New Z owner. 2 q's about paint?

[RJK]

Greetings all. First off, a quick introduction. After looking for a long time, the "right" 240z came up for sale locally recently. Originally a Texas car, it has no rust whatsoever. It was a 1972, with all the mechanicals restored. A new 2.8L short block, rebuilt head, new carb/suspension/brakes/radiator. Interior parts were either restored, or originals were in great shape. All in all, the only thing the car needs in paint and a windshield. So we came to a fair price, and I took it home last week. Very excited! So here's my question:

 

1-are there any tips to pulling the front and back glass, and locking mechanisms? I want to do this gently, and find there's always helpful tips from folks who have done it. The side markers popped off nicely, but I can't reach the hatch button from the inside without removing the soft panel(plastic pins are holding it in place, do these just force out with a flathead?), and don't wanna destroy anything in the process. door hardware; is there an easy way to pull these?

 

2-paint color: it is currently a matte black "quick spray" over factory orange. it'll need some prep work attention, but I am not planning on going down to bare metal, just the right prep of the chip areas, and pulling glass and trim where applicable(any tips appreciated!). here's my big question:

 

should I repaint in factory orange, or is this finally the chance to do a dream color, Lancia Stratos bronze? i know that factory orange would probably be better for the cars value, but i'm wondering if since this isn't a true "numbers matching" restoration, maybe now is the time to take a little liberty with the orange? if you have a vote either way, i'd love to hear it. thanks for any help you can offer!

[jfa.series1]

On your question 1: Remove the hatch latch (external bolts/screws).  To get to the hatch lock mechanism, remove the inside panel.  The plastic rivets have a core that must be pushed thru before the rivet can be lifted out - expect to lose some of the cores, replacement rivets are available.  The hatch lock is secured in place with a rectangular "C" clip of spring metal.  The door locks are similarly held in place with spring clips.  Remove the inner door panel and with the window up you might be able to access the locks for removal.  If not, you're looking at removal of the window frames and windows to get to the handles and locks.  Some folks can pull windows without removal of the frames, I'm not that talented.

As to front and rear glass, GENTLY remove stainless trim from the gaskets with a flat blade - putty knife, plastic body trim tool, ...etc.  It bends VERY easily, be careful!  If the gaskets are aged and brittle its best to cut them out. Do not use any kind of blade against the edge of the hatch glass to lever it out of the gasket.

If you're going this far, consider removing the quarter glass altho that requires removal of interior panels to get to the retaining screws.

 

[jfa.series1]

While you have the inside hatch panel off, why not remove the dovetails and the rest of the hatch hardware - dovetail down stoppers, latch striker. license plate light screws.  This is what those parts can look like if completely refurbished with fresh plating.  Even if you don't replate, you can still get everything thoroughly cleaned of dirt, grease, paint spray before you put it all back together.  The same goes for the door latches and strikers.

[RJK]

Thanks Jim!!! I think I've got it all dialed, save for:

 

-door handles. it looks like i can mask these off and still shoot clean at the door recess. yay or nay?

-chrome along the door/window. do those pop easy like the drip edge?

 

thanks!!!

[jfa.series1]

34 minutes ago, RJK said:

Thanks Jim!!! I think I've got it all dialed, save for:

 

-door handles. it looks like i can mask these off and still shoot clean at the door recess. yay or nay?

-chrome along the door/window. do those pop easy like the drip edge?

 

thanks!!!

You can probably mask the handles, suggest you try to block them in the up/lifted position to get max. access to the recess in that area.  The SS strip along the door top is the squeegee strip, it can be popped up and off the door.

[RJK]

killer. thanks!!!

[grannyknot]

Like Jim says, put a new blade in your utility knife and first carefully cut the SS trim out, it is sooo easy to bend, then cut the glass out.

I say, paint it any colour your heart desires, your car, your joy.  How about some photos of your new toy?

[Mark Maras]

1 hour ago, grannyknot said:

Like Jim says, put a new blade in your utility knife and first carefully cut the SS trim out, it is sooo easy to bend, then cut the glass out.

 

 Any more than light pressure on the glass after you think it's cut loose will end catastrophically. BTDT

[RJK]

man, this car is EASY on tear down! wow! door squeegee chrome piece came out super easy, as did rear window. the door lock is really the only piece that i'm up in the air on trying to pull or not, but i might as well. it'll make for a really clean paint job.

 

i decided i'm going for it. the bronze is just too cool to me, and i think this is an appropriate body style for it. now i just need to figure out what color code is gonna be the closest... here's a pic of the car before i started pulling the trim off. exactly as it came to me.

[uk66fastback]

Lovely looking car before the paint ...

The bronze will suit this shape very well and besides, there's too many 918 orange cars about!

[RJK]

13 hours ago, uk66fastback said:

Lovely looking car before the paint ...

The bronze will suit this shape very well and besides, there's too many 918 orange cars about!

agreed! i love the 918 orange, but i think this is the right car to deviate, since it's no longer a true matching #'s car anyway.

 

oh, one more question: easy way to remove the headlamps?do the two screws you can access from the front come out? they look to me like calibration screws.

[Mark Maras]

 There is no easy way to remove the headlights. Jack stands, pull the wheels and crawl into the fender wells and remove the screws (use penetrating oil) that hold the headlight buckets in place. Anti-seize the screw threads when reinstalling. You'll be glad you did. The screws visible on the outside are adjusters.