Mark Maras

What else can you tell us about Joe? Approximate age, occupation, hobbies? Have you talked with other co-workers to see if they know where he went? I don't think his trail will be that difficult to follow. Much akin to troubleshooting a gremlin in a Z, The more details you can give us, the better chance we have of finding it. It might be interesting to take on a "cold case" & see what happens. Does anyone in that area remember the car or remember buying parts from a metallic brown Z? I find it hard to believe that the whole car just disappeared.

I can't help but think torquing the head down flat would return the cam clearances back to normal.

It would be interesting to know if the cam spins freely with the head off & on the engine. It might lend some clarity to all of our guess work. That said, I'd still put it on as is. It seems like the worst that could happen is a blown head gasket. I would want the engine to have a very good cooling system to give the head gasket half a chance.

I like Chickenman's idea. I think it would work fine. I would check the torque a couple of times after it has a few miles on it. What head gasket were you thinking of using? I think I'd go with the compressible one.

Nope. There is little to no service. Gas for money. There is a bucket & a squeegee if you want to do it yourself. I have noticed my daughter still gets her windshield cleaned by the younger attendants.

It wasn't all lobbying by the stations. We had a choice and kept gas jockeys because of the weather & to save entry level jobs that are rapidly disappearing. There are still a lot of teens pumping gas here in Oregon. Mark

IMO, take them off. They do restrict the exhaust flow a bit. I think a lot of people cut and welded them because one or more wouldn't budge. The easy fix was to cut and weld them. If you can get them loose, I've seen them plugged with pipe plugs & bolts. Brass, steel or iron, any will work.

Thanks for the pics. I like the looks of those BD rails as a cap. I'm going to extend the rail back. I may add a brace between the rear seats mounts and anchor the end of the rail there. The sloped front section is in good shape but I'm going to reinforce it anyway. "WHILE I'M IN THERE"

74 260. Sept. 73 build date. History, Two P.O.s attempted to get it back on the road. Neither had any success. Engine didn't run. It does now. Outside shell was sound. Painted flat black. Seemed reasonably complete judging by the boxes full of removed parts. Spare engine(actually the original). 5 speed, 92,000 on the odometer. $1350.00 I tried to tell myself no, wait for a better one, spend a little more money, you know, logical things. But it appeared that if I didn't try, the car was headed for the great PiknPul in the sky. What was I to do. Certainly not the logical thing. Rusted out areas; battery tray, fender well below it, 6" strip of the firewall too, rear cover under the hatch, spare tire well, floor boards & rear support rails. So far. I'm about to install new ZF floors & rear rails. Charlies rails are about 6" longer than the originals. Great quality too. I was going to bend the front up & section it into the sloping rail. Instead is there any reason why the rail can't be slid back & used full length? The rear of the rail would be between the rear seat mounts instead of 2 1/2" behind the front seat mount. The front section that slopes up appears to be sound.

A quick Google search references a British SU needle, possibly a Jag.

907Series1Z Absolutely. The chance to spend time with another Z owner is always a treat. BTW I have three ea. 4 screw SUs that are not being used. 1 front & 2 rears. We need to talk. I'll PM you. Mark

I think I'd go looking for a poor or bad ground. I have used a 2'-3' piece of elec. wire with alligator clips on each end to add a ground to suspect circuits. Quick & easy way to complete a circuit, then find the bad ground or add a new one.

Throttle shaft for sure. If it is unusable because of wear, the carb body that it came from will also be worn. ZT machines the body & uses sealed throttle shaft bearings. Better than new.

At last a documentary about Zs. There is a tv show that is called Z Nation, (sci-fi, haven't watched it, no Zs) that makes my heart skip a beat when I see it on the listings. I thought the feeling would diminish after time but nooo. Could my wife is correct, in that I need help? I think I need more parts.

Sweet. All the FSM's in one place. You've done everyone a great service. Thank you.

Anyone know if the second year rally Z driver, J Todt, is the J. Todt from F1 Ferrari or a relative? Just curious.

Zcars No, the Rajah clips don't thread onto the plug, they are a push on pull off. They do grip the threads & sound like a zipper when they are being removed.

That's exactly how I would repair it.

In the dim recesses of my late sixties-early seventies memory, I remember Rajah Clips. There was one model that gripped the threaded portion of the plug, not the cap. We used them in drag racing. A very useful item when your plug wires are exposed to the air rush.

On my early 74 the pads on the tall section are 1/2"-9/16". The pads on the lower section are 1/4"-5/16" thick.

I just ordered one. Grab one fast, 3 remaining.

If you don't anticipate removing the pan soon, I'd use both.

Welcome You don't say if the car has been driven or was in hibernation for a while. As far as fumes, tail light gaskets & the hatch seal are likely culprits. IMO, fix the steering & suspension before you go looking for more HP. Suspension upgrades such as shocks, springs, heavier sway bars, new bushings etc. will give you more driving pleasure than more HP. When you do start tweaking the HP, a good handling car will make it more fun & safer.

I love a good mystery. How long did it take to go from the first symptom to dying? Was a compression check done prior to the failure? What is the source of the strange puffing sound when cranking the engine? I'm looking for another piece to the puzzle.

I've rebuilt calipers with no problems (well maybe one) in the far past. The hardest part was getting the pistons out. I didn't have a compressor at the time so I took the calipers to the gas station to blow out the pistons. The first piston popped right out but the second piston remained due to escaping air out of the first cylinder. My first (and worst) idea was to block the escaping air with my hand. The second piston did come out. With a loud bang, it blew into the back of my hand. I had to finish the brake job the next day. I would suggest if any pistons won't come out with air, find a shop with a pneumatic grease gun. That will push them out.