We're bringin' back the Flat Tops!

[Gav240z]

15 minutes ago, Patcon said:

It always amazes me to see rust like this, even on a clean Z!!! What does he do to prevent rust between the body and the tail light panel?

I would/am going to use KBS rust seal (similar to POR-15) and some good seam sealer to prevent moisture getting under the slam panel area. Gotta be better than the factory effort of nothing - hence why they rusted out!

[motorman7]

37 minutes ago, Patcon said:

It always amazes me to see rust like this, even on a clean Z!!! What does he do to prevent rust between the body and the tail light panel?

I think that area will just be just the regular primer and paint for the tail light panel area.  I will POR-15 the underside and then use undercoating over that.

[jayhawk]

2 hours ago, pontiacguy said:

Motorman7

Thank you yea that helps im assuming the fuel pump relay in the pic  is the one with the stamping on the cover

as FSM as posted above shows no relay-  maybe they installed a really at the dealership when they added the elec. fuel pump

the reason i didnt post my question in the electrical section is because the car you are restoring is close to my 73 which is originaly a southern cal car and close build date  mine 12/72 and mine also had the added on dealer air conditioning

that said--- did they use any relays for that?

the other reason is i figured you had the harnesses out of the car --so following the wires would be easier than in the car

all in all if you would be kind enough to identify-- all-- the relays under the foot well that would be a major help not just to me but all the '73 owners out there

the car looks good back from the blaster wish new england cars had the minimal issues that one does  ( thats why i bought a calif Z)

thank you agian Joel

Joel, a couple of minor notes:

1.  this car never had the dealer added air conditioning.  I personally added an aftermarket a/c in 1974 or 1975, a couple of years after I bought it.  

2.  The electric fuel pump (and fuel line insulation) was added by the dealer in May or June of 1973 as part of something called the V3 mod sent by Datsun to the dealer. If there is a relay for the electric fuel pump, it would have been added as part of that V3 mod done by the dealer.   

While the car has spent almost all of its existence in California, I bought it new in Washington State. (the only winter it spent in Washington was in indoor storage while I floated around the South China Sea and Indian Ocean courtesy of the US Navy...). It did spend 3 winters in Atlanta (1983 to 1986).  It has spent all the rest of its time in California. 

(Several years ago I ran across a shady businessman who told me that he would buy cars in the Midwest, ship them to California, register them here, then ship the back to the east coast and sell them as California cars! This was before Carfax though.)

Hope this helps.  —Jayhawk 

[motorman7]

Got the timing gears and chain installed.  Also installed a new timing chain tensioner.  Cleaned up and sprayed the timing chain cover with high temp aluminum paint and got that installed.  Also got the front pulley cleaned and painted and the oil pan.  Will install those in the next couple days after they dry.

[240Z73]

 I just met the owner of this car (very nice guy!) and would like to meet and talk to Motorman7 one of these days!  I just finished a full restoration on my 73!  Keep up the good work!

[motorman7]

On 8/17/2018 at 2:20 PM, 240Z73 said:

 I just met the owner of this car (very nice guy!) and would like to meet and talk to Motorman7 one of these days!  I just finished a full restoration on my 73!  Keep up the good work!

Glad you got to meet Bob.  With all the Z stuff going on, I am sure that we will run across each others paths one of these days.  Great to hear from you.

..........................................

Got the Oil pan on.  Also cleaned up and installed the oil pump.  Got the distributor shaft slot lined up at the 11:20 location.

I broke down the front and rear suspension, also bagged the small stuff and sorted  components.  I have a box set-up specifically for the parts that will be powdercoated.  I did a basic wire wheel clean on about 85 percent of the parts that need to be plated.  Got those sorted (silver and yellow zinc) and bagged so I can ship those to the plating shop tomorrow.  I have two large USPS boxes full of parts to send out.  I will send the remainder of the parts out along with the longer fuel lines in a separate shipment.  Pics are below.

Check out the brake disc...a solid home for the spiders.

 

[motorman7]

The motor is coming along.  Got the valve cover bead blasted and painted with matte clear.  Also installed the water pump, engine mounting brackets, and smog and alternator brackets.

[motorman7]

Got the suspension parts all disassembled and ready for powder coating. The powdercoater is great as they will sand blast the parts before coating.  No need to do a thorough clean on these.

        The difficult task here was taking out the old bushings from the lower control arms.  I went to Autozone and borrowed  their U-joint/ball joint removal tool and used that to help with the bushing removal.  The fronts weren't too bad as I was able to press them out with the Autozone tool and a carefully sized 25mm socket.  The rears were not so easy.  In addition to the press, I had to roll the edges of the bearing 'inward' to help peel them off the wall.  A little PB blaster helped as well. 

    So, I should have these at the powdercoaters tomorrow morning and they should be back in about a week.  KYB Shocks have been ordered and should be here in a couple days.  I will be ordering the Energy Suspension kit tomorrow so we will have all new Polyurethane bushings ready for assembly.  All fasteners have been received by the plater and should be back here in a week or so.  With that all done, I should be able to start assembling the suspension components here in a little over a week.

[Patcon]

That's a nice straight looking splash pan! They are usually beaten up or rusted out.

[wheee!]

Or non existent....

[motorman7]

I did tap it into shape a bit using some wood blocks. Hopefully the rusted areas are not too pitted. Powder coating will cover small depressions, but not the deep pitting.

Sent from my C6902 using Classic Zcar Club mobile

[Gav240z]

Looking forward to seeing how the powdercoating turns out, how many coats will they do?

I recently repainted my undertray, but didn't powdercoat (used VHT Engine Enamel).

https://www.viczcar.com/forum/topic/16002-what-did-you-do-on-your-z-today/?do=findComment&comment=206628

I tried to hammer it as straight as I could, but there is still imperfections. After a while I decided it was good enough, it is an undertray after all..

Will see how well it holds up, I think next time I'd powdercoat it. You don't save much money by painting yourself.