MotoManMike

Lets see that thing!!! Glad to see another one is getting some love.

, if it makes you feel any better, i've had a total knee replacement and i'm only 32. (bad injury when i was 28) I probably feel older than you most days i get up.

I really needed that amuzing flashback Grant

Wow, i was only 12 when wayn'es world came out. I guess I'll not beat myself up too bad about it, now the AMC guys can start a thread "myths about the AMC Pacer's"

Way to teach our youth a good base of adjectives. Especially when referring to a car. Very funny. I had a guy ask me other day where I found "that orange pinto"(this is at the shop at work). I kindly asked him if he bought his glasses at Walmart (totally flew over his head) and replied, Its not a pinto, its a Datsun. Oh a Datsun, I didn't know they made them anymore... wow. Needless to say he wasn't with it but I got a little chuckle. Of all the cars he could have picked to mix it up with he had to pick a pinto? Really? The Garth mobile? I guess I should look on the bright side, out of at least 12 cars in the lot he noticed the Z.

Hit the nail on the head for sure. My garage is almost an episode of hoarders

As for the credit, man your car is nice, it runs good, its tight, clean, nothings wrong with it so you should be good for awhile. My 1 z is taken apart and has about another 40hours left before i'm finished, priorities Lee you said it the other day, priorities, and right now my soon to be turbo L6 Z is priority. When i'm done with it, i might work on someone else's. I did get the other side suspension cleaned up and installed, it looks great, i'm worried it may sit higher though, we shall see. Did you get your roll bar bolted in? You need to take some more pictures for these guys, they want to see more of the Z. Oh and don't forget you need to source the fender well cover on the passenger side rear that covers the fuel tank.

I would say in your situation i'd find another car if you aren't too attached to driving it. Almost anything can be fixed but it costs. It would be nice to keep for parts though. Jeff thats a nice repair on your 78, came out good. Not many make it back on the road after a bump like that. Like you said you have to want it fixed... Glad everyone was ok.

Lee I don't have a whole lot of pictures other than what were taken on the go pro and they are the panoramic lens. I didn't take any before after photos of the brakes, they look the same with new pads and i've done enough mechanical work in my life I don't always think to take pictures It is an interesting brake upgrade. Very big rotors. The front calipers tolerance for fitment into the wheel is so tight, after putting the new pads on I had to relieve even more off the outer edge of the caliper with a die grinder. The kit uses a mustang cobra caliper thats modified and they smooth down the fins the outer edge to fit under a 16" rim. When I mocked everything up after installing the pads the passenger side front had to be cut a little more as it was rubbing the wheel. I guess the new pads were just a touch thicker than the old ones. Its a nice brake set up, just very tight to get under those wheels. Lee has used up all his free mechanics credits lets just say that . I got my front suspension mocked up on my other car this weekend along with tooling on Lee's. Lee's car is a track car, it's a little nibbly on the highway, kind of lulls back and forth i'm not sure if the alignment is off or it its' just the suspension set up but it handles good, it might be the quick steer knuckles i'm not sure. It lugs along in typical small block fashion but the six speed makes it feel like a real car. Its built well but it doesn't have that inline six sound my old orange has, my orange car is very close to stock other than the wheels. Lee feels like he paid too much for his car and I think it takes away from him enjoying it. Me i paid very little for either one of my cars and i'm not paranoid about where the shopping carts are when I park. I'm definetly not afraid to run that thing either!! That sounds like a good topic for discussion, buffed up or beater, who's happier right? More like which disease is less fatal .

Nice purchase with the 2 Z cars. You've already got it. Its the diZeaZe you've gotten bit with. Like many of us out there we've ended up with 2, thus two desires to make new again. Have fun, there is a wealth of knowledge on here.

Heres my original 73 with an L-24 and Lee's 72 LS1 powered Z

I did them in red, not sure if it matters no one will see it but me...well and i guess you guys now. I've got new brakes i'm just not there yet. Those calipers are newer but i want the toyota pick up truck brakes.

I'll take some shots tomorrow. The fish eye is my GoPro pictures. I've got to get a video editor to post up the vids they are too long.

Front passenger side suspension is done, all NEW, should ride good when its all done. Eibachs and just KYB's with stock mounting hats. I have new tie rod ends but i'll put them on when i'm ready to realign the car. I've got a long way to go before that.

Here it is

its a mess man. I have tools and parts everywhere and its crowded. But hey its out of the rain i got my compressor hooked up so its on. I have all the parts sourced it should be an exciting ride when its done. The pictures look fish eye but its my new Hero2 GoPro i love it. I'll keep you guys posted, this L28ET was purchased from a guy on the forums, and many odd ball parts i've sourced through the ads too. I love these cars. This past weekend a buddy came down, he's got an LS1 powered Z and its given me even more motivation to go. Thanks for looking. Suspension is underway, i'll post pics of the progress.

Its going to be awhile

So my car is partially apart, engine bay is clean, working on disassembly and clean, powdercoat of suspension components. My engine is getting there little by little. Should be a nice car when its done. I bought it, drove it a bit with the L28 that was installed with round top SU's. I just don't like it as much so i'm going with an L28ET and i'll keep the good L28 as a spare for when my other Z's L24 finally retires. I've got eibach springs, new struts, poly bushings all around, MSA sway bars ready. Should ride pretty good, this one has a 5 speed tranny too.

I unboxed all of my suspension componenets I got fedex, cleaned up and swapped the air filters from the L28 laying on the floor to my other z, I'm ready to crawl underneath tomorrow and clean clean clean. I'm itching to get this turbo motor in.

3M makes a godsend, they are the little roloc disks white, with little stubbles around the edges of the disk, made of plastic and they make an mandrel you can put in a rotary tool. I've used these things for years and really work great, most autobody shops carry them. They don't score the metal at all but they remove gasket like its nothing. The white is the finest i think 120 grit, its what i've been using.

I've been really happy with the magnaflow's i've used on this last exahaust i've got. Its 2 1/2 inch all the way back with headers and a straight through magnaflow, it sounds fantastic. They come in chrome too.

I'm replacing the stock squishy blown shocks so i'm sure it will be night and day difference no matter what I put on it. I hit a bump, and i'm still riding it 1/4 mile down the road. That set up looks pretty good too. I like that you don't have to section the struts.

How much did this set up set you back 5th? I just ordered eibachs and kyb's, and poly bushings for my one project, I havn't installed yet but total thats a $450 set up in itself. I wanted the MSA coilover kit but jees, i'd have to sell a kidney.

/\ Stanley that is the funniest thing i've seen thus far today, awesome. Born to follow, there are thousands of those drivers out there

Love them or hate them we all love these cars and will continue to love these cars. Some more than others but we have desire to manipulate the original(2.56% were what judges consider purist). I guess it all boils down to your own tastes. I drove my Z to work today and its the nicest car i saw all day and its by no means a car 99% of the population would feel safe driving to work. It is safe because i've focused on that first. I'm pleased the cars have a following. Whether or not we like the choice of engines or modifications, at least we have groups of people who have one common interest. We want to keep the 4 wheels rolling on these old Z cars and that to me is a great thing. I hope it continues because I don't see me shaking this sickness anytime soon