Frank B is no stranger to Z Car Garage having been a customer for more than a decade. Since 2006, we helped build his Fuelie Z, a modified 1972 S30 with ZCG Big-Brakes and CV Axles, 231whp fuel-injected L-series and 6-speed Nissan 350z transmission:
To accompany his hot rod Z, Frank searched for an early S30 project for a stock-style restoration. Before the Z car craze caught on with S30’s fetching big money (ie Bring a Trailer), Frank found an unmolested early Series 1 240z (11/69 production: HLS30 00486, Original Engine: L24-2189):
“For SN 486, a friend found it on Craigslist and sent me an email. I actually got it for a good price. What I found when I went to inspect the car was a well worn early z with all but one of the original badges, no real rust other than under battery tray, and some spare parts including a perfect dash, stroker crank, spare transmission, set of period 2-piece wheels… A nice project kit somebody had lost interest in and left behind. I arranged to store with the seller for a month while I got myself ready to start the project.”
Restoring the “Original Z”
Frank is a very capable man, and jumped right into the disassembly with a plan to perform a total ground-up restoration himself.
“I immediately pressure washed off gunk and started taking things apart. I also ordered a rotisserie, fabricated mounts to attach at the bumpers, and removed everything that wasn’t welded to the unibody. I was pretty careful to bag up assemblies and keep fasteners with the parts they belonged to… lots of detailed work and hundreds of baggies later, I was ready to start restoring stuff!”
Frank connected with several folks in the Z Car community he had met through the years to source parts for the restoration:
“Les Cannaday was able to get reportedly the last of the butterscotch interiors (vinyl bits) made for the Z restoration program Nissan had done. I had Patrick Shank (Patrick Restorations) completely go through all gauges, main and other wiring harnesses, and acquired the correct radio for that car (some other electrical bits too). Norm Murphy got all of the plating business and had or helped me find some hard to find items like a NOS cover for the wiper motor, a new double lever choke/throttle assembly, a pair of the early taillights, etc.”
The stripped body and all associated body parts went to Andy Schenk for painting while on the rotisserie…Frank was also able to get a complete set of stainless brake and fuel lines made to the original pattern, greatly simplifying restoration of these systems.
“Once the bottom was done, I took the car off the rotisserie and put it back on it newly restored suspension and the restoration of the inside began (other than the headliner which I also installed while on rotisserie while car was upside-down). The detailed assembly of the car took a couple of years total since I prioritized getting the car right over getting it done…”
The end result of Frank’s efforts was an outstanding restoration. You can see more in-progress pictures in the gallery.
Finishing Touches With Z Car Garage
At the very end of his restoration, Frank realized for that last 10% it was time to call up his friends at Z Car Garage. He brought his freshly restored, low-vin S30 in for us to sort out all the little things.
He had an early transmission that was making noise so we replaced it with another unit fro our supply. We replaced his lower control arm and moustache bar bushings. The entire underside of the car was nut and bolted, and his work was double-checked. A ZCG exhaust was also installed.
Key items in the restoration process were reviewed: verifying brake lines, clutch lines, bleeding the hydraulics, and adjusting the rear brakes.
Dyno Tuning
Frank identified what was needed to make a “Canada” car without the emissions controls of US models. He restored all of the “smog” stuff so it can stay with the car and be put back on one day if desired… but fully original wasn’t what he had in mind for the drivetrain…
The engine went to Dave Rebello for the 2.7l “purist” build: this is the original L24 block stroked (E31 head) so numbers still match while gaining more power. Otherwise stock when you open the hood:
We installed a Pertronix ignition, changed the plugs to hotter range, adjusted the valves, set the timing, installed a new alternator and starter and made the wiring at the distributor look OEM. Rob performed a street tune on the dyno yielding 179hp/172tq to the wheels:
We also installed an LSD to help get the newfound power to the ground effectively. Next items on the list were electrical issues and interior bits. We got the turn signals operational and replaced the flasher. We went through his interior and got all the missing rivets and cowl clips. Kick panels were installed. The clevis pin in the clutch-pedal assembly was removed, sanded and lubed to eliminate any noise.
Time to Enjoy The Ride!
With minor sorting complete we focused on a few aesthetic items like final adjustments of the hood and doors. Frank’s stock wheels were mounted/balanced, ensuring the “D” hubcaps were secure. He had lowered the car from stock height with Eibach springs, so we did our trim to the fronts for a nice stance.
16×7 Panasports were installed for daily driving:
Frank did a fantastic job on this Z:
It was great to see Frank driving, here he is on the freeway en route to the ZONC Annual Car Show.
“Three years from when I started the project, I took the car to Rob Fuller to help me bring it back to life… after a couple weeks of dealing with somewhat funky carbs and an improperly rebuild transmission, SN 486 was on the road again and, maybe not surprisingly, drove like a new car from the beginning… everything worked as it should and 80mph freeway travel was delightful. We do drive the car… for now it is being kept as perfect as possible for shows. Here’s where it resides in one of my shops in Oregon.”
Here is a short video of Frank in his Z and his wife in the Fuelie Z, enjoy!
The “Original Z”
If you are wondering about that license plate… “Ur” is a slang German term for “Original”.
“The first Audi Quattros are referred to as the UrQuattro. Since the legend of the z includes some design work by Goetz, a German designer reportedly hired by Katayama-san to develop initial concepts, I took the liberty of naming my z the “Original 240z” or UR 240Z for short… got the same plate in Oregon.”
Frank and his wife retired to Oregon and we miss the enthusiastic couple. It was our pleasure working with Frank and we appreciate him being a customer and friend of Z Car Garage.
LONG LIVE THE Z!
More pictures in the gallery below
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