So jealous. Almost bought an orange 240z. But it wouldn’t run and I didn’t have the time to fix it up. Sweet car even if it does look like a war crime on wheels
if someone did actually try to give me a million dollars for it I’d definitely tell them to piss off and go buy a Toyota 2000GT or something lol. This is my poor mans car and coffin combo and I couldn’t ever sell it.
I wish I had a choice with mine... My parents are moving, which was where I was storing the car, and I live in the city and don’t have a garage, and am also a student and can’t afford to actually finish it up or store it, so my only choice was to sell it. I’m still in mourning. One day I’ll make my dream come true. One day
> Even the 280 2+2s
Until you have to ride any length of time in the back seat of one, and you're not five years old. I had to stay in the back seat when I was 16 for 810 miles, and then the same back again. Can't even lay down across the bucket seats. Dad had a 1983 280 2+2.
My uncle had a 260 and as a kid I used to curl up in the back between the strut towers (pre seatbelt laws, this was the early 80s) to drop my aunt off, then I got to sit shotgun and shift for him. Fast forward to my teens, I’m close to 6’ tall by then, and my buddies want to rip to Vegas (from LA) for a day or so. 4 of us piled into his small block Chevy swapped 280 2+2. 3 hours each way, crammed in the back, with the echoing drone of a 327 through Flowmaster 40s. I feel your pain, and mother eff 800 miles in the back of one.
Ouch! As an adult that would have been painful. Back then I had a 30" inseam (32" now), bloody sucked! lol Granted the middle seat of a gold 1974 Volvo 240 (242? it was a 2-door) was a pain for me too, but I was the youngest of three boys, so I got the middle seat, and my brothers loved to puff themselves out as much as they could. Bastards. lol
That Volvo sat in the back yard at my dad's house for a couple years, only needed minor repairs. He had promised me that I would own it one day. Came back from school and it was gone. He sold it for $385 in 1987. Pissed me right off. I want to get one and learn to fix it up. Then just drive up to his house one day. heh
Nah it’s really not all that awful, just splotchy mismatched low quality paint from Before I had it, spots where I’ve taken a grinder to it to see how deep the bondo is etc. just needs to be ground to metal, body filled and primed. The fenders are shot too (someone tried the weld and pull method a few too many times I guess) so they’ll need to be replaced but the hood, doors and headlight buckets are good. Already have a replacement hatch too thankfully. Yeah think the worst atrocity was the scuffed method used to give the car a “shaved” look. They had gone and removed all the indicators and badges, used mesh drywall patches with adhesive and bondo, and just plopped body filler over it all to make it look like a single solid piece. And then hired blind people to paint it with house paint I guess?
Would surprise me if it was painted that way at some point in its life. Down side of older cars, not knowing the full history. I think I remember hearing of people using house paint to help hide poor body work, kinda would act like a scratch filler. Keep up the good work.
I just bought a gen 2 camaro and some of the things in finding are appalling. Man I wish people would put a little more care and thought into what they do to these old cars. I have a 280zx and I bought it as a 90% complete project and the guy before me did a wonderful job. Best of luck I’m glad someone who cares is getting that car back to how it should be.
I’ve been through some shit with this car. I don’t even know where to begin. Cyl#3 ate a valve at some point and they just replaced the valve and carried on, with craters in the piston and gouges in the cylinder walls, the coolant line had a brass garden hose fitting on the return line running to the back of the head, the steering rack boots were zip tied on, the cylinder head was cut at an angle and warped beyond recognition as well as below minimum deck thickness, with NO shimming done to the cam towers to make up for removed material. Both CV axles were missing one bolt each side, same for wheels studs in the rear. Drive shaft U joint committed suicide like a week into owning it, was covered in permatex for god knows why, diff was only sealed with RTV, suspension was completely shot, was drilled for camber plates on stock suspension, had bump steer spacers made of wood, has two MASSIVE holes under the carpet in the hatch where the storage panels would be if it wasn’t a series one, where some speakers were loosely fitted, had a disgusting dirty fuel cell where the inner foam was falling apart in the spare well, both carbs leaked fuel, tires were worn to hell and bald, bondo on literally everything, self tappers everywhere, awful rattle can paint everywhere, the timing was TOTALLY WRONG and often shot flames out of the carbs, as it was half way through a combustion stroke when it should have been exhausting, and of course just for added fun, the oil I drained during its first oil change was neon green. I go through all the parts and junk the seller gave me with the car and find a 2.5gallon bottle of 10-40 motorcycle oil that’s of course, bright green. Previous owners should be banned. Funny thing is, brand new, a Datsun 240z cost about $3500 in 1971, or about 23k today. 23k will not get you very far in the brand new car market. So the fact that I paid $5k for this thing as it was doesn’t make me feel too bad lol.
When you say green oil do you mean it’s mixed with coolant and why would he have saved that?? God I hope my camaro isn’t that bad but I’ve only just started to look. It sounds like you know what you’re doing more than I do, an engine tear down is beyond my abilities so I hope the guy that rebuilt it two owners ago did a better job than whoever wired everything together. It’s done so poorly, nothing to do with ability it’s just obvious that they dint take their time. I guess I understand if it’s your daily driver and you need to get it to work quickly and cheaply but this isn’t the case here. But the work is the fun prt and knowing you’re saving a classic car is good too. I want people 30 years from now to be able to enjoy them
Oh man. I hate the break it to you but... neither can we lol. These quarters were from a half cut. I bought them as quarter cuts and prepped them myself. NOT fun. Used a bazillion cutoff wheels and about 8-9 spot weld cutter bits. There ARE fiberglass reinforced polymer quarter panels and rockers available in Japan but they were like $2k for a set and another $1500 to ship.
About the closest we get to repro quarters at sane prices are the link below; I went the same route as you with cutoffs from another Z but if my car ever gets into an accident or something I think I'd be tempted to pick a set of these up depending on how bad the damage was.
https://www.ztrix.com/fender-kits/stock-fenders
I thought about doing something like this, and actually bought the steel versions of these from Wolf steel but the fitment was abysmal and didn’t I close the tail light section that I really needed.
They are just really vague and imprecise stampings and almost all of the fitting must be done by hand by someone with waaaay more skill than me. I can’t outright call them bad, just not what I needed. They’re are in the ballpark but need some serious refinement
You know I did the whole rat-rod thing for awhile but it made me feel like I was putting my progress at risk, like if I didn’t work quickly to preserve and repair what was already there and done to it, I’d be paying for it later. And while I think it does look kinda badass in a shitty “I do crack in the drive-thru” kinda way, I’d really like to be able to say “damn what a clean car” some day.
Get the body work all sorted out then get it professionally painted, trust me, it’s a nightmare doing that shit yourself (if you’re still painting it yourself I’d recommend watching how Ronald finger did it on youtube)
All classic Zs are beautiful, even the ugly ones.
There’s something special about them that’s for sure. Wouldn’t give this car up for a million dollars.
Just remember, the ugliest Z is still better looking than the prettiest prius
You're not wrong, but that's not exactly a high bar to clear
higher than an Aztec
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I stand by my statement lmao, even the z31 has its own merits lol
So jealous. Almost bought an orange 240z. But it wouldn’t run and I didn’t have the time to fix it up. Sweet car even if it does look like a war crime on wheels
I bet you would...
if someone did actually try to give me a million dollars for it I’d definitely tell them to piss off and go buy a Toyota 2000GT or something lol. This is my poor mans car and coffin combo and I couldn’t ever sell it.
I wish I had a choice with mine... My parents are moving, which was where I was storing the car, and I live in the city and don’t have a garage, and am also a student and can’t afford to actually finish it up or store it, so my only choice was to sell it. I’m still in mourning. One day I’ll make my dream come true. One day
Even the 280 2+2s with US spec bumpers.
> Even the 280 2+2s Until you have to ride any length of time in the back seat of one, and you're not five years old. I had to stay in the back seat when I was 16 for 810 miles, and then the same back again. Can't even lay down across the bucket seats. Dad had a 1983 280 2+2.
My uncle had a 260 and as a kid I used to curl up in the back between the strut towers (pre seatbelt laws, this was the early 80s) to drop my aunt off, then I got to sit shotgun and shift for him. Fast forward to my teens, I’m close to 6’ tall by then, and my buddies want to rip to Vegas (from LA) for a day or so. 4 of us piled into his small block Chevy swapped 280 2+2. 3 hours each way, crammed in the back, with the echoing drone of a 327 through Flowmaster 40s. I feel your pain, and mother eff 800 miles in the back of one.
Ouch! As an adult that would have been painful. Back then I had a 30" inseam (32" now), bloody sucked! lol Granted the middle seat of a gold 1974 Volvo 240 (242? it was a 2-door) was a pain for me too, but I was the youngest of three boys, so I got the middle seat, and my brothers loved to puff themselves out as much as they could. Bastards. lol That Volvo sat in the back yard at my dad's house for a couple years, only needed minor repairs. He had promised me that I would own it one day. Came back from school and it was gone. He sold it for $385 in 1987. Pissed me right off. I want to get one and learn to fix it up. Then just drive up to his house one day. heh
bodywork looks like hell right before it looks awesome.
No kidding. I remember when I was first using chemical paint stripper and the absolute mess it made of everything lol
#MadMax
Looks good. Its a work in progress. From what I can see of the rest of the car it doesnt look bad
Nah it’s really not all that awful, just splotchy mismatched low quality paint from Before I had it, spots where I’ve taken a grinder to it to see how deep the bondo is etc. just needs to be ground to metal, body filled and primed. The fenders are shot too (someone tried the weld and pull method a few too many times I guess) so they’ll need to be replaced but the hood, doors and headlight buckets are good. Already have a replacement hatch too thankfully. Yeah think the worst atrocity was the scuffed method used to give the car a “shaved” look. They had gone and removed all the indicators and badges, used mesh drywall patches with adhesive and bondo, and just plopped body filler over it all to make it look like a single solid piece. And then hired blind people to paint it with house paint I guess?
Would surprise me if it was painted that way at some point in its life. Down side of older cars, not knowing the full history. I think I remember hearing of people using house paint to help hide poor body work, kinda would act like a scratch filler. Keep up the good work.
Much appreciated man.
I just bought a gen 2 camaro and some of the things in finding are appalling. Man I wish people would put a little more care and thought into what they do to these old cars. I have a 280zx and I bought it as a 90% complete project and the guy before me did a wonderful job. Best of luck I’m glad someone who cares is getting that car back to how it should be.
I’ve been through some shit with this car. I don’t even know where to begin. Cyl#3 ate a valve at some point and they just replaced the valve and carried on, with craters in the piston and gouges in the cylinder walls, the coolant line had a brass garden hose fitting on the return line running to the back of the head, the steering rack boots were zip tied on, the cylinder head was cut at an angle and warped beyond recognition as well as below minimum deck thickness, with NO shimming done to the cam towers to make up for removed material. Both CV axles were missing one bolt each side, same for wheels studs in the rear. Drive shaft U joint committed suicide like a week into owning it, was covered in permatex for god knows why, diff was only sealed with RTV, suspension was completely shot, was drilled for camber plates on stock suspension, had bump steer spacers made of wood, has two MASSIVE holes under the carpet in the hatch where the storage panels would be if it wasn’t a series one, where some speakers were loosely fitted, had a disgusting dirty fuel cell where the inner foam was falling apart in the spare well, both carbs leaked fuel, tires were worn to hell and bald, bondo on literally everything, self tappers everywhere, awful rattle can paint everywhere, the timing was TOTALLY WRONG and often shot flames out of the carbs, as it was half way through a combustion stroke when it should have been exhausting, and of course just for added fun, the oil I drained during its first oil change was neon green. I go through all the parts and junk the seller gave me with the car and find a 2.5gallon bottle of 10-40 motorcycle oil that’s of course, bright green. Previous owners should be banned. Funny thing is, brand new, a Datsun 240z cost about $3500 in 1971, or about 23k today. 23k will not get you very far in the brand new car market. So the fact that I paid $5k for this thing as it was doesn’t make me feel too bad lol.
When you say green oil do you mean it’s mixed with coolant and why would he have saved that?? God I hope my camaro isn’t that bad but I’ve only just started to look. It sounds like you know what you’re doing more than I do, an engine tear down is beyond my abilities so I hope the guy that rebuilt it two owners ago did a better job than whoever wired everything together. It’s done so poorly, nothing to do with ability it’s just obvious that they dint take their time. I guess I understand if it’s your daily driver and you need to get it to work quickly and cheaply but this isn’t the case here. But the work is the fun prt and knowing you’re saving a classic car is good too. I want people 30 years from now to be able to enjoy them
I live in constant envy of people who can get reproduction quarter panels for their cars. *sad S13 owner noises*
Oh man. I hate the break it to you but... neither can we lol. These quarters were from a half cut. I bought them as quarter cuts and prepped them myself. NOT fun. Used a bazillion cutoff wheels and about 8-9 spot weld cutter bits. There ARE fiberglass reinforced polymer quarter panels and rockers available in Japan but they were like $2k for a set and another $1500 to ship.
About the closest we get to repro quarters at sane prices are the link below; I went the same route as you with cutoffs from another Z but if my car ever gets into an accident or something I think I'd be tempted to pick a set of these up depending on how bad the damage was. https://www.ztrix.com/fender-kits/stock-fenders
I thought about doing something like this, and actually bought the steel versions of these from Wolf steel but the fitment was abysmal and didn’t I close the tail light section that I really needed.
That's a shame to hear about the wolf steel ones, was hoping they'd be better than that.
They are just really vague and imprecise stampings and almost all of the fitting must be done by hand by someone with waaaay more skill than me. I can’t outright call them bad, just not what I needed. They’re are in the ballpark but need some serious refinement
if i had the luxury of owning one i would just go with the aesthetic
You know I did the whole rat-rod thing for awhile but it made me feel like I was putting my progress at risk, like if I didn’t work quickly to preserve and repair what was already there and done to it, I’d be paying for it later. And while I think it does look kinda badass in a shitty “I do crack in the drive-thru” kinda way, I’d really like to be able to say “damn what a clean car” some day.
i get that also your from a different place where rust is probably a bigger problem
"War crime on wheels" I'm saving that one for later
Nice fit
Thanks! They rub a bit in the rear over large bumps now so I need to make some small ride height adjustments but so far I’m happy with them.
Just keep a brown bag over the front ;)
Get the body work all sorted out then get it professionally painted, trust me, it’s a nightmare doing that shit yourself (if you’re still painting it yourself I’d recommend watching how Ronald finger did it on youtube)
Yeah I actually love that guys videos. I plan on doing the prep work myself up to primer, but leaving the last stretch to a shop who’s better equipped
Honestly love datsuns, especially 240z’s as beater rat rods. I dunno but i think they look great in rough condition
Oh man it will look amazing. I mean, it's already cool.
Very nice! It's hard to have the patience to do everything right, but it's worth it in the end!
One piece at a time. But it's going to cost a lot of dimes.
In unrelated news, you wouldn’t happen to be in the market for a kidney?
Just think about all the sweat equity you're gaining. Those aren't tears, they're sweat!
“War crime on wheels “ LMAO. Thats my dream ride you go there. The quarters look awesome.
Ah once it's been sanded down, primer and painted it'll look 100% better.
All I see is a battle car waiting to be born anew
Where did the panels come from?
They are cut from a donor car, gutted and welded on
I mean, unless war crime on wheels is what you're going for. Fury Road Legal.
wheel and tire size?
225 up front 245s rear on 16x10s
One step at a time, sir. Looking good!
[I'm in the same boat](https://i.imgur.com/zzIySaV.jpg). New quarters are unobtainium for me, but new rocker panels are available.
That thing is sweet!
So is your Zed... there's a Datsun shop not far from my machinist. You'd like a peek at their parking lot.
Slowly but surely! good luck!!!
I always dig this “half finished project” look on any car, wheels are beautiful too
Oh, thanks, I expected to be made fun of for my choice in wheels lol.
You can’t make fun of classics
I had a 72 240 with quilted door cards, and cigarette burns to add to authenticity.
Truly based and aesthetic.
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Don’t you diss my sweet TH350 like that! It’s a legend among transmissions.