JohnnyO

Thanks all. I am pretty happy with it right now. I can't wait to see it buffed. lbpdz, I am not sure about shipping the paint but if you can track down a PPG dealer in your area I can get you the exact formula. You may consider purchasing paint soon though, I heard California was going to be one of the first states to implement water borne paints. Not sure when though. Yes, that is baby poo yellow, better known as 920 Gold or Safari Gold. Now-a-days PPG calls it Nissan Gold. I love the color. Well, the pictures posted here should be here forever. It's the ones I don't post that I have to worry about. I lost a bunch of pictures that document my tear down and a bunch that I took when I was taking it down to bare metal. I reformatted my laptop and forgot to move them to my thumbdrive:stupid::stupid::stupid::stupid::stupid: I am actually in Hudson, right on 94 at the border. I would like to attend one of the local Z shows. I belong to ZOOM (Z Owners Of Minnesota) although I have never attended a meet yet, I have emailed a few of the members. Most of the meets they have are on the West side of the Cities near Lake Minnetonka. I live out in the sticks North of Hudson. Kind of a long haul on Monday nights. PM me if you are ever passing through, I'd like to see your car. Thanks Frank. I figured you would like the color. Still a little cloudy here right now. After the clouds burn off I will get some pictures outside in the sunshine. John

Thanks Carl and Gary. I can't wait to get it on the road. I will be shopping this weekend for some things I need like the firewall insulator, seal kit, new side marker gaskets, a few grommets and a carb rebuild kit from Z Therapy. My goal when I bought the car in September 2008 was to have it ready by June 1, 2010. I am going to be very close to meeting that date.

Can you tell I'm excited?

Just picked it up. Looks great. Still needs to go back to the shop for sanding and buffing on Tuesday but I am happy with the job. It was a little cloudy today but I couldn't see any waves in the body. Better pictures tomorrow in the sunshine and then more after the buffing...

! Of all the videos on you tube you got stuck on the vintage section.... I think Jeff Foxworthy once said: If you use pop rivets to fix rust holes in your car, you may be a redneck.

You know, the Tabco panels are made to be installed by a pro shop. They are always a little bigger than you need so you can mark and cut with a bit of an overlap. I'm not sure but I think you cut out the old, clamp the new one in place and mark it from behind to get a nice clean line for your butt weld. Youtube has lots of welding videos if you are interested. I would call a shop in your area to see what they would charge if either of you are uncomfortable with installing them. My bodyman installed doglegs for me and was pretty impressed with the fit. A little hammer work but they look great. Good luck guys. John

Link to Mike B's spreadsheet of early Series 1 unique parts: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38607

Great Mike.

I think he just wanted to cruise LA in a classic Z this weekend. Probably told some chic he had one and she asked him to take her for a ride....

Thanks Kats for all your information. I am glad I noticed the difference in the doors when I was reassembling my car. I also noticed something else that seemed to be an early Series 1 thing but I cannot remember what it was. Does anybody actually keep an official list of Early Series 1 Unique parts? I know we have had a few list threads on this site but I don't know if there is an official list that discoveries should be submitted to. John

Thanks. I am not going to put a spring on mine. There was no plate on mine so I will assume no spring. And yes, I think we found something new to add to the unique list for early Series 1 cars. John

Just to clarify, the busted bolts are in the head. The head is made of aluminum. That is why it is important to soak them good. Good luck and don't be a stranger. ;-)

Sure you can borrow mine, all I require is a $25,000 cash deposit.... Small bills please.

Been covered a hundred times here. Soak in sili kroil, pb blaster, etc. and let sit for a day or two, then soak again and let sit for a day or two. After that, soak again and let sit for a day or two. Then use your easy outs or, if you have any bolt protruding from the head you can try to weld a nut to the top, apply some heat and try to back them out. If all else fails, give the search a try. John

Mike, Labor is determined by market. I had a little bit of welding on my floor pan rails (They were pushed up from somebody jacking it up in the wrong place) and I found 3 pinholes of rust in the drivers dog leg so I had him replace both sides. The rest was blocking, priming and some minor dings. I was lucky to find a very well cared for car. I had him keep track of the time he worked on the car for me and it is about 100 hours so far. The car is ready for base/clear, just waiting for a clear day to trailer it back to the shop. After that he will wet sand and buff. The fortunate thing for me is he "thought" it was only going to take him about 70 hours total. I had him sign a contract and he kept to his quote and did not exceed the cost. Lucky me, from what I understand that is a rarity in todays market. John

I am not a pro by any means but what I know is that epoxy/etching primer is used for adhesion. It adheres to the bare steel and allows the subsequent layers of primer to adhere to it. Then the primer/sealer allows the base coat to adhere to it. It all goes back to the "system". I dont think that etching/epoxy primer is designed as a sealer and I don't know how long I would leave that alone on the car without a primer/sealer on top. You might be ok for a month or two but your local ppg shop would be able to tell you for sure. John

Mike, is it safe to assume that the cost of the paint + the clear cost $800? The reason I ask is that my Deltron Clear cost $400 plus catalyst and the paint was $350 plus reducer at "shop" prices this spring. Total of about a grand plus a few hundred for the DP74LF epoxy primer and catalyst and about $300 in K36 primer and catalyst in 2010 prices. So I have about $1600 in paint/clear/primer alone plus about 5 grand in labor from the shop but it's gonna look great!

d240zx2 seemed to think his had a spring at one point. That is why I though maybe they fell out. If Jim confirmed that his do not have them I would tend to lean in the direction that they did not come with them. Thanks for doing the research Chris and Mike.

You have 22 PPG dealers in your area. Click the link below and enter in your zip code. https://buyat.ppg.com/refinishweb/locator/locator.aspx If you are just covering up the bare metal until you can get around to finishing it properly I would go with just a basic grey primer. If you are going to take it to bare metal on the repair spots then continue with the rest of the body you might as well hit it with the DP line of etching primers from PPG after proper treatment of the steel. I went with PPG because it was available in my area and I have heard good things about it. Another plus was the fact that the supply house was willing to take the time to tell me about the paint and the process which was helpful when choosing my body and paint shop. I knew enough at this point to not get taken advantage of. There are lots of threads here that relate to paint prep, all offer individual oppinions but I would find a dealer that offers 1 day classes to get you up to speed on the latest technologies as a first step. Good luck and post some pictures of the process. John

The early one is shown without the plate (same as mine) and the second one has the plate to hold the spring just like the 72 door I have. Interesting part is that the holes as present to hold the outer coils of the spring as is the channel for the center section of the spring. I would venture to guess that early cars had the spring but it was lost early on as others have said in this thread. John

Jacob, Let me know if you decide to part out the 70's. I am in Stillwater and need a few parts to finish my resto. Thanks and welcome to the club. John

I wonder if they positioned the spring in early cars without the spot welded plate. Without this plate I dont know how long the spring would have stayed in place.

Perhaps a picture or two of the RHD vin stamp is needed.

Is the vin # etched on opposite sides of the firewall for RH drive vehicles?

I inspected the 72 door last night. That has 1 spring with 2 coils in it. Pretty sure it would have been the same on Series 1 cars based on the layout of the holes and the indent in the hinge. Just to clarify that there is only 1 spring.... Motorman, That is the same spring I have on my 72 fuel door. The coiled sections actually are connected behind a plate that is spot welded to the hinge. It is hard to tell but it is only 1 spring assembly.