnout on to the highway. Power band drops off at 5700-5900 RPM due to the insanely small intake runners. At this RPM, the AFR's start to drop like crazy which makes the engine choke and shake. The valve springs will get you to 6800-6900 RPM (P79 Head) from what i've read.

lumens

The 75 280Z came with the N42 block and N42 head. Definitely from a
later model. A F54 block would designate from a 81 to 83 280ZX.
Agree. A complete different motor sounds like an easier way to go.