Oiluj

Arne, Thanks for all the advice over the last few years. I do hope you hang around to continue sharing your knowledge. For your next project how about a 2000 roadster, or perhaps Emma Peel's Lotus Elan or Maxwell Smart's Suneam Tiger? Or if the coffers are full, perhaps a 308 Ferrari? (I'm assuming a 246 Dino is out of the question). Julio

Bench-pressing a tranny while under the car is the only weight-training I do...

I'd rather see one made of ureathane. A bit more flexible and not likely to shatter / transmit as much force to the front valance when it hits stuff.

OK, here's an interesting question... The MSA short shift kit reduces shift throw to about 60% of stock. I'm concerned the added pieces that raise the shift pivot will add some "slopppiness" to the shifter movement & feel. Drove the Z to meet the dentless repair guy last night and tried moving the shifter from about 1" below the knob and it felt fine. So I did some guess-timate calcs, and it looks like the same can be obtained by shortening the shifter by 2.75" to 3". This is based on length to the pivot from top of the knob being approximately 10", and shift throw from 1st to 2nd being approximately 5". (I plan to measure these more accurately tonite). Shortening the stock shifter seems to be a cleaner solution, and would not add any mechanical "play" in the shift mechanism. Of course, this would require cutting-down a stock shifter, (which I'm slightly uncomfortable doing from a parts preservation perspective). I'm also thinking it might need to bend it backwards about an inch as well to maintain the proper driving position of the shift knob. Any thoughts?

Looks very close to the color of mine!

Got a quote tonite, $270. I'm going to get a 2nd quote and have the work done in the next few days.

mine is Merc Platinum

I'm beginning to feel slightly better, knowing I'm in good company... Dent guy couldn't meet today, will try for tomorrow. I'll post a pic of the damaged area before & after the dent-less process.

Are you drion "grooved" pavement. Mine feels like that when I'm on grooved" freeways.

Actually, I used a strong adverb in front of "idiot" when it happend, but this is a public forum... I've used paintess dent removal on our daily drivers in the past, and they can work wonders. Have contacted a local dent-less repair guy with a good reputation. Hoping he can look at the Z tonite and give me an estimate. Even if he can't completely fix the ding, at least it will look better for my upcoming trip. If required, I'll get the door repainted in a month or so when I'm driving the Z less because of wet weather. Thanks for all the supportive comments.

Moving the gas grill out of the garage, the wheel caught on something, it swung around and put a ding in my driver's door on the Z. I saw it happening, but couldn't stop it in-time... The ding is maybe about 1/10" deep, 1" diameter, about 1-1/2" above the supersonic line on the door. I'm really bummed and can't believe I was so careless. Of course, I'll get it fixed... Plan to call a dent-removal guy tomorrow, but I expect it will require minor bodywork and paint to fix it "right". Just before my trip to SOCAL too!

I live too far away, but it's not hard. Just don't force bend or stress it to make it fit. Don't tighten any of the fasteners until they are all threaded into thier respective holes. I also suggest you replace your gauge light bulbs before installing the dash. Really wish I'd done that...

Changing Oil this afternoon. Also looking at ordering an electric fan.

Healy Z, I agree that you should ignore those who disparage your car. While the L28 drive train may reduce it's market value, IMO, it's a definite improvement in terms of reliability and also the lack of oil leaks! Fastlady, Later MG's had 5 main bearing engines, which are almost "plug-n-play", reverse-compatible all the way back to 1960 MG's. Most vintage racers replace the 3 bearing engines with 5 bearing. However, for street use, the 3 bearing engines are actually quite sturdy & reliable. (Especially if you replace the felt oil seals...). That said, I agree that Miata's are bullet-proof cars with a great drive train.

Paint with several coats of poly-ureathane paint. Did that with a project at work. Works to seal off the tar smell, but then the car is going to smell like new paint for a while...

That will look great in the car! Very nice.

James, Did you feel much of a difference after doint the suspension work?

I find that to polish most plastic on my Z, a buffer isn't required, just a bit of elbow grease. Used a plastic polish I used for the compass on my boat that I got at West Marine at least 5 years ago. Took me about 1/2 hour to do all the turn signals and side markers before installing them onto the car.

I confess to using brute force to remove one of mine. I used a cold chisel, big screwdriver and hammer to loosen mine. With the cold chisel I made a divot in the nut to capture the tip of my "driver" screwdriver. A few whacks and it was loose. (Don't use a new screwdriver for this). My Tokico Blue strut inserts came with gland nuts. Also, the gland nut on the strut was not an "original" Datsun part, so I wasn't woried about messing-up it up.

His cars don't have bumpers....

True, where I am on the peninsula temps are moderate. Around here, it's two windows down. The east bay, however, is a different story. Where I grew up in Antioch, (only 70 miles away), Summer temps are typically in the high 90's to low 100's. Still have family and freinds I visit there on a regular basis. Plus, I'm planning a trip in the Z to SOCAL shortly. San Diego was in the 90's today. Nice to have A/C when you need it!

John, I appreciate you sharing your knowledge. While I'm an ME, lubrication is not a subject where I have much "practical" experience... Called Dave Rebello today. He basically agreed with what you said above about modern oil technology above. He also suggested the use of an additive, if the particular oil used doesn't have enough ZDDP.

Yup. Same Hatch.

Lon, Thanks for the source. I picked-up a bottle of Redline oil treatment, (W/ ZDDP), yesterday. Plan to do an oil change this weekend and add it in.

Just found a couple interesting links. Looks like there are 2 good additives that work with both dino-goo and synthetic oils. They are Redline and ZDDPlus. http://www.ctci.org/gilsgarage/EngineOil2.php http://www.aa1car.com/library/api_motor_oil_classifications.htm http://www.zddppluscentral.com/ http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?pid=121&pcid=1 Think I'll try one of them with Castrol GTX or Castrol Edge...