Oiluj

Just an FYI. Placed ads in classified sections for red interior parts for both sale & trade.

The problem, (as I understand it), is not that the frame rail box structures aren't strong enough, but that the spot welds holding them together are too far apart. Stress causes the them to flex and the metal distorts around welds. This flexure eventually breaks the welds and the frame rail fails. I'm having my body guy stitch weld the frame rails. Did this on my previous 240Z and had no problems. Of course, I'm talking a street car here. On a highly stressed auto-cross or track car, I'b beef-up the structure as described in KTM's post above.

Those look nice! Based on responses here so far, it's looking like we won't get the volume of parts required to get a price break. My guess is we'd need 20 parts to get a reasonably discounted price. Perhaps that will change after people see Zedsaver's parts at the show. Two of my trim pieces can be polished up acceptably, (though not as good as new chrome). If we don't get enough interest, I'll just polish-up my best set and get the other set electroplated.

Ok, I'll weigh in. I don't like more rules and regulations, but.... If everyone was responsiblem and acted with commmon sense, you wouldn't need them. However, the reality is that without regulations, you'd have bozos trying to use their old football helmet for autocross. Maybe my example is a bit extreme, but it illustrates my point. The argument that "it's my life and I can do what I want" does'nt hold water. Even if you have no freinds and loved ones affected by your being injured or killed, it can have an effect on others around you. A few injuries / incidents and club autocross's could be outlawed in some areas. Regarding old helmets, plastic composite materials do loose strength and flexibility with age and use. On top of that, technology get better, providing better protection. A word from someone who has suffered head trauma in the past. I'd rather spend a few bucks every few years than take additional chances with my noggin. Medical science still can't transplant heads and brains. Just my 2 cents.

Just got an e-mail from that vendor today. They estimated about $75 to $100 per piece. That sounds about the same as Zedsaver. I'm still thinking we can probably get better pricing with a larger piece order.

Yes, that's the part I'm talking about. Since they were origninally chrome-electroplated, that's the only good way to re-do them and expect the the chrome finish to last. Zedsavers quoted me $300 to do my 4 pieces. I found one other vendor who has a minimum charge of $250. I still need to talk with one more vendor, but expect their pricing to be similar. My expectation is that all the vendors will add incremental cost for additional pieces, but we should be able to reduce our individual cost if we have more parts in a "batch" order. I have not physically seen the quality of plating other than on the web, but I will insist on good quality for that kind of money. I read somewhere here on forum that Zedsaver's work looked good.

I'd buy it if I did not already have one...

Sounds like a steal. Worth way more than that if they have any half-decent parts. Too bad I have nowhere to store them...

I meant to say "if several of us do them at the same time"... Sometimes my brain moves faster than my typing fingers.

Anyone interested in splitting the cost of electro-plating tail-light trim pieces? I'm looking at vendors now. So far it looks like there is about a $250 minimum charge. Please let me know if you know of a good vendor. I'm thinking that if several of us do them at the same, we can get them done at a reasonable cost for everyone involved. I have two sets to do, (4 pieces), and I'm willing to organize things unless someone else would prefer to do it.

Looks like there are quite a few of us in the paint stage. What color will it be? Good luck with your paint job!

William really knows Z-cars and does high quality work. He owns two S30's himself, one a V-8 conversion. For what I wanted done, I got estimates ranging from $5,500 to $7,500. William's estimate was $7,100. More than I planned to spend on the paint, but I think it will be worth it... It's not just a sand and shoot job. He removed the lead in the joints at the roof pillars, (all four coners), and bead welded the panels. This keeps the paint from cracking in these areas from body flex. (You see this on S30's that are driven hard). He's also stich welding the frame areas around the sway bar mounts as I'll be running larger-than-stock front and rear sway bars. The chassis is dissassembled, (doors, fenders, headlight scoops, hatch, etc), side trim rivet holes welded-over and surface rust removed and sealed. They also re-fit and match the lines, adding metal if required. He's also mounting and painting my engine bay, mirrors, front & rear spoilers. My guess is he will work with you on price if you want less work done. He uses high quality paint and guarantees his work. Z-Car Garage in San Jose sends their restoration work to William... I saw a silver 240Z chassis when I first went there that looked awesome. He currently has an almost completed 510 in the shop that's worth looking at as well. Hope that helps.

Are these cool or what? William at William's auto body made these to show different levels of contrast for the rally stripe. The smaller one is somewhat lighter, but the pics don't show it well. Base paint is a really nice metallic silver. William's Auto Body is "the" local Z car body guy in this area. He's very knowledgeable when it comes to Z's and is a pleasure to work with. Thanks to whoever it was referred me to him!

Rich, You might want to search some of the threads here, or perhaps one of the pundits on the board can comment better than I can. I've heard that the earlier E31 head yields better performance than the E88 head. As I understand it, the E31 heads are becoming pretty rare. Of course, Rebello can modify your current head to improve performance somewhat.

My engine is still at Rebello. I told Dave there was no "rush" since my chassis is still at the body shop and it will probably be 8 weeks before I'm ready to install the engine. Dave told me that with the stroke job, mild cam, modified E88 & up-sized carb needles I can expect 200+ hp at the output shaft. My main reason for doing this is for the increased torque that comes with the bigger bore as I'll be installing A/C. I got a higher capacity aluminum radiator to help keep the beast cool. I'll report when I get the engine back and installed in the car. You should call Dave to discuss what he can do with your E88 and what kind of improvement you can expect. My previous personal experience was rebuilding/repairing a stock L24's, so I'm really looking forward to seeing how much of an improvement my Rebello powerplant provides.

I agree that if larger vehicles carry more people, the math works. But where I live, my observation is that most of the time, those big SUV's carry only the driver and, (maybe), one passenger. In that case, even our old Z's look pretty good by comparison. When a viable alternative, public transit is the "best" green approach. Just my 2 cents.

My 72 has the original, unused spare tire. A small bag of lug nuts in a sealed plastic bag are attached to the spare with a plastic tie.

Wow! Tht's fast. I'm still weeks away from getting mine back from the body shop... Looks great. Looking forward to seeing pics of her fully assembled.

Arne, Thanks for the reply and you are absolutely correct, (as usual...) I'm familiar with the types of bulbs you describe from previous use in marine lighting conversions. As you indicated, the uni-directional lamps would be a poor choice in this application. I was thinking of the multi-directional lamps in the front signal/parking lamps. There are also bulbs w/ LED's encased in a molded lens supposed to help disperse the light, but I have no experience with these. I figured Dave has probably tried them all and could "shed-some-light", (bad pun), on my question...

One other thing. You mentioned in a differnt post that you have done tail light conversions. Can you post pics of one of these? For me, that upgrade provides more value and is probably worth the expense. Just my (cheap) two cents.

Dave, It looks great. But $210, (which I think is a fair price), is more than I am willing to spend on this particular upgrade. I would be more inclined to try using LED replacement bulbs at about $50. Have you done this and how do they work?

Don't like that look on a classic Z. But to each his own...

Just finished taking my tail lights apart. I have one extra tail light and wanted to switch the less pitted chrome strip to the better assembly. So here's a question for the pundits: What type of adhesive was used to asemble the lens to the body? (I like the fact that it can be removed by heating the joint in case I ever have to replace a lens...) Disassembly of the lights was much easier than I thought it would be. Just poured very hot tap water on joint betwen the lens and grey body. With a little gentle prying with a screwdriver, they came right apart. I did snap off the retainer in back on both trying to get it apart. Then removed the chrome strips from the lenses got two of the 6 push nuts off without breaking the plastic pin, but I figured I'd have to glue them back on anyway. Remaining adhesive was easliy removed from the lens with hot water and finger pressure. Adhesive left in the body channel was removed with hot water and a small screw driver.

I looked for over 6 months and saw a lot of rust buckets before before buying my 72' 240 in Arizona. The car was clean and rust free, but did require a repaint. Consider budgeting a few hundred dollars for a quick day trip to inspect a car outside your area. Be patient, have your money "in-hand" and be ready to pounce when the right car comes along. Good luck with your search!

You are well ahead of me... My chassis should be prime coated soon. I visited the car last week. No fenders, no hatch, and lots of sanded-down spots... At least there was nothing but a little surface rust! Will be really nice when I get her back!