Mrs DB's Money Pit

Since my wife wont make her own build thread here, I will. Hopefully she decides to join and update as she progresses, time will tell

Since she has been very suppportive of my rather expensive project, last November she was able to source her own.

There are rules I must follow and she checks me if i deviate like a savage.

1. it is her car and hers to rebuild/modify/restore as she sees fit
2. I am not allowed to work on it without her present and only if allowed
3. I am used to turn stubborn bolts and hold the flashlight.

With that out of the way, here's her project. An all original 1972 Datsun 240z 4 speed.


Once we got it home, gave it a quick cleanup to see what we were working with. Its a 10 footer, was originally orange but resprayed red a few decades ago, not much rust to be found. Floor pans are solid, but will need some love to get it shining again the way it should



First thing we did was diagnose any leaks we found. One obvious one was at the mechanical fuel pump. It would drip gasoline right on the alternator, so that was a fast track replacement before going further.

After that she changed out the radiator, removed the AC compressor, pulled the air pump and the entire emissions control setup wich was rotten and causing exhaust leaks. Replaced all the coolant hoses including the ones to the heater core as they were brittle and starting to leak and flushed out the mud that was the coolant in the system

Next was to tackle the carbs and the very obvious exhaust and vacuum leaks

Once everything was pulled from that side of the engine it was clearly apparent that the leaks must have been there for months and been tuned around. The block is actually painted blue but cant be seen due to all the soot and grossness that accumulated over the years



There were a few manifold studs that were snapped in the head which contributed to the exhaust/vaccuum leaks. They came out suprisingly easily. while we had it open we did the old school MS walnut media blast of the valves to clean up the intake and exhaust runners.

Over the next few weeks she took apart, cleaned and rebuilt the carbs, I wire wheeled the intake and exhaust manifolds just to clean up the looks of the engine bay and give the car a fresh look



She put everything back together and it actually looked pretty nice in the engine bay. Definitely jealous of all the room to work on it compared to the speeds and the RX


Finally it was time to tune the car, most of my carb experience is with small engines like lawnmowers. so this was uncharted territory for both of us, especially dual carbs with a balance tube and variable venturi's.


After a cleanup and some tuning (still not done at this point) it runs decently well and comes to C&C. Shes gotten more popular in the last 4 weeks than I have in the years Ive been going. Everone loves it and wants to see it/ has stories about when they had one or wanted one.



Just for fun, she crochet'd a tongue for it because why not.

Immediate plans for it are to send it to get the underside and engine bay dry ice blasted to just clean up 50 years worth of crud. replace the suspension, run through the brakes and get a boomer to help us get the carbs and timing right. Maybe swap the gearbox out for a 5 speed and replace the clutch just to be safe.

I know where I would take it next but, she wont tell me her plans. Until then I stand at the ready with a breaker bar and flashlight. Will update as we go further along.

 

No doubt, you are not holding the flashlight properly.

 

Nice! Always wanted a 240. Very clean! Man... Aside from all the red, Im very jealous of the cars in your garage.