Mark Maras

Patcon When cooling the weld with air do you notice any warpage? I realize the weld probably adds enough stiffness to prevent much warpage. The reason I ask is the other day I was working on my hood when my neighbor came over and asked me if I had ever shrunk high spots with heat and compressed air? He has restored a 52 Pontiac and a 54 Studebaker, both look good. He explained the process, heat it with a torch (not too hot) and control the shrinkage with compressed air. I don't have the courage to try it. Especially on the thin sheet metal of a Z. Z hoods are thicker than some of the other panels but I'm not going to experiment on a reasonably straight hood. Curious if you've tried it or even heard of it?

So, So many. Back in the late 70s it was Huey Lewis "Sports" album on the Pioneer Super Tuner for me. Volume cranked up, a favorite road in my Z. Totally in the moment. Loving the drive and doing some of my best singing ever. Sigh.

I've been butt welding mine except where the floor pan welds to the rocker panel. Half the welding and grinding and no overlapped seams to eventually collect moisture. I have more trouble with patience (letting it cool) than I have either type of joint.

Lost the patient but saved some vital organs so another can live. Good job.

Thanks, I haven't tried that yet. Any problems with paint or primer not adhering if it isn't rinsed and just allowed to dry?

Ah, Memories of Zs and dogs. When I introduced my puppy Max (Springer Spaniel) to my 71 Z and went for a ride, he promptly got sick and filled the console tray to overflowing status. First and only time. His way of christening it I guess. From then on it was 16 years of clear sailing.

Creeping rust in the welded seams is the tough one to deal with. The seams that are overlapped or folded over and spot welded allow moisture to eventually eat away everything but the spot weld. There's no way to media blast between sandwiched layers so acid and a water rinse :( or neutralizing agent must be used. Or unfold it and take it apart. Does anyone know of a one-step product that will creep into the seams, neutralize the rust, dry to a paintable surface and maybe even seal the seam at the same time. I'm not asking for everything? I'll apply it.

Small wrecking yard SE of Portland parting out a 71. Craig's List, Portland. If anyone needs anything let me know. I can take a look at it for you.

Both acid dipping and media blasting work well but both have their negatives. I didn't see either show but I'm betting they weren't working on anything as thin as a Z. Both methods will remove rust as well as good metal if not done carefully. Media blasting can also warp thin sheet metal. I'm not a big fan of removing ALL the original paint and especially the primer on the sheet metal if it's still sound. Did it once and had to spend more time and money replacing what I had removed.. The seams & frame are usually the places that need the most attention. I would media blast those areas but only after attacking everything with a mean and nasty wire brush. It will show you what areas need extra attention and what doesn't. I don't have the answer for the the final prep. I coated the inside and outside of my new frame rails and floor pans with many layers of zinc rich primer before painting with equipment enamel. Spent a good share of my working life fabricating galvanized steel projects and have always used zinc rich coatings for protection on welds. great stuff. One other thought. While I had the front frame rail opened up where it welds to the floor board, I welded it on the inside and while the weld was hot I used a zinc stick (available at your welding supplier) to cover the hot surface with zinc. US Coast Guard approved method. If I do this again I may have the new sheet metal galvanized before fabrication. No, It's not that hard to weld even if you don't remove it. Most of the horror stories about welding galvanized material are B.S. Fumes are a concern but easy to eliminate. Hmmm. I wonder how much it would cost to galvanize a whole Z body?

It's fine. One project at a time is all I want to handle. What would I do halfway through this one and another shows up in better shape. I've got enough decisions on this one to fill my plate.

I stopped the voices by replying. Received no answer, ad is gone today. Back to sanding. SIGH!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO The voices. I can't stop the voices. They keep saying REPLY, REPLY, REPLY.

Truly rust free? Not likely, But if it is, or very close, the way prices are escalating for primo early Zs, $7000.00 will be a bargain in just a couple of years. Probably would take that long for me to reassemble it.

I agree with madkaw. It may not need it but a vented crankcase is cheap insurance. Years ago a lot of pan gaskets leaked because of excessive pressure when the engines got some miles on them. In drag racing we used to build a windage tray. Just a flat piece of sheet metal baffle that bolted onto the main caps to keep the oil sump and the crankshaft separate. There is a lot of turbulence in the pan.

Affirmative on the second one. The first one looked pretty far gone. The second one in Kingston "could" be one hell of a deal for someone wanting to restore a Z and doesn't have one. Owner states that everything looks OK. I know if I was looking for another to restore , I could really assess the body quality if it was on a rotisserie. That would be a real plus. Also, IF, the owner did a decent job of disassembling it, that would save a lot of time. Gotta stop now before I decide to go rent a U-haul. It always starts like this. Even tho I don't need another, I've got the urge to find out how much he wants for it. Gonna go sand on my hood. Need a reality check.

70 Z for sale. On a rotisserie. Everything goes, even the tools. Make offer, all or part.

My first transmission R&R, I couldn't get the car high enough to pull the trans and bellhousing from under the car in one piece. Ended up separating the trans and housing under the car and, of course, reassembling the two under the car. Kind of a PITA but doable.

Been doing bodywork on mine. I've been starting with an angle grinder and a really "mean and nasty" twisty wire brush on the rusty spots. Then I go over the whole panel with it. It will not only remove most of the rust but will also uncover any rusted spots under the paint that haven't blistered yet. If you need to go bare steel, don't increase the pressure just leave it on the offending spot a little longer. When satisfied that all rust and loose paint is gone, give it a very light coat of primer. Use a long sanding board with 80 grit to find the high spots. Deal with them, then a different color primer, sand with long board 180- 220 then fill. etc. This has been quite effective on most of my panels until I got to the cowl. I usually use the twisty wire brush to remove the paint an inch beyond any rust but the rust stains kept going. I used Citrustrip on it. The original paint and primer is very useful in leveling the panel and cheaper than primer. You can always take it to bare steel if it needs it.

Thanks. I'm ruling out a drive train problem as well as a serious fuel leak. Anyone, The one-way? valve in the filler cap. Could an intermittent malfunction in it cause the stall and no re-start condition? And if so could could the problem be fixed by loosening the cap and then starting the engine? Easy to check, the next time it won't restart. Just sittin and a thinkin.

ZCarSource has the tank you need. Already reconditioned.They will need a viable core from you to recondition later. I would ask them if this tank is, in their definition, a "viable core" or maybe this one and your original one would be acceptable as a core. Enough good parts for them to reassemble one tank. It's also possible that you have other old unused spare parts that they value as cores. I'd contact them. Nothing to lose.

Jai, More trivial clutch questions. RBs normal routine, After warming the engine, how difficult is it to shift into first gear? And does the car want to move even the slightest bit before releasing the clutch? With the clutch pedal fully depressed, then slowly lifting the pedal, at what height does the clutch start to engage or the rpms drop? Floor level? 1/4 up from floor? 1/2 way? etc. Trying to rule out a few things. Separating the chaff from the wheat.

That R & R that I described was using the rafters and a come-a-long. I just used a couple of 2x4x8's perpendicular to the rafters. Worked great. I also used the same method for a small block Chevy, no trans.The rafters groaned, a lot, but it did work. Yup, drive line is last but it's easier to install as you lift the rear of the trans into place. Start aligning mounts and installing loose bolts at the engine front & work your way back. The install is not that difficult. Well, at least when I was younger it wasn't difficult. The height of the car was always the problem in tight quarters for me. No vertical clearance? Hang the engine in the engine bay and then jack the car up to it. When I was 25 it was about a five hour job to get the car back on the street running. These days, probably twice as long. Regardless, if you can get the height of the car dialed in, there is a lot of room to work around the engine and trans.

I'm not familiar with 280s, so I'm going to ask some dumb questions. The fuel leak. It seems possible that the sender o-ring is leaking. That could account for the loss of fuel down to half tank, If it's not the o-ring tho, it may have lost more fuel if it sat longer. We don't know. Jai, Are you able to remove the r. rear wheel and take a look at that side of the tank? You may need to lay on your back with a flash light. Don't rely on the jack alone, not even for a few seconds. Most of the hose connections, as well as the fuel level sending unit, is on that side. If you're able, trace the wet spot forward and then up. At that point you'll be able to see where the fuel is coming from. EFI experts. Does tank pressure have anything to do with the fuel injection? My guess is no, but then, I still don't understand why all tanks aren't vented. Interesting question about the engine dying when the clutch is pushed in. Is there any noise or an increase or decrease in noise when pushing in the pedal? Or even a vibration in the pedal when pushing it in? At what temp. is the AAR-controlled high idle rpm suppose to "turn off" and what usually happens when it does. Is it possible it shut off at the same time Jai got in? Seems possible if she warmed the engine for a while.

You probably already know or suspect this but I think when all that rust is removed there's going to more holes and a very thin tank in places. That's just judging it from the outside. I recently removed the rust & paint from a cowl with one pin hole in it. Rust was all on the bottom side. Honestly it didn't look as bad as that tank. By the time it was down to bare steel I had fourteen pinholes to patch and weak sections. I'll repair the cowl but a tank would be a b----.

Jai Has RB, at any time recently, ran good, or at all, below the half tank level? Also, is this the first time you've noticed the fuel loss? IMO the possibility of fire is very low. The fuel loss appears to be on the right side, most tank connections are on that side, hot exhaust is on the left. That said, don't park the car in a closed garage with no air circulation.