Mark Maras

IMO, Check the drive shaft u-joints first. I've experienced the rattle induced by deceleration in an RX7. It was caused by a front u-joint that had a TINY bit of end play in it. The clunks? A really bad u-joint will do it but trans. and or rear end mounts are probably the culprit. I think if the clunk was coming from the ring and pinion, you'd have worse symptoms than a clunk.

I think I'd put it back in the CLR for a longer soak. I had to soak my fuel tank sending unit 24 hrs to remove the rust on it. I thought the CLR would probably destroy the the very small wires on it. But what the hell, it was unusable as it was. To my surprise, the unit looks fantastic after a 24 hr. soak. No damage to it at all.

I don't remember which thread it was but as I recall the last pump installed was a 4 psi. That's more pressure than needed or advised. Not saying the needle and seat wouldn't handle it, for a while, but why push it?

If it's not under coating and the paint is actually stained, I'd guess brake fluid. Possibly got there during a brake job. You know, master cylinder cap off, push the caliper pistons back, hear something odd. Oh crap! Now there is a mess all over the left side fender well & shock tower. Just a guess.

Bad news and good news. The bad? Worked most of the weekend clearing shop space and dealing with power outages caused by the wind. (Jai (RedBird) has christened the 71 "Parti Girl".) Late Sunday afternoon we finally got the last piece of equipment moved. By then snow and freezing rain had set in. Probably won't get her into the shop until this coming Sunday. It's the only day my friend has off and he has the truck to move the trailer with "PG" on it . The good news. The same friend with the shop has a 120v plasma cutter. He has cut 1/8"+ sheet metal with it. I think it will work just fine. If all goes according to the new plan, I'll start undressing "PG" next week.

One more thing to add. Always mark the shaft and yokes before you remove the u-joints. If the yoke and shaft are installed 180` out from the orig. position you may have a balance problem. Especially on the prop. shaft. It spins 3 1/2-4 times faster than the axles.

What a great idea. I don't have a plasma cutter but I think I can borrow one. I've already cut a few spot welds with the H.F. rotary cutter. Works quite well as long as you have access but a plasma cutter would speed the whole process up a bunch. Thanks.

It seems like it's cooling problem is caused by a lack of circulation, a lack of volume and or a lack of heat transfer to the coolant. You've replaced the fan clutch (hopefully it has a lot of resistance) so presumably the fan is pulling enough air at idle to cool and a new water pump to make sure circulation is good. Crud build-up in the block and radiator not only reduce coolant volume but also interfere with heat transfer from the heat source to the coolant be it liquid or air. The heat transfer is increased greatly if the circulating coolant is touching metal. Crud buildup acts as an insulating layer. Cured the problem in mine with two GOOD flushes and sent the rad. out to be re-cored with additional layers to increase the volume. That made it much better. Temp would still rise under extreme conditions. When I eventually replaced the clutch fan (it seized) with a flex fan the engine never overheated again. Although I've not tried it, I think one could pull the manifolds and remove the expansion (freeze) plugs and clean out the block without removing the engine. Tips; If you're stuck in traffic not moving, shut the engine off. Mine always started easily so I wasn't concerned with blocking traffic. It won't create more heat if it's not firing. If you're moving slow, keep the RPMs as low as possible. If it is overheating, increase the heater control to hot and turn the blower on high. Better for me to overheat than the engine.

Yeah, they flex a lot. Almost all Zs show signs of it above the quarter windows. The tell-tale crack in the paint. I did notice in my original that after bolting in a rollbar the rear seemed stiffer. Never did brace the front. That's where it really needed it.

Here's some pics of the dismantle project. 71 HLS30 39360, 8/71 build date. The left door glass, the left rad. support to fender well air duct, lower rad. support and misc. fasteners already have member inquiries. I'll be removing everything from the body first and then taking the body apart ,spot weld by spot weld, with the intent of selling it all. Let me know what you need and I'll check on the quality. If you have a low bucks project like me, offer what you can afford. The only reason I bought it was because it's next journey was going to the crusher. Too much good left in it to see that.

That's weird. I would have expected it to relate to engine speed. It seems to be random. Just to rule one thing out, you don't have a "friend" in the garage who is a practical joker, right? I think you're going to have to trace it by the sound which sucks because you don't know if or how much damage is being done. Maybe a helper on each side to figure out where it's coming from ie; left-right, front-back, top-bottom. I often use a 4' section of garden hose as a stethoscope to reach difficult areas.

Early trans w-ears on both sides, 5th gear ratio is .864/1. About 7/8ths of a turn. The later close ratio, one eared trans, 5th gear ratio is .745/1. About 3/4ths of a turn.

Anyone know what years are the same as a 76?

Brought it to it's new dismantling home this morning. Got lucky. I found the hood being used as an engine cover on the other side of the yard. He threw it in with the rest. Inside the car I found a P79 and an E88 head. Both complete with cams and valves. Interesting car. HLS30 39360. 71. Aug. I think. 72-73 body with vert. def. hatch glass. Appears to original. I'll be taking more pics in the next few days as I clean it out. 240Ziggy That sounds easy enough. I'll let you know what I find below the cowl. Wheeel I'm a little farther than that from Linden, Wash. Where there's a will, there's a way. We've got plenty of will so there has to be a way. Anyone have any experience moving body panels and large parts across the border, legally and cheap? Back in the 70s," it" was done with just a bit of creative thinking and a bit of adrenaline. Pretty sure I'll sleep better than I did back then if it's done legally.

I hadn't thought about the under cowl area. I'll check it out. If my memory is correct both doors looked straight. I think I remember a 1" blister on the paint on one door. The blister is large enough that i'm pretty sure it will have a hole when cleaned. The insides of the doors will tell the story. What is the best way to ship large parts to Canada? Can they go by bus? Mark

I've used Sil-Glyde on mine in the past. I believe it is silicone grease. I got between the overlap of the covers with a cotton swab covered in Sil-Glyde. That is where my creaking was coming from.

It looks like you've got the later trans. to me. It is a four speed, correct? Drilling new holes? It all depends on what you can live with.

Peace On Earth, Goodwill To All Enjoy the holidays wherever you are.

Great idea. I'll check into that.

Nice engine porn pics. It looks great.

Well, I've got one at a reasonable price. How do we get it to you? I haven't inspected the roof in detail but there was nothing that drew my attention to it. I believe it to be a good usable piece.

That would fall under the definition of sculpting not bodywork.

Patcon Those were my thoughts too. I think it could easily be done and actually end up with one good car in the process. All the stars are aligned to do it. Have orig. early 71 with title & rusted out body. Now have late 71 rolling chassis, no title. I almost want to do it just to see if it's possible but I'm not going to do it. What could have been. SIGH

Ok, returning to reality now. The voices have stopped.(for now). Skip the hypothetical question. It looks like this Z is destined to be a donor. Even the good sheet metal. The thought of cutting one up for any other reason than repairing it, leaves me kind of depressed, but I don't need another project right now. There are two more in the wings after the 260. Family cars; 81 RX7-body&paint & 70 MGB-everything. I'll be removing all remaining parts from the body & offering everything that I don't need to club members first. I'd like suggestions what sheet metal to save and most important where to cut it? I don't have space to store the body but I could find room for the roof, q. panels, rockers, etc. I guess what I'm asking is, is there a proper way to disassemble a Z body? The thought of finding and cutting all the spot-welds to take it apart is a bit overwhelming. Thanks

And does the blower turn off and on?