motorman7

I know. Actually pretty excited about it. I'm already talking to my son about getting another one. How crazy is that. We are already a 5 car family.

Thanks for the input. I was kind of guessing on the tire size. I will go with the 16X7's for the rim. Rich

You are correct, although I was not aware of this. When we brought the parts to Classic Datsun, Les informed me that there were two different types of coating. So, we (uh, Les) separated them into two piles, cad gold and silver zinc. The clamps are silver zinc as well as some of the bolts/screws. There were also some items that we could not do because of incompatible material.

OK, its off to Classic Datsun to get parts plated. Some of these large parts I am not sure how to handle, so I will bring them as they are and see what Les recommends. The bucket has all the bolts, washers and clamps and other items, all cleaned with cleaner and the wire wheel. The washers and bolts aren't bad to clean, but the clamps are a pain (still have all my fingers so it was worth it). I love the clamp. They are works of art (though my brother-in-law the Honda mechanic hates them). Not easy to use, but they sure are pretty. I will go with all the original bolts, they all seem to be in pretty good condition. They just need the plating.

Well, Looks like I am really going to take the plunge here. The car drips a couple drops of oil from the rear seal (I think) every week. Not a bad leak, but it is a leak. And, with the engine this stripped, it is only a couple bolts to remove it. This will also make painting the block a heck of a lot easier. So, looks like I will pull the engine this Saturday. A friend has a hoist and a spare engine stand so I will use those. Now, it's time to order an engine gasket kit with rear seal included. Will also check the clutch plate while every thing is apart. Ahh, what was once a simple zinc re-fresh has now turned into quite a project. Good thing it's not my daily driver. Will keep posting as things progress. Rich

OK, so maybe the carbs are not too bad. I did a quick clean and the zinc on these looks pretty reasonable. In fact, there is still a bit of the rainbow effect in some areas. I will clean these up further in the next several days and hopefully they will be OK as is. If not, I will have to get these pieces plated also. For now I will wait. I have about half of the parts cleaned up for plating. Will have my son try and get the other half finished up today, so I can take them in tomorrow AM. Finally got the last two smog rail fittings loose. The rail is now ready for clean and plate. That was a chore. Also got some of the final bolts in the engine bay removed, so progress is going well. Rich

I have no plans to lower the car, but would like to get some 16 x 7 Panasports with 205/60s for driving. I hate driving around in the original hubcaps for two reasons. First, I am worried that someone will take them (I think if I tried I could get all of them off the wheels in 30 seconds). Second, I once had one come off during a hard cornering maneuver (although that was over 30 years ago. A funny story goes along with that. I will share it eventually). So, will have to get some someday so I can drive around comfortably without any worries. Best Regards, Rich

Boy, this refresh is starting to get a little scarey. There are a lot of nuts and bolts on this car and a lot of parts. Was not feeling too bad until I hit the carbs (which I saved for last). That starts to get a little tricky. Most of the carb parts aren't bad, but everything really must go so they look the same. Will tackle this animal tomorrow. The plan is to get the parts to Classic Datsun for plating this Thursday. No pics tonite, even though I took tons. I took pics of the nuts and bolts with their respective components. This should help the assembly once I get there. Rich

WOW, that motor is sweet! That is definitely something to shoot for. The aluminum looks incredible (as does the zinc). Rich

Yes, that makes sense. I will go ahead and 'refresh' the block with paint. I guess it just had that 'ugly puppy' attraction, that's why I was hesitant. Thanks for the feedback

Yes, mine are also the olive drab and original. There is a pick of them on the '70 refresh thread.

Hi Randy, Nice to hear from you again. Funny thing about the engine paint here. I am wondering if this is the norm. Actually, right now I am debating on what to do with this. I almost want to keep it because it is original and so bad. The coverage is pretty complete and there does not seem to be any corrosion set in. I was actually debating on whether to just give it a clear coat instead of the true paint color. As everything else on the car is original, I am now wondering if painting this is a good idea. I will think about it here for a while as I have time and am in no rush. Will spend time prepping the zinc parts and continuing the clean. I hope to get my zinc parts looking as good as yours. Best Regards, Rich

I cleaned up most of the engine bay paint with Maguires cleaner wax this evening. Still have more to go but got about 75% of it cleaned. Still have a lot of little detail areas but not bad. The engine (Carb side) cleaned up well but took a lot of effort. I used mineral spirits on the paint and greasey areas; 0000 steel wool and lacquer thinner on the corroded aluminum. That came out pretty well but is a lot of work. Probably less than halfway done with this. Was surprised at the poor paint job on the engine block. There are paint drips. Perhaps it was painted on a Monday at the engine shop. I did get two more of the smog rail fitting loose. Four down, two to go. It's nice to have a 17 year old son to help. He works in exchange for letting him drive the car on occasion. He did a nice job cleaning the nuts and bolt with wire wheel in prep for zinc plating. Rich

I will need to search for a line wrench. The 14mm is too big and 13 too small. 9/16" is as bad as the 14. I will try again tonite to loosen the remaining 4. Rich

Thanks James! I will begin this process shortly. Best Regards, Rich

Thanks, I probably would have overlooked those. I also need to take off the plate for the windshield washer fluid lines. Will do a careful final check before I take everything in. Thanks for the heads-up, Rich

Hi Bob, I have not ordered any yet, but it is on the list. Will probably order in July or August once I finish the refresh. I figure I will be out of commission here for a month or so. I am planning on going to the JCCS show. I always enjoy that one. Will be my first time with a car to enter though. Best Regards, Rich

Well, got most of the engine parts out. Will take out the brake lines tomorrow or Tuesday. The only glitch in the process was trying to take the smog tubes out of the manifold. :disappoin They are rusted in. I could only loosen two, so I have applied Liquid Wrench to the threads and will let them soak and try to loosen them again tomorrow. The plan over the next several days is to sort the parts for plating and document them with photos. I will then clean them before taking them to Les for final clean and plate. While those are out to plate, I will clean and touch up the long block and engine bay. I will also clean and wax the engine bay paint before I start any assembly. Am also planning on cleaning all of the aluminum parts while they are off the engine. I am not palnning on a carb overhaul as they seem to be in excellent shape already. Should be fun. Also, any tips and advice from members on this refresh is appreciated. Rich

Hi Monte, It was a tough decision. The engine bay doesn't look that bad, but the fuel rails and smog tubes were bugging me. They look pretty bad. Also, the parts that I cleaned the corrosion from look good, but now have little or no plating and are succeptable to worse corrosion. So, I figured it was all or nothing. Plus, it would look funny to have a couple 'newish' looking parts and most older. So, the only way to address it was to do the whole engine bay. That is all I am planning for now. I am happy with everything else on the car. Thanks for the best wishes. Best Regards, Rich

Hi Adam, Yes, the car is completely stock and untouched, except for some recent rubber hoses (seen in pics) and belt. Even the plug wires are original with 1970 stamped on them. I think the color looks better in the pics than in real life. The pic is taken after wax, before show. Rich

Thanks for the advise. I will take as many pics as I can (without getting the camera too dirty)

Why take apart a perfectly good Z?:paranoid: I guess it's because its time. After almost 40 years of oxidation and corrosion the engine needs a bit of sprucing up. I will start dissassembling today and get the zinc plated parts cleaned and replated. Wow, there are a lot of zinc plated parts. I am plannning on doing most of the cleaning myself and then taking the parts down to Les at Classic Datsun for a final clean and plating. Looks like the brake and clutch lines will need to go as well. Unfortunate because I just got the brakes working great (rears were not operating for a period of time). I am still debating on the braided hose, but leaning towards braided. Still have most of them so I think I can make that happen. Anyway, will keep this updated with pics. Here are the before pics.

I would be interested as well. My only concern would be that there are a number of other engine compartment hoses that would need the same treatment. This would include the two heater hoses, brake assist vaccuum hoses, etc. It would be best if all of the hoses matched. Not sure if these are available at all on line.

Well, that fixed the problem. I installed a "major" rebuild kit from Tokico (Same manufacturer of Master Cylinder) and the rear brakes finally bleed and brake. Of course, its the last item I check. Worked from back to front fixing parts. Anyway, I feel good about the whole system now that I have gone through it. By the way, the rebuild kit was so cheap that I thought it would be cheap chinese garbage. Purchased from Classicgarage.com for $23. The pleasant surprise was the manufacturer-same as original. Best of luck on your Z brakes there. Rich

I currently have the same problem with my '70. I cleaned and exercised the proportioning valve; honed and lubed the rear brake cylinders (they were froze); and still no luck. The front brakes work great, the rears do not operate. Fluid drains from rear brake reservoir when rear brake lines are open, and even fills system when 'bleeding', but no pressure. I just got a 'major' rebuild kit for the Master Cylinder and will replace that tonite. I am hoping that solves the problem. Not much left to the system. Only the junction that has the brake warning light.