grannyknot

There should be a thin metal sleeve on the plastic post on the back of the emblem, take the sleeves off the post and insert them into the holes then install the emblem into those sleeves. You can also use double stick trim tape.

How did the valve guide seals look? I'm still thinking about your blue smoke.

There are some after market attachments that claim they can turn your pressure washer into a wet blaster with a siphon for sand but they don't get very good reviews and from what I have read most people never get them to work. There are mini hand held dry sand blasters but you still need a decent compressor with 12-15 CFM.

I've been hearing for the past year that the Illumina shocks are no longer available for Z cars, I have a set and they are good but as soon as one fails I'll be going with the Konis. Eibach lowering springs are one of the most popular springs for our cars for a reason, they work. I used to have a set of the Tokico lowering springs and I was bottoming out just like you describe, but no problems with the Eibach springs. Bump stops are very important, the hard urethane are practically useless for cushioning, when the shock hits them it really does STOP. But the newer urethane foam bump stops are a different ball game, they are progressive, Koni makes a good urethane foam bump stop as well.

The easiest way I 've found is just to look at the threads heading into the nut, they will be sloped in one direction, turn the nut so it will climb the slope away from where it is now.

Sorry, I didn't mean to minimize the blue smoke, used the wrong term. I only only mention the compression/LD numbers because it is so easy to get lost chasing problems that may not be there. Regardless, there are many conditions that could cause a low reading but the only condition that could cause an artificially high reading would be wet oil in the cylinder and 5/6 in your photos look dry.

I love the shadow line effect on the SS trim, good choice of mirrors, I love mine.

These numbers aren't making sense to me, your compression numbers are quite consistent, that's good (did you also do a wet test?), your leakdown numbers say 5/6 are working at 80% but we already know those two cylinders are holding good compression. Sometimes when doing a leakdown test as the air pressure is dumped into the cylinder the piston will move down and the intake valve will open a bit and it shows as a leak. I'm going to suggest that the bad numbers for 5&6 don't really exist because your compression numbers prove that they can't exist. So it seems the only two things to diagnose is the puff of blue smoke and what looks like a rich condition on the sparkplugs and pistons.

It looks like the powder coating got on the inside surface where the bushing goes, if you are using a hydraulic press to set the bushing then it probably won't be a problem, if you are doing it manually with a vice then you might want to scrape the coating off. It is a very tight fit.

You need to buy this book, https://www.amazon.com/How-Restore-Your-Datsun-Z-Car/dp/1931128022 , it is inexpensive and priceless, it will answer all your questions. Or search the archives of this forum for windshield removal, many threads on the subject. Your painters description sounds perfect, both those products are top quality.

Yes, remove as much as possible, even with the windshield rubber lip raised it is difficult to get proper sanding and prep done so removing windshield, quarters and hatch glass will help get you a better paint job. Sanding down the top layer then painting only works well if the layers beneath it are in good condition, no bubbling, cracks, body damage. Sanding and painting over previous paint keeps the cost to the job down but can lead to a paint job that doesn't last as along.

I've got a Z that needs an S54 engine

A must for port and polish, I'm going to stop by on the way home tomorrow. Thanks

As much as I love ZTherapy's work, they also reccomend that you throw your flat top carbs in the garbage, and a few of the members here have proven that to be completely wrong.

I didn't have any beeswax on hand so used an old candle, works great!

Mylar?

A customized G nose 2+2, extremely rare. He may have solved the exhaust fume problem though.

You are in there now and they don't cost too much.

As Dave WM said, some kind of homemade heat shield .

Gibbs oil, http://www.gibbsbrandlubricant.com/

They haven't uploaded my walk around video yet but hopefully I can get that sorted out. https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/datsun/280z/2301301.html

@Nat0z, welcome to the forum, the download section is always hungry for that kind of practical info, https://www.classiczcars.com/forums/forum/18-downloads/

Looks like a destination holiday/road trip to me.

That other wheel cylinder will probably have the same amount of carp(? couldn't resist) in it, even though it is not leaking it's worth cleaning it out and inspecting it.