Racer X

Free? It will cost money. The taxpayers will foot the bill. Doesn’t sound free from where I stand.

#3241 I recently spent $6,500 on a young registered Black Angus bull. I put him out with the herd, but he just ate grass and wouldn't even look at a cow. I was beginning to think I had paid more for that bull than he was worth. Anyhow, I had the Vet come and have a look at him. He said the bull was very healthy, but possibly just a little young, so he gave me some pills to feed him once per day. The bull started to service the cows within two days, all my cows! He even broke through the fence and bred with all of my neighbor's cows! He's like a machine! I don't know what was in the pills the Vet gave him..... ....but they kind of taste like peppermint.

A man is waiting outside a ladies' clothing shop while his wife buys herself 'something special' for their anniversary, when he is approached by a lady of the night, who suggests they get together. He enquires the price, and is told $50. He apologises, saying he only has $10, and she leaves him. A few minutes later, he is rejoined by his wife, and, arm in arm, they stroll round the corner - there to find the lady who accosted him earlier. She looks at him, then at his wife, and says 'You see ? That's what you get for $10 !'

My shop is bigger than my house . A man has to know his priorities.

Better wax those skis up!

Congratulations on an awesome score. So in the video, all that work was done to clean the car, and reassemble everything the original owner had removed, and then everyone pushed it outside for pictures. Why didn't we get to see it run? Don't be holding out on us now.

Just the thing to improve my already great heel/toe technique. Do they come in Nomex?

Processed some images I made of the car recently. A closeup of the factory mismatch of the rear valance and the right quarter panel. The assembly line mechanic managed to get a pucker when spot welding the rear valance and right rear quarter panels together, and simply filled the gap with seam sealer and it was primed and painted. It has held up well for 48 years. HLS3056539 1972 240Z by Racer, on Flickr HLS3056539 1972 240Z by Racer, on Flickr

That bodywork. Racer wants.

Waiting on a part for the waste oil furnace. A transformer that makes the spark for igniting the oil, 120 volts in, 10,000 volts out. Well, when it works like it should. Mine doesn't, and the package guy will have a new one here next week. So I got a wild hair and decided to rearrange the shop a bit, do some cleaning. I cleared a path, and dragged HLS305957, build date 6/70 out and assess its condition. Managed to get it out and have a cursory look, but need to move all the stuff into the slot it was in and then free up the right rear brake so I can roll it up on the lift. I got this car not long after the race Z and the brown 72. A friend of a friend connected me with a guy who was under threat of divorce if he didn't clean house. I can't remember if I got it free, or paid a couple hundred bucks for it. It was last registered 1991. The original color was yellow, and it has those stupid dealer installed rub rails on the sides. One of the previous owners changed it to red. It was later painted red oxide primer, the badges removed (why didn't they take off those stupid rub rails?), and an attempt was made to graft the headlight buckets to the fenders. The front marker/turnsignal assemblies are missing, and someone has gotten creative and uses stainless lockwire (like is used to secure assemblies in aircraft) to suspend the bulbs in the middle of the openings. The bumpers are trashed, the rear looking like someone had a trailer hitch on it at one time. I'll get some pictures up, after I get the shop cleaned back up, and the brake freed up. OK, lunch is over, back out to the shop.

I use a needle nosed pliers, with no side cutter. Works a treat.

Nice weld beads Ryan. The guy who taught me welding said anytime you can move the workpiece to position the weld under the arc it produces the best join. The puddle is easiest to control in that position, rather than vertically or upside down. Other positions are possible, but it is trickier to manage the puddle and keep the heat where it needs to be.

No, the dash doesn’t need to come out. It is a bit tricky, but the last screw can be removed, and the kick panel after that.

I have a Fluke 77 DVOM, and use it for most of my electrical testing and diagnostic work. But. Some testing requires an analog voltmeter, such as checking a throttle position sensor for opens. A digital voltmeter reacts to quickly to see the changes in resistance. I know, an early Z doesn’t have a TPS, but I work on newer cars too.

I would use the wire the original radio used. Then, for the clock memory, either find a wire that is hot all the time and splice into it, or run a wire from the battery, and be sure and use an inline fuse as close to the power source as possible.

When refinishing bare metal after cleaning up rust, I use a metal etching primer, followed by high solids/high build primer. Usually I continue to work the panels, doing any dent repairs and body filler, followed by a two part epoxy sealer, then topcoat with the final finish. It isn’t a good idea to go to all the trouble of cleaning up rust, and then leave the metal exposed. Primers are porous, and do little, if anything, to prevent the rust from coming back. Planning is an important part of body and paint work.

You know, I have a vague recollection of a 75 280 I had once about 30 years ago that had weatherstripping like that. It looked to be some universal weatherstripping that was glued on in an effort to mitigate wind noise. Unfortunately the car is long gone, so I can't go check it out.

Most likely the shiny stuff makes it more noticeable. I remember when tires first started showing up like that, back in the early 1980’s. Tire dressing (Armor All) really makes it stand out. Lots of drivers freaking out about it. The tire manufacturers told everyone not to be concerned about it.

That is actually quite common on tires. Nothing more than where the layers of belts, chords and rubber overlap.

Didn't do much with any Z cars this weekend (I know, I should be ashamed), as the used oil furnace in my shop consumed my time. I guess if you ignore them for 15 years then one autumn you flip the switch, and they refuse to fire up. Who would have thought, eh? Still, I prefer a warm shop to work in, and the days won't be getting any warmer for the next few months. But beauty can be found in most surroundings, such as this springtime shot of my race car from many years ago. Black & White Z Spring 1991 by Racer, on Flickr Beauty, eh?

The one on the car for sale is embossed, and has a validation sticker, the classic from the DOL is flat, and has the state outline where the sticker should be. Hmmmmm . . . . . . . . . seems inconsistent, but not impossible. I see the Nevada DOL page that lists the blue plate states: So it is possible that someone had the plate made, then submitted it for use on the car. But being from 70/71 the car isn't old enough. I have year of manufacture on several of my Z's, and here in Washington the registration sticker is not issued or required when a collector car is permanently registered that way. Some guys will get an unused sticker for the year they are using the plate for, or use a reproduction. One of the cars plates were too far gone to be restorable, but I found a guy who makes reproduction plates using the correct dies, reflective material and colors, so I'm saving for some from him.

I doubt that is an authentic Nevada plate and registration tag. The plate doesn't look like any ever issued by the Nevada DOL, but rather a novelty plate.

We've come a long way since George Carlin and the seven dirty words you can't say on TV.

You guys that drive on the other side of the road are so lucky. https://zcarclubq.org.au/festival-of-z/ Bathurst is one of my favorite tracks.

I saw the hoses, all the worm gear clamps, a strip mall auto parts store battery and oil filter, the do it yourself air conditioning, and the price dropped 40%. I looked through the pictures, read the listing, and some of the comments. It isn't a doubt this car has potential, with proper restoration, to be quite valuable. But as presented in this auction, it is nothing more than a cobbled up misrepresentation worth only a fraction of the current bid.