Restoration is back on track (with a lot of help)

[Mike]

Yea, it's been fun getting this baby across the finish line.

The cones will be repainted the correct color after the car is done.

The Mikuni carbs will be installed later as well. We decided to put SU's on it until all of the other kinks are worked out.

I also decided to wait on the MSD ignition until we get the car running. However, I am going with 280z ignition. No more points!!

Yep, the rear panel will stay yellow. I actually like it.

The car should be ready by the end of Feb. The guys at the Ztherapy shop are going to enter it into the Portland Roadster Show on March 2,3,4. It should be a lot of fun. All of the local NW guys need to show up!!!

The electrical bugs are all ironed out, fuel system is in place, and interior is totally complete. This weekend the exhaust, carbs, and engine will be started !!!

[beandip]

PS: I also wanted to mention that engine is a little more than I originally thought I'd get. It's a L28, balanced, blueprinted, flat-top pistons, high compression, and a modified cam. While it's not extreme, it is a bit more engine than standard. :rambo:

Mike , is this the engine that was in the 2+2 that you had ? Just wondered . Your Z really is looking good . I saw it last week when I was at ZT . When do you expect it to be road ready ? Gary

[Mike]

Car is 99% complete. Today we drove her and had some fun tweaking the triple SU carbs !! I uploaded picts to my gallery, and here are a few attachments for a teaser. Here's a link to my gallery:

I also took a few movies of the first drive and will try to get them online soon.

PS: Gary, no this is not the same L28 engine. This is a flat-top piston engine that has been blueprinted and balanced by a local race shop.

[Mike]

What have you decided to do with the color match problem on the cones? I think it would be better to just spray them in place.

I'm going to ask the painter to remove the cones and the airdam so he can fix the paint mismatch. He did an excellent job on the first round, and I have no doubt he will be able to match the paint on the second round.

[Arne]

Maiden drive this weekend, Mike? What direction will you go? Maybe I'll bring mine out and meet you somewhere?

[Mike]

I would go out this weekend, but, we are planning to detail and make the car a lot prettier for the Portland Roadster Show on March 2,3,4.

http://www.portlandroadstershow.com/roadster1.htm

Do you want to come to the show? I'd love to see all of the NW guys there!

[Zs-ondabrain]

hey Mike, is that the YELLOW Matchbox 240Z in the passenger side seat?

I Got 2 of them from Fred Meyers of all places. Looking good.

[ZSaint]

I looked your car over yesterday and it is a keeper. The boys did a nice job on your Z. I envy your tri-power! I look forward to having both of our Z's at the Roadster show. It will be a good show for Datsun.

[Arne]

I agree. I haven't made it up to the shop to see it in person, but the pictures make it apparent that the job is first class all the way. The quality of the work really drives home just how fast the factory was cranking them out in '71. Because as impressive as the originality of my red car is, it's obvious that yours is much nicer. The assembly line people could be a bit sloppy...

I don't think I'll be able to make it to Portland for the show, but someone needs to take pictures!!

[Mike]

Hi guys, of course I will be at the show with my camera. I love to take pictures of Zcar events, especially if this is the first event for my car !!

Zsaint, Steve mentioned that someone else was attending, but, I didn't put 2 and 2 together until you mentioned it here. I saw your car at the Wilsonville Nissan get-together over the summer and was so jealous! It's a beauty and I can't wait to see them in the show side-by-side!

I hope the average hot-rodder will accept Nissan/Datsun into that world with open arms.

[Mike]

As promised, here are some videos. Unfortunately I don't have the video system working on our site (yet), so, these are hosted at youtube.

EDIT: Videos moved to the next page. Sorry for the confusion.

[nwcubsman]

Hey Mike,

Congrats. You must be feeling great after all this time. I've seen a bit of the progress and it does look nice. It is good to have friends.

Hey Loren,

Hope you're feeling good yourself these days!