Project: track 240z

[Dave]

well boys and girls, as many of you have heard, I recently acquired a 1973 Datsun 240z. I wasn't really looking for a Z since I have so many other projects going on, but a friend found it and the price was rediculously low, so I took the dive. It has a stock L24 engine with a 4 speed manual tranny. Performance-wise, the car is completely stock but appears to have been pretty well maintained. The car started right up when I test drove it, and it felt very strong. I drove it another 45 minutes home without any problems and had a massive grin on my face the whole time. It isn't immaculate, but it is far from some other Zs that I've seen. It has a little rust in some parts and the paint sucks up close, but IMO, it's a perfect canvas for a vintage racer/track car.

When I went home for Christmas, I tried to start it and it wouldn't actually fire up. I didn't have my tools or the desire to wrench on it, so I left it at that. One of the carbs is stuck open and there's a bit of ghetto-fabulous rigging in the engine bay, so I figured I'd wait until it's in my garage with my manuals so I could take my time with it.
I intend to upgrade the rear brakes to calipers, as well as putting bigger calipers and rotors and better pads up front. The interior will be gutted and a rollbar with harness and race seats will be installed. I intend on replacing all of the guages with modern ones more pertinent to the car's uses (water temp, oil temp, oil press, etc). It will eventually get coilovers and a fully done suspension, but that will probably happen in steps. The body will probably see very little work, other than cleaning up rusty areas, some fender flares, a motorsport front lip, and a whale tail. The transmission may eventually be swapped for a 5-speed from a later Z, but the 4-speed will be sufficient for now. Likewise, the differential may also eventually be traded out for one of the later LSD units. Finally, the stock engine will remain for now. It will probably see a set of headers, some carbs, and potentially a cam, depending on how much I like the engine. Other options that I am considering are:
-SR20DET: effectively moves the center of gravity to the point that it is a mid-engined car
-7M-GTE: can be purchased for incredibly cheap and can reliably hold horsepower levels that I am seeking. Basically a cheap way to some decent power, and has been done many times before.
-2JZ-GE: if I do this, it will be the engine out of my supra if/when I do a TT swap. This way I'll know the full history and condition of the engine. It would require a lot more custom work than I'm interested in doing right now, but it's an option.

No V8 will be seen in my car, so there is no need to even talk about putting an SBC in it. It's just not my style and not very fitting for what I intend for this car, IMO.

And now, for what everybody has actually clicked on this thread for, the pictures.

a few shots of the engine






some interior shots






and I saved the best for last :-D







Now, the catch. The car is at my mom's house, and probably will remain there until I tidy up my place and figure out a few things. So, this thread probably will not be "updated" for a while. I just wanted to get a thread going and put up a few pictures for your guys to drool over so I wouldn't be teasing you so much :-). Enjoy!

[Mike]

mmmm so jealous. it's no secret that a 240 is my realistic old project car dream

[JustinG]

i absolutely hate you, i love old school Zs and would love to restore one some day in my life. I will be following this buildup religiously.

[Feersty]

Very nice man. Who had it before?

[Andy]

Awesome! Awesome!Awesome!

When are we going to see this thing on a track? Got any sort of time line? I assume you know carbs as well as any of us-which is next to nothing.

[Goodspeed]

w00t, congratulations on the new Z, awesome car that I admire a lot as well. Lose the bumper + JDM headlight covers + flares and panasports, and it will be amazing



I look forward to reading about your progress! You have two of the coolest cars in the club now, in my book :wink:

Edit: How about the L28 turbo motor from the 280ZX?

[PDenbigh]

Awesome Dave! That looks like a ton of fun. I can't believe how good of shape it's in. I like your plan of attack too. Barring anything catastrophic I think it's a very sensible (as race car builds go) plan.

Let me know if you need help on it!

Pete

P.S. I will admit that pic Goodspeed posted is pretty darn hot.

[ScottyB]

you find some awesome project cars, Dave. that's in pretty amazing shape for something that came from '73!

i like your engine possibilities too. i wonder how much a VQ35DE out of a 350z goes for.... :lol:

[CaptainHenreh]

No V8 will be seen in my car, so there is no need to even talk about putting an SBC in it. It's just not my style and not very fitting for what I intend for this car, IMO.

You're making the baby Jesus cry.

You know, mad power can be made with a 2.8, good cam, and webers. No need for crazy engine swaps. I mean, how much power do you want?

God. It's so sexy. I want to hump it.

There's this abandoned Z car near my house, it's just sitting there with some rear 1/4 damage...it's all I can do not to leave a note in the mailbox.

[REED]

dang that looks really good considering the rust buckets that those usually are. First step is to get rid of those wheel covers - ick.

I can't wait to see how this progresses

[Dave]

I can't really define a timeline right now since it really depends on how quickly I get rid of a few of my cars and how much money I get out of them, plus I don't know exactly how much disposable income I'm going to have from my new job. I should have a much better timeline in a month or two.
Goodspeed's pic is eerily similar to my plans. I haven't decided if I'm going to do headlight covers, but the flares, panasports, and front lip are all on the list. I still don't know what color I'm going to get either.
Thanks for the compliment, Pete. I tried to be as realistic as possible when setting my goals. Exterior treatments have never been a real big thing for me, but I want to make this car look good and be stupid fast too. I just hope I have the drive to get it all done. My first goal is to get it reliable enough to take it out on track and define what needs to be done first.
The VQ would be a nice swap, and it would sound absolutely sick, but I imagine the pricing for one of those engines is still pretty high. I really only want up to 150-200 whp to start with. That should propel a 2300 lb car pretty quickly and give me something fun to work with while I sort the other stuff.

[BLINGMW]

neat! I envy your artique vehicle plates. 8) 3 years to go for my 318 :lol:

[Goodspeed]

I still don't know what color I'm going to get either.

I'm envisioning the BRE 240Z right now, but perhaps with more MM colors? Red and Universal Gold perhaps?




Though I think dark blue or silver look best on the Z

[Mike]

white looks great.

[REED]

neat! I envy your artique vehicle plates. 8) 3 years to go for my 318 :lol:

hahha thats awesome

[CaptainHenreh]

Am I the only person who goes here and says,

"What does a 24 oz have to do with track days?"

[Evan]

I want to hump it.

[ScottyB]

i'll have to upload a video later of a 240Z that was at a trackday i went to last year at RA. what a sound.

[Jeff]

There are two of them siting up at Hillside Salvage. I just got the hood vents off of the red turbo for $20. Thats a nice looking car Dave. A friend of mine in highschool had one, they are a blast to drive.

[Feersty]

Panasports were made for that fuckin car. Does anyone know what came of Karoith's Datsun?