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72 Datsun 240z/Fairlady Z Restoration Build


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hey guys,

 

a few weeks back i posted a photo of my new R8 spyder, and someone caught a glimpse of a 72 datsun project i was working on. so finally got a chance to upload all the photos off my phone and share some of this build with you so far. it's still FAR from being finished and will take some time. but hope you guys enjoy the process so far…

 

after months of looking for a project Z car, i finally found one in reno, nevada. car only had 2 owners, and the owner i bought it from owned it for 36 of the 42 years of the car's history. owner had done an exterior ONLY restoration a few years back.

 

 

here's the car arriving at my house:

 

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i wanted to add 240ZG flares. while original OEM parts are hard to come by, these were accurate and exact reproductions from a small company in japan called marugen shoukai. the test fit already shows that it aligns to the body 97-98% spot on.

 

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interior tear down begins.

 

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unfortunately we find some rust issue areas. not totally a surprise. there are "normal" or common problematic areas with the 240z. specially in the driver/passenger floor panel areas. and sure enough…

 

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once the interior was gutted, i wanted to start trimming away the fender to accommodate the new wider wheels that would be coming in for the ZG flares… we trimmed away the fender and started the process of folding the inner well against the fender to weld them closed.

 

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spent the better part of the last year "hunting" and tracking down NOS (new old stock) parts and OEM pieces to replace on the car. obviously i prefer OEM parts, but in SOME cases, reproduction parts are only options available. unlike ALL my other car projects, MAJORITY of the money spent on this project is going into stuff NO ONE will ever see or give credit for. but i know at the end of the day the car was done right… and that's all that's important to me… OH, and all the US 240z badging will be ditched for the japanese "FAIRLADY Z" badging.

 

 

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spent a little time back at the house removing all the sound deadening material and GUNK from 40+ years of build up in the car to prep for paint… here's my wife helping me out with some dry ice…

 

 

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found an OEM "Z" horn button versus the US "datsun" version:

 

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finishing up the tear down for bodywork and paint prep:

 

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windows coming out…

 

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car getting picked up by my friend at Emergency Hookers to a friends house for bodywork and paint prep…

 

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home for the next few weeks as we prep the car:

 

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dash, pedals, and steering all removed…

 

 

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undercarriage has been cleaned up at this point, and now you'll notice the fender wells being coated in fender liner spray to help give it a cleaned up look and project it against the elements:

 

 

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I had two Z cars when I was younger. I had a 260Z and a 280Z. God I loved those cars. I will have another one some day. Interested to see how this build turns out. Good luck with it.

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JDM fender mirrors being fitted:

 

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rear fenders have all been welded shut and now cleaned up for paint:

 

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so much of the old school interior was simply held on with spray adhesive and vinyl. this makes for a headache trying to scrub all this crap off… here's a shot of the roof panel from the inside:

 

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ok… so here's some MINOR custom touches for my project Z. since i live in california (where is hardly ever rains), and i don't really plan on driving it IN the rain, i had the windshield wipers removed and the heavy motors (they weren't working anyways). with the wiper mechanism removed, i had the 2 holes where there wiper arms come out of the hood cowl shaved and removed. we cut metal pieces, welded them into place, and finished it off with a little body work.

 

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engine bay getting sand blasted and prepped for paint…

 

 

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interior all ready for paint…

 

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again, the rust areas on the driver floor well. this was the biggest problematic area…

 

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we cut away the rust areas, and dropped in a new piece of metal…

 

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we had to also shave and close up the holes from the US mirror mounting areas on the door…

 

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and it's now to paint! while the period correct white is a bit "off white"… i wanted to go with a PURE white… my friend has a custom white mix from house of kolor he calls "cocaine white" LOL….

 

paint goes down in the engine bay and interior first. (notice the black fender liner pops against the white)

 

 

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now onto the exterior:

 

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cars now back at home after paint for the SLOW and tedious process of re-assembly. this will take some time as i have to repair, refinish, or find new replacement parts before it goes back on the car…

 

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the US spec tail lights were ditched for these JDM specs (with amber lenses):

 

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once again, DATSUN and 240z badging being ditched for the JDM "Fairlady Z" ones:

 

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datsun hood emblem replaced with "Z" emblem:

 

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details like newly powder coated hood hinges:

 

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more details… metal hardware freshly coated in new yellow zinc finish:

 

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the ZG fender flares (along with the 432 spoiler and front air dam) will be painted in a satin/textured black… it'll resemble the OE "urethane/rubber" bumper texture…

 

here's a test spray:

 

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and now the ZG flares:

 

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and that's ALL for now folks… the flares are going to be mounted on the car this week. up NEXT on the "TO DO" list is the motor/engine rebuild, and suspension work. wheels should be coming in from japan in about another 30 days. i'll update time to time as new things go on this car. hope you guys enjoyed so far…

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Wow, awesome build! :icon_thumleft: Really enjoyed this thread, looking forward to the finished outcome. My cousin had an old 280Z when I was a little kid and I loved that car. You have a great taste in cars and modding!

 

 

PS - "Emergency Hooker" may be THE best name for a towing company ever. :lol2: Love it.

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Sweet build! Is there an LSx small bock in it's future?

 

I pray not. While the LSx swap is popular, easy and gobs of power, it doesn't do this car right.

 

He needs to rebuild the engine, do some small updates, and go triple carbs on it. :icon_super:

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Were you towing it with a paramedic truck? :lol2:

 

Sweet build! Is there an LSx small bock in it's future?

 

Owner of Emergency Hookers bought a paramedic truck that was no longer being used, re-wrapped it in his "Emergency Hooker" brand and now serves as part of his towing fleet.

 

As for the engine... NO LS... keeping true to the JDM theme on this build. surprisingly the car has it's ORIGINAL motor (matching numbers), so i think we're just going to completely break, rebuild, and add mikuni triple carbs to the build. should be good for about 260-270 HP.

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I hate you.

 

This looks awesome and am totally jealous! :lol2:

 

Thanks for such good posts, keep it up, i love those old cars.

 

 

LOL! Thanks man! I appreciate it!

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I pray not. While the LSx swap is popular, easy and gobs of power, it doesn't do this car right.

 

He needs to rebuild the engine, do some small updates, and go triple carbs on it. :icon_super:

 

 

DANG.... just posted my reply... at least we're on the same wavelength about the vision of the project! :icon_thumleft:

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Wow, awesome build! :icon_thumleft: Really enjoyed this thread, looking forward to the finished outcome. My cousin had an old 280Z when I was a little kid and I loved that car. You have a great taste in cars and modding!

 

 

PS - "Emergency Hooker" may be THE best name for a towing company ever. :lol2: Love it.

 

i LOVE hearing people share their "stories" with the datsun's (240/280's)... it's a very nostalgic car... people all have great memories of the car in some capacity (ie: my uncle had one, that was my first sports car when i was your age, etc)... even the DMV inspection guy was an OLD Z fan... he literally pulled my car out of line and brought it up to the front to do the visual inspection cause he loved it so much!

 

and yes... EMERGENCY HOOKERS is quite a memorable name... he's actually one of the premier southern california tow companies. does great work IMO.

 

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Honestly this is awesome! The older Z's are already becoming the next Japanese collector, can't wait to see it completed

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DANG.... just posted my reply... at least we're on the same wavelength about the vision of the project! :icon_thumleft:

 

You've got good taste and vision on the build. Keep up the good work.

 

I'm just glad it's not going to be ruined.

 

It's more fun to drive a slow car fast, than a fast car slow. Enjoy it!

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