240z.drago.com.au - Adventures of rebuilding a 1973 Datsun 240Z

I signed off my last post with

I hope you are appreciated and admired.

I knew where my car was headed for and I am sure that she will be appreciated and admired. So, where did my car end up? Who bought it? I’m very happy to let you know that Gosford Classic Car Museum purchased the 240Z to be a part of their collection that will open to the public sometime this year!

Penny and I were over the moon that the fine folk at the museum would want to add our project to their collection. It also means that we can visit and see it whenever we head north. We’ve received a couple of photos of the 240Z in the museum and think that it looks fantastic. They have also posted a photo or two on their Facebook Profile.

So, a new story has begun for the 240Z, as a piece in a collection of fine automobilia.

The dream has been accomplished. When I set out on this journey, I wanted to take a Datsun 240Z that was a good base and bring her up to top condition. It may have not been concourse condition, but it was to a level that I was happy with. I had fun doing the restoration, getting my hands dirty and seeing all the hard work that had been put into the car come together.

But, seeing her sit idle in the garage was a sad thing to see. My life has taken me in a different direction than when I started this journey. Life is like that. You set some goals or make some plans and you achieve things. It’s good to recognise though, when the plans are not taking you were you want to go. The plans change. I decided that it was time to let her go and to allow someone else to appreciate her.

It took a while for the right buyer to find her. But they did and I am very happy with where she is headed. I packed up the car and all the spares that I had left over from the restore and waited for the day that Alans Unique Car Carriers would arrive to take her to her new home.

And today, was the day. The Car Carrier was too big to fit in our street. The driver asked if I could drive the car to the closest main road to make it easier for him. And that last little drive, she drove the best that she had ever driven. Gear shifts were smooth, acceleration was lively and the note sounded so sweet. But I know I made the right decision.

It’s been fun. Good-bye to our Datsun 240Z; I hope you are appreciated and admired.

After a burst of activity, I’m calling it done. I’m happy with the car and I have done all the things that I wanted to do on it… for now. I think I’ll just let the pictures speak for themselves.

Over the last few weekends, I’ve been busy working on the last bit’s an pieces that I want to do on the Z.  The biggest task of all has been the wheels.  They looked a bit tired and in need of some attention.  I had already polished the bulk of the rims, but the centres and the cut-outs needed some attention, as did the caps.  I took all the caps off and gave them a polish.  The plastic-chrome is a little chipped in places, but they look a heap better than they were.  I sanded back the centres of the wheels and the cut-outs and I decided to paint them matt black.  Once I painted the first coat, I felt that the black was too much of a contrast to the polished alloy.  I mixed a custom colour of a dark grey and gave them a second coat with that.  The grey looks much better than the black.  Penny also went out to Lilydale for me to get a new set of lug nuts.  All up, they look very neat and tidy now.

The gear box has been a little crunchy over the years.  Talking to a few other Z enthusiasts, they suggested that I change the gear oil.  I visited Oil Store and bought some Redline Superlight and an oil pump.  I drained the old gear oil and refilled it with the Redline.  I went out for a spin and noticed a little difference.  It wasn’t until I left it for a week and drove it again that I noticed a bigger improvement.  You need to treat her gently, but the oil has gone a long way to making things that much smoother.

The other big thing that I have done is ordered lots of bits and pieces from Motorsport Auto.  I’ll update The Shoping List with the details.

She’s just about done.

I spent a few hours in the garage today to finish off what I could and to make a list of the bit’s and pieces that I have left to get.  It’s coming together really nice and looks great now that it is almost complete.

The main thing that I did today was to clean up any over spray from under the car.  Given that I am close to the end of the project, I took the opportunity to also go through the many boxes of left over nuts’n’bolts and grouped them all into one container.  There was no need for them to all be separated into their own boxes any more.

Once I get the last lot of pieces in, I’d say she’s done.