Marty Rogan

I knew that I need to get a compressor. I never had the space for one, so I don't know what to look for. Thanks for the tips.

A four post lift is definitely on the must have list. I have 12' to the joists, so I should have plenty of height for that. I like the idea of a dust curtain. Ventilation and exhaust is a great idea too. I never thought of that one. Heat is another high priority. I live in Wisconsin and it gets pretty cold here too. I want to look into radiant tube heating. My friend has that in his 1,500' hanger. He keeps it at 65 degrees all winter long and it costs him about $40 a month. The barn has 200 Amp Service with a lot of spare spots in the box left, so I just need to decide where to place the outlets and what type.

Ha! Well, I did not have time to work ON garage, but I did have some time to work IN the garage. Already spilled some grease. I absolutely loved being able to work on a car without being cramped and bumping into walls and other stuff. Thanks

Hey guys, It has been my dream for many years to move to a spot where I could build my dream garage. Well, this year my dream was realized. We moved to a new house and I did not even need to build the garage. It came with a 36'x64' Pole Barn!! The barn is a great space. It really is a blank canvas at this point though. I have the shell, but I need to finish the interior. The previous owner got a start on the wiring and putting up some insulation and walls. They also left an area at the back in gravel, with the intent of building in 3 horse horse stalls. The first thing I will need to do is to get that filled in with concrete. After that I want to have an asphalt driveway put in. I had a gravel driveway put in this year as a temporary step, so I could get to the barn without having to drive over the lawn. This year I was consumed with working on the house and getting it to a point where the wife is happy with it. Is that even possible, LOL!! She always comes up with more stuff to do, or things she wants to add. So, next year is the year of the barn. I am just getting serious about putting a plan together. This is where you guys come in. I know a few of you have built some pretty nice garages. I would love to hear all of your ideas on what I should build into the garage. I am particularly interested in what I should do now, before the walls and ceiling are installed. All ideas on nice features to add and the timing of the build process are welcome. Thanks, Marty

I find it interesting that you kept the SU's and the stock airbox on a 3.1 Stroker. What kind of HP are you expecting to get out of that setup? Did you ever consider going with triples? I know they add a lot of complexity, and I am not sure it is worth all the extra effort and expense. I ran a bored out L28 (probablly about a 2.9L) with SU's and the stock airbox on my '71 track car. It was a real strong performer. I never got a chance to dyno the car though in that configuration. The car is looking great Guy. Marty

Do the wipers work? It's just rain. If it was snow, I would say reschedule. You wash the car with water, right? When I bought my yellow '71, I drove it home 18 hours from NC. Part of the trip it was raining so hard, I could barely see the tail lights of the truck in front of me. The rain was coming down so hard, it was bouncing off the pavement and coming in the fresh air vents, which I had to close. A little adversity just adds to the adventure!! So unless it was unusually severe weather, I say go for it. Marty

Well that damper definitely looks sturdier than the ancient ones that came with these engines. Hmmm, I would have thought a 3.1 Stroker would put out more HP than that. I am sure it will be a definite improvement over stock though. Putting an L28 in place of the L24 in my track car definitely put a smile on my face. A 3.1 would make that grin even bigger for sure. I am looking forward to seeing what your actual dyno numbers are.

That looks sweet!! I have never seen that "Super Damper" before. Is there a story behind using that? Are you going to use the SU's or tripples? Any idea what horse power that engine will put out? Marty

Damn. I wish it was closer and was better timing. It doesn't look too bad of shape, from the pictures at least. I just bought a house though and as cheap as it is, would not be in the budget at the moment. That is the kind of car I would like to pick up in another year or two for my next project.

Indeed. He used to be a steady contributor back in the day. I think he sold his car and comes by only now and then since. I wonder if he is kicking himself for selling yet?

Glad to see you are doing well. Good to see you are enjoying your time instead of working too hard. stay in touch! Marty

I still have a tan cap and a T-shirt.

Oddly enough I don't have a full on picture of the driver's door. the attached pic at least shows a part of the door. Its just starting spring here and I still have the car in storage, so I can't get a better picture right now. Below are instructions that I followed many years ago to apply the SEM to a new black door panel. It has held up extreemly well I can't recall who gave me the instructions, so apologies for not being able to give credit where due. Marty Painting the vinyl and plastic in a Z is easy. There are 2 sources for the dye. If you don't have a paint gun, find SEM vinyl dye at a good paint store. SEM is the only way to go, and I have never found another product that works as well or lasts so long. It also looks totally natural. They have Satin Black for your 240Z, and Napa Red for your red 240Z. They have ZX colors, too. Please do not even consider any other brand. Been there, done that. In my experience, there is no other brand that has the correct gloss, durability, and chemical composition to bond to the vinyl. SEM is about $7/can. I use 4-6 for an entire interior on a 240Z. If you have a paint gun (door jamb gun is good, HVLP jamb gun even better). Dupont has vinyl dye that is comperable to SEM. It is about $20/quart. Does one car. Preparation is everything! Here's my process: 1. Remove seats and carpet 2. Use a couple of rolls of paper towels to clean all the vinyl/plastic (VP) with a water based cleaner (soap/water, ammonia, Mr Clean, Mrs Pineoil, ect). Let dry 3. Wet wipe the surfaces with lacquer thinner. Not Enamel or poly thinner, just cheap lacquer thinner. Wipe and scrub and scrub. You will notice the VP getting soft. Stop before you ruin the grain pattern. 4. Now shake your paint can. If using the Dupont, it is ready to spray. Mask off all the unpaint items. I use Big Gulp bottoms taped to the gauges. 5. Rewipe the surfaces quickly with a very wet paper towel, and start fogging on the dye. It is very thin. You may end up with 5-12 coats to get good heavy coverage. Let dry, and you are done. Note: DO NOT PAINT THE SEATS. IT WILL RUBv OFF EVENTUALLY ON YOUR 501'S. The Napa red is a precise match for the Datsun red interior. Even a patch of paint will blend in to the existing panel. The theory behind the lacquer is that it chemically softens the VP. When you apply the dye, it soaks in and grabs the substrate. Dupont also has texture paint to redue the texture for Ford Bronco tops. It so happens to look like vinyl when it is dry. I use it to redue the sill plates... It also works for roll bars to spiff them up. The stuff is bulletproof when dry. It does not match the Datsun sillplate vinyl exactally, but it is a lot easier than trying to recover that rusty piece with contact cement and vinyl. This paint has to be applied with a non-HVLP gun (your normal old fashioned gun is not HVLP). It's the pressure that makes the spiderwebs as it comes out, which then coagulate into the vinyl texture. This coating can then be recoated with black semi-gloss vinyl dye.

Glad to see Gary is doing well and still playing with Z's. We have not heard from you in a long time either. what are you up to KMack? Marty

Hi Gav, I have had excellent results using SEM dye. I needed a blue drivers door card and could only get black. I had an auto paint shop custom match the SEM to my new passenger side door card. After the SEM, you can't really tell which one was dyed. I can send you some instructions if you need them. Marty

There is a cool video on YouTube, where Tom Cotter of Barn Find Hunter reveals this car and the Cobra that is mentioned in the article. Check it out here: Marty

Congrats Ben, that car looks fantastic! Marty

That is pretty awesome. So, if Trevor got a 240Z for Christmas, what did your daughter get??

The 5th picture down is the infield at RA at the bottom of turn 5. I was there with my first '73Z a couple of times. Marty

That could be turn 8 at RA, but you can't see enough of it to be sure.

I bought one for my track Z. The fit was perfect. I did have a manufacturing defect with mine, where it leaked in one of the corners of the casting. He replaced it without a hassle and the replacement has been great ever since. I highly recommend it. Marty

Glad to see someone is coming out with this. I don't do Facebook, and the pictures are not close enough to tell. Which year are these modeled after? Marty

Thanks for the picture. It give me a much better idea of what it is supposed to look like without an engine on it.

The HF dolly looks like the way to go. It will cut down on the time to source and attach wheels. And I have some scrap 2x4 in the garage already.

That looks like it would do the trick. And probably less expensive than buying a commercially built one. Thanks!