Oiluj

I did a bit of investigation and verified that the air tube fitting threads are BSPP, not BSPT, That is, they are a straight thread, not a tapered thread. They are J.I.S., but J.I.S. is a direct copy of British standard threads). I checked in McMaster-Carr and they have various plug forms in BSPT and BSPP in brass, 304 stainless, iron & steel. They cost about $2 each. So here's what I plan to do. I plan to use a BSPP hex key plug, threaded all the way to the bottom of the exhaust port. I'll apply a bit of high-temp thread sealant to assure a seal. While this would be adequate, (my being a belt & suspenders kind of guy), I'm also going to use a BSPP hex head plug to cover the hole. I also came-up with an alternate approach: I tried this on one old fitting just-for grins... Looking at the tube fitting, I found that the tube hole on the manifold side of the fitting is 0.203" dia. This is the perfect size for a 1/2-20 tap. I tapped the inside hole of the fitting from the manifold side with 1/4-20 threads. I coated a 1/4-20 x 1/2" threaded socket head set screw with high-temp epoxy to help "seal" the threads and inserted the set-screw into the fitting. I then used a moto-too to grind the tube sticking from the hex-head side of the fitting flush and dabbed a bit of epoxy on to look more "finished". I'm not going this route because the fittings are quite rusted and the hex heads are rounded, but it is a viable alternative.

With a good dash, that looks like a great deal! At the very worst, you can sell the parts for much more than 1K.

I can tell you I was surprised to see what 240's were fetching in the market when I started looking last September, but then I'd been out of touch with Z values for many years. I think recent collector & auction interest in S30's especially early 240Z's is influencing prices. When shopping for my Z I found the average price for a nice "driver" with minor cosmetic issues or minmal rust issues was about $6K to $8K for a California / Arizona car. From what I saw, a "really nice", rust free 240Z ran from $9K to $14K. Without a very complete inspection, I would not pay that much for a "snow-belt" car, or one from the post hurricane Katrina area. Call me picky, but once salt gets into those enclosed body sections, it's tough to clean-out and will lead to problems. That said, I'll see for certain just how "rust-free" my Calif / Arizona car really is after media blasting... I already know of 2 small areas with a bit of surface rust (only), under the battery and a little on the driver's floorboard. I'll have $22-$24K in mine before I'm done and hope that in 7-8 years I'll break-even on cost to market value. Excluding financial duress, I have no intention of selling my Zcar until I can't drive anymore. Of course that could be tomorrow or the year 2031, (assuming I stop driving at age 75)...

That sounds great! Count me in when it's ready. I'll need the BRE spook film also. I'll be putting the film on a freshly painted car. Do have an idea of how long should I wait for the paint to cure before installing the film on fresh paint? Julio

When I spoke with the guys at Rebello, they told me that the stock exhaust manifold flows very well and would be quieter than headers. I can attest that this was the case when I put hearders on my MG, it did get louder. Also, you often lose a bit of low-end torque with headers. My bigger concern is as was pointed out, is heat under the hood. Later on I can always remove the stock exhaust and try MSA's 6 to 1 headers if I want more mid-range performance. I figure it would also require a better air intake system for the headers to do much good.

I heated the manifold area around the tubes with a propane torch, Then, while still warm, gave them a good soaking w/ WD 40. Waited 1 hour and repeated the process. Got 2 loose, but the rest were still frozen. Took a cold chisel and cut the tubes off flush at the nut. I'm sure the impact of cold cutting the tubes probably helped to loosen the nuts. Then just put a socket on the nuts and they all turned-out relatively easily. They were stiff, but theyall came out with minimal effort. Victory! Now I have to get some BPS plugs. I'll try looking first in McMaster-Carr. It is highly unlikely that this will ever occur, there are just too few old cars to make them worth the governments effort. However, I'll still hang onto the old parts, becuase if down the road when I sell the car, someone may want to make it perfect "stock". I also have an extra smog manifold that came with the car.

I've heard very good things about Kroil. Other than Eastwood & online, do you know who might distribute/sell it? I looked on the NAPA & Parts America sites and did not see it.

Yeah, but if married, do you let your wife drive it? *grin* Actually, my wife is looking forward to us having a 240Z again and will probably drive it on occasion. I'll just have to deal with it... *nervous grin*

Thanks! The heating / rapid cooling sounds like the right approach.

Now that the engine is out and on the engine stand, I'm planning to remove the air tubes from the exhaust manifold. As they have been in the manifold for 36 years, I expect they will be hard to remove. Any suggestions before I begin? Any wisdom from those who have done this? I plan to spray them with PB Blaster and possibly heat them with a small propane torch. I understand that the threads are BPT. I'm considering driling them out and making them std metric. Any thoughts on this?

Does that fit your timing for availability of the kits? Also, do you have an idea of approximate cost for a film kit for budgeting purposes? Obviously, there will be your material cost, your development time and some profit, so I know the kit won't be inexpensive. As I'm probably not in the same state as you, I'll have to go to a local installer, so I need to figure that in as well. Thanks again for making the patterns! I appreciate the effort and am certain that many on the site feel the same.

Is there anywhere to get the transparent-blue wires I used to get for my Z in the 80's & 90's?

Does look like a nice driver, but I wouldn't trust a 35 year old car to be "rust free" coming from a snow-belt state... I know it's possible, but I'm a wee bit skeptical.

No, I wouldn't do it. Not to a freind of a friend. However in the "may car will be in a movie" situation, I might consider it. I would require they sign a contract for full repair or replacement cost, (at an inflated value to cover high-quality professional restoration). Now I'll have to make sure I see "Milk" so I can see your car!

BKelly, This will be a great item for our older Z's! As I said before, I'm definitely interested, (assuming it's not too expensive).

Count my vote for the libre's, just as they are. Great classic look.

Spent Monday afternoon taking the engine out. Still need to remove brackets, etc. Plan to take it to the engine shop in about 3 weeks. Also still need to remove misc items from engine bay before I can take the chassis to the paint shop, probably late next week. Once the chassis & engine are gone, I'll be able to clean-up the garage and organize the parts!

Keith, That's a tough question. First, I'm not an expert, so I'm only giving you my personal opinion. In my post I was referring to currently available items, but NOS items have a market all their own. Here's my take. 1) For NOS items, (assumng that they are better or distingusiable from reproductions), they should have a reserve price of maybe 20% above the reproduction part price. 2) If there is no difference between the repro parts and NOS, it's probably not any more valuable and eBay buyers will be looking for a "deal". My 80% rule. 3) If it's NLA, the the sky's the limit. Where you set the reserve price is hard to determine. I'd start with asking folks on this board about the value of those items. That's my 2 cents, and probably not worth that much...

As many of you know, I recently had an expensive bad experience with an eBay purchase. However, with exception of that one purchase, I've found eBay to be a good place for many items. I limit my bidding up to about %80 of store retail, Maximum). If it goes for more than that, I figure I may as well go to a store. Regarding the purchase above, I'm currently in dispute-mode with Pay Pal, though I don't expect to win. I don't get satisfaction through Pay Pal, I'll just re-sell the items for less and move on. My take on it is "You win some, you lose some..." Even with this one bad experience, over the last 10 years, I'm still way ahead moneywise. On the other side of the table, when I sell things on eBay, I am VERY careful to fully disclose item condition and take good pics. That way there is no issue. In fact, I'm in the process of selling some left-over MGA parts at about 50-80% value. I get some cash back, an MG owner gets what they want and the stuff doesn't end-up in a land-fill.

Doug, Very Well Said.

Definitely the "finish it now" button, a 5-speed plus the Bond girl. Second thought, the Bond girl would get me in truble with the wife, so let's just stick with the 5-speed and "button".

Dave, you are about 2to 3 weeks ahead of me in the restoration process. Barring unforseen time conflicts, I'm pulling my engine this weekend. I rebuilt an L24 a number of years ago. I was an easy engine to rebuild, but I didn't need to re-bore or do anything major. If the engine's out and money isn't an issue, why not start-out with a fresh engine? (That's what I'm doing) You should get the head reworked for use with unleaded fuel. My advice would be to get a second opinion / reference on the quality of his engine work to be sure he's not a hack. With something as important & costly as an engine, trust but verify...

Carl, I really don't think anyone here is denagrating those who buy an already restored car. Heck, for what I'm investing, given 12 months, I could have eventually found a fully restored Z! (Though perhaps not in my choice of color). I think what some of us, (or at least just me), are saying is that we gain a strong sense of accomplishment and take pride in our doing much of the work ourselves. From reading your posts, I think you probably fall into this group as well. FWIW, it would be nice if I could afford to just go out and buy a perfectly restored Ferrari 246 Dino, (I can't), nor can I justify spending $60K to have my Z restored. However, I don't envy those who can. In my experience, the few "wealthy" people I've met got there by working extremely hard and making personal sacrifices I was unwilling to make. Like you, I appreciate anyone who loves and maintains these wonderful older sports cars.

On my previous car, a 1960 MGA, I rebuilt / restored "everything" myself, including the interior, engine, transmission & brake system. The only thing I didn't do was body paint. I did strip the entire car down to bare metal and painted all the smaller components. There was a tremenduos sense of accomplishment associated with that project. That's why I had the car for 17 years. I am enjoying working on my 240Z am looking forward to driving the completed project. Doing it yourself is the best way to really get to "know" the car. The parts I'm not doing myself on the Z are the engine, seat upholstery & paint. Those are things, (paint & sewing), I'm not as good at and will get a better result by giving it to the pros. While I've rebuilt several engines, having someone else do the work fits my timeline. I want to be driving the car by mid-September. Of course, I'm saving money by doing a lot of the prep work...

I'm interested!