Ed

Your exterior of the car seems to be in pretty decent shape judging by the pics. Some people might have a problem with the sunroof. The interior looks a little abused, ripped seat, shortened shifter, painted steering wheel. What does the back look like? Engine bay color doesn't match body, the battery looks like it's not secured. And what's that metal rod looking thingy by the master cylinder? If the floors are solid as you say I would start around 4k and go from there. IMO, I would offer you about 3k depending on what the rest of the car looks like. Not trying to burst your bubble or anything I'm sure up in WI you won't find a rust free Z. So use that as your selling point. :classic: Good luck.

I eagerly await my copy.:classic:

Are you talking inside your car? If so then your master cylinder is shot. The seals on the piston are leaking and everytime you pump your brakes you will squirt a bit of brake fluid inside your car. This is bad for two reasons. First the obvious, no brakes. Second brake fluid is corrosive and the longer it sits inside your car the more paint it will desolve. Pull your floor mats wash everything with plenty of water. Replace that bad MC, bleed the brakes and you should be as good as new.

I won't vote since I haven't painted yet but, I had a guy that will probably be painting my Z come over to look at my car this past Sunday. He told me that it would take about two quarts of primer, then he would spray sealer over that (not sure how much) then he said it would take about four quarts of color. I'm going with PPG single-stage since it's better and I'm keeping the original color, 110. All this for a mere 5-6k.

I hate to be the one to tell you but I'm sure someone else would have. Your factory A/C isn't factory. They were a dealer add on to boost the sales price. I haven't heard about a product to stop A/C leaks. I have heard of a "seal conditioner". I guess it all depends on where your system is leaking if it would work. Personally I don't like to add things to any system as they might "gunk-up" something else. Also if you are running the older freon instead of the new 134r it would be a good time for the upgrade. The older freon costs up to $45 for 8oz (one can). Depending on where your system is leaking you should be able to have it repaired. Look for someone that works on A/C systems and radiators. They will most likely be able to repair it. Another option is you could move up here to New York. Summer hasn't quite gotten to us yet. Good luck.

Unless it got stuck on something on the way down like the chain or sprockets, I'd say it's in the pan. I too would try fishing for it first. Like Zedrally said, you don't need to remove the head, but if you ever do remove the head for whatever reason you will always need to replace the head gasket.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. It's good to see someone putting the stands in the best possible location. Right behind the T/C cup. Where the metal is the thickest.:classic:

Pretty interesting. Notice how the torque peaked right before 2.5k and stayed the same. I don't think your gonna gain much more than that without $$$. But with the basic set up you have I'd be happy. Thanks

I've used the bolt holes that the "eye's" are supposed to be bolted to. One up front by the fuel pump the other the #6 exhaust stud. Linked a chain and used grade 8.8 bolts. I was thinking couldn't you raise the car and put it on jack stands. Then raise the engine until it came off the mounts. Then lower the crossmember? There are only four bolts that hold the crossmember to the frame. If there is a issue with alligning the bolt holes after your done, you could take out one bolt each side and put a long bolt in it's place (just to hold it). Depending on how long your bolts are would determine how much space you get.

Nate, sorry for your bad news. I don' t know how available rust free shells are. Or if they even exist? Depending on how much you have invested it might be worth repairing your current car. That's the beauty of working with metal you can bend & shape it to your specs. Put your car up and survey the damage. Post some pictures and maybe someone here can give you some suggestions.

I'm a home and work guy, if the boss (wife) gets on me for spending too much time on at home then I just wait till I get to work. There nobody really cares.:classic:

Tom, sounds like you have a short somewhere. Start by inspecting all your ignition wires. Clean all connections with some sandpaper and use some dielectric grease. You need to be thorough and insure you don't have a short anywhere. I can't remember this test so someone help. You should be able to connect a voltmeter to the battery or it's connecting wires to see if there is a drain or short. HELP????????????

280zgod, I understand your need for speed. I think all of us do. But I can tell you that a little more is never enough. It addictive first this, then that, it really doesn't stop. Until you run out of money or bolt on mods. Seeing that your on a budget you might want to reconsider the cam. Properly done parts alone will cost you close to $500 bucks. I know MSA offers the cam for $160 but that will only get you started. You will need new springs, rockers and lash pads. You don't want to do one without the other or you might as well send me the money cuz you will be doing it over again. Without new parts you will destroy your new cam. Now if you have the money to do it right I would go with cam A, .480 lift and 274 duration. Anything hotter and you will start to have problems. If it was me I would first tend to the # 6 cylinder which seems to have low compression compared to the other five. You mentioned you had a N42 head. The N42 is a good head and has the large valves. Only bad thing is it has less than desirable intake valve seats. With age these seats tend to "sink" (I can't think of the correct word). And would probably need replacing along with a valve job. I could go on but I better not. Let me know if you have anymore questions.:classic:

Found this on e-bay and thought it was a weird way of repairing the frame rails. Notice the notches. And is he just covering up the old rusted metal? What do you guys think?

Porting = Opening up the intake and exhaust passages by removing extra casting material. Take your finger and run it along the port walls. You will feel little bumps and extra casting material. Now you can have mild port work done where only the rough surface is removed or you can have the port worked and opened up to it's maximum effeciancy (done properly with a flow bench and years of experience). Polishing = This is where you polish the port wall to a smooth mirror finish. You will hear contriversy on this one. Some people say polish only the exhaust ports for smooth air flow. But leave the intake port walls rough to promote air flow. If you have a smooth surface in the intake then your air/fuel mixture will stick to the walls.??? Valve job = Replacing or resurfacing valve seats. As long as the valve is still in good condition, they will cut a 3 angle surface on the valve (for better air flow). They should also check the valve guide to valve stem clearance.

There are other factors you must consider before purchasing a cam. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. 1. Will you ever use this car on the street to go get groceries? 2. What sort of fuel system will you be running (carbs or injection)? 3. What type of engine do you have (L24,26 or 28)? 4. Which head do you have and does it have any port work? 5. What type of exhaust are you running? 6. What type of ignition system (stock points, electronic, or other)? 7. Have you upgraded the brakes yet? As you can see these are some factors that will determine what cam will best suit your needs. The more upgrades ($) the engine has the bigger cam you can run. But on the other side of the coin you won't be able to drive it on the street without loosing a couple of fillings.:classic:

Whats with the cloth seats?

Since you have the head off I too would take it to a machine shop. I had bought a head where the PO obviously tried to do some machine work himself and the drill went the wrong direction. What a mess. I had to have the hole welded, redrilled and retapped.

Yes it was. She's quite the handfull.

On mine the front crossmember was about 5" from the ground. I found this a bit too low for a couple of reasons. 1. My jack is 5 1/2 high, so if I wanted to jack the front end up I would always have to drive my car onto a couple of 2x4's. 2. Going over speedbumps was always a nailbiter. I would creap over as slow as I could go because if the bump was a bit too high when my car would come down the exhaust would hit. 3. If you have a front spoiler. Going up and down driveways that had a bit too much angle would result in a scraped spoiler. You might not see speed bumps or driveways everyday but that one time you do you will find yourself between a rock and a hard place. $.02 I will be keeping my car at the same height because I love the way it looks.

One thing that the manual won't tell you to do. You will probably notice it when you remove your old cartridges. Before you put in your new cartridge you need to put about 1/4 cup of ATF in the strut assy (in the hole where the cartridge goes). Not only will this help prevent moisture from rusting out your cartridge it also helps disipate any heat that builds up during heavy use.

Sounds like I need to go out and get a "sacraficial" car. My daughters are approaching driving age. I took my oldest (13) and gave her a lesson in my Maxima. She couldn't stop laughing, the whole time, ha ha, ha ha, ha ha, . I felt like I was with Beavis. I can hear it now "Dad can I borrow your Z to go out with my friends"? Who will be lauging then?