gwri8

A little Drivin', a little Cryin'

I think you are correct, 19288.

Be careful with that. I've been rear ended twice. The first time, I thought no big deal since it was under 25mph. I had no injury at the time and the lady's insurance was Very quick to settle, within a few days even. I was amazed at their efficiency! About a week after that, I was introduced to a latent case of Mr Whiplash. That's according to a Chiropractor. It Sucked.

If the side trim door guards are dealer installed, they are probably riveted in with aluminum backing. You'll need to pull out the black rubber strips and you will see the rivets. Then drill them out. If you want to keep the original door guards you should be able to buy replacement rubber. If they are not dealer installed they are probably a stick on type and the heat gun will be the best way.

Here you are. For what it's worth, I didn't bother changing out the turn signal lamps.

Like everybody else, you're getting older.......and wiser. Nobody intends on being involved in an accident but we see them happen all the time. Just the other day I was driving my Z. Came up to a red light with a lady in a small passenger car stopped. A distracted guy in big Durango came within less than an inch of plowing her from from behind. It made me think, what if I was the one sitting at the red light in a small 70's car with no rear bumper. Glad you and no one else were injured.

Three things optically here that trick the eye. Wide angle lens, camera off center by about 1/2 step, and camera tilted. Here it is not tilted. It helps a little.

#3. Yes #4. Either way. Interior finish coats look great for resto pictures but not absolutely necessary IMO, Especially if you are going to Dynamat the interior. But a lot of folks do that because it complete's the process to a high standard. Whatever you are doing, do it well kind of thing. And, no apologies needed. It makes us feel useful and smart........sometimes......maybe.......or not......

A ton of work already on this car. You would be saving money in the long run. Worth it IMO barring any photoshop tricks. Those photos are not from an amateur.

I'm pretty sure it's available from the Auto Supply stores like Autozone, O'Riellys, Advance, etc.. Even Walmart and Amazon.

I've been using the Rotella 15w 40 in my Z for the last 3 yrs with no complaints. The previous owner ran Rotella 20w 50 in it. Who knows what before. I believe the bottom end is original with 60K on the speedo while the head had been serviced at some point before my purchase with some valve replacements. Cam and lash pads still look good.

Just to add to the info pile, Z Car Depot now carries the E4601 as well as other emblems in metal. There are some subtle variations like no groove between letters, but it's kinda hard to tell from their photo. Weren't all the original 240 and 260 emblems metal to begin with? and were the 280 emblems all plastic?

Thanks for taking the time to do manual/long exposures. It's the only way to actually see the difference in bulb intensity and color. Well done.

Sorry, didn't mean the Valve itself. I was thinking of the attached capillary tube that winds down into the heater box behind the evaporator. Is there another way to access it?

I was just curious. I have factory ac and I know I'd have to remove the evaporator to remove the valve should it ever go bad. Fingers crossed.....

Does your car have factory A/C? How hard was it to remove the valve?

Something like this?

I agree with the collisions shops probably won't want to touch it. I've had that experience also. I found a welder from the custom paint guy that did my car. Since paint was his primary business, he knew welders and such that had no fear of rusty stuff on older cars. Kind of a "I know a guy" that can do that sort of thing. Won't hurt to ask collisions shops either if they don't do it.

+1 on repairing vs replacing. I've seen worse so I think that's doable for patching. Mine came with no passenger side floor pan and the frame rail was two metal tube tacked together.

Knowing what I know now, the only part of that particular issue is wether or not the hood lines up correctly. Everything can be repaired/replaced either now or later. From the pictures that car looks to be well on the way to being back on the road as is. It looks like the familiar story of someone starting a Z dream project and then realizing the amount of resources needed to finish. A "punt" project if you will.... and probably trying to minimize their losses. It's a good starting point IMO. Money now or Money and Time later.

Amen to that. My 4 dogs aren't too bad with the snow. But when it comes to rain, they don't want any part of it. They'll hold it as long as they can......which isn't long enough.

Same thing happened when I got a pair, the passenger side left a skid mark on the window from the roller was not turning. Maybe there're was too much pressure on it from pressing on the glass or there was an imperfection where the roller attached to the hinge. I had to lube the hinges of the roller and it eventually worked itself out. However, the driver side roller gave up the ghost in about a years time. It disintegrated at the inside plastic roller. I'm glad they are available but I'm not exactly sold on the quality.

I'm guessing you want to try to save your paint right? So, If it were me, given the description of the foreign material, my first weapon of choice would be a heat gun to soften the gunk along with a small putty knife do a little digging. I would start on the center piece first. Once that is figured out, then be very gentle with the side pieces. Good Luck!

+1 on the Black. Just a little bit of Red goes a long way visually as well as any chrome(ish) parts against a Green background. And don't forget whatever color your block is going to be. That's where most of the attention is going to be. Just my two cents only, your opinion counts the most since you will be the one showing it.