motorman7

Thanks, I read their threads and after reading them was feeling like I could do it myself. They made it sound so easy. I would be curious to see how many people have cracked a windshield trying to do it themselves. Still not sure what I will do here. For both $140 quotes I received, I would need to take the car to them. Is it legal to drive without a windshield?

There are definitely quite a few here in SoCal. I was driving my father-in-law home last Sunday and saw a silver 240 that looked almost exactly like mine, just two miles from my house. The only thing different was the rims. Same faded silver, same bumpers, same side moulding. Was eager to get back home to make sure it really wasn't mine. Also, neighbor right behind me has 280 Turbo that sits under a tarp most of time. I have my eye on that motor.

I turned in my old brake booster core for a new one two weeks ago. Unfortunately, I left that shim that goes between the booster and the MC on the old core. Anyone know where I can get hold of one of those? Thanks, Rich

I love the glow of this paint job. The exterior paint just looks incredible. Won't get much done during the week, But I am happy with the progress. Used scotch brite to shine up the brake and fuel lines. Sprayed with clear coat spray for high temp environment to prevent/slow rust. Got the elec harness cleaned up, re-taped actually, and a few more items in. I am hoping to get the fuel tank in on Tuesday night. Checked around and $140 is the cheapest I can find to get my windshield and rear glass put in. May try this myself this weekend.

The paint and finish look great. I am really happy with the exterior finish and shine. Very smooth with a nice gloss. Beautiful color. The cost was pretty reasonable. I got a quote from one other Maaco (high), but didn't quote any small independant shops. The total cost out the door after tax was $1950. That is roughly $1400 for the top of the line signature urethane pant job, two stage paint with clear coat finish. $200 for painting the engine bay and door jams and $300 for the final finish and polish. Tax on the paint is about $50. All in all, it is pretty much what I was looking for. I have only found one run (on the side of the rear spoiler) and I can probably buff that out. The exterior is near perfect, the door jams and rear hatch were done well. The engine bay paint seems to be a little thin in some areas, but decent. It won't be noticable once I put all the stuff back in. The only negative was the tape job. A couple of the wire harnesses have some serious paint on them, and the fuel and brake lines got some overspray. Also, the underside of the engine bay box beam was not sprayed, but it's not a very serious thing. Few people will see that as it's on the underside of the car. I may see about touching that up later. Overall, I am really thrilled with the work that was done for the price. I didn't want to put $10K into a car that will never be worth that much, but I wanted something that looked awesome. For under $2K, it is very nice. I will do the same exact thing with my '73 about 6 months from now. Onlly it will be the oriinal 901 silver. Hope that helps. Rich

Will probably play in the engine bay tomorrow. I love the color. It grabs your attention.

Picked up the Car from Lance's Maaco today and it looks great. I threw a picture of the car in the shop and Lance in here. Now the assembly work. Been at it for over 4 hours now and doesn't look like much has been done. Will work on it a bit more tonite and then some tomorrow. Will post pics as I go.

I like that idea .. Perhaps will just bring pictures of the cars. Kind of like showing off the kids, huh. :classic:

I need to make a very big decision here today regarding ZCON. I registered for a number of the events and was planning on bringing HLS30-02614 to the judged show, but a lot has changed over the last 3 months. When I registered I was at my job of 8 years sitting on 3 weeks of vacation. Unfortunately, I was laid off shortly thereafter. Amazingly, I got a great job just two weeks later, but now I have just 1.5 days of vacation. Will probably only have 4 days by the time of the show. Not sure if I want to take a 2 day drive out and two day drive back for a short visit (pulling a trailered Z none the less). I will think about this for the day and see what I end up doing.

It does have an effect, but it is very small. If you wire wheel down to the steel, then plate, you are bringing it back to what it originally was. The process actually involves an acid etch which removes a small amount of steel, then you electroplate and add the zinc. It is a great corrosion preventative and also helps to prevent/reduce galling. And it makes them look pretty. Rich

I like paint thinner and a bristle brush to clean oil, grease and grime. A wire wheel to remove rust if it is there. Once you wire wheel or sandblast, you have to plate or paint to prevent the bolt from rusting again. If you don't, it will rust in less than a month.

This thread has a lot of good info. I do my own plating in my garage. The bolts and other pieces look great when they are done. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36505&highlight=zinc+plating

Spent most of the day prepping parts for when the body returns. You know you have too much time on your hands when you plate the horn. :paranoid:

I was just kidding you know. I was kind of refering to that incredible looking Aston Martin I parked next to. What a sweet car. Gorgeous lines on that car. Speedo went to over 200 MPH

Wow! I took my '70Z to the Cars & Coffee show before the MSA event. It really is an incredible showing of cars. And they LOVED my Z! You wouldn't believe how many times I overheard people say, "that car must be worth over $100K" as they were walking by.

Thanks for the tip Bonzi. One part of me wants to get it assembled ASAP; the other side says take your time. I will make sure everything fits well before I tighten everything. The hood especially. I will need to remove that to put the engine back in. Got my transmission back yesterday. Shop said it was in good shape and just needed new seals. Almost had a catastrophe with the weather stripping. Everyone is out. Was fortunate that Black dragon still had a set. It arrives on Thursday. I should get the final small rubber peices on Friday from MSA. Also need to hop on over to CDM and get the paint for the back panel. A friend of mine has a graphite composite rear panel. Looks pretty sweet. Will have to get one of those some day. Looks like it costs a pretty penny though. Anyway, looking forward to the weekend...Love the pics of the yellow.

I'm hoping I can pick it up on Friday afternoon. That would give me most of the weekend to start putting it back together. My wife is gone for the weekend at a health seminar, so I can burn the midnight oil on this one for a couple days. The white truck in the back ground looks nice as well. Thanks for all the work on this Lance...It'll look awesome with the Panasports.

WOW, I love it! .....Very excited about this. Thanks for the update Lance! :):)

Welcome to the site! Pretty car, Nice color . From the pic looks like a Series 1. And, 50 is not that old....I'll be there in 2 years. Best Regards, Rich

Yes, the brake booster hose would be great. Mine is 40 years old

Thought about that after I wrote it. Seeing as how the Exhaust manifold is thick cast iron, I am sure it takes at least a couple minutes before it heats up. Also, if I am not mistaken, there is a vaccuum operated valve on the air cleaner that closes that path from the exhaust manifold once the engine is warmed up. Which, leads to the issue most likely being the choke. I will have to go back and check the adjustment. Rich

I have been driving the '73 daily now for the last two months and they seem to be doing just fine. They do prefer the warm weather and run very smooth when warm. They also work well during acceleration The only 'issue', though not a big deal, is that the engine is a little weak when cold. I have to run the revs up during the first 2 or 3 minutes of operation when starting up from the stop signs on my block. I should hook-up the hose that goes from the manifold cover to the air cleaner. That would probably help the cold start issue some. Once my engine temp moves over 120, everything runs fine. Also, regarding the cold: when its cold, seems like a little more cranking time, maybe 5 seconds till start. Also could be cause I am not running the electric pump (which I will replace some day). On warm days it starts of in less than a second. So, pretty happy with the flat tops so far. No plan on changing anything except the adding the hose and electric pump eventually. Thanks for all the input. Rich

Well, I finally got it off to the paint shop. I spent most of Thursday evening sanding; then most of Friday nite till 11PM....sanding. And then up again early today.....to sand some more before finally taking it to Lance's Maaco in OC. All the sanding was not complete, so I we figured some hours into the paint estimate to cover additional work that was needed. My next two weekends are booked, so it was now or a long while from now. Also, I felt it was time to let the professionals take over. I want mention here, that not all Maaco's are equal . The one 3 blocks from my house was very business like (not so friendly) and somewhat pricey. The Maaco "Signature" paint job was $100 more by my house and the cost to paint the engine bay and door jams was way pricey. By comparison, Lance's shop was much more friendly and much more reasonably priced. It was well worth the 70 mile trip. I will take my '73 up there when it's time to paint that one. I was in such a rush this AM to get to the shop that I forgot to take pics, so all I have is pics I took from a couple days ago. i will definitely take pics when I bring it back. Taking out the windshield was a piece of cake. I cut the rubber gasket as discussed earlier here. The front one leaked and the rear was curling so they needed replacement anyway. I decided on a "corvette yellow" at the shop (samll color swatches), but later today went looking at yellow cars and decided I liked the Camaro "Rally Yellow" instead. Actually it is more my sons choice as he will eventually get the car. I will call Lance Monday AM and get the color changed to "Rally Yellow" So, I am glad that part is over. It's really a relief to have the car out of my 'dusty' garage and at the paint shop. I am looking forward to the new color and of course the assembly process. Rich

I don't see how anyone could remove that engine and sell it. It would be like someone stealing and trying to sell the Mona Lisa. That motor is a work of art.