Ed

Thanks Carl, by the way what are you doing up so early? 4am 4u

Sorry to hear about your missfortune. I know how it feels. Unfortunately I think your gonna have to chalk this one to experience. For one I don't think your gonna get any money from mister americandrunk. Just be glad you didn't get hurt and the car wasn't totaled. On the other hand I think you can fix your car for about $200 or so bucks. Get a chain, attach one end to a BIG tree and the other to that fender. The lights you should be able to pick up at a junk yard. Those rubber pieces you can reuse. It won't be pretty but it will get you back on the road.

I believe most 4 & 5 speeds have the same gear ratio 1-4 & reverse. You could find a 4sp with different ratios it would just require a little homework to find the correct year. If you plan on keeping your Z stock and use it for street driving a 5th gear is always nice when your on the highway. I don't think there are any disadvantages.

I'm looking to replace the old rusty bolts in the suspension components. For example; the T/C rod to A arm bolts, crossmember to frame, steering rack to crossmember, and so on. For these high stress areas I want to use a high grade bolt that won't rust over time. Either I can replace with OEM type bolts that are plated or stainless. I'm sure that new plated ones could last another 30 years but, I was thinking about stainless in certain areas.

Which bolts are stronger. Grade 8.8 or stainless?

I did the same dizzy swap on my 240 at first the tach didn't work but I reversed the + and - on the coil and she works fine. I think the stock tach won't work if you use an aftermarket ignition like MSD or something.

Are these new or rebuilt? And do they come with the pads?

I think I'm gonna install a hidden "kill switch" which will deactivate or put a break in the distruibutor circuit. And to prevent the theif from finding it or bypassing it I will put a locking mechanism on my hood latch. If they can't get access to the engine chances are they won't be able to "hot wire" it.

I cleaned the inner bearing and am not to happy with the way it sounds. I've got the outer soaking in solvent to see if this cleans it up. I might just go with new. Piece of mind.

??? not sure what you mean by the lead baloon thingy. But to answer you question, NO, rear louvers, spoiler and the front air dam are NOT standard.

I bet if this guy was a child kidnapper they would have the FBI putting the cuffs on him right now. Sometimes I think the law is prejudice. :mad:

You could take it to an allignment shop that offers lifetime allignments (Firestone). Have them put it on the rack and when they give it the once over they will give you a list of why it won't allign. Say thank-you, I'll bring it back when I can and take the car home and fix it. Then when your done you can take it back to the shop and get your allignment. This will work for any work you do on the suspension. I use my lifetime once a year.

I'm repacking the rear wheel bearings. I noticed that the inside bearing is just a regular bearing and should repack fine after I wash it. But my question is about the outer bearing, I noticed that the outside of the bearing is sealed, how do I clean and repack this bearing without destroying the seal?

It's definately water. When I removed mine I found about a pound of silt, dirt, rust, scale, crap stuff.

There is a plug on the drivers side of the engine. By the #6 cylinder, about 1/2 the distance between the top and bottom. Does anyone know what it's for?

Nice! Now let's get back to painting. Thanks for the info Guys.

Say Nate, As a proud owner of a 73 I have to say, Go for it! The front bumper is really the only visible difference. It has the larger bumper guards and the bumper itself is mounted about 2" away from the body. The gap is then filled with molded rubber inserts. The mounts are bolted to the body above the frame rail with 3 bolts. These bolt holes are what I used to attach my rotisserie to the body. When I was looking for a replacement bumper I found that because of the mounts only a 73 bumper will fit a 73. Now if you change the mounts I'm sure you could put what ever year bumper you want. One advantage of a 73 is it has factory rear swaybar mounts. A swaybar from a 74 bolts right up. Unless the 73 your looking at already has one. Let us know if you get it!

Enrique, the part has been sitting for a week. I noticed that on the sharp edges the paint is a bit transparent. I want to give it a second coat, will scuffing with 300 grit be good enough? Carl, you are correct it is freaking cold up here. Makes me wonder why I ever left CA. I moved all the parts to my car down to the basement where it is nice and toasty. Only the shell remains in the garage.

Now that would be a gas!! I remember a movie where a security system was installed in a Porche that was designed to not only provent theft but also as a "cage" to detain the perpetrator until the authorities arrived, or until you got a big stick.

If you do install an electronic immobilizer the "break" should be between the coil and the distributor or inside the distributor itself. Putting it before the coil to prevent 12v getting to the coil is pointless.

Thanks Guys! Now back to painting:classic:

I'm busy doing the POR-15 thing and I've got a couple of questions. I've alaready done a few pieces and was wondering if I should wipe down the parts with Marine Clean before applying a second coat? They are still clean just full of fingerprints and a little dust. Next question, I have a piece that has been Marine Cleaned and Metal Ready'd, I do not plan on painting it with POR, will this piece rust? Or is the coat of Metal Ready enough to prevent rust? Thanks guys.

Those electronic immobilizers will do very little for a carburated engine. Anyone can "hotwire" your engine in 10 seconds and be gone. I think we need to immobilize some other way.

Whenever I see those rims I always think of a 280. I hate to say it but I didn't really like them (maybe because I'm a 240 guy). Then when I saw them polished, WOW, I love the polished look!

Victor, I think that the local PD will do very little trying to recover your car. They will usually wait until someone runs into it. You can however start an investigation of your own. Go back to the scene and look around. Are there any surveillance cameras in the parking lot? Is there a history of cars being stolen from this area? I remember when I lived in San Diego, Home Depot was the hot spot for cars to be stolen. Start poking around. You never know what you may find. Good luck. Ed