hls30.com

Ah, the origin of the term "spit polish"...

I believe one of those Z31s was at the gainesville garage party last year-if not, it's driver was-$150 in the car, and all the elbow grease it could hold...

The only other thing would be a nose cone to cover the leading end of the car on the trailer. Just make sure it is sturdy and securely bolted to the trailer. I am driving my Z32 convertible to Nashville, and will either put on the paint protection film, a bra, or both...

Just like Zlady said, unless it is the owners manual(and then only in the Glove box), or a properly attached and fitted Nissan or aftermarket part, take it out! Slip that stuff into your shirt pocket, or your cleaning supplies bucket and you will have no worries, leave it in and you are only inviting a point reduction. Personally, I took a point for something similar in Mad Mikes 350Z in Cleveland-he came up behind me at breakfast the next morning put his big mits squarely on my shoulders(I was seated), and asked my wife if my Life Insurance was paid up! (that point was not the only one I took...) If I could not find in the rules that something would not be an issue, I would remove it. Remember: Originality, Cleanliness, fit and finish for the stock class, Cleanliness, fit and finish for the rest of the classes.

E had a good Taillight write up here... http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4040&highlight=taillight+restoration

The lenses are essentially glued into slots in the reflector housing with three speed nuts on the chrome trim that extend through the reflector housing. The glue is an off-white viscus non-hardening goo much like dumdum Normally you can simply(it is kind of hard to separate them) pull the lenses out-a little warmth will help here as well. If you are careful, you can put them right back together with the same stuff! If you pry, use a wood or plastic utensil to minimize your chances of damaging the lenses. There are several threads on taillight restoration and they cover the removal in detail. I would say this heat treatment would be your best chance at straightening out the parts-if it doesn't work, I'll send you a set of useable reflectors for the price of shipping, PM me.

I would remove the lenses,and wiring, turn a couple of rectangular cake tins upside down, place the reflector assembly on the tins(the back of the warped sides are the point of contact)facing up- and heat the pieces in the oven starting at 200 degrees. check on them regularly and they will drape out, bump up the temp slowly if necessary.

Stephen, I stand corrected. All black '78 Zs were referred to as Black Pearls-I thought only the ones with the SAP were actually Black Pearls. Along those lines, I should have written "All black Zs did not come with the Black Pearl Special Appearance Package." Good catch! What this would mean is the car in question-assuming original paint could be a Plack Pearl with the Special Appearance Package or close, put on later.

It is more a case of one stop shopping and economy. As pointed out earlier in the thread: Why search for parts and an answer and then have spend time fitting, fabricating, and tuning when with a single $300(what I bougt my last Running 280ZX Turbo for) purchase you can get everything that you need and have it all properly installed in another car and running well in two weekends or less-by yourself? As an addition, the 280ZX turbo was Nissans reaction to the Crown, BAE and other turbo kits that were built between 1973(the earliest reference to a turbo kit I can find), and the introduction of the 280ZXT for NA Z cars from. I have a COMPLETE BAE kit I pulled from a '80 ZX several years ago. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22762&highlight=bae+turbo&page=2 see post 29 for a picture. Getting one of these kits speeds up the process, but they are still certianly more complex than swapping parts-even the manual says that a mis tune coud kill your engine. I think most people would like to consolidate their efforts and get a working and proven system, rather than piece on together. I am sure a properly designed modern turbo system would be better than what was available in the 80s. There is a website that explains all about Nitrous, and how to build your own system, it proves that the system it explains is the best out there and why-but people still buy pre packaged kits that are clearly inferior. Why? could be several reason-risk, fear, even convenience...same reasons apply to this thread Anything is possible with enough time, talent and/or money to pay for them. Some people simply don't have the right combination of all three to get to the place you describe. The factory set up has proven relieable and effective, the aftermarket has been proven to have the ability to be just as reliable and more effective, but it has also proved to turn an L6 into a broken pike of junk very quickly. L28ET conversion: Low cost, short term project, great performance gain, Proven and long lived results-FSM applies directly to troubleshooting and maintenance. L28 Turbo Conversion: Much higher cost, long term project, potentially excellent performance gain/dead engine, mixed results. No step by step guide to troubleshooting-mixed equipment means the buck could get passed. "The smart way to go" depends on the talent/time/money of the one person making the decision.

There have been several threads on the black pearl, and many of the photos and most of the info on this one actually came from Zhome.com. A black pearl is interesting, but considering that the black pearl consisted only of a few bolt on pieces, a black Z and a stripe kit, I don't see it as more than that. Considering that a Black pearl is a collection of parts and stickers and, as Stephen pointed out, this car has the wrong mirrors, this car could be a dressed up black Z-not all black Zs are black pearls. I still have a set of the optional wheels, the louvers, and the mirrors that I can photograph and post pictures of. I collected those pieces from a rusted out black pearl that was too far gone to save.

While there are a few vendors here that do have blank plates, all require verifiable proof of ownership, and send the plates stamped for the vehicle in question. Since you have stripped the area and see nothing where the stamp ought to be, it would take more than rubbing to get rid of the firewall Vin stamp-cutting it out and replacing the metal, or some serious hammer and dolly work-there is only one reason to do that I can think of... I don't know what it takes to transfer title where you are, but missing both the plate and the firewall vin would absolutely be a red flag on this side of the pond. Buying such a questionable vehicle over here could easily result in the FBI coming and taking it back to its original owner with no regard for what you have in it in time, energy and money. I had an acquaintance spend $22,000 for a Volvo station wagon just to have that very thing happen three weeks after he bought the car. Before I put any more of anything in the car, I would be chasing the P.O and getting the story, and then finding out what legal issues you could run into.

Questioning a bodyman is a good thing before choosing one, trusting but verifying is also a good thing, realize that evaluating a car based on a computer monitor is a toughie. a Member here bought a "fully restored, better than new" 240Z that is only just now getting ready for paint-more than a year and a half later. So many deal killers hidden under filler and new paint you wouldn't believe it. Anything can be hidden if you don't know where to look. I know most questions on car condition are answered here with what is obvious with experience, and the best advice: Get an experienced local club member to go look at the car. There is no substitute for a good once over by someone with the apropriate tools and experienced enough to know how to use them.

Make sure you have seriously low humidity to spray the POR15-I would also put a serious line dryer in place-I have had serious issues spraying POR15 without taking great care in getting dry air. Damp air promotes out gassing(tiny little bubbles) in POR. In a hidden place, there is no reason not to brush it in. Also make damn sure you use an excellent air filter and good ventilation for your breathing...you don't want ANY of these fumes/solids in your lungs. also a little POR goes a long way. I buy the small cans-but then the humidity here is almost always above 90 percent. Pour off what you will use and do not put what you pour off to use back in the original can.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q47bpOCTcaY Start it 1 minute 26 seconds in...

One note on the hiden surfaces of the car-like the floors-use clear POR15 and you will always be able to see what is going on under the coating-that is all I have been using for the last several years in the hidden areas, and it is a great way to actually check the longevity of the coating-use the gloss of the product to verify complete and total coverage. Will

He's A wingman...notice you can't see either of Chris's hands, but boy is he a grinnin!

I don't know, Mickey Carter does great work!

The only answer I can give that I know will work for you is your local alignment shop, but, if you are in the Savannah area, take the car to Asian Automotive, it will be done to perfection. Will

You can pull it from the passengerside footwell-thirty minutes max to drop and replace plus glueing and drying time...

Whole Family will be there, driving the volvo...and the 300ZX Convertible. My 240Z Will be ready for next year.

Great Thread! I'm looking for something for his purpose as well. There was a sprayable product that Nascar used that went under the paint, a water based rubber that could be sanded-the Shop doing Larrys car was telling me about it. It stopped(seriously slows down) the sand blast effect that occurs on purpose built race cars. Those of us with cars yet to be painted might get some benefit there... I'll round up the info. Will

Before spraying Any sealing coating in the frame rails, I would spray them with degreaser, rinse thoroughly, let dry, and then acid etch them, rinse with laquer thinner, allow to dry and then top coat. Por is ment to apply over rust, but there are directions for use for a reason... Unless your frame rails have been sealed, the tops open into the engine compartment, and everything released in it will ultimately make its way into them-in 30 to 40 years years worth of cleanings, detailing, etc lots of different chemicals have fallen through the cracks... E's method woks very well-for all things applied to the inside of frame rails.

That is the seal for the air flow door(valve) that directs the air through or around the heater core. They cut the seal to cover the entire door.

Most of the carpet kits sold come from www.StockInteriors.com, and they sell direct. I have used them for years on all my Z cars.

Sounds like you got it.