bob m

I have a 72 that has an original white interior. I ordered a new plastic panel and it came black so I had an automotive paint supplier match the interior color and repainted everything. It looks great and wears fine.

I just finished stripping my 72z with chemicals and it worked great. I worked on a section at a time at my own pace. I tried several brands of stripper and ended up using Jasco paint and epoxy remover. I had about 4 layers to remove. Everything came off, including any bondo. After the parts were stripped they were sanded with 80 grit and epoxy primed. Any body work was done before the paint process started. This gave me a chance to look at each section in detail and make sure there was no rust.

I hope you don't mind me asking a related question. I have an original 72z that did not have a splash guard. Were they available on the earller cars only or was there a reason they were not installed on all cars. My car was an automatic if that makes a difference. Thanks Bob M

I needed to touch up some of my interior and had an auto shop paint supplier match the white of my upholstery and sprayed it. It came out perfect. I bet blue is a difficult color to find but black and white is more readily available and can be painted. Bob

mmagnus I can't help with the line sizing but I want to compliment you on the most beautiful Z motor I have seen. Bob M

Nelson I went the other way and put a 73 door on my 72. They are the same but the side impact bar on the 73 is larger. Everything else is the same. I replaced the 73 door for consistancy reasons and have a spare drivers door. Bob M

I am about to do the same thing to my 72z. I think the headliner needs to go in first. The post and side panels glue to a u-channel piece that mounts along the headliner ( no wet glue near headliner ). Are you going to replace the tunnel vinyl? That should go in next along with the shock tower vinyl. Then the dog-leg pieces and the plastic covers. The glass can go in last. This is what I plan on doing this weekend. Bob M

EricB Replacing the floors is not a weekend job, at least for me. I have the Zedfinding floors and cut out both sides with a Sawzall about an inch from the edges. Then I used a spot weld remover bit to drill out the spot welds. Then I could remove the rest of the floor. I left the front seat support in place, and left about 4 inches of the floor support. This took a week of night and weekend work. I put the floor pans in place and marked them, you need to trim the rear and tunnel sides. I left the tunnel sides long and used the Sawzall to cut through both pieces so I could have a butt weld. The driver side was easy, on my 72z, I had to bend the floor to match the tunnel using a 1.5 in pipe as a form on the passenger side. The tunnel is not straight like the drivers side. Per beandip, Carl and EScalon, I followed their suggestions and screwed the floors in place. You need to do this to get them to fit tight. I am going to use the POR products to prep the floors and panels this weekend. A friend is going to come to my house and mig weld the floors but I could drive the car with the floors screwed in place.( I removed the exhaust pipe for clerance) After everything is welded in place, then the POR 15 can be applied, then the sound proofing and final paint. I know a professional can do this much faster than me but there are alot of things to do that take time so it would save quite a bit of cost if you could do the install yourself. You need a good assortment of tools ie, grinder, sawzall, drill, sheetmetal shears,floor jack (the car must be in the air). Bob M

Carl Thanks for the information. I am not sure how to contact EScanlon. I hope to weld the floors in next week so this information is timely. Bob M

Gentlemen, Thank you for the advice. I should finish the floors next week. In the meantime, I will clean and treat the surfaces as you suggested. I think I will cover the inside of the support rails with Por 15 prior to welding, I don't see how I can seal them later. I had quite a bit of rust on the passenger side and I would like to eliminate a reoccurance. Thanks again Bob M

I am almost ready to install Zedfindings' floors in my 72z and want to know if I should treat the new floors and exhisting bare metal in the car before mig welding them? I also want to treat the inside of the support panels and the seat supports. I could tape off where I plan to weld but I wonder if this is necessary. Bob M

Brandon I have used aluminum flywheels in my car and they sound like something is wrong, like something is misaligned. I never had any problems with the flywheel and I like the sound better. enjoy Bob

Zanos You need to remove the calipers. I use a large C clamp and compress the pistons. The pistons should slide in smoothly until they bottom, don't force them. I leave the old pad on and use it rather than place the c clamp on the piston. Bob M

I am going to put an E31 head, with 280 valves, on an F54 block. When I place a 2.8 head gasket on the E31 there is very little room between the valve and headgasket to unshroud the valves. Am I missing something? I know several people have put the 280 valves in the earlier heads, did they have custom head gaskets made to allow for room around the valves, and grind the top of the cylinder bores to match ( .050 above top of ring travel) or just clean up the head as much as possible Bob

Thank you for your replies. I have the answers I was looking for. I did refer to the floor supports under the floor as rails. I thought my car was fairly unmolested but the supports and floor pan must have been overpainted with black at some time. My front seat supports are blue and the rears are black, I believe this is factory on this car. I will prep the bare metal with POR15 and check on the primer. I don't want to repeat this process so I hope to seal the metal and perhaps it will not rust in the future. Thanks again for the information Bob M

I read most of the comments regarding replacement of the rusty floors on my 72 240z on this website and appreciate the good information. I ordered a set of floors from Zedd Findings and will follow the recommendations for replacing the floors and supports on this website including treating them with POR 15 on both sides. I also want to prime them with 2 part epoxy primer. After the floors are in, Where can I get the replacement insulation? Are you using heavy felt tar paper and making them or using the aftermarket soundproofing material? I would also like to know if the support rails are painted the body color. Mine are black but they could have been painted the blue body color. Thanks, Bob M

How fast is fast? is a relative question, but if your z can go 170mph (3.0l to 2.0l) you would set the land speed record at Bonneille Salt Flats. The record is 169, I would say that is fast. Bob M

It doesn't look like a Z dash. I can see it in a British car, mabe a Morgan or Austin. The workmanship looks very good; if the Z came with this type of dash cover then it probably would be OK but I prefer the original style dash. Bob M

Skater Look at the web postings for aftermarket turbos. It is not cheap but some of these guys are getting alot of HP out of their 280 blocks. Remember, the 240 is also not very heavy so you don't need as much HP as a heavier car to be quicker. Do your homework before you start taking the car apart. The only thing better than cubic inches are cubic dollars, how fast do you want to go? Bob

Thanks Phred I am going to buy an r200 for my 72z and this info is excellent Bob

I'm sorry Dave but I wonder why you are concerned about being impailed by the finisher on a race car. There are alot more bad things that can happen to you in a race as you know, why sweat the small stuff? . Bob

FYI, I just bought a drivers side door for a 72z that was rust free but had a dent. I chose this door over several others that were straight but had signs of rust. I paid $200 plus 3 hours body work for an almost perfect door. There are several places in Arizona that sell used Z parts. Expect to pay $200 for a door and watch out for rust, especially on the botton where the outer skin wraps around the door. I paid $100 for a previous door that looked good but when I stripped the paint there were patches where rust was removed. The door worked fine but it's a choice of what parts you want on your car. Bob M

You might try "Elgin Cams" in Redwood City, Ca. Dema Elgin specializes in grinding cams and has been involved with sports car racing for years. I have had his company grind cams for me in the past and they worked fine. You should call him and tell him what you want, he will ask alot of questions about your motor, car and what you want. Bob M.

The floors in my Z are between your drivers and passenger floors. In discussing replacing them with my body shop, they suggested using "panel adhesive" instead of welding to the 18 gauge metal. Their arguement is that the heat weakens the metal and spot welding every few inches is not as good as a solid seam of adhesive. I agree with Carl that the floor system is an intregal part of the strength of the body and it is foolish to short cut these repairs. The question is, what is the best method? If the floors are rusted, what condition are the rails in? Bob M

I just priced an aftermarket windshield in San Francisco for $ 180, not installed. From the replies, I think I will have the few flaws in my old windshield repaired. Bob M