Mark Maras

Mine was a project with "a little" rust. Now I understand that the PO meant the HOLES in the floorboards, fender well & hatch sill-plate had "little" rust. Welcome to the club. Most of us have experienced or are experiencing this same challenge. It's part of owning a Z.

What a beautiful Z. So nice to see a Series 1 (or any Z for that matter) with no rust. Thanks for sharing the pics. Mark

(I will never buy a partially restored car again)! I feel your pain. My 260 project had 2 previous owners. Neither owner got it on the road, although they did a lot to it, all of the previous improvements I've found so far have been done half-assed. By far the most aggravating is chasing fasteners. It takes so much time. Countless hours & miles to find minor items. Too bad someone doesn't offer a complete fastener kit for these cars. No matter the price it would be worth it.

It's possible there is a short circuit somewhere in the system if it's not reversed polarity during the install. Which wire was glowing & what caught fire. Before hooking up the battery, I would pull all the fuses, turn all switches off. & check the spark at the battery with a quick tap of the cable on the post. Everything OK? Then proceed to plug fuses in one at a time & recheck the spark at the battery. Keep in mind all these spark tests are shade tree mechanics at best. A multi-meter is still the best way to attack this problem. Also look carefully at the fuse block and connecting wires for heat damage.

Or Boring, Oregon if you're not.

The bumper will come later, maybe. This is a case of "as long as i'm in here". Any cracks in the FG or bondo over time? This spot on the body seems like it is one of the few areas that don't have much flex in it. Any idea what the hole in the rear valance is for? Mark

I'm doing the bodywork on my 260, finally got around to the rear. The lower valance panel has a factory hole on the left side, directly below the reverse light, app. 5" x 1 1/2" I'm curious what is the function of this hole? My 240 has no hole & in the dim recesses of my memory, it seems as if 280s had more than one. Also, I want to clean up the area behind the bumper & put 240 bumpers on it eventually, What is the best method of filling the recessed area, behind the bumper, that is dotted with welds & holes. Seal it up & weld a piece over it or fill it with a fiberglass product. I'm thinking layers of mat and cloth or stranded jelly. I'm open to any suggestions. Thanks Mark

IMO the answer is lighter wt. oil, The clutch adjustment should be checked, but I doubt that is the problem because the problem goes away when the oil heats up & thins out. I'm not knowledgable about oil but if the synthetics are thinner, I think you'll feel the difference. Mark

The rear end in my71 that, I drove quite spiritedly for over 20 years, didn't howl or clunk. All the clunks and vibrations were eliminated with u-joints, drive line & half-shafts, many times. Maybe I just got lucky & got a good one. I certainly wasn't easy on it & it was probably the most neglected item on the car. Mark Now I'm curious if the 260 is going to howl or clunk when it goes on the road. Damn, I've got enough to think about as is.

Thanks, I was trying to come up with an easy explanation. Nice to know about the Q-windows, Mine are about to come out. Mark

Beautiful car. I don't recall any orange ones coming into Portland back then. Totally off the subject & coming from one who is thumping, priming & sanding Z sheet metal at this time, What in the world is sitting on the roof of your Z & please tell me that it wasn't dented as it appears.

My early 71Z & early 74Z are both the same. Reversed on the right. If the windows are interchangable, as in one part #, they are etched on the same side, If I were to swap the left & right windows, the etching would remain the same. Reversed on the right side. That is if they are interchangable?

Interesting, I stopped by O'reilly's & looked at their weatherstrip this weekend. Most of it was open cell but there was a pack of closed cell adhesive backed on the shelf nearby. It was on the same aisle as the paint & bodywork supplies.You may want to take another look. Honestly, It looks made to order for the fender application. I'm going to use it

Love it, I like the styling more than the 2+2

Perhaps joining a club first would help you find the "right" Z. At the least you'll meet a great bunch of people who all have "The DiZease". Best of luck on your search.

I looked at my early 260.(The fenders are off during body work & paint.) It has 4 supports on top. The first is forward of the battery inboard of the rubber seal, other three are out board of the seal, surprisingly close together 14" near the shock tower & nothing forward. During the sanding & priming I found 4 spots in the top of the fender that match the supports. They had the factory pads on the supports. I wish I knew what the originals were made of or the thickness. I couldn't tell when I scraped them off. Also, these fenders are very thin. High spots in the sheetmetal can be knocked down with a knuckle. The wrong choice off the thickness & squishiness could be a problem especially if you have a dark paint job. Lumps or dips will show. Too busy sanding to have looked into options on the pads yet. Chris, Thanks, closed cell foam is a must.

I also use Sta-Bil. Never had a problem with it. Wish I could give an opinion on 360 product but I've never needed anything but plain old Sta-Bil. I think the PRO 15 you mentioned is POR 15. This is protective coating system that is applied to the inside of the fuel tank to prevent rust & corrosion. It's not a fuel additive. But if there is a fuel additive called PRO 15, the confusion is mine.

I too need the rubber under the fenders. My guess was about a 1/2" thick. I have looked at dbl. sticky weather strip a O'reillys that is about a 1/2" thick but my first thought was neoprene from a wet suit or maybe from a beer cozy cooler. Glad to hear about Armaflex.(thanks Chas) I'll try to find it here in the states. It sounds better than my ideas.

i would remove it but if keeping the tar mat is a goal, I'd go at the otherside with an ice pick & don't be gentle. They are a great tool for finding soft spots. If you don't remove the tar, you'll never know what is under there slowly eating away at your Z. You'll never determine the extent of the rust nor get rid of it all. You can remove the tar mat now or later.

Early 71. Mine has carpet with a rubber heel pad.

Welcome, Plenty of good info & advise here. Tell us more about your plans & progress.

I'd go with option 1 and re-torque all of them after a few hot cold cycles & then decide what the next step is based on what I found.

A great source for Su carbs, parts & knowledge is ZTherapy. Their DVD "Just SUs". will answer every question that you have. SUs are easy carbs to work on & understand. The inlet fuel fitting on the float bowl has a filter in it. When you pull the float chamber tops to verify the fuel level, the old gaskets will "Pringle" and be difficult or impossible to re-use, Be careful after pulling the suction chamber and piston. The jet needle is easily bent. Store it carefully. I set my pistons on the cowl with the jet needles down in the louvres.

A friend has a 73 Scarab. Beautifully done inside & out with a 327, Given my choice, I'd take one with an inline 6. The power of the 327 is impressive but it changes the whole feel of the car. I don't think the exra weight up front helps much either. He won't drive it in the rain anymore, He says it's too squirrely, Even in the dry, if you're going for WOT, the car had better be pointed straight. Seems to me that something has been taken away from the Scarab, maybe just good old driveability. I love my Z in all weather, even snow. (should have kept those tire chains Geoff) and it is by far the most fun car you can drive year round. There is a limit, deep snow.

Welcome to Zville, We're going to need more info about your ignition & fuel system to pin this down. The first thing to do to eliminate the obvious is a good tune-up including valve adj. & carb tune. The mechanical f. pump will supply enough fuel for SUs you should install a f. filter in front of the f. tank. 2 types of SU carbs. factory 74s had flat top carbs. (the suction chambers shoulders are 90 degree rather than rounded.) Most flat top SUs have been swapped for the earlier round tops. A description of the spark plug color & type. Does it have good spark to the plugs? Bubbles in the filter, tighten all clamps & fittings. I don't think that will affect the float level in the carbs unless it's excessive. My gut instinct tells me this is a fuel starvation issue. Check ALL f. filters & f. lines. I don't know if flat tops have a filter at the carb f. inlet but they do have a fuel level window. Keep us posted of your progress.