GunnerRob

Thanks again guys. Did any of you use the metal preparation and/or cleaner/degreaser before using the Por-15? And can you paint over Por-15 or do you need to use their Tie-Coat primer first? EScanlon, the air blower with the attachment definately looks like the way to go. Speed is good! Sorry if I seem a bit anal about all the details but the designer in me begs to know all the information on this process before I get started.:classic:

I just got this from a freind of mine and had to post it. For those of you outside of the US/Canada who are unfamiliar with our Thanksgiving holiday, we have turkey as our main dish at dinner time.

You guys are great! From all the advice you all gave, I don't feel like the obssesive/compulsive person I thought I was concerning this matter. It is important to me to do this only once (it is a lot of work!) but I feel like it's worth it. After all, it IS a Z! And besides that this one has sentimental value to me. It was my dad's that he bought brand new and I inherited it when he passed on. EScanlon, what is an air blower, and how much, would you estimate, of the Por-15 products did you use? I'd like to know how much to buy ahead of time so I can do this all at once. Kmack, what mil thickness of shrink-wrap did you use? St.stephen, it sounds to me like you've found all the "hidden" nooks and crannies where bad things can happen. Thanks to all of you for your help. Now, if any of you would like to camp out in my garage to help me out with this major task I make a mean spaghetti sauce!!!

I'd like to find out how to permanently prevent rust from reoccuring in my 280z. And if that's possible. I've read here on this site that Por-15 has about the best products for this purpose but I don't recall seeing how long it continues to prevent rust. From all the posts I've read, I'm thinking I should strip out all the interior and pull off the headlight buckets and fenders. Then treat all the interior surfaces inside the car and all the hidden surfaces of the bodywork with the Por-15 treatment. Thanks in advance for all your help! P.S. I live in an arid environment and don't intend to drive the car in snowy conditions. And it's a daily driver.

Zedguy, You hit the nail right on the head! I believe it's a "team" effort in all things (home, hobbies, Z cars, and on and on....). I have experienced the same thing with my wife as you have and yesterday she "got" to drive the Z for the first time since I put in a 5 speed, clutch, and driveshaft and she had a blast! BTW, we were on our way to a friends 5 year old's birthday party. It works, man!!!

Hi EZ-E, I'm wondering if the spark plugs match (same make and part number) and if the valve seals are all ok? Are you using oil? I've heard from members on this site that NGK plugs are the best for the L24, L26, and L28 engines.

A few days ago a friend sent this to me and I thought you all would get a kick out of it. This is really good. Don't peek at the picture until you have read the following: A few days ago I was having some work done at my local garage when a blonde came in and asked for a seven-hundred-ten. We all looked at each other and Bob the mechanic asked, "What is a seven-hundred-ten?" She replied, "You know, that little piece in the middle of the engine, I've lost mine and need a new one." Bob gave her a piece of paper and a pen and asked her to draw a picture of what the piece looked like. She drew a circle and in the middle of it wrote 710. Bob then took her over to another car which had its hood up and asked "is there a 710 on this car?" She pointed to it and said, "Of course, its right there.........."

Kmack, I think your avatar is pretty cool too. Would you mind if I made one for myself to display?

Hey Rick, Is the 10 ton press needed for crushing the beer cans, or for making wine???

Way back when I had a '62 MG Midget that had SU's on it. I meet a guy that raced his MGB on the circuit that took me under his wing and helped me with some repairs on my Midget as well showed me a couple of trick things to do on it. One of the things we did was to disassemble the carbs and clean them in parts cleaner. We replaced the mismatched needles with ones that matched and were intended for street use. The trick thing we did was polish the exterior surfaces of the piston on a cotton buffing wheel using jeweler's rouge and the interior with a cotton cloth and rouge. This enabled the piston to slide up and down much easier and quicker. After reassembling the carbs and mounting them back on the intake manifold, I took the car out for a spin. What a difference! The acceleration was much quicker. One thing we didn't do was put dampening oil in the SU's and it caused the revs to hang up high. So after adding 10 weight oil they were this quick and the deceleration was back to normal. Anyone else done this?

Nice car rzola! I especially like the exterior color. It's about the same color as my first bicycle that I paid for myself. You did a great job on the interior as well. Did you refurbish the door panels yourself or purchase new ones? If you want to keep your Z "warmed up" through the winter I'd be gald to keep it at my place here in sunny So. California! Ya right. Enjoy your beautiful toy, Rob

I replaced my front side marker light in my '75 Z about three years ago. I only replaced the reflector/socket portion with an early Z unit that didn't have the rubber boot housing. I mearly pulled out what I needed and inserted it into my existing boot. It fit perfectly and mounted in the fender correctly. I do remember having to futz with the wiring connection a bit but it wasn't difficult and I have no problems with it so far. Rob

Hear is a fun site. Make sure you have your sound on/up before you pick the link! Happy racing! http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/slp29/insane.html

I'm in the process of removing the interior panels of my '75 280z. I can't seem to break loose the bolt that holds the shoulder strap to the roof. And I don't want to damage or break it by forcing it. Is it normally hard to break loose, or could the threads be left hand? Thanks, Rob

Datsun76, I feel the same way as you when I have to shell out money for repairs on my '75. Then I realize that a couple hundred dollars once in awhile sure beats several hundred every month for an economy car (AKA Personal Transportation Appliance [Whitegood in the Land Down Under]). Besides, It's for a 'Z'.... baby!!!

Hi Zsled, As for your headers, there is a product made by the POR 15 people called Black Velvet. It is made specifically for exhaust manifolds and is claimed to withstand temperatures up to 1200 degrees F. I personally haven't used this stuff, but from what I've heard about POR 15 in forums at this web site, it should perform as advertised. And it can be brushed on or thinned and sprayed on. At a cost of $26.00 USD I would think it would be worth looking into. Their web address is: http://www.por15.com :cheeky:

I don't mean to get off course here, but I've got to share this one. Back in the early seventies, on hot day, my brother and I and a few friends were sitting around in the living room smoking joints. My brother was wearing only a loose fitting pair of Levi's (at that time in his life he didn't wear underwear) and when he had just about finished taking a "hit" the big long "cherry" fell off into his pants! I never saw him move so fast in all my life!!!

Biker, Thank you for introducing this magazine. I opened the link intending to check just the Z's and spent an hour reading the entire edition! I especially enjoyed the "local" flavor of the coverage as well as it's simplicity. In fact, I have it bookmarked in my web browser right next to Road & Track! Thanks, Rob

J.P. If it's not too much trouble, try pulling one off the car and look on the inside of the wheel. A lot of manufacturers cast at least their company name and wheel size there. They do look like Minilites or Minilite replicas. They do look like they would clean up nicely. At least by seeing the photo. Hope this helps. Rob

H4LIGHTS, The link provided in the body of your post directs me to ftp style parts lists that are Excel files. Unfortunatly I don't have Excel (only Microsoft Works) so I can't view them. Is there a way you or someone can convert them to Word or ascii files? Thanks, Rob

Thanks for the clarification halz. I find that most people I know, in general, drive whitegoods. Or what I refer to as appliances. I especially doubt they have ever experienced a high g-force hairpin curve or a four wheel slide! Like the guy a few years back that asked me "when are you going to sell that Z and but something newer". I told him "when they stop selling parts". He drives whitegoods. By the way, socal means Southern California. It generally refers to the area of the state that extends from the Mexican border to the south up to the Santa Barbara area. Rob

Hi Luis, If you're planning on working on a car a Z is not a bad start. Most everything on the engine is easily accessable. I can change out the starter in under 10 minutes (from the top!). I would highly recommend that you by a repair manual before you start any work on it. I use a Haynes manual. It's written in England with different terms than we use but it does have a glossary in front. I would expect that for $600 you'll be doing a few repairs on it so be prepared to work on it. 1978 was the last year for the 280z. In 1979 it changed to a larger and heavier body style and was named a 280zx. It definitly is a different car. As far as having filters for the carbs. Gotta have 'em to keep dust and debris out of the carbs and engine. I would take care of the rust as soon as possible because what you see may not be all you have, and it won't shrink. One last thing. If you know an experienced mechanic/autobody person, ask them to go with you to check out whatever car you intend to buy, even if it costs you a lunch. Good luck, Rob P.S. I've had a 280z since 1980 and I can't imagine not having one!

Halz, What are Whitegoods? Rob

Hi halz, It's the San Francisco bay area. Don't feel bad. I've lived in California 42 of my 49 years and it wasn't until I lived in S.F. that I realized where the "Bay Area" was! I thought at first it may be the Santa Monica Bay area. It's funny how we become accustomed to regional terms without realizing that people outside our area don't know what we're refering too. Hope that helps, Rob

Hey Mike, I agree with you on the FWD look. We're talking about Z cars, not Eclipses here. I too like the traditional dish look, especially in a mesh or 5 spoke style. I could live with up to a 3/8" (9.5 mm) spacer, but a 1-5/8" (42 mm) spacer, I feel, is too thick. I looked into the site that onemore240 suggested and found a mix of styles that look pretty good, but there were no prices that I could find and the babalfish link was broken so I couldn't translate the Japanese text. Have you tried online forsale posts? I have looked through these on occasion and found some decent prices although not much in 17" sizes. You might try this site: http://www.zcar.com/classifieds/class_parts/ If you find a reasonable vendor let us all know. I know that alot of members would appreciate it! Rob