5thhorsemann

Sorry, I want the 5th (overdrive) gear, but rite now since there isn't a NEED to fix or replace anything, I'm just going to leave well enough alone. It's been my experience that these kind of swaps can be like opening a can of worms and I don't need any additional headaches at this point. I am in the process of opening a third business, dealing with the state and local governments in the State of Maryland has me frustrated enough.

I recently aquired a brand-new-old-stock, still in the nissan shipping crate, 77-79 model year 5 speed for the incredible price of "get it out of my shop". I will install it when the existing clutch or tranny give me trouble, till then I'm fine with the 4 speed.

It will be very usefull when you need it. Kind of like my H&K USP .45 ACP, I haven't ever had to use it, but it sure feels good knowing it's there if I ever need it.

Thats roughly where my 73 runs, about 5500 RPM at 100 MPH.

3/16 tubing fits nice, I found some pre formed vacuum lines bent like a "J" and slipped them onto the overflows. Any auto parts store with a car guy behind the counter, not just list pickers, can hook you up.

Well my friends, it’s that time again, the END of the holiday season and another year. Armature night is once again upon us, so if you have to be out on the roads tonight, keep your head on a swivel and watch out for the well lubricated road worriers and Johnny Law, both are out to spoil your night. I would like to take this opportunity to wish each of you all the best in 2012, and extend to all of you a “Thank You” for all of your help in the various Z projects that I tackled this past year. Good health and good luck in 2012.

I agree with everything walter has stated here. There is a reason that almost every wheel spacer set I have ever seen has "Not intended for highway use" stamped on it or somewhere in the directions. It is just one more (or 4 more) things to go wrong.

Although I never sectioned a strut tube, I have seamed pipe and tubing many times in the past. Therefore, I would recommend the following bit of advice for your undertaking. Remove and disassemble your suspension, clean and inspect all the parts thoroughly, gather all the parts that need to be replaced, as well as the new struts and springs. Mark all the parts in box’s as to the corner of the car they came from. Do not cut the struts if you are not going to do the welding. I say this because if you bring me a screwed up cut and expect me to fix your mess and give you an excellent finished product, it will cost you a lot more. Just hand the unmolested struts, along with the new inserts over to the pro and let him do what you are paying him to do. I would recommend the tubing or pipe cutter to make the cuts for the following reasons. First, if properly done, the pipe cutter will make the “squarest” cut, giving you you’re best mating surfaces and most accurate tube length when the job is done. Second, the pipe cutter will leave a slight bevel cut, so there is less grinding required to get you’re root welds rite and get full penetration with less heat. And finally, the math is easier with the pipe cutter, people forget that abrasive blades remove a thickness of metal that is equal to the thickness of the blade. If you are using a 1/8 inch thick blade and make your cuts in the wrong location, your tube will be ¼ inch short when you are done. Just my 2 cents.

I'm actually very good with a welder, I also have an 8 foot shear and an 8 foot brake, it's how I earn a living. I'm thinking more like $50.00 in materials to do both sides making the pans and stiffeners myself. Looking at all the other projects on my plate, I don't have the 2 or 3 day window in my shop schedule to replace the pans right now. As far as the FG/ steel interface, I will agree that it will not last for ever, but the steel was properly prepped and cleaned which is key, the glass was laid rite, and I'm sure I will get 10 years out of the repair

One of my projects for the weel was to checkout and seal the floorpans. The bottoms looked really good so I just cleaned them and did the old POR15, came out nice. Today I went for the inside of the car, drivers side was all good, hit the surface rust with onestep and walked away. Then I lifted the pasenger side carpet, gasp, seemed like half the floor came up with the carpet. So, what now, I'm in no position to do the cut and replace method at this point. I went after the rust with scraper, brush and grinder. Cleaned out all the loose rust, the floor was still solid, but there were some pin holes and heavy pitting. I applied the onestep and let it cure while I went to get the fiberglass mat and resin. Coated the floor with 2 layers of glass from the seat pearch to the bottom of the blower motor turned out nice and should outlast the rest of the car. This is a great option if you aren't "restoring" Sorry, no before pic taken.

Sorry, missed the T in l28t. So I'll just shut up now.

That would be my question, why go through all the headachs and expense of going EFI when you can just go with an earlier set of carbs and ignition?

Ok z boy, time to get your head in the game, first do a bit of homework and find a shop that has experience with performance suspension systems. Also, YOU pick the shop, you are in the driver’s seat here, YOU have what he wants, cash! Find you're drop dead number that you are willing to pay for the car and have that amount of cash IN YOUR POCKET when you go to the shop to have the car checked out. The idea here is to make the purchase while the car is up on the lift and out of his driveway. He will be more willing to drop his price while he is out of his element. While the car is in the air check all the problem rust locations thoroughly, and point out all the rust and repairs you find to the owner. Stick your fingers into the floor board supports and dig out any rust that’s in there and look worried if you find some. Get your best poker face together, the worst case scenario is you walk away from this car and get some valuable experience in car buying.

I hadn’t seen this article, and thanks for the link. I realize that our government hasn’t seen fit to get out of the business of picking winners and losers just yet, that’s why I titled the thread "A step in the right direction". But as budgets grow tighter and revenues fall with the economic problems we face, there is always a slight chance that someone in the front office will have an epiphany and realize that pure gasoline is the cleanest, most potable, best bang for the buck fuel that the world has ever known. I remain skeptically hopeful some day we can be shed of the E blend fantasy.

I will take some picks and post them tomorrow.

If you want a set of flat top carbs, I haven't taken mine to the scrap yard yet. They are off of my late 73 240, I believe they are the same as the 260 carbs, I have the complete intake and stock exhaust manifolds as well. PM me if you want them.

If you are trying to slow the motor using added flywheel mass you need to do one of two things; 1) mount the mass using a clutch so you can turn the motor off without the weight in play. OR 2) install compression releases to allow the motor to freewheel once you are done running. Also keep in mind that having all that rotating mass can make a small problem into a big mess if something goes amiss. I would look at dropping a cylinder once the motor is up and running, that should slow things up a bit, try pulling the plug wires one at a time and see what that does.

Once again, it ended at $15,600 RNM. I would hope the guy is starting to get the message that this isn't a $27K car.

First, I'm NOT trying to "go political" so please don't infract me or give me any more points. I simply think this is a bit of good news for us and our cars, and as usual we won't be hearing about it on the news http://www.historicvehicle.org/Latest-News/December-2011/2011/12/23/Washington-Nixes-Ethanol-Subsidy

FWIW, I have a stainless pipe, think they call them twice pipes, that runs from the stock manifold (on a 73) to just behind the transmission tail stock where where the two smaller pipes combine into one 2 1/2 inch pipe. I cut that section out and replaced it with 2 1/2 inch pipe up to the colector when I installed my new headers. I'm not familiar with the Sebro system, but if this is the style exhaust you are looking for PM me and I will send you pics of it, mabe we can make a deal and save you some money on the custom built system.

If the same blank fits all 4 locks, it might be worth your while to take all of them to the locksmith and have them keyed the same, just a thought.

You're in luck, I have the pasenger seat out of my 73 today. I can take more if you need them but my camera batteries need to be charged, let me know.

I can't remember the exact name of the shop, Classic Interiors or something close to that in west Baltimore, but there are plenty more shops around. They can “tune” the seat springs and reproduce the foam in a density of your choice to give you the level of firmness you want. It only takes a second to pull the seats out of a Z and drop them off. I would go that route.

It's sooooo much easier to pull the ignition off and take to the locksmith. Additionally, and I speaking to cars in general not just Z's, the door and trunk locks do not always have as many pins in the cylinders as the ignition cylinder. If you're uncomfortable pulling thr ignition cylinder yourself, strip the cover off the column and then call in the locksmith to make copies on site. My local dealership said they do not keep the key code records going this far back (73 in my case) so I went to easters lock and key locally who cut the first key for $25 and $5 each for copies which were all tested on the car before I left.

zboy, 72 OJ has summed up in a few words exactly what will happen to you after you procure your new toy. Lets be fair and clear, a Z is a toy. I don’t care how nice a Z you get, you must resolve yourself to the fact that it will have it’s hands in your pocket for as long as you own it. There will be maintenance and repair needs that will have to be addressed, and then there are the selfish wants that will make you loose sleep at night until you brake down and spend the cash. Lowering kits, wheels, carbs, cams, new badges, new rubber, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera……………….