motorman7

I had an excellent time at the show. It was great to meet Mike and Jason there, as well as all the other Z enthusiasts/purists. I received a lot of good on advice on how to maintain and take care of my 1970 Z. This was my first ever car show entry. My Z tied for second in the 240Z stock division. I told my parents (The original buyers/owners of the car for 38 years) and they were very happy to hear how everything went. The park is a beautiful place for the show. We were fortunate to park under some shade trees which was perfect as was the weather. There were lots of cars to see and not enough time to see them all. Again, the best part was all of the helpful advice and information provided by all the Z owners. I have some pictures of my car and the first place car next to each other. I will try to post them when I can figure out the best way to do that. Rich

I did call Pete at Dashboard Restorations. He mentioned (as DMC-Z noted earlier) that his preference is the Leather conditioner. He also mentioned that they are testing other products as well. I am planning on using the leather conditioner in preparation for the show in Irvine this weekend. I tried a some on the right edge of the the dashboard ( with the door open) and it applies well and looks good. I will finish the job tomorrow. In addition, as always, will keep the car garaged to help reduce the UV exposure and reduce temperature swings (like we really have weather here in San Diego). Will also post more pics of the car later tomorrow. Today was engine and undercarriage day. Tomorrow is wash wax and polish. Rich

Thanks for all the input. The vaseline, baby oil (I like the smell) and the leather conditioner sounds interesting. I have some of the leather conditioner at home, so will read the ingredients and decide from there. Best Regard, Rich

I love these cars! I had a 1967 1600 for about 10 years. Traded it in for the family van :-( , and wish I would have kept it. I still monitor them on e-bay, and a co-worker here is fully restoring one. The overheating is most likely a bad head gasket or warped head. The space between the waterjackets is narrow and a common point of failure. The head fix is pretty easy on these, though. In looking at a roadster, I always look to see if the original chrome is in place, especially the rails on the side of the car. That's worth about a grand right there. The back portion of the front fenders is always a pain for rust. I'm 6'3", so I had to modify the seat. I put spacers under the front mounts to get leg support for long drives. There are quite a few of these on the west coast, especially the Oregon Washington area. The SU's are very similar to the Z's and adjust in much the same way. Keep us informed. Best Regards, Rich

Sat in one and I don't fit. Head hits the roof with seat in lowest and furthest back position. Not really designed for anyone over 6' tall. I have 3-4" of clearance in the 240Z.

Any recommendations on preserving the dashboards of older Z's? I have recently acquired a 1970 240Z with original dash and no cracks (VIN: HLS30-02614). One part of me wants to put armor-all on it to make it look shiney new. The other side just says wipe it down with water. I am new to this, so any help would be much appreciated. Thanks, Rich

I'm there on Sunday in the 240Z section

Hi Mike, I'll be there on Sunday. I have my 1970 (Series 1) 240Z entered in the show. I look forward to seeing all of the cars. This will be my first Z only show. It would be great to meet up with some of the other members at the show to get some restoration tips. Best Regards, Rich