Abandoned Datsun 240Z - Car Restoration (Episode 1)

This is the first episode from the restoration of a 1973 Datsun 240Z. In this video you can see the full disassembly of the car to the bare chassis.

This car was driven in Los Angeles California and only had one owner. It still had a California blue plate on it and the cars registration expired in 1983, so it was not driven anymore at least for 40 years. For all these years it sat in a garage in California until its owner died and then it got sold to a European car dealer, where I bought it from.
It seems that the previous owner was quite a fan of this car as he made a bunch of modifications and upgrades.

He installed some nice magnesium wheels, a rear spoiler, louvres, a roll bar, a racing mirror, a new steering wheel, new radio, speakers and equalizer. The original carbureters were replaced with triple Weber carbureters and also a new exhaust was installed. He also made a very common upgrade for Califonian cars, installing an air conditioning system. The car only shows 14'000 miles on the speedometer, but as it only has five digits, it's more likely that it has 114'000 miles.

The European car dealer changed a bunch of parts to make the engine running again. New battery, carburetor funnels, starter, ignition coil, completely new brakes, fuel pump and oil filter. He also put on new seat covers. I wish I could have bought the car directly from California, to have a real barn find car.

I really like the 240Z. It's a great classic Japanese sports car from the 70's. It's design is really flawless from front to rear and side to side. The shape of the car is really timeless. The car gives so much to customize your own style, so it's very rare to see a Z car that looks exactly like another one.

I plan on doing some slight changes, but nothing that can't be undone easily. So I definitely won't cut the fenders and install fender flares. I want to keep it original, but bring my touch to it. So the car has to be better than it came from the factory. I'll make a bunch of new ones for it, yet still in a time period correct design. What I can say, that the AC unit will definitely get kicked out. These old units didn't work efficient and they break very often and since it was never original or a dealers option, I have no problems with that. I'm more a open windows driver than a AC guy anyway. Both side markers will also be removed, as this was only a US thing. The Australian models had none of them either.

In the next episode will all dents be removed, all rust removed and all body work done. The car will get blasted with walnut shells and completely painted in a new color. I don't know yet which color I'm choosing, but I definitely plan on making an original Datsun color. That's a lot of work that needs to be done, so stay tuned for the next episode.

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