Patcon

Thanks Montezuma, Charles

couldn't get the link to work... C

When you sand to the tape do you hit the tape at all. Or do you try to sand right up to the edge of the tape. I tend to hit the tape some but it seems to get sanded instead of the primer. Juts wondering if that is correct... Thanks for the reply, Charles

I believe the early car wiring harnesses got reworked some in the later cars. The later harness is a little different and the 73 harness is even different again. I don't know if the white wires were changed in any of the later editions. I have seen these white wires show signs of overheating on several of my cars... Charles

E, I saw that you were using tape to straighten the lines on the car. What is your technique for doing this? I have been using that technique on my doors because they had some damage right at the detail line in the door but they are still wavy. Any pointers would help? Charles

Are you sure that is oil? On my carbs that tends to be old gas that yellows as it ages... Charles

Went to article and clicked thru to Vanderbrink website and watched several videos cataloging the cars. Amazing collection of cars. Auctions Sept 28th and 29th I believe, available to watch or bid online. They will clear several million I would think... C

As a general rule, my understanding of port size and runner length, longer and/or smaller runners and ports give torque; larger and/or shorter runners give flow. It is kind of hard to get a lot of both. Look at how dual plane v-8 intakes are made versus racing single plane intakes. Charles

I figure I will have a $1000 or more in just paint, primer and fillers when I am done. That doesn't include paper, sanding blocks, lacquer thinner, etc. Automotive paint is very expensive and to do a high level paint job takes time and money. I already have a hundred hours or so in just paint labor and block sanding and I haven't started on the shell yet. The hood, doors, fenders, hatch and headlight buckets are close and the under side of the shell is done. At $50 an hour for shop time you can see how paint jobs get expensive. And I am not a Noob at this, I have painted several cars... Charles

I don't think the smaller boosters are available and I was talking to a rebuild shop about getting diaphragms to rebuild some of the boosters I have laying around. I don't think they have a source for the smaller diaphragms any more so hence no rebuilt little boosters... Charles

Montezuma, Which flares are you referring to. The ones on the black Gnose or like the Akira car? Charles

Blue I saw that car on Rocky Auto a while back. I had thought about trying to find out the same thing. I really like the flare kit and the air dam on that car. It would be nice to find a way to get those exported for those of us that don't get to shop for them directly. I like the car and it is actually purple which is cool look. Rocky Auto would be where I would start... Charles

I agree find a good frame shop and get their assessment on what it will take to fix. Jim has a good eye and I think that is a good call on the Fiberglass. There is either a hole there or a bad wrinkle in the frame rail and they filled it to doctor it up. I would not expect the repair to be cheap. It took a pretty good hit right at the front wheels so I would also look for other damaged components. Bent suspension arms, drop links, sway bar, steering rack. Also check the rear suspension over. That might have also taken a lick. Look for badly wrinkled metal in the engine bay. Looks like crumpled paper that has been flattened back out. Check up near the radiator support and behind the hood hinges. Areas that don't typically get replaced in this type of accident. Let us know what you find out. Charles

I had ideas for a once only noise. For something like you have, I don't know. Dirty oil pump pick up. Air in the oil galleys??? I don't know any one else have ideas? C

I would help but I am too far away. I also don't know the spark setup well enough to help you trouble shoot some of the other 280z or zx guys should be able to help you trouble shoot... Charles

Amen, My oldest can look me in the eye. I am 6'5".. and my baby just turned nine. That is probably why my restorations take me so long. There just seem to be other things that out rank them... Charles

What car? Last time I looked Rockauto had the larger 240Z boosters available... C

E-tek, I was surfing on the Evercoat site and they make a "Panel Bond-30" and a "Panel Bond-45" Lifetime warranty... seems to bond anything to anything... Charles

How long is it noisy? Is it noisy only on the first start up or for several start ups? More details? C

Bad grounds would be my first suspicion. One of the grounds on the front end of the car is corroded and the current is finding the path of least resistance. Going through the other light to ground is easier than going through the corroded ground. Just a thought... Charles

You don't have to paint the areas you strip if the car doesn't get wet. Ospho or Eastwood "After Blast" will prevent flash rust as long as the car isn't exposed to the rain. It also means your don't have to deal with the rattle can paint which can cause problems later. FWIW... Charles

If I were gonna do it. I would drill out the spots at the rear apron to the quarter panel and cut through the floor to separate the quarters and the rear apron from each other. I would separate the floors from the rockers by drilling those spots as well. Separate the front clip in the same way or just cut it off since it is damaged. My 2 cents... Charles

The drivers side frame rail would probably be a hard fix. The bowed frame could probably be pulled by a good frame shop. We buy a good many salvage cars and rework them. We have a frame guy that is amazing. It would be interesting to show those pictures to a good frame man in your area to see what they think. If I were going to do it myself I would replace the front frame rails or front clip entirely. If the car is really clean every where else it might be worth it, otherwise use what you can and recycle the rest. I just hate to see a Z that isn't all eaten up with rust get scrapped, but they can't all be saved. Charles

How bad is the frame? We straighten frames all the time. Where is it damaged? Charles

Steve, Looks great as always... Charles