We're bringin' back the Flat Tops!

[240Z73]

Rich, I'm 100% sure about the color being gold, but these are silver.  What do you think?   

[240Z73]

Oops, I mean I'm not 100% sure about the correct color being gold.

[motorman7]

On 9/24/2019 at 5:15 PM, 240Z73 said:

Oops, I mean I'm not 100% sure about the correct color being gold.

I can not say that I have seen silver decals.  I checked on my '70Z and even that is still gold in spite of its nearly 50 years of age. I thought maybe the gold could fade to silver, but not what I have seen.

Bit of a late response here, sorry about that.  

[Zaspen]

Great thread with a lot of great info!  I have a plating related question.  Did the plating process ruin any rubber/plastic?  Did the vacuum advance still function after plating?

[motorman7]

@Zaspen That is really a good question as there is more to plating than just sending the parts.

1) Typically rubber does fine and is not effected by the acids.

2) Plastic is a little more hit and miss.  Some types seem to not be affected by the acids, others are affected.  I notice that the plastic on the end of the carb linkages do not handle the chemicals so well.  They come back very clean but seem to loose some of their shape.

3)  The bigger problem is 'Cavities'.  This is a big problem. The Vac advance would fall into this category.  What happens is the liquid that is used in the processing gets into the cavities of these parts and does not get fully rinsed or evaporated from the cavities.  Then, during shipping, as the box is manhandled and vibrated, the processing liquid comes out of the cavities and stains the other parts in the box. The cavity parts also corrode very quickly because this liquid is still inside.  So now, I send the cavity parts for plating separately from the regular parts.  Cavity parts get their own separate shipping bag with instructions to dry longer and ship separately (in bags) from the standard nuts and fasteners.

4)  Also, on the last vacuum advance I sent in (without special instructions) it came back with the internals very corroded.  So, I ended up using a vacuum advance with light gold paint to somewhat mimic the gold zinc plate.

 

Edited October 21, 2019 by motorman7

[Zaspen]

@motorman7 thanks for the info. This would explain why the fuel rail I bought from ZThearpy was very corroded on the inside and under the rubber caps that were on the ends. 

Do you think there is any way to cap off cavity devices? Obviously the rubber covers used by ZThearpy didnt work so well. 

I've been in contact with Sav On Plating and they seem easy to work with. I read in this thread about how you bent the fuel rails into 48x48" max sizes to get plated. Did you do this at SavOn? I didn't get the impression that they had a tank that big. I was told if it fits into a 5 gallon bucket I should be good. 

[motorman7]

The 48" tanks are at the local plating shop which I typically only use for quick turn around.  Personally, I think the plating at my local shop is too dark and not shiny enough.

I spoke with Sav-On and they said they could handle parts up to six feet.  This works well for the brake and fuel lines because then you only have to fold them in half.  This makes for a better bend location as the middle portion that you bend would be in the transmission tunnel and not very visible. Also, it is in a straight section which is easier to manage.

 Folding in 48 inch lengths is not as good as the bend now is in the engine bay area of the tubing and there are other bends in that location.  This makes things a bit more challenging.

The cost for the larger tank items is more than the 5 gallon bucket items.  These large parts get charged individually so the price is a bit higher.  I do however, really like the quality of their work.  They do a great job.

When i send in the fuel and brake lines, I will cap them with tight fitting caps.

[Zaspen]

All good info. Thanks 

 

[smola]

Hi I have two different power valves in my hands.  With and without green paint marks. The only difference is spring. Green marked is soft,  and valve can be closed with " lungs vacum ", the non mark is hard and can not be closed this way!  That is whay it stays opened on iddle,  and giving extra fuel,  making it Run rich. Two springs side by side

Edited April 8, 2021 by smola

[smola]

[Captain Obvious]

8 hours ago, smola said:

The only difference is spring. Green marked is soft,  and valve can be closed with " lungs vacum ", the non mark is hard and can not be closed this way! 

Datsun changed the power valve a number of times trying to get it right. I think the "green dot" version is one of the later versions.

Here's a pic of one of my power valve springs. It looks like the one from your green paint mark version:

[jayhawk]

 Small update on the Z:  Took it to the local America's Tire shop to switch the Bridgestone 175 80 14 tires I had on my slotted "mag" wheels to the Topy's I had recently restored.  They had a young fellow on staff that had a 280Z, and helped ensure nothing was bent.  (I had purchased some slotted rubber jack pad adapters to protect the frame rails which they used) Here is how they lifted it. 4 floor jacks.