Rebuilding the Cursed 240z

[Gumball]

 

41 minutes ago, bisc63 said:

There's only one real way to build/display this model: gettin' t-boned at an intersection.

Lol, either that or recreate the scrap yard in the photos! 

[Gumball]

So some more progress, slow but steady, the parts on the car now are not glued yet there just sitting there for fun. The brown and orange paint is probably the closest two paints i could possibly buy right now, also some of the body panels are still a bit rough and will need a good sanding/repainting in spots. Its kinda funny though, my dad ended up seeing this and it was eerily nostalgic to him for sure! guess im hitting the nail on the head. Soon im going to be taking a look at my other 240z kit and most likely borrowing the door handles and stock rims off of the kit as my next 240z build is most likely not going to need those.

Edited July 30, 2020 by Gumball

[magicmustang]

3 hours ago, Gumball said:

Nice car! What year? My dad also mentioned to me that his carb air filters had more of an oval squarish shape to them, do you know what kind of air filters were on your car? just curious for reference pictures when i decide to make them.

It was a 1973 240Z. The air filters on the Weber carbs were after market rectangle ones to fit side draft 2 bbl Webers.

Edited July 31, 2020 by magicmustang

[Gumball]

On 7/30/2020 at 9:56 PM, magicmustang said:

It was a 1973 240Z. The air filters on the Weber carbs were after market rectangle ones to fit side draft 2 bbl Webers.

Thanks! hopefully i can make something close to some generic rectangle air filters.

[Gumball]

On 7/26/2020 at 1:51 AM, Spottedlaurel said:

Good progress there, shame about the bonnet - had it been painted previously?

I'm just about the start building a Z and it takes a little bit of inspiration from the story of your dad's 1:1.

If you need some more inspiration, my dad remembered recently that when he sold the car to the auto wreckers, the wreckers made the executive decision to fix up the car and sell it... So its possible the car can still be out there! Considering its a early Z car, I cant help but feel that the car might still be out there, but considering it was cursed its possible that sometime after my dad owned it, it finally to turned into a toaster. The one thing that is interesting though is that my dads car had a sunroof which I dont think any early Z cars came with, so if the cars still out there just looking at the roof would prove it. Never the less i did end up cutting the sunroof into my build as well, its starting to really come together now. I did finally bust into the other box, swapping some parts that i dont think id use in my next build.

[Spottedlaurel]

3 hours ago, Gumball said:

If you need some more inspiration, my dad remembered recently that when he sold the car to the auto wreckers, the wreckers made the executive decision to fix up the car and sell it... So its possible the car can still be out there! Considering its a early Z car, I cant help but feel that the car might still be out there, but considering it was cursed its possible that sometime after my dad owned it, it finally to turned into a toaster. The one thing that is interesting though is that my dads car had a sunroof which I dont think any early Z cars came with, so if the cars still out there just looking at the roof would prove it. Never the less i did end up cutting the sunroof into my build as well, its starting to really come together now. I did finally bust into the other box, swapping some parts that i dont think id use in my next build.

Good call on using some parts from the other one, no point making life too difficult. It looks like it's coming together very nicely.

I imagine the sunroof must have been an aftermarket item, I don't recall them being offered as standard or a factory option, certainly not here anyway.

Some impressive details and authenticity in the kit, does it all go together OK?

[Funkychiken]

With the exception of the bonnet, the kit seems less cursed than the car it's modelled after

[Gumball]

4 hours ago, Funkychiken said:

With the exception of the bonnet, the kit seems less cursed than the car it's modelled after

Lol, i dont think you would be saying that if you had to paint this brown, the body turned out fine but as far as the other body panels not seen in the photo, they are not fairing out so well.

[Gumball]

17 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Good call on using some parts from the other one, no point making life too difficult. It looks like it's coming together very nicely.

I imagine the sunroof must have been an aftermarket item, I don't recall them being offered as standard or a factory option, certainly not here anyway.

Some impressive details and authenticity in the kit, does it all go together OK?

Yeah im starting to think that the kit i have right now is the Tamyia 240Z rally kit, while the other is the Tamiya 240ZG kit. Both kits however seem to be fully interchangeable, which works out quite well for me! However i still plan on building the other in the future, only far less stock meaning that i can rob small things like door handles, and wheels.

For the sunroof, my dad did mention that his was done custom. The sunroof made me kinda curious as they are difficult to get rid of, meaning that if his car is still around it would be super easy to spot it just by looking at the roof.

[Gumball]

Just another update, all the little stuff is finished. I might perhaps add some more detail to the body but so far iv painted on the chrome trim, added the real trim, and some other touch ups here and there. its almost done, i think all that really remains is the hood.

[doorsovdoon]

That's looking really good. Very detailed kit.

[Spottedlaurel]

Coming together very nicely.

[Gumball]

Thanks guys! i just need to get the hood done and i can finally put this under glass. The cracked primer has been a pain to get off so far, its been stripping for a few days now, hopefully its clean. I would like to paint the door cards, but the colour i decided to use for the interior was one i custom mixed originally for my Merc 500k Kit and I don't have enough to paint the door cards, so im keeping them black. My dad mentioned that the hood in the picture was a replacement hood off his 1977-78 ish 260z, and that the brown paint on the hood did not match the rest of the car, so it looks like i need to buy some more paint.

[Bugatti Fan]

A bit of a labour of love there Johnny, but looking good so far. Your model looks big on the bench. Is it the 1/12 Tamiya one? I think they may have done a rally version as well. Going down in scale, did Revell make a 1/24 or 1/25 scale kit way back?

The 240Z was a nice looking car in its day, but from what I have heard they were rot boxes unfortunately.

Edited August 12, 2020 by Bugatti Fan

[Gumball]

 

On 8/12/2020 at 12:22 PM, Bugatti Fan said:

A bit of a labour of love there Johnny, but looking good so far. Your model looks big on the bench. Is it the 1/12 Tamiya one? I think they may have done a rally version as well. Going down in scale, did Revell make a 1/24 or 1/25 scale kit way back?

The 240Z was a nice looking car in its day, but from what I have heard they were rot boxes unfortunately.

Yes indeed the one you see in the pictures is a Tamiya 1/12, and it is indeed the Tamiya rally 240z. The rally 240z came with the more common 240z front end, triple Weber carbs, seats, tools, roll cage, etc. However the Tamiya 240zg you see incomplete in the box comes with all the stock 240z parts, as well as the pointy 240zg front end. The kits are patically the same and exchanging parts between them isn't a problem at all.

Now im not sure what all Revell has made over the years. Im yet to come across any 1/24-25th scale 240z, although i have seen a few on this site before.

Hearing the story's from my mom, any of the Nissan's my dad has owned were either full of rust or always breaking down. Really is a shame because as far as i have heard most classic Nissan's performed great, while looking sharp. I would just sum up owning one as a labour of love on par with owning any classic that may be a little less common. However i would still love to own a 73 GTR, a Sunny, or a 110 fastback.

[Spottedlaurel]

On 8/12/2020 at 5:22 PM, Bugatti Fan said:

Going down in scale, did Revell make a 1/24 or 1/25 scale kit way back?.................

Yes, they did a 1:25 version as a road car and BRE racer. Monogram did a basic 1:24 280Z in road and race versions, same bodyshell as the 240/260Z - I'm building one at present and it's a decent little kit. Fujimi, Hasegawa and Aoshima all offer various versions, but strangely despite doing it at 1:12 Tamiya never made one at 1:24.

2 hours ago, Gumball said:

Hearing the story's from my mom, any of the Nissan's my dad has owned were either full of rust or always breaking down. Really is a shame because as far as i have heard most classic Nissan's performed great, while looking sharp. I would just sum up owning one as a labour of love on par with owning any classic that may be a little less common. However i would still love to own a 73 GTR, a Sunny, or a 110 fastback.

The rust element is true of many of the 1:1 Datsuns I've owned (approaching 40 saloons, coupes and estates, but no Z/ZX), breaking down much less so which is a major reason why I like them. I can own an interesting and unusual old car and use it with a reasonable degree of confidence. My current 1980 Laurel is pretty solid, although my '73 1200 has had a lot of repair work in the past (and will need a lot more one day) and my '88 Sunny is starting to go in a few places.

At least the small plastic ones don't have that issue......

Good luck with getting it finished Johnny.

[Bugatti Fan]

Thanks for the feedback guys.   I seem to remember looking at American auto mags at about the time when many 240's were on the road and seeing a number of ads for retro engine fits and tuning gear.

[Gumball]

So life is busy... But i managed to fit some time into completing the glorified crash magnet memorial. My dad got a little too exited and jumped the gun, taking the kit off the table and putting it in the display cabinet before i could take pictures of it. The hood ust wouldn't cooperate, so i ended up taking the hood out of the 240ZG box and using that one instead (it was also already painted the wright colour) Ill be putting it under glass soon, but for now here is the progress.

[Gumball]

Its officially complete!  

 

[Eddie Cremer]

Great job on the weathering and torn-up paint.  Excellent work.

[Dann Tier]

Absolutely BRILLIANT details!!!!

[Gumball]

Thanks guys