Chubbs Posted January 6, 2015 Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 Hey guys thought I'd introduce myself. Name's Critter or Chubbs. Just picked up my first 240Z and new to the whole Japanese car world. The last 8 years of my life has been spent driving BMW M3's. I've owned multiple E36 M3's from stock to 700whp turbo to GTS track cars and a couple E46 M3's as well so I'm no noob to RWD performance cars but lately I've grown to love the styling and raw character of the 240Z. It's come time in my life to buck up and buy my own house so I was looking for something somewhat beat up that's cheap and can always use work if I am bored and looking for something to do. I work at a shop here in Denver and quite a few of the guys are Japanese car guys so I've got a lot of excellent skills around to help with whatever I want to tackle. Picked up this 72 240Z 4spd. It's got some rust on the floor boards, leaks like a siv, and rattles like a marching band but in the few miles I've driven it it's been an absolute blast. 10 minutes into owning it, it broke down on me and the jank Electric fuel pump the PO had installed took a shit. Ran to auto parts store and an hour later wallah back to running. I'll have to go over the wiring and wire it in correctly on a relay or switch but for now I just wanted it running! Pulled the tail light surround and sprayed it black as I think they look much more aggressive not body colored So now it's time to do some research on wheel/tire fitment with the ZG Flares (Not entirely sure mine are ZG, may sell these and buy the actual ZG flares). Trying to decide between 15's and 16's but it looks like either way I'll go with 9" wide and a 25mm spacer on the rear and 12mm spacer in the front? Plans are to fix the floor boards, slowly start to tackle the body and have it resprayed, do some suspension. Thinking Tokico struts and Swift springs cut down to fit ride height as I'm too poor for the full T3 coilovers right now. Any idea on spring rates? Then wheels/sticky rubber and some brake work and drive the piss out of it. Here's a quick picture of my daily driver And a quick picture of some of the work we do at the shop Have so much to learn on these bad boys, don't flame too hard if I can't find info and ask a question for the millionth time :) Quote Link to comment
Mattndew76 Posted January 6, 2015 Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 Welcome and thanks for the pics. Nice score on the Z. Quote Link to comment
skyblue Posted January 6, 2015 Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 Sweet ride. Amd welcome. With a daily like that you can't be too poor. Lol. When you do the floors could you take lots of pics? I have to do mine also and curious what other people do. Quote Link to comment
dgi Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 Welcome to Ratsun! Let me encourage you to get that electric fuel pump controlled by a relay system that cuts power to the pump in emergency situations. Pump should run on the starter circuit and ignition power only when the engine has oil pressure. I mention that type setup in my discussion of my 75 280-Z in this post http://community.ratsun.net/topic/64021-75-280z-finally-out-of-the-garage-and-a-few-pictures/ and how it failed me just a few days ago. All is good now though with a relay designed to control a fuel pump. I can give you more details if you need it. Two fittings, an oil pressure switch, a relay and relay harness, a few connectors and you are done. But, FYI, a 72 240-Z came stock with a mechanical fuel pump. If someone had installed an electric pump, you should investigate why. Maybe even return it to the stock configuration. Probably easier than worrying about a electric pump failure. I had one exactly like your new one last 66 days, 6 days past the warranty. dgi 1 Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 '73s had electric pumps in addition to the mechanical to make them more reliable. It was common to add these to earlier cars. I have a reference that the earlier ones might have an optional electric pump but ... '73s for sure. 1 Quote Link to comment
freb_mc Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 Just a tip I learned from personal experience, you don't want to run the electric fuel pump in that location. I burned up 3 on my 260z i had mounted in the same location before talking to a local engine builder. He told me even the cheaper fuel pumps will last a lot longer when located closer to the fuel tank, because after they sit over night the fuel can bleed back to the tank and then the line is essentially dry the next time you start, and the pump has to pull all the way from the tank to the front of the car. He also told me most fuel pumps work better as a pusher from the back to the front and it creates more strain on the pump to pull that far all the time. After I relocated that cheap fuel pump to the back of the car i never had a fuel pump problems, and I ran a $25 pump from Oriellys for a long time after that. So not trying to tell you how to build your car, but just offer some advice to keep it a bit more reliable so you dont have to worry about that pump again. And that looks like a great start of a 240z, and a great look bmw. Have fun with the Z Quote Link to comment
skyblue Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 More pics of z!!! Please. :) Quote Link to comment
Chubbs Posted January 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 Sweet ride. Amd welcome. With a daily like that you can't be too poor. Lol. When you do the floors could you take lots of pics? I have to do mine also and curious what other people do. Ha trust me, they're cheaper than you'd think. It probably won't be till later spring but of course I'll take pictures. Welcome to Ratsun! Let me encourage you to get that electric fuel pump controlled by a relay system that cuts power to the pump in emergency situations. Pump should run on the starter circuit and ignition power only when the engine has oil pressure. I mention that type setup in my discussion of my 75 280-Z in this post http://community.ratsun.net/topic/64021-75-280z-finally-out-of-the-garage-and-a-few-pictures/ and how it failed me just a few days ago. All is good now though with a relay designed to control a fuel pump. I can give you more details if you need it. Two fittings, an oil pressure switch, a relay and relay harness, a few connectors and you are done. But, FYI, a 72 240-Z came stock with a mechanical fuel pump. If someone had installed an electric pump, you should investigate why. Maybe even return it to the stock configuration. Probably easier than worrying about a electric pump failure. I had one exactly like your new one last 66 days, 6 days past the warranty. dgi That's actually a great idea! Just a tip I learned from personal experience, you don't want to run the electric fuel pump in that location. I burned up 3 on my 260z i had mounted in the same location before talking to a local engine builder. He told me even the cheaper fuel pumps will last a lot longer when located closer to the fuel tank, because after they sit over night the fuel can bleed back to the tank and then the line is essentially dry the next time you start, and the pump has to pull all the way from the tank to the front of the car. He also told me most fuel pumps work better as a pusher from the back to the front and it creates more strain on the pump to pull that far all the time. After I relocated that cheap fuel pump to the back of the car i never had a fuel pump problems, and I ran a $25 pump from Oriellys for a long time after that. So not trying to tell you how to build your car, but just offer some advice to keep it a bit more reliable so you dont have to worry about that pump again. And that looks like a great start of a 240z, and a great look bmw. Have fun with the Z Yep! This is where the other one was and just to get the car on the road and put some miles on it It'll retain there. There is oil all over and it's finally warm enough out I'll probably pressure wash engine today and find exactly leaks but looking like the front of the head gasket in timing chain area so will probably hold off on fuel pump relocation and do it all when pull the engine to rebuild-reseal More pics of z!!! Please. :) I'll post some more once she looks somewhat presentable Quote Link to comment
nusevad Posted January 9, 2015 Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 congrats! I come from the BMW M3 world as well. 08 e92. TBH I enjoy driving my Z much more than the M. Feels like a time machine everytime I step in it and its so much more raw. Looking forward to more pics Quote Link to comment
afbrian13 Posted January 10, 2015 Report Share Posted January 10, 2015 We have a 87 325i vert that my wife's been driving. Its fun but not as much fun as my 76 Z. She's kinda gotten bored withit too, so off it goes soon and I get more z parts! Your z looks almost identical to mine when I got it, but wish mine had the flares. Nice score! Quote Link to comment
Chubbs Posted January 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 congrats! I come from the BMW M3 world as well. 08 e92. TBH I enjoy driving my Z much more than the M. Feels like a time machine everytime I step in it and its so much more raw. Looking forward to more pics Score, love the sound of the S65, only problem is the chassis is too bloated and updated :( We've built a couple of pretty rad E9X M3's over the years! We have a 87 325i vert that my wife's been driving. Its fun but not as much fun as my 76 Z. She's kinda gotten bored withit too, so off it goes soon and I get more z parts! Your z looks almost identical to mine when I got it, but wish mine had the flares. Nice score! Gotta love the E30's. Being a Bimmer head I was all about the swapped E30's being the most raw and greatest driving things out there. The 240 has really opened my eyes the last couple of miles! On another note, had a nice day today and took her for a drive up a local mountain road that is the Nuerburgring of Colorado's front range (Lookout Mountain). Heading up shifting between 2-3 the clutch pedal gave crunching popping sound and stopped working. Tried to get the car turned around on a steep 2 lane road but too steep to push forward and turn around. Ended up coasting downhill in reverse in the downhill lane for a mile or so. The look on other drivers faces was epic LOL! got it turned around and pointing forward, rev-matched the gearbox into gear and limped to a parking lot. 45 minutes of waiting for a friend, the rod fromt he master cylinder had un-threaded from the link on the clutch pedal so a pair of pliers and I was on my way. Threads got a little fubar'd and I HIGHLY doubt the way it's setup is factory so if we get a good day this week will drive car to work and figure out a better linkage at the shop. Quote Link to comment
Speedtospare Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 Looks like a good project car. Very nice welding on the pipes. Quote Link to comment
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