9teen7t240z

Carl, Am glad to hear that the information is what you wanted. Bonzi's recommendation on the Modern marvels episode helped me alot too. While I couldn't find a site to watch the entire episode, I did find a segment of the segment on Youtube and found it to be informative. Thanks for the input, Bonzi. There is still 2 weeks left to get in on the group buy, should anyone else want to participate. Let me know via PM or personal email. Thanks, Mike R.

Hi, Carl, Thanks for your question. I am not an engineer or chemist by any stretch of the imagination....but I will do my best to answer your question. Electrolytic Chrome plating of ABS and other plastic resins has been used in various industries since the 1960's. Demand for the plating of plastics was generated primarily by the automotive trim industry, as the durability, finish, aesthetic appeal, and corrosion-resistance of chrome was needed to match the industries escalating use of plastic materials for weight savings on their automobiles. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that the original trim parts from our Z cars were electro-plated. The primary issue with plating plastics is generated by the lack of conductivity of the plastic material substrate. In order to compensate for this problem, various processes were introduced to counter the issue. These included things such as etching the substrate with chromic acid, then applying base coats of copper, nickel, or both to provide the necessary electrical conductivity for the final chrome surface. (I am going to try to attach a link to a much better source of information for you.....but any google search will yield numerous results for chrome-plated plastics). In any event, all of the processes require considerable extra time and materials to complete, thereby making it a relatively expensive process. The combination of waning demand due to the lack of chrome use in modern automobiles, coupled with the high costs of labor domestically and the higher regulatory costs of EPA compliance, have resulted in the virtual elimination of this segment of the industry here in the US. However, the ever-growing interest in collector cars worldwide will insure a sustainable demand for chrome plated plastics for the foreseeable future, and the low labor and regulatory costs available overseas will help collector's access these services at affordable prices. Sorry for the verbosity of the previous paragraph....it sounds more likie a "business plan" than an answer. () The short answer is this: 1. There are several different processes that are used to electro-plate chrome onto plastics, and 2. My research seems to indicate that any one of them is as good as the next, and 3. Precisely which one or combination of these proccesses is utilized by the overseas facility is unknown to me at this time. In the future, I hope to visit the facility myself and will be better able to answer that question. Thanks again for your interest....I hope that I can help you with your future chroming needs. Mike R. http://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=525

Update: Due to the number of orders that continue to come in, I have moved the cut-off date for receipt of parts to be plated to Friday, October 19th. This will allow some extra time for you guys to remove your parts and ship them, and will make it easier for those of you in the UK and Europe to get them here before the "ship sails". I can still accept new orders through that date. Also, one of the members has graciously offered up a set of bumpers to be used as a "guinea pig" for the re-chroming of bumpers. I was reluctant to offer plating of bumpers until I've had one done and was able to assess the quality of the work myself. Will keep everyone posted on the results of this effort, as several of you have asked me about bumpers specifically. Mike

As an update to this thread, we have now reached a sufficient number of order commitments to follow-through with the October shipment. All pieces to be re-chromed will be shipped from California to the plating facility on October 15th. For everyone who wants to get in on this group buy, I will need to receive your parts to be replated no later than Monday, October 8th. The process will flow as follows: 1. Contact me via private message or direct by email to confirm your orders. At that point, I will email you shipping addresses and contact info, payment processing instructions, and , upon receipt of your parts, will send you a receipt and invoice. For the mutual convenience and protection of all parties, all payments will be processed through Paypal. 2. Each persons order will be catalogued and packaged individually, ensuring that your own actual parts will be returned to you after the refurbishing. 3. Prices include return shipment to you (U.S. orders only) by USPS flat-rate boxes. Should you wish an alternative shipping mode, customer must advise at the time of order so that any incremental costs can be added to the invoice. Please note that we have a minimum order of $100. per order 4. Prices are as stated in the original post on this thread, EXCEPT for emblems. We have since negotiated a flat-rate price of $45.00 for each emblem. As with all other parts, this price includes the final refurbishment/painting to original specifications and colors. I believe that this should answer all of the questions received regarding this group buy. Please keep in mind the cut-off date of October 8th when planning your parts shipment. Thanks again for all of your interest.....I hope to be able to do this again in the future for all of my fellow Z enthusiasts. Mike R.

Leon, Sounds simple enough. Will have a go at it. Thanks, Mike

Thanks, Blue and Leon. Will check out the blog on the dizzy upgrade. Saves me from having to buy a feeler guage to adjust the points (). Anyone have any feedback/caveats/advice on removing the balance tube assembly from the car? Mike

Steve, Now that you've piqued my curiosity, would the 280zx dizzy be a simple swap, or would I have to alter other parts of the ignition system as well? Mike

Thanks again, Steve. I'm not too sure about upgrading the distributor to electronic though. It seems that over the years I've read quite a few threads from members who were having alot of issues when they upgraded theirs, and I suspect that they knew alot more about ignition systems than I do.Whether my problem is a lack of confidence or just too lazy, I'd rather get my baby back on the road again quickly. While taking on this project, I've decided to spend some time polishing my aluminum (intakes, heat shield, carbs, linkage, etc.). Can you tell me if it is a big issue to remove the balance tube? I'd like to polish it as well, and with it off the car, I can better access my intake manifolds. Mike

Ahhh.....the joys of trouble-shooting. Thanks to everyone for your input. My plugs were "OK", but I replaced them anyway. Wires are new. Picked up a new distributor cap, rotor, and point set (points were badly pitted....am surprised that it ran so well:)) and will install them after I deal with the vacuum advance issue. After several attempts at sucking on the hose that feeds the vacuum advance, I am getting NO movement at all in the distributor. Additionally, I observed considerable dirt, grease, and even corrosion inside the distributor itself. Doesn't appear as though this distributor has been serviced in quite some time....if ever. While it would probably be advisable to buy a new distributor (and I suspect that I will), I think I'll move forward with attempting to remove the distributor and service it first. This will be my first attempt at ever working on a distributor, so I just might accidentally learn something in the process. Unfortunately, until I can break the screw that attaches the vacuum advance unit to the body of the distributor......I'm kind of stuck. Have soaked it in PB Blaster and will have another go at it today. By the way, in the process of going through this troubleshooting exercise, I found what appears to be a leak where the front carburetor attaches to the spacer on the intake manifold. I assume that a leak in this area could produce both a vacuum leak AND a fuel leak? Also, found a small coolant leak at the hose connection on the block that comes from the balance tube. Guess there's no time like the present to address all of these issues. In the future, am thinking it might be appropriate to "pre-flight" my Z before every ride, just as I used to do when I flew:) Thanks again for all of your valued input. Will keep you posted on all of the new cuss words I'm likely to coin this weekend:) Mike

Thanks for the second opinion, Blue. Technically, it's a third opinion, as the ignition is what I originally suspected. However, a neighbor of mine who has forgotten more about old school cars than I'll ever learn, was convinced that my problem was one of a fuel issue. Perhaps I'm not quite as mechanically-challenged as I thought I was:) Having said that, diagnosing is one thing......fixing the problem could be a different story altogether. Will proceed with checking the points, plugs, cap, rotor, wires, vacuum advance, and timing and see where it goes from there. Thanks again to you and jarvo. Mike

Thanks again, Jarvo, for the vacuum advance troubleshoot technique. I just hope that I can find a replacement unit should mine turn out to be defective. Mike

Does anyone else have any opinions/thoughts on the question of whether I likely have a fuel problem or ignition problem? (I always get second opinions from my doctor even if he just diagnosed a common cold:)

Thanks, Jarvo. I will start with the points, rotor, and distributor cap. I know that the wires all connected correctly. Is there a way to troubleshoot the vacuum advance? Mike

My 240z has been the most reliable car that I've owned for years......until yesterday. Took it out for a drive and it ran great as usual. Stopped at the local c-store for an energy drink, fired up the car, and it had almost no power at all (had to limp it home). When trying to accelerate, the car would crawl to 3,000 rpm and then begin backfiring through the exhaust. At idle, it stumbles around 400-500 rpm, then dies. My question is this: I want to know where to start trouble-shooting. Are these symptoms more represenatative of a fuel system issue or an ignition issue? Any suggestions that you may have would be greatly apreciated. By the way, it is a 1970 240z in mechanically stock configuration with SU carbs and stock ignition system. Thanks, Mike

I've received a number of questions regarding shipping and handling costs for the re-chroming services. Please note that the prices quoted at the beginning of the thread include shipment and handling to all U.S. customers. For those of you in the States, these are NET prices. Unfortunately, there will have to be additional charges for shipment and handling for those of you outside of the country, as freight costs will be higher and there may be duties required by your customs agencies. However, I will provide an allowance to help offset those costs. Sorry for the lack of specificity in the original post. Thanks, Mike

Hi, Mike, Thanks for your reply. I have been receiving quite a few orders for the October run and anticipate that we will have no difficulty reaching the target minimums......probably by early next week. Once the threshold has been crossed, I'll send detailed instructions and shipping addresses, invoices, etc. to you via email. As a reminder to all, we can re-chrome virtually any part that you may need to restore. (For the time being, I am excluding bumpers due to their size and weight....but do plan to offer that service in the future). Therefore, if you wish to get quotes on any other plastic or metal Z parts, OR need some eblems replated on your classic Edsel ().....feel free to request a quote. Mike

As promised, I was able to take a few pics of the seatbelt and cargo straps that I had re-chromed for myself. Pics weren't as clear as I'd like, but should give you an idea of the quality. Will try to shoot a few more tomorrow when I return home. Mike

Hi, Mike, In order to minimize additional handling expenses on "both sides of the pond", I had originally contemplated simply replacing the customers core with a replated "like" product. That is the reason for specifying that cores all be undamaged and be complete. However, I've since learned that we can keep expenses down and still return the individual customer's parts, should they so desire. With regard to preparation, all prep work will be completed by the replating company. It is not necessary to clean the parts or remove previous layer of chrome, as that is included in our service. The same would apply to any other parts that you may wish to replate. Refurbishing the original metal emblems (logos) from Datsun would cost around $60.00 each piece. This would include rechroming of the emblem and repainting the emblem to match the original pieces. I can provide a more exact price upon your request. Other products that I've had replated in the past include items such as original "D" hubcaps, and all of the metal buckles from the seat belts and cargo straps. If anyone is interested in getting quotes on these products, please let me know. Time permitting, I'll try to shoot a few pics of the cargo strap buckles and post them here later today. Mike, I hope that I've answered your questions. Thank you for your interest. Mike

Cool, Julio. I'll keep you posted when I have enough commitments to finalize an order. Thanks, Mike

I am going to attempt to attach a few pics of the finished product from the last run that I did. Also, please note that the parts will all be chromed.....this is not the "vacuum metallization" processed most frequently used on plastic parts. Mike

Some time ago, I sent a couple of boxes of Z parts (mostly taillight trim pieces and metal logos/emblems) overseas to be replated. I was in the process of restoring my Series 1 240Z and had acquired quite a few extra pieces over the years. Overall, I was quite pleased with the quality of the work and the prices for the services were unbeatable. Since that time, I have had alot of requests from fellow Z car owners to keep them advised of any future plans to send more parts over for rechroming. Well, it seems that I can finally move forward with project as I do have an opportunity to pull together another run, should there be sufficient volume to justify the expense. So, if any of you wish to have YOUR cores rechromed and painted in accordance with the terms as detailed below, please get back to me as soon as possible so that I can gauge if there is sufficient interest to justify the run. Requirements: Cost: $100. per set of two taillight trim pieces (240z) $140. per set of two tailight trim pieces (260-280z) All cores must be in undamaged condition and must be set (Left and right) pieces Full payment must be received with cores in advance of scheduled production run You will need to allow 3-4 weeks for the entire process (from receipt of cores) The prices above are for taillight trim pieces only.....please let me know if you have any other chroming needs and I will get a cost estimate back to you If I am able to pull together enough orders to schedule a run, the first run will be started in early October (next month). The next opportunity after that will be in mid December. If you are interested in this service, please let me know as soon as possible. Also, let me know if you'll have multiple pieces to be rechromed or have any other rechroming needs. You may reply here or to my personal email@ stoogeman_1999@yahoo.com Thank you, Mike

B&B machine Shop in Mesa rebuilt my e31 head and did great work. They aren't cheap.....but they did have a solid reputation. Might want to give them a try.

I could also use some help with a series 1 console. I no longer have the mounting bracket on my spare console and will have to fab one for it. Can someone take a minute to measure the bracket from one of their spares so that I can determine where to drill the bolt holes? (i.e.....need distances from sides of console to holes, and between each bolt hole). It would help immensely.....thank you in advance. Mike

Thank you, 2forty. Will check out the link.

Thanks much for the help, guys. From your description, it seems that the only part I might be missing is the dryer. Guess the restoration shop must have needed that part for some other project:(