gwri8

Try here for replacements https://zcardepot.com/search?q=grommet&type=product , here http://www.zzxdatsun.com/catRubber.php and of course MSA and Arizona Z.

Looks good!

Welcome, you've come to the right place.

If your plastic panels are in good shape, painting them is certainly more economical, but it's your budget and you can do whatever you want. If you decide to paint, be sure to clean them really well first. The SEM paint I used was water based and I needed to pre coat with anther SEM product called Sand Free. Both put into aerosol cans. It required that the paint be applied (sprayed) when the Sand Free was still wet so it would adhere properly. The vinyl paint was just a spray on I think. You can get replacement vinyls from MSA in red to match the upholstery kit if you don't want to paint that part. I don't have any experience with the door panels you mentioned from Z car depot, but unless you want black, you'll need to paint them red also.

Looks like Candy!

A little late to the party but small needle nose pilers work for me and I don't loose the clip that way.

Another big welcome! Lots of good Z people in the ATL area. We love pictures so when your mechanic gives it the once over, shoot some photos and post them. There is probably nothing this group hasn't seen or has a fix for on your Z. If you're already a confessed tinkerer (the first clue to the disease we all have) that will probably develop into a unique skill set and knowledge of 40+ year old Japanese cars and 8 track tape players. Quite useful at large parties and public gatherings?.

Before you send it in, you might want to remove the rubber pads. They might disappear when the tank gets cooked.

Yes, those are vinyl as well as the headliner. The panels are ABS plastic, if I recall correctly.

Different light sources really affect photographs and I constantly see three different tones in the door panels and tunnel vinyl in your pictures. Are there really different tones or is it all about the same? As far as panels and vinyl go, They can be painted. My panels are brown were faded badly. Black panels seem the most readily available to replace with and I didn't want that so I went to an automotive paint store and had them match the inside of one of the panels with SEM paint (almost a ginger/brown color). I needed to clean and prep it first, but they came out great and still look fresh after two years. I did the same thing with the door panels and strut housing vinyls only using custom mixed vinyl spray paint. My seats were toast when I got the car so I replaced them with new foam and covers. So, unless you're doing a concours car, I personally don't think there is too much of a penalty for restoring or redoing interiors.

Lucky it came off easily. I wonder how it would look if you cleaned off the residue and buffed it. You might be able to hold off paint for a while by doing that? You could say it was a custom pin stripe from the PO ?.

Yep, don't cut any corners when doing the POR 15 and it will do fine. Also be sure to let it cure about a week like in the instructions. Cleaning the tank before is essential. Depending on condition, some people use Muriatic acid (diluted) and then Phosphoric acid. Muratic acid tends to flash rust almost immediately so be sure to neutralize after with baking soda if you do. I can't think of any advantage of removing the vapor tank. If the sending unit is non functional, replace it, otherwise just clean it up by soaking it in CLR.

You're gonna mess around and have this car ready by the time ZCon happens. No pressure....?

Oh my...So much bondo, and even the carb looks like it came off a still. Definitely a challenge for the future owner.

Looks nice! Are you doing the Eastwood chrome powder coat?

Funny, I was just looking at a 77' for sale in Arizona and they had a small pic of the seat with an obvious cloth inner. I'm willing to assume (and all that entails....) that dealers offered that option?

Adds horsepower! ?

I believe both of those things are PO customizations. The over rider on the rear bumper is definitely aftermarket, but who knows where the door panels came from. And the rear taillight panels are aftermarket also.

Just to mention, there a more than a few members of this forum that are in your area, @Dave WM being one of them, that probably can help with sourcing help and parts. Hopefully they will chime in.

I would start by putting each cars needs on paper and and then comparing things cost wise. I tend to lean towards the purist side. And since the red car being a early 71' and is considered a series 2, I think needs to be kept with its original parts as much as possible. It seems to have had more attention than the white car. 240's in original (or close to original) are getting harder to find. Of course I can't see how much work each one needs, so I'm basing it purely on just the few pictures you've posted. It's just my opinion, but pulling good parts from the red car for the white car is kind of flowing backwards, so to speak, Others my disagree. You can sill source badging, interior and engine parts so why not just rebuild The white one has already been "changed" with the L28 swap and is already in need of a lot of cleaning up. I think you can more free to do more with it and not hurt the value. Both seem like a good starting point. You are very lucky. By the way, your spare L28 looks to be from a 78'

Who says you can only have one? Keep them both! ? As far as value, the #'s matching car will be worth more when finished. I don't know how much more rust it has than the white car but just from the photos it does not seem too bad. I've definitly seen worse brought back got life. With the white car either fix the current engine or swap with your spare. You'll probably need a EFI wiring harness and a few other parts for that, none of witch should be impossible to find. Paint will cost you more than any kind of mechanical work. IMO, I wouldn't scrap one for the other, I think it would be a waste .