We're bringin' back the Flat Tops!

[wheee!]

Are your half shaft boots banded? I’m still waiting for the banding tool to arrive so I can get mine done.

[Zup]

What finish did you useonr the grill?

Do you intend to use the same for the rear finisher panel and wheel covers?

[motorman7]

1 hour ago, wheee! said:

Are your half shaft boots banded? I’m still waiting for the banding tool to arrive so I can get mine done.

Yes, boots are banded and painted black.

 

1 hour ago, Zup said:

What finish did you useonr the grill?

Do you intend to use the same for the rear finisher panel and wheel covers?

Sprayed with Dupli-color 'Dark Shadow Gray' then clear coat 'matte clear'.  Yes, I will use this for the rear finisher panel.  Car will retain the original dealer supplied mags, but I do also use this for  hub caps.  Les Cannady at Classic Datsun Motorsports used to sell this custom made, but he says it is no longer available due to California paint standards.  The Dark Shadow Gray and matte clear is now what he currently uses.  It is pretty close to the original.

[Careless]

On 1/26/2019 at 11:37 AM, Zup said:

Good stuff here!

Interested to know, what were the charges were for the dry film coating of the throttle shafts?

The EGR valve plating looks great! Did you have them plate the entire assembly or did you find a way to disassemble the diaphragm mounting portion from the cast iron base?

Have any of the plated items with internal cavities (tubing, housings, etc.) exhibited bleed out from the plating process that discolored or degraded the surface plate finish?

@Careless described this issue and his use of silicone and plugs to prevent it, as he had the plating done for a restoration he was doing.

I'm late to the party, but just to expand on the idea; I actually swiped some RTV over the holes with my finger, let it cure, then tumbled it for a short while to remove any fine residual RTV on the face where I smeared the holes. The servo housing thickness was enough for the RTV to grab hold of and stay in place.

Once plated, I picked the RTV plugs out, and picked the RTV around the threaded plunger hole that I smeared there as well to prevent acid and plating solution ingress from that area too.

You can buy silicon tapered plugs that might fit just as well, but the cone shape is not ideal for retaining grip for holding them in if they are being waved around during plating agitation, and you'd have to RTV the plunger shaft anyway.

[motorman7]

On 3/6/2019 at 6:50 AM, Careless said:

I'm late to the party, but just to expand on the idea; I actually swiped some RTV over the holes with my finger, let it cure, then tumbled it for a short while to remove any fine residual RTV on the face where I smeared the holes. The servo housing thickness was enough for the RTV to grab hold of and stay in place.

Once plated, I picked the RTV plugs out, and picked the RTV around the threaded plunger hole that I smeared there as well to prevent acid and plating solution ingress from that area too.

You can buy silicon tapered plugs that might fit just as well, but the cone shape is not ideal for retaining grip for holding them in if they are being waved around during plating agitation, and you'd have to RTV the plunger shaft anyway.

I actually tried this (may  have read it on one of your posts on a different thread) but I experienced mixed success.  The RTV stayed put on some items and not on others.  Not sure why that was. Your 'in house' tumbling is probably a big help since you can see if the RTV held or not.

 

Got the transmission and drive shaft cleaned up and installed.  Also picked up an Exedy Clutch kit from Rockauto. Installed the throwout bearing on the sleeve and installed on the transmission along with the fork.   I will drop the motor in next weekend.

Had to throw in an engine bay before pic just for reference.

[Patcon]

What drove the choice to mate the engine to the tranny in the car? It is so much easier to do out of the car but a little more challenging to place in the car as one piece

[motorman7]

11 hours ago, Patcon said:

What drove the choice to mate the engine to the tranny in the car? It is so much easier to do out of the car but a little more challenging to place in the car as one piece

Two reasons really: 

One, I have always done it this way.  I actually find it pretty easy to do it this way and can usually do the whole process by myself.  The only tricky part is the final mate in getting the trans shaft splines to line up with the clutch plate splines.  Usually just a little rocking of the motor does the trick.  Also, I am not lifting as much weight.

Second, my garage ceiling is a bit low and not really sure if I can get the height I need when the two are mated.  I can touch my garage ceiling when standing on my toes, so maybe its 8.5 feet high.  I haven't tried it, so I can't say for sure, but I am thinking it would be an issue.  My driveway is sloped, so that wouldn't work as an alternate location.  Would have to move to the street to get flat surface and not really sure that I want to do that, cause then I have to push it up hill into the garage.

[Patcon]

2 hours ago, motorman7 said:

Two reasons really: 

One, I have always done it this way.  I actually find it pretty easy to do it this way and can usually do the whole process by myself.  The only tricky part is the final mate in getting the trans shaft splines to line up with the clutch plate splines.  Usually just a little rocking of the motor does the trick.  Also, I am not lifting as much weight.

Second, my garage ceiling is a bit low and not really sure if I can get the height I need when the two are mated.  I can touch my garage ceiling when standing on my toes, so maybe its 8.5 feet high.  I haven't tried it, so I can't say for sure, but I am thinking it would be an issue.  My driveway is sloped, so that wouldn't work as an alternate location.  Would have to move to the street to get flat surface and not really sure that I want to do that, cause then I have to push it up hill into the garage.

That all makes sense. I have always found it a pain to get the input shaft engaged so I avoid that process if possible.

[motorman7]

Got a few more bits and pieces done, prepping for the engine install on Saturday.  Got the transmission cover cleaned and painted.  Also got the Flywheel surfaced.  I finished polishing the two rear mags and got the Bridgestones mounted.   Installed those on the rear.  Cleaned up the clutch master cylinder and cleaned up the Brake booster.  Really looking forward to getting the motor in.  @jayhawk is going to drop by and help out with that.  Motor should look pretty nice once in the engine bay

[Zed Head]

So shiny...  I want to touch it with my greasy fingers too.

[Sunline]

Gotta say I just love your work!!  Jayhawk will have himself a brand new Z.  Better than new   

[jayhawk]

1 hour ago, Sunline said:

Gotta say I just love your work!!  Jayhawk will have himself a brand new Z.  Better than new   

More than just a brand new 1973 Z, I'm counting on it being my Fountain of Youth.  It will make me 24 years old again!  (No pressure, Motorman...:-)