motorman7

Got a few more pics of cars out in the parking lot before the opening ceremonies. Noticed a couple of trailers out in the parking lot. Can't wait to see what's in those. There are a couple of GTR's here. Would sure like to test drive one. The appetizers were good, with a south western flair. There were about 150 people at the opening. Mr Matsuo and Mr K's son were also in attendance. Won't have many pictures today as it's detailing day - for me. Most pics will be coming tomorrow. Rich

Went to Registration at the hotel and picked up my goody-bag and badges. The registration room looked very organized and ready for a huge rush. I got there somewhat early, so processed through pretty quick. I saw a couple Z's in the wash area and in the parking lot, so thought I'd post some pics. Tonight is the opening reception, so that should be a lot of fun. I scribbled 'motorman7' on my badge so other classiczcar people could identify me. We'll see if that works.

Thanks Guy! I am really looking forward to meeting everyone and talking Z's. I am also looking forward to seeing all of the cars and enjoying the events as well. Should be a great time for everyone. I will try and post pics when I can. Got the laptop here so I can stay connected. Best regards, Rich

Well, I am still very excited about the ZCON 2012 and my journey has begun. Attached is a pic of my Z on the trailer behind the Jimmy. Also shown is the futile attempt to put saran wrap over the front of the hood, Koito's and windshield. The Saran wrap lasted for about 10 mins then was flapping in the breeze so I took it off. Also had to stop shortly thereafter to more the car forward on the trailer. I was getting some wobbles on the downhills and the moving the car forward cured the problem. Anyway, the Z handled the ride well with no further issues. She is a trailer virgin and really enjoyed the pampered ride from San Diego. One of the pleasant surprises here was the timeshare set-up. Its a huge 2 bedroom condo with it's own garage. Needless to say, I am thrilled about keeping the car in the garage here, and it is a very good size garage - see attached. Plenty of room to touch-up and detail. I will register tomorrow and try and post some pictures of the cars at the hotel. Looking forward to the show. Cool cactii here Rich

I am surprised at the low chatter on the ZCON 2012 thread. I would think that it would be quite busy now as the event is less than a week away. I am very excited about going, and looking forward to meeting all the Z-folks and participating in most of the events. This will be my first ZCON. I am still trying to work out trailering my car to Phoenix. I have the tow vehicle but the trailer I am borrowing is a bit iffy – not sure when it will be available. Hoping to arrive early on 16 Sept, but may not get their till 17 Sept due to trailer. I’ve been spending a quite a bit of time cleaning the car up. I have even been underneath the car with cleaner and a toothbrush trying to get things cleaned up – of course I’m cleaning the car as well. Looking forward to meeting everyone. Rich

Paint runs?....What if they OEM paint runs? By the way, the Z's in that judging picture look incredible...Wow!

Thanks for the support. I am really not expecting gold medallion status, I just want to point well. My paint, interior, bumpers, hubcaps, carpet and 99% of all the other parts are 42 years old with almost 98K miles. It’s all in very decent condition but will never compete with a fully restored vehicle. It would be nice to have a coach as you noted. Jay (espirit) has helped me with a number items at some of the shows, but not sure if he will be at this show. Also, there is only so much I can do without altering the originality of the car. Too bad there are no points for age, or original items. Anyway, I am looking forward to the experience and am sure I will have a great time in Phoenix. Best regards, Rich

Wow, this ZCCA judging thing has got me a little intimidated now. I will be subjecting my car to its’ very first ZCCA judges in a couple weeks and am wondering how I will fair. In spite of having my car judged in a number of shows, this will probably be the first time that it will be judged by someone that really knows what he is looking at. After reading this, I feel like a need a coach to walk me through some of the finer points. And, I am sure that I will forget to put my owners’ manual in the glove box and whatever else is supposed to be in there…or not in there. Just seems like there is a lot to consider. Will have to print out that ZCCA judging manual. In reading through the thread though, I would say my only concern might be if a judge would want to sit in the interior of my car to review the dash, glove box, etc. The vinyl on those seats is over 42 years old and I would hate for something to get torn or ripped in the process. (Personally, when I sit in the car I usually lower myself straight down and raise straight up when entering and exiting, for fear a twisting action might tear the material….have I mentioned my anal retentiveness before?) Anyway, I would not be too concerned about anything else but the seats. Thanks for starting the thread and the comments. It has put me on ‘heightened alert’. Best regards, Rich

Boy, that must be so frustrating. This is the very reason I do just about everything myself now. I am sure that I care a lot more about my car than the person working on it. As a result, I pay a lot more attention to detail. This is the very reason I got into doing my own zinc plating. I wasn’t very happy with the shop that did my plating work, it was to dark and not shiney like my NOS parts, so I started doing it myself. I now think I can do better work than the plating shop, and I get exactly what I want. I wasn’t thrilled with my second Maaco paint job. It was OK, but like your car, they missed areas on the underside. As a result, I will be doing my own painting on my roadster restoration. (I actually painted a roadster about 30 years ago and it came out great.) By doing it myself, I get exactly what I put into it, and exactly what I want, or I do it over. I am a firm believer in the saying,” If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself”. Best regards, Rich

I can't believe you are doing that work in this heat. It is cooking out! Looks like you have nice access to that battery tray area now. That is a big help. What will you do to the metal after sanding? POR-15? If you don't have that, my new best friend to battle rust is phosphoric acid. You can pick up a gallon at Home Depot for $15, and that will last you a looooong time. It is great for passivating the steel prior to paint. Or you can use that white primer they now sell at Home depot that is specifically for bare metal, but I would still use the phosphoric acid under that. either way, make sure you treat the bare metal. Looks like things are coming along well. Best regards, Rich

http://www.rcdeng.com/1970Roadster.html Got my pictures on-line. Page 6 of the roadster build has some pretty recent motor pics. Looks very nice, albeit, small. And, not to totally deviate from the thread subject, The original AM radio in my ’70 still works well. Love that self-seeking feature. As Blue said….”it’s a bit spooky”…Japanese ghosts moving that self-seeking needle.

Here is a picture and 3-D model (.stp file) of the inspection lid clip. I even put in the correct mold split line, 1 degree of draft, and the ejector pin marks. Material appears to be Nylon .zip file opens to a .stp 240z_clip.dxf 240z_clip.zip

I was filling up at the gas station yesterday with my yellow 240. A 7 year old boy jumps out of the car and tells his mom, “Wow, that looks like a Muscle Car”. The mom agreed and said, ”Yes, that sure is a Muscle car”. Made me smile. Wish it had a muscle car motor

If it is internal to the motor, you will have a bit of work ahead of you. Could be a bad rod or crank bearing. You may want to check your water pump. Once thought I threw a rod bearing in my ‘70Z only to find out it was a bad water pump bearing.

I will check my clips, as I think they are in good shape. I can actually model them here and send you or your brother a .stp file. That would be all he needs to produce the part in his machine. FDM is very similar to SLS, just different material and perhaps a bit different process. Will try and get that done sometime this week if I can remember. Best regards, Rich

I went through all this on my re-fresh. You can check it out on this thread. It will discuss most of the items you will encounter. Very interesting history. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/thread34777.html have fun with it, Rich

Items 1 and 4 I know are the same on my HLS30-02614. Not sure about the plastic ties, I will have to check when i get home, but seems pretty legit. For item 7, you can get those from MSA or make your own as noted above.

Yes, this is normal. Just make sure that you put it together correct initially. This thread has nice pics: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/thread35670.html

I was watching that one and surprised to see it end early. My estimate, assuming no rust and actually is as described, is around $20K. It is one of the more impressive Z's that I have seen on e-bay.

Very nice! I would love to see pictures of the frame rails and better pics under the battery. If there is next to no rust, I would say it is at least a $20K car. One of the nicer ones I've seen with an apparently good history. First year, series one, original paint, dash and seats....that's a nice car. Engine bay looks about right. First thing that I would do it though is put Jay's braided hoses in the engine bay. That would be the right touch. Hard to tell with pics, but the paint seems pretty good too except for the few noted areas. Will have to watch that and see what it goes for.

Yes, you can see the alarm horn/cone inside the engine bay. Looks like a pretty un-touched car to me other than the alarm. Impressive actually based on the info. To me, it seems like a pretty legitimate price at $15K if the verbage is true.

That is tempting. I should call and get the serial number. Unfortunately I am at 6 cars now at my suburban home so I am running out of room. Really looks like a great project though.

This '74 looks very impressive. Wish I had the money and the room for it. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Datsun-Z-Series-6-CYLINDER-2-6L-COUPE-4-SPD-MANUAL-RARE-?cmd=ViewItem&_trkparms=aid%3D111000%26algo%3DREC.CURRENT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D18%26meid%3D76875434191067231%26pid%3D100015%26prg%3D1008%26rk%3D1%26&_trksid=p5197.m1992&item=180910580117

Hi Phil, That is a very nice write-up on the zinc plating. I would just add a couple things. 1. The wire wheel is pretty key, but the Caswell kit also comes with an orange particle filled nylon wheel. That things makes them really shine prior to the plating process. My typical procedure is to wire wheel first, then use a quick buff on the orange wheel to brighten. My set-up is a 1/2 HP grinder with steel wire wheel on left and orange 'buffer' on right. 2. Under color- for yellow chromate, I usually do the 10-30 second blue chromate dip, then go straight into the yellow chromate for about 2 mins. The blue helps the yellow to 'stick' better and also provides the nice rainbow effect. Also, after the yellow chromate dip, you will want to rinse in very hot tap water, before drying, otherwise the part will continue to darken. A hot rinse works better than room temp water with the yellow zinc. 3. A power supply is pretty key. I am running a nice BK 1621A Power supply. It gives you plenty of power and a nice digital readout. It is a little pricey, but I wouldn't plate without it. The write-up is a nice summary. Best regards, Rich

Yes, I love it. Takes a little practice at first but great once you have it down. The thing I like best about my Caswell kit is I can adjust the brightness and rainbow of the yellow zinc. Plus it's convenient to have in your garage instead of sending stuff out.