Leaderboard

This also works to get the nut off

I have just completed creating templates in cad format of all of the tar mats in the interior of my 7'70 car, so that I can reproduce them later, after my floors have been repaired/replaced. I may not be removing all of my tar mats but I created the full set in case I need it. I have uploaded the last of these in .pdf and .dwg formats to our downloads in case they may be of use to others. Here is a link to the location: Here are a couple of pics showing the state of my tar mats before I started any removal, and a few pics from when I was doing the test fitting of the templates. I found that for the most part the thickness is approximately 2mm (0.08"). The front section of the transmission tunnel tar mat was a little thicker, more like 2.5+mm (0.10"). The transmission tunnel area was definitely the most challenging part of the job. On the templates I have added lines that show the approximate centers of the bends and also lines on the rear template to indicate how the front tar mat overlaps the rear. Here are examples of what the templates look like. If you use these I would recommend test fitting paper versions, before cutting any tar mat material. Cheers, Mike

I went ahead and removed the carburetor heater plumbing. Wasn’t so bad. I used the hole to install the sending unit. I used a 1/2” NPT adapter in this BSPT hole, added some Teflon tape to prevent spiral leaks. Don’t have it wired up yet but the water circuit is leak-free!

Got home a few times that way.

I'll share a story about my Dad, RIP. He never used a torque wrench or impact, just a 24" x 1/2" breaker bar and his brute gorilla arms. My younger sister and my step monster had flats over the years but could not break Pop's strength loose. Had to call roadside assistance everytime. He taught them how to put on the spare but couldn't make them as strong as he was. Me on the other hand was a touch smarter than those girls and used the scissor jack and the opposite weight of the car to break them loose. Needless to say I was his #1 son. To add context, my Dad worked for 40 years at the local Goodyear plant. He rotated all of our tires once a month just for the fun of it.

Oh, so you want a video? Now I'll have to charge you.

That is called a hinge. I can take some photos later today.

I don't have a huge problem with cutting coils, but you must do the math and understand what you are doing. Cutting coils increases the effective spring rate and in your case, cutting the fronts to level the car will increase the front spring rate while the rears stay the same. This will change the ride frequency and could cause the car to be pitchy. Raising the front spring rate will also change the front to rear handling balance. I cut the coils on my 260Z race car. Stock coils on the late 260Z coupe are 100 Lbs/in. front and rear from what I remember (it was 12 years ago). I cut 2 coils and then added custom length jounce bumpers from a ~2000 model year Sentra with a measured 55 lb/in rate. I cut the length so they were in contact at curb height so they act as spring aids. With the coils cut, the car dropped 1" and the new spring rates including the jounce bumpers went up to 200 lbs/in. I fine tuned the handling by playing with different length jounce bumpers and the result was fantastic handling. The car is well balanced and easy to drive at the limit. You are better off shimming the rears via rubber, delrin or aluminum under the spring or on top of the spring. It's the perfect application for 3D printed TPU (rubber) as you could get just the right shape for the spacers.

It's one of the most rust-free cars you'll find outside of the southwest US, but the frame rails have been beaten up completely from idiots using them as jacking points. The funny thing is that I set the valve lash, changed the oil and balanced the carburetors before the seller bought the car. And I got advice on setting the carbs at high RPM from the person the seller hired to set the valve lash, change the oil and balance the carburetors. The only thing he didn't mention is setting the dwell, which I did as well.

Thanks, and glad to hear you might make use of the rear deck templates. I remember checking out the the work you did last year on tar mat replacement and it was the inspiration for creating my own templates.

I own all the molds for all the parts, so I can make any part anytime. Just because webstore says out of stock does not mean I don't have it in-stock.

If the tie rod ends have any play they should be replaced. The easiest way to check for play is when everything is still assembled. Have someone move the steering wheel while observing the steering. You mentioned the steering is tight, if so they should be fine.

impact is quick but it destroys the threads eventually.

I had this same issue on my 1971 240Z, albeit after a complete rewire of the entire car. The car would start and run fine but the tach was completely dead, turns out I had the two B/W wires backwards. Skimming through the thread I believe some of the others have already addressed the diagnostics really well, and if I remember correctly how the circuit works the ballast resistor gets switched out of the circuit when the key is in the Start position so that the coil can be connected to the full battery voltage for starting the engine. It gets switched back into the circuit in the run position to keep the coil operating at a reduced voltage, since it would get burned out operating at full voltage for an extended period of time. Someone correct me if I am wrong, but the ballast resistor is actually there to protect the coil, and the points condenser on the distributor is for protecting the points themselves. Anyway, sounds like it could be an issue with the Tach itself but might be worth swapping the two B/W wires just for kicks. Pretty quick way to rule out the issue I had.

Top notch, Mike! Well done. I haven't taken the time to make my own template for the hatch area yet. The other ones I have already done and mostly installed replacements (linked if anyone would like to check that out). I will benefit from your work and sharing here. Thanks very much.

I just finished up the last of the tar mat templates and uploaded them to our cad files section in downloads.

I'm liking that TenHulzen alignment tool! Measured toe-in I had set with a couple straight edges clamped to the wheels. Came out at 64 5/8" in the rear, 64 9/16" in the front, net of 1/16" in. Going to leave it there. Steering wheel is a spline or two off center, think I'll remove wheel and recenter instead of adjusting tie rods. So, here's the before picture from May, stock springs (I think), worn struts, etc: Here's the after picture, Eibach progressive springs, Koni Yellows, new bushings, mostly rubber. After about 80 miles of driving. Not much of a drop as I was expecting, looks the same to me. 😕 I measured from the ground to the top of the outside wheel well lip before and after, tires are 195/70R14's: Before: After: Camber: RF: 26" 26" -.40 RR: 24 7/8" 24 5/8" -2.05 LF: 26 1/4" 25 7/8" -.50 LR: 25 1/4" 25 1/8" -2.15 BUT, I've gotta say the Eibachs and the Koni Yellows are a great pairing together. It's like driving another car. I'm running them about 1/4 turn from the softest setting for now.

Car are way too complicated today. Manufactured obsolescence is a business model. All the plastic and electronics are meant to be thrown away not repaired. If the 12” screen fails in 10 years good luck replacing it or pay a fortune. We have this problem in military aviation. We are forced to upgrade perfectly good items across the fleet because nobody makes the parts anymore. In order to incentivize manufacturing we would pay crazy amounts for otherwise very inexpensive parts. Car companies don’t want your to keep you car more than 10 yrs. I once owned a BMW. The pasts were so outrageous I got rid of it. $1800 for one headlight assembly because it would follow the road. The car had more plastic than a Las Vegas stripper. Plastic coolant parts? There is beauty in simplicity. You can almost keep your classic Z running forever with little cost because it simple proven technology. The second part of the auto problem is government regulations which continue adding complexity and cost to cars. The new infrastructure bill just passed by the Senate requires all US cars to have Drunk Driver Detection systems installed at manufacturing. This drives car prices out of reach of the lower income population segments and makes repair and maintenance outrageous. There are always unintended consequences of regulation. I’m curious to see what Nissan gives us but their recent history isn’t giving me much confidence. As far as EVs, they’re coming like it or not. Won’t be long before you are guilted to sell your gas powered vehicle or the government forces your hand like CA has done. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes, that is correct.

In order to get to that, I'd need to remove the fender, correct?

When I was young and didn’t know any better, well, yeah, I used a lug spanner (one of those x shaped things that has three different lug nut sockets and a screwdriver looking thing on the fourth bar to remove hubcaps).

Check this out Sent from my iPhone using Classic Zcar Club mobile

remember the old Audo Quattros, and watching them in rally races on TV? That's what I call cool (rally) racing. I'm interested if anybody knows of any videos that can be bought of the older rallies. I'll check out eBay probably. thx

Anyone on this board into rally racing? I've been watching it on Speedvision a lot lately. I've always been into racing, but, this looks like it would be a lot more challenging than a standard race. I'm interested in it, where do I start looking and who do I talk to? I'm really interested in the Zcar aspect of it.