My car began its life in the U.S. on the new car sales lot of Liberty Datsun in Virginia Beach, VA. It was purchased on June 2, 1973 with only 14 miles on the clock by a retired USAF Captain from Chapel Hill, NC for the princely sum of $818.50. I discovered that the car had been repainted at some point, but was originally Orange (Datsun Color Code 918).
Powered by a rock-solid 2.4L Inline 6-cylinder motor, mated to a 4-speed manual transmission, in a lightweight body, my car was one of the last of the 240z's before Datsun stepped up to the 260z in 1974.
To see some more pictures of the car when I purchased it, please see below.
My Purpose
I have always loved the S30 chassis, defined by the 1970-1978 model years. This particular Z will be thoroughly revamped and prepared with the intentions of becoming a fast, agile, and fun road racing car. It is being built with the intent of being able to be used in driving schools, time trials, and it may potentially be used for historic racing. I will be going over every inch of the car to identify any weak points and hazards in an effort to display a clean, solid, low maintenance car that is capable of competing with some of today's modern machinery. Most importantly, I will attempt at maintaining a fairly low budget buildup, using used parts whenever possible without compromising safety or reliability, shopping carefully to prevent wasteful spending, and keeping my eyes out for bargains on parts I need.
My Plan
The car will begin with a stock powerplant consisting of the original 2.4L L24 inline-6, sporting the stock SU side-draft carburetors from an earlier model S30. The stock carbs from a 73 have a flat, round top and are not nearly as performance oriented as the dome-topped carbs from the earlier years. Power will be initially put to the ground using the stock 4-speed manual transmission and R180 differential.
Long-term power goals include an L28ET using an F54 block and P90 head, with the supporting modifications to reliably make 350-400 horsepower with minimal stress on the engine. This will send power to a 5-speed transmission and a limited-slip differential (probably an R200 case).
Brakes will be immediately upgraded to a rear-disk setup to get rid of the original drums, and I will also be upgrading the fronts. I will replace all of the original brakes lines with new and may add a larger brake master cyliner and proportioning valve to maintain a balanced system.
The interior will be completely stripped and outfitted with fiberglass racing seats, a weld-in roll bar/cage, and 5-point harnesses. I also intend on re-wiring the entire car to refresh/simplify the 35 year old circuitry, replace the guages, and install a smaller steering wheel. While the rollbar is being installed, I will also be having various reinforcements done on the chassis to improve rigidity and safety.
The car will receive coilovers and camber plates in the suspension department, along with replacing worn out bushings and putting on a larger front sway bar.
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| Some pictures of the exterior of the car when I picked it up. It appeared to be in pretty good shape with very insignificant rust. There were some bubbles along the wheelwell and evidence of rust on the fenders. The battery tray has significant fiberglass/bondo repairs done but overall the car is in very good shape. | ||||||||||
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| Here are some interior shots of the car. It had a complete interior and appeared to be lacking very few peices. Most noticable is the gaping hole where the stereo head unit has been removed by the previous owner. Unfortunately all of this had to be torn out to truly evaluate any rust issues. | ||||||||||
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| Finally, here are a few pictures of the engine bay at the time of purchase. Dual Weber's and some funky, faded semi-bling are the most obvious bit, but there's lots of potential waiting to be tapped. | ||||||||||
