CW240Z72

I came across three different shops (including the one you sent the link from) in Australia selling a 3" x 5" x 12" oval canister muffler. I would bet that they are all selling the same one, under different names. The one I received had no part numbers stamped on it, and actually came in a Mangaflow box (PN on box was for a completely different muffler). Curious where these are being supplied from.

Keith! Hope all is well on your side. Link to the muffler: https://www.performanceexhaust.com.au/p/5-X-3-OVAL-12-LONG-1-3-4-C-C-GLASS-PACKED/A318GP For some reason the website checkout will not allow for a US based address. Shoot them an email and they'll send a Paypal invoice over directly. Took only a few business days to get to my door step. Now if I can get the section of pipe between this and the rear muffler bent up I'll have a complete setup.

Carrying my exhaust post over to the build. I was able to track down an original styled resonator for the Z. Packages well in the tunnel and shouldn’t be too bad to route from. Ideally I’d like to be an offset inlet/outlet resonator, but this will be just fine. Painting the body soon!

Fit looks great. Ideally it would be an offset inlet/outlet. I can cheat the downpipe over a tad and have plenty of room on the RH side

So I took a chance and bought the Australian based muffler. Turns out it’s a pretty close alternative to the “factory” style one. Side by side with the exhaust that came off this Z. I don’t think this was a true original piece, looks like someone spliced it in some time ago. Either way it’ll have the look I’m going for.

That’s a good alternative. Did not come across that one yet.

That's interesting, doesn't hurt to reach out and see if they have one in stock. Thanks for digging that up.

I have searched far and wide across the internet for a resonator of the right size. Reached out to Banzai in hopes that Mike has something hidden away. I did come across one I think would be a good fit, from our friends down under Measures 5" x 3" in cross section, 12" long, sized for 1.75" pipe. If I can get them to ship it to the US I may be in luck!

Good idea, thanks Jim!

Thanks! I figured finding a good original one would be next to impossible. Hopefully someone has already been down this path and has a close aftermarket substitute they could recommend.

I am knee deep in the middle of restoring my '71 Z and on a hunt for the center resonator for the stock exhaust system. As of now I have the JDM Car Parts downpipe and repop of the original muffler, but its the bits in between that I cannot find. Has anyone came across a close alternative to the Nichira resonator? I have looked across the internet for one that's close but they are either too wide or too long to fit in the trans tunnel. I have one with me that measures roughly 6" wide and 12" long on the canister. It's not useable unfortunately. The best packaging resonator I have found available is one that is round in canister shape, opposed to the oval shaped Nichira one. Here's what I'm after (pics taken from other CZC members): And here's the best packaging resonator I could find: Here's the car I am after the resonator for. Thanks

Before and after on the dealer AC controls. Original setup was from ARA, new setup is a mostly pieced together system to make adding AC as minimally invasive as possible. For the controls the ARA unit was disassembled, cleaned, and new switches installed. Also replaced the ARA logo with a Z one to change things up.

Thank you! It’ll be tough, but I hope this one gets to stretch its legs out on the road a good amount.

Good eye, both are now installed on the Z.

Few more loose ends to tie up and the Z will be ready for its first fire up.

Unfortunately that was one piece this car didn’t have when I got it. I’ve got one from a 75, and considered adding mounting provisions for the AC hose routing. As hard as the early ones are to come by I would hate to cut one of those up for mounting the AC line to it. Looking at it closer, in theory I may be able to install the drip pan over the AC hose bracket, and make shims that take up the gaps at the frame rail mounting points.

Few small updates as we continue to prep the body for paint. AC system is just about done and I reassembled the choke cable mechanism

Fuel tank installed tonight. One step closer to hearing it fire up!

Mounted it to the condenser brackets. Should be fairly hidden once the grille is in and the car on level ground

Valve cover was first cleaned in a ultrasonic machine to get all of the junk from 50 years of use off of it. That got it clean, but not pretty. I then used a cheap oven cleaner to get the exterior surface back to a "raw" finish. Works great on aluminum, its what I had used on the transmission as well. After that the cover was clean, exterior back to a raw finish. It still didn't have a consistent color to it due to being a fairly crude casting. I lightly dusted the cover in a VHT high temp cast aluminum paint, only enough to give it an even finish. That was followed up with a clear coat, same used on the exterior of the car, to protect it.

Steady progress has been made to get everything ready for the first fire up. While we wait for a few parts to ship in, I worked to get the AC system finished up, and cleaned up the valve cover. So far the AC system is routing like I had hoped, clean and out of the way. I never liked how the dealers installed the drier on the inner fender with sheet metal screws. On the front core support it should hide nicely from view.

No undercoat for this one, but a healthy coat of wax will be applied 😊. It survived 50 years uncoated, I’d hate to cover up the original floor pans on this one.

Lot of body work has been wrapped up on the body of the Z in prep for final paint. Not very exciting to photograph, but the drivetrain it just about buttoned up.

Quick shot of the drivetrain install that was completed over the weekend. Now that there’s no worry about scratching the valve cover, I’ll pull it and finish cleaning it up. Z Therapy carbs mocked up and looking good!

Lot of not so glamours work has been done on the Z lately. One task just about complete some might appreciate, restoring the fuel tank. Tank was boiled out and sealed, followed by many hours of body work to get the underside as smooth as possible. Finished out with a new sending unit, powder coated straps, new rubber liners, hoses, and replated hardware.