jkelly's 1972 Datsun 240z Rotisserie Restomod
Datsun 240Z (S30)4-page write-up
My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod
Read the full write-up at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
Photo: My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie RestomodA rusty 1972 Datsun 240Z rebuilt body-off into a turbo restomod
jkelly bought a 240Z with far more rust than expected and spent years doing a full rotisserie-style rebuild: fabricating frame rails and floor pans, stripping and repainting the shell, upgrading suspension and brakes, and fitting a built, turbocharged L-series engine with Megasquirt 3 control. The thread documents slow, methodical hands-on metalwork, paint, and wiring progress by a self-taught builder learning as he goes.
Specs
As stated in the original write-up.
- Engine
- L28 bored to 87mm with Moly-coated JE Forged pistons, ARP fasteners, turbo oil pump, T3/T04E Garrett turbo 50 trim 0.63 A/R, ceramic coated header and external wastegate piping, TiAL BOV and wastegate
- Engine management
- Megasquirt 3 with coil-on-plug and full sequential
- Front suspension
- New Eibach springs and Tokico Illumina shocks, Energy Suspension urethane bushings, new wheel bearings
- Brakes
- Rear disc conversion using a Maxima kit, MSA-rebuilt front calipers, custom PTFE steel braided brake lines
- Gauges
- VintageDash dash with Speedhut 4.5 inch and 2 5/8 inch gauges including GPS speedometer
- Interior
- New leather upholstery kit from Interior Innovations with seat covers and foam, new headliner
- Body
- Originally 904 white, color changed during the build
Parts used
Parts named as used in the original write-up, grouped the way the Parts page groups them. Where one of the shops we index lists the same thing for this car, it is shown underneath with a link to the shop.
Engine 3
- JE Forged pistons
Moly coated pistons with contact reduction and accumulator grooves fitted after boring engine to 87mm
In the shops
Forged Piston Set (4) ↗
Retro Engineering· £600.00 GBP
Kameari High Compression Forged Piston Kit ↗
JDM Car Parts· $1,269.99 USD
Kameari Performance 2111cc Forged Racing Piston Kit ↗JDM Car Parts· $966.99 USD - ARP rod, main, and head bolts/studs
Fitted during engine rebuild
In the shops
Cylinder Head Stud/Bolt Washer ↗James Paddock Ltd· £1.85 GBP
Head Stud Set, Jaguar 3.8 ↗
bpnorthwest.com· $359.75 USD
Cylinder Head Stud (Short) ↗ - Ceramic coated exhaust header with external wastegate piping
Fitted to the turbo engine build
In the shops
P&L Motorsports EJ20/EJ25 Exhaust Manifold Header + External Wastegate Bundle ↗
JDMuscle — Mazda MX-5· $1,701.95 USDMSA 3-2 TBC Coated Header with Smog Fittings, 73 240Z ↗Motorsport Auto (The Z Store)· $389.87
Exhaust Headers (SBC, Ceramic Coating) ↗
Belcher's American Auto Parts (UK)· $452.00 USD
Fuel & Ignition 2
- T3/T04E Garrett turbo 50 trim 0.63 A/R
Ceramic coated turbocharger fitted to the built engine
- TiAL BOV and wastegate
Installed as part of the turbo system
Suspension & Steering 3
- Energy Suspension master urethane bushing kit
Used to replace all front suspension bushings
In the shops
Energy Suspension Hyper-Flex Master Bushing Set, Red - 02-05 Civic ↗JDMuscle — Mazda MX-5· $244.31 USD
Energy Suspension Hyper-Flex Master Bushing Set, Red - 99-00 Civic Si ↗JDMuscle — Mazda MX-5· $289.56 USD
Energy Suspension Hyper-Flex Master Bushing Set, Red - 89-91 Civic/CRX ↗JDMuscle — Mazda MX-5· $300.39 USD - Eibach springs
Installed on front suspension rebuild
In the shopsEibach Progressive Spring Kit ↗
Eibach Helper Spring 75mm x 58mm ID ↗
C Bradley Motorsport· £24.90 GBP
Eibach Helper Spring 75mm x 64mm ID ↗C Bradley Motorsport· £37.15 GBP - Tokico Illumina shocks
Installed with new springs on the front suspension
Brakes 3
- Maxima rear disc brake conversion kit
Used to convert rear brakes to disc
In the shops
Rear Brake Pads for Maxima Caliper Conversion ↗
Z Car Depot· $14.99 USD
Rear Disc Brake Pads (Maxima Caliper Conversion) ↗Z Car Depot· $79.00 USD
Rear Disc Conversion Caliper Rebuild Kit (Maxima) ↗Z Car Depot· $10.00 USD - MSA rebuilt front calipers
Sent core calipers to MSA and received rebuilt fronts, painted Cyber Grey
In the shops
Caliper Pair, Rebuilt, Front ↗
Moss Motors – Triumph TR6/TR250· $0.00 USDCaliper Pair, Rebuilt (Front) ↗Moss Motors – Triumph TR6/TR250· $0.00 USD
Daimler SP250 Front Brake Calipers (Rebuilt) ↗
Sports & Classics· $189.95 USD - PTFE Speed Seal brake line and fittings
Used to fabricate custom steel braided brake lines
In the shops
Stainless Steel Braided Brake Line (PTFE) - Clear ↗West Wales Rally Spares· £9.60
Stainless Steel Braided PTFE Brake Line (No Cover) ↗
Fuel Line Compression Fitting 5/16" ↗bpnorthwest.com· $0.89 USD
Body & Trim 4
- Zedd Findings floor pans
Two floor pans purchased and heavily modified to fit the transmission tunnel
- 3M Rust Fighter cavity wax
Sprayed inside frame rails over POR15 for rust prevention
In the shopsWaxoyl Underbody & Cavity Wax ↗
MGOC Spares· £104.95
KBS Cavity Coater Rust Preventative Spray ↗Z Car Depot· $34.99 USD - 3M 08360 Ultrapro seam sealer
Applied to frame rail seams
In the shops
Black Seam Sealer ↗Z Car Depot· $27.99 USD - POR15
Painted onto front suspension and inside frame rails for rust protection
Interior 1
- Interior Innovations leather upholstery kit
New seat covers and foam ordered for the interior
In the shops
1965-1968 Mustang Coupe Interior Quarter Trim Upholstery ↗
John's Mustang· $99.95 USD
1965-1970 Mustang Convertible Interior Quarter Trim Upholstery ↗John's Mustang· $99.95 USD
Electrical 4
- EZ Wiring harness
New wiring harness purchased for the car
In the shopsWiring Harness ↗Moss Motors – Triumph TR6/TR250· $0.00 USD
Wiring Harness ↗Moss Motors – Triumph TR6/TR250· $0.00 USD
Main Wiring Harness ↗Moss Motors – Triumph TR6/TR250· $736.39 USD - Vintage Connectors
New connectors purchased for the wiring rebuild
In the shops
Vintage Air Heater Connector Fitting (240Z/510/620) ↗Z Car Depot· $11.99 USD - Speedhut gauges
New 4.5 inch and 2 5/8 inch gauges including GPS speedometer fitted to a new VintageDash dash
In the shops
Datsun Z Speedhut Gauges ↗
Skillard· $250.00 USD - Megasquirt 3 system with COP
Engine management system installed with coil-on-plug and full sequential setup
Photos
298 pictures collected from the write-up, in the order they were posted, shown from My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod. A picture opens larger here, with the way through to the page it is on.
jkelly · 2015-10-17T18:14:27Z 12this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2015-10-18T01:18:08Z 6this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2015-10-19T13:55:53Z 3this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2015-11-14T19:04:38Z 12this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2015-11-15T18:53:50Z 2this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2015-11-16T02:13:00Z 7this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2015-11-16T02:59:19Z 1this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2015-11-30T20:19:21Z 3this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2015-12-07T01:29:23Z 4this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2015-12-07T04:21:51Z 1this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2015-12-13T01:56:02Z 6this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2015-12-14T03:08:18Z 8this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2015-12-15T04:42:22Z 3this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2016-04-08T01:07:37Z 1this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2016-04-15T04:28:10Z 2this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2016-07-06T04:54:22Z 5this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2016-07-25T18:08:03Z 7this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2016-08-03T16:20:05Z 6this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2017-11-01T19:17:59Z 12this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2017-11-01T19:32:12Z 6this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2017-11-01T19:46:03Z 20this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2017-11-01T20:34:56Z 19this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2017-11-01T21:13:12Z 11this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2017-11-02T15:57:27Z 4this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2017-11-27T21:32:52Z 14this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2017-11-27T21:38:32Z 1this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2017-11-27T21:46:36Z 1this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2017-11-28T20:30:45Z 2this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2017-12-04T05:58:53Z 13this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2018-11-15T21:26:29Z 13this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2018-11-15T22:26:06Z 8this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2018-11-15T22:38:45Z 14this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2018-11-15T22:47:33Z 1this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2018-11-19T19:49:55Z 4this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2018-12-11T19:52:40Z 3this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2019-09-23T19:47:31Z 35this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2019-09-30T17:10:31Z 11this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2020-02-21T20:53:55Z 13this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
jkelly · 2020-03-05T21:10:31Z 4this post at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
How it was done
Starting condition
jkelly bought the 240Z from Northern California and towed it home, finding far more rust than expected once he began inspecting it, including rusted engine internals, damaged hood, and rotten frame rails and floor pans.
Frame and floor pan repair
Over the following months he fabricated patch panels, replaced sections of both front frame rails, and worked through two Zedd Findings floor pans, hand-shaping the transmission tunnel curves and welding in new floor pans, seat mounts, and a replacement battery box section.
Body panel and paint work
Panels were stripped and sandblasted, which caused warping that jkelly corrected with a stud welder and hammer and dolly. The shell and panels were then epoxy primed, high-build primed, and eventually sprayed in a new color, moving away from the original 904 white.
Suspension, brakes and electrical
He rebuilt the front suspension with new bushings, springs, and shocks, converted the rear to disc brakes with a Maxima kit, refreshed the front calipers through MSA, made his own braided brake lines, and began wiring with a new EZ Wiring harness and Vintage Connectors.
Engine build and interior
The L28 was bored to 87mm with forged pistons and ARP fasteners, fitted with a Garrett turbo, external wastegate, and TiAL components, run by a Megasquirt 3 ECU. In parallel he refurbished the steering column, fitted new Speedhut gauges, a headliner, and a leather upholstery kit.
A summary in our own words. The full account, with all its detail, is in the original write-up: read it at My '72 240z project -- Rotisserie Restomod ↗
Worth knowing
- Sandblasting body panels can warp and oil-can the metal, so it is better to use other stripping methods
- Spraying epoxy primer with higher air pressure gives a smoother finish
- Taking measurements and photos of every fastener before plating helps reassembly later