1973 Rebuild

[wheee!]

+1 for Orange Pearl

[charliekwin]

I'd probably go with the Lambo orange, but the pearl is nice too. BMW third. Not a big fan of the half-red/half-orange choices.

[dmorales-bello]

The Lambo Arancio Borealis is an amazing color! It's very vivid but not crazy loud. The Lambo paints are extremely hard to touch up properly if the need arises (hopefully not) but the end result justifies the difficulty. I ended using Lamborghini Arancio Argos Pearl on my 280Z and I couldn't be happier with my choice even 2 yearts after the fact. Just happened to be that the base pigment for the Arancio Argos is almost excatly the same as the original 110 paint on my Z.  Here's a pic or 2 of the color.

[Matthew Abate]

Okay. So. I got my suspension bolt kit from Z Car Source on Tuesday and opened it up immediately.

My first issue is that nothing is organized. They just put all the hardware of a given size into baggies. I appreciate that they didn’t throw it ALL into ONE bag, but by comparison, Z Car Depot takes the time to sort hardware kits by where they go on the car and label everything. Now I have to go match my new hardware with my old hardware and my spreadsheet.

Which highlights my second issue, which is that it’s a damned good thing I started doing that because this hardware does not match in at least one critical area: the bolt that connects the lower control arm to the crossmenber is longer but has less grip length. This means you end up with threads on the crossmember wall rather than a smooth bolt shank. BAD NEWS.

Now I have to go through every single piece and make sure it’s the right size head, the right diameter, and the right length. I mean, I guess I would be anyway, but I’m nervous there are other mistakes.

Here’s the LCA pivot bolt.

My pops has a friend who sources small quantities of specialty hardware for Raytheon, so we’re going to see if that’s a path to a solution. Might be able to get a bunch if people are interested. I’ll let you know if it pans out.

 

[Matthew Abate]

Update:

 

Got a credit for the bolts and a line on some OEM ones.

 

This is what else is going on...

 

Those LCA bushings aren’t going anywhere.

 

[Matthew Abate]

Update:

 

 

This is the junk from one spindle pin tube:

[Captain Obvious]

Nice progress. Make sure you lube the crap out of the spindle pins and bushings before you put it back together. Last thing you want is to have to deal with the immovable spindle pin problem in the future!

[Matthew Abate]

That’s the plan! Anti seize on the pin. Red thread lock on all nuts and bolts. Everything is just test fit right now.

 

Question in that front: the pin should be very hard to get into the strut, right? After I used those barrel brushes I went to test fit it and found that it’s going to need to be pressed in, which makes me nervous about making sure it’s properly aligned to the little pin that keeps it in place. For some reason I had hoped it would slide in the way it does with the bushings on the LCAs.

 

 

Oh, and forgot to include this:

[Captain Obvious]

No, and no.

I would absolutely NOT use red Loctite on any of that suspension hardware. The "correct" hardware is all supposed to be the vibration resistant style and should not need any sort of thread locking compound at all. However... If you are:

1) uncomfortable relying on just the original distorted thread design, or
2) reusing stock hardware that has been reused a mystery number of times in the past, or
3) using aftermarket hardware that does not have a locking feature built into it

then I would suggest you use either the blue medium or maybe even the purple low strength thread lock. You most certainly do NOT want red as it will require a torch to take things apart again in the future.

And as for the spindle pin, it should NOT require a press to get the pin into the hole at the bottom of the strut housing. It should slip in nice and easy. Spin in the bore with two fingers, and fall out with gravity if you tilt the assy to the side. If you need a press to get the pin into place, then you have a burr kicked up inside somewhere, or you've still got rusty crap built up in the are and have more cleaning to do.

My money is on rusty crap as my past experience indicates that a wire brush is not aggressive enough to remove the hard thin layer of surface rust that builds up in that hole. Chemical means or a more aggressive mechanical means would be in order. Long (sacrificial) round file for example. The hard cast iron will probably ruin the file, but consider it a donation to the cause.

[Patcon]

What CO said!

Also are your spindle pins new or used? If they're used you can buff them on a buffing wheel to make them nice and smooth. Many times they will shine right back up if the chrome isn't compromised.

[Matthew Abate]

Glad I said something!

The pins are brand new from Z Car Depot.


Sent from my iPhone using Classic Zcar Club mobile

[siteunseen]

They have the blue in a gel pen type thing, I like that a lot. Works great on threads and won't drip or run off.

You'll soon see the zcardepot bolts are a little off.  My oil pump and water pump needed extra washers to tighten up snug enough to click my torque wrench. Great bolt set and you'll have the extra washers as he includes EVERYTHING. 

Edited January 21, 2018 by siteunseen