Dershum

INST3D I was able to pull down one of the .zip files and load it into Repetier. It looks like the model mostly translated, but the A pillars seem to be missing from the model. Check it out: I'm not so worried about the "not manifold" warnings it likes to throw, but I'm not sure how much success I'd have without the A pillars. I think I might try loading it into something like meshmixer or similar to see if I can split it into logical pieces - printing the whole thing as-is wouldn't work very well. I want to see if I can get a piece of it at least printed to see how it comes out! I'll let you know how it goes

Reminds me of the time I went to change the air filter on my mom's circa 1990 chevy cavalier and found that the mice had been storing dog food in it.

I know this is totally dragging a thread up from the dead - but did you ever make any further progress on this? Also, what would the changes be of getting some .STL exports of the 3D model? I'm starting in on the 3D printing craze, and I'd love to see if I could print pieces of this model!

I spent about $2,500 on everything - but that was the body on a rotisserie, doors, hood, hatch, a ton of misc parts, plus epoxy primer on everything. He used a combination of media, mostly baking soda, but he used some other medias depending on what needed stripping. A little pricey, but I feel like I really got a great result when he was done.

I know this is a bit of an old reply - but be REALLY careful with those media-stripper discs and angle grinders. They have a tendency to "catch" on any exposed edge, and will rip the angle grinder right out of your hands. Flying running angle grinder with shattering media disc on it is a great way to get a no-expense-paid trip to the emergency room.

RockAuto has Moog u joints for 11.78 each for the '73. Good place to get parts as long as you know exactly what you're looking for. More Information for MOOG/PRECISION 391

Damn...I wish everything on my Z was as straight as in those renders Beautiful work!

I know when the sent me the wrong inner tie rods, I was able to send them back and they sent me a pre-paid shipping label. As for all the feedback, it's about what I would expect...make sure the part listed is right, but you never know until you get it.

Well, yes...I guess my question was, when it comes to ordering parts from RockAuto, has anyone had experiences where the parts were wrong or didn't fit...particularly for the 240z? For example, I ordered outer tie rods from them a couple years back, and one was completely wrong. I re-ordered from a different mfr (still from RockAuto) and it was still the wrong part, so I gave up and got it elsewhere.

So I'm going down my list of various items that I need to purchase now or eventually for my restoration. I went through the usual suspects (MSA, ZCarSource, etc), and then I went digging on RockAuto. I've bought small bits from them over the past year or so, and for the most part they're pretty good, but when it comes to more important functional pieces (see below) I'm wondering what other's experiences are with ordering their parts. Particularly, I'm looking at the stuff like Reman loaded brake calipers: More Information for CENTRIC 14242012 More Information for RAYBESTOS RC3028 Reman master brake cylinder More Information for CENTRIC 13042601 More Information for DORMAN M96583 Reman distributor Product Detail I'm trying to get a general sense as to if these parts are well-fitting parts, or if they're really a "you get what you pay for" sort of deal...at least when compared to pricing at Black Dragon, MSA, ZCarSource, etc. Thoughts? Thanks guys!

I think the WD-40 and a sharp rap with a hammer were the trick. Also I got a smaller pry-bar which fit in there better and I was able to rock it back and forth a bit so I could get a better grip with some vice grips. All out now...thanks guys!

I gave a very similar method a try on the bottom clip (you can see where it's been banged up a bit). I'll give it another go, but that method didn't show much success.

Before media blast/epoxy primer, I tried to get the ebrake clips off but had no luck...figured I'd wait until it was blasted and on a rotisserie to pull them out. Well, that's all done and still no luck. I just can't seem to get enough of a grip on them or any sort of pivot point on a prying implement to get them out. I'm hoping that someone can give me some tips on how to get these guys out. Thanks!

Well, I can tell you from experience that repairing the far-back part of the rail (in your second pic) is a pain and depends largely on how much rust is behind that panel. I didn't have barely any of mine left, so it took quite a bit of work. And I'll guarantee that if the other side looks good from the outside, it's still pretty bad in behind. I'll also (nearly) guarantee that the plate directly above/around the mounting point for the front cross-member is rusted pretty well to match. As for the front sway bar mounting point (the first pic) Bad Dog sells a lovely set of braces that can be welded over that area to brace it, so if you can repair the piece under it, then you can brace over it to help your repair. How does the engine-side of the frame rail look?

Well I got the firewall patched, and I'm pretty pleased with the result. I've also got the fully assembled dimensions of that particular battery tie-down from Billet Specialties, so I'm going to make a cardboard box to match those dimensions, then see where that leads me in terms of the fender patch panel. zKars, I spent about 2 hours searching around and reading various threads trying to find the one you're referring to, but wasn't able to find it. Any thoughts as to the title or some particular search terms that might help me find it? Thanks!

Well, I went in and drilled out the spot welds and did some cutting, and the metal where the inner fender meets the firewall was mostly OK up until the point they met. The metal underneath was pretty well rusted...to the point I could poke through it with a flat head screwdriver if I poked hard enough. I went ahead and cut a panel of the firewall out, and the battery box area out, and I'm going to start fabbing up some replacements tonight. The firewall panel should be easy enough, but the battery tray area will be interesting to say the least. This really brings me back to one of my original questions. How much space do I realistically have to work with to enlarge the battery tray area? I'd like to make it large enough to mount a better battery tray/tie down in there (something like the link below) without having to re-skin the inner fender well, and then create a completely separate platform for the battery tray. Billet Specialties 248910 Billet Specialties Optima Battery Mount I cut the fender well about 9 1/2 inches out from the firewall, parallel to it. I'd like to basically create a flat space big enough for the battery to sit down in there, and then just come straight up. It's hard to describe in words, but I'm hoping I get the idea across. Does anyone think there will be clearance issues with the tire if I bring the outer edge of that bottom front corner of the battery tray that far forward?

Dan, thanks for the info. The 3rd pic was really more a question about the condition of the rust, and if folks had any opinions on whether it would be a good idea to go ahead and cut it out or not. And you're right on the year. Build was 4/71, I don't have the VIN memorized tho.

Morning folks, I'm trying to decide how to move forward on some battery tray rust repairs, and I was hoping for some feedback from those who have gone through this before. First, the pics: Of course the, first (and biggest) question is "do I need to cut it out". I'm not a rust expert, but I'm inclined to go with "yes, cut it out". If I'm going to go ahead and do that, I'd really like to flatten out the bottom of the battery tray area and enlarge it a little so I can bolt in an aluminum battery tray and set the battery down in a little further, but I'm not sure how much space I have available to enlarge the battery tray area. How close to the inner fender and tire is that location, once everything is back together and on the ground? Do I have a lot of room to work with, or is it pretty tight? And now, on to my second question. When I bought the car, it had dealer-installed AC which was butchered and partially removed, a completely disconnected heater core, and god-knows-what-else done to the wiring harness. Which means I've got a bunch of holes in the firewall (that I assume are stock) that were unused when I disassembled the car that I would really like to know if I can cap off so I don't have to use ugly plugs to cover them. Here's a pic that I've labeled with what I know/think I know, but I was hoping someone could help me "fill in the holes" as it were Thanks much!

For your firewall insulation, did you just use the Murder Mat, or did you put another layer of insulation on top of that?

Thanks for the feedback guys...I have to admit it seemed odd to me as well, but I tend to read a lot and some things stick in strange ways...so I could be misremembering to begin with. I'm going to go ahead and drill out the rivets and make sure everything is cleaned up and rust free. Thanks again!

I'd really like to drill out the rivets on the VIN plate on the driver's side door sill so I can make sure there's no rust back there, along with cleaning up the 10 layers of paint in that area, and then rivet it back on after the car is painted. But I seem to remember reading that there are legal issues with removing the VIN plate from a vehicle during restoration, and re-attaching it. Anyone have experience with this? I've seen lots of information on how to remove it and reattach it, but nothing related to the legalities of removing it and reattaching it later. Oh, and I live in NY (yes, I know my profile says NJ) if it makes a difference. Thanks guys!

Sorry to drag this one out of the archives, but does anyone know the size of this bolt? I don't have a metric socket large enough for it, and it's hard to get a good look at a tape measure on it. I'm thinking it's around 22mm, but I thought I'd ask. Also, does anyone know the size of the oil pan drain plug? I took mine off with a crescent wrench, but since I'm picking up a proper sized socket for the coolant drain plug, I figured I'd grab one for the oil pan drain as well. Thanks!

I'd like to add in that I'm having a very similar problem on my 71 240z. When the engine is cold, even if I let it idle for a few minutes, it tends to hesitate badly and then "pop" back to life after a moment. Once it's warmed up, it's perfectly fine. Even if I let it sit for an hour or so, if it's still somewhat warm, there are no problems. I checked the oil level in the carbs, and it appears to be fine...almost exactly dead center between the two lines on the rod. I looked through the service manual, but aside from tearing everything apart and checking each piece individually (which I'd really prefer not to do) I'm not quite sure what other steps to take.

I scanned through the thread a bit, but couldn't figure one thing out. Is this just for the exhaust (essentially what is shown in the pics) and then you have to either fab or otherwise get the exhaust tubing from the head pipes to the exhaust? Or is this from the head back? Sorry if this has been answered before.