mriz

I had all but given up on the drivers of those melted jellybeans, but one guy today waved and smiled at my daily driver in a way that he recognized and knew what an early Z car was. Most of the others have no clue about the heritage of the Z car so it was nice to run into someone who at least knew what he bought.

Thanks for info. I'll give it a good cleaning and re-check before I take the old one out.

O.k. so I got the interior harness out of the parts car but it's been sitting exposed to weather for 13 yrs. Do you think cleaning up the connectors would do it or would the wires be just plain dry rotted? I would prefer to make a copy but I lack electrical knowledge. In other words what is the best way to go about starting this , type of wire ? increase ga. or go with origional?,reuse connectors? Thanks.

I bought a lincon using shielding gas which can weld up to 3/16 metal . Go to a welding supply store and tell them what your needs are. Auto body supply stores carry 22ga. sheet metal to practice with. It does take patience but you will get the hang of it after awhile. You can even rent one for a day to try it out if not sure. This was my first experience with welding but you can be sure there are others on this site who know what they are doing and can answer specific ? if you have them.

It's great to see your intrest in restoring your dads car.You will get some suprises along the way but don't give up. To bring costs down I would buy a small mig welder for around $600 and the patch panels ,don't forget the dog legs when you get the rockers. Buy some 22ga sheet metal for practice and have at it. It will take awhile but the body work is where you will save in most of your labor(variable) costs as opposed to the parts which have fixed prices. I could not have restored my 1977Z without doing the same(check gallery). Many mistakes and weld burn throughs,re-do's but it's mine. I used all metal as filler not bondo.More $ but it's not supposed to absorb moisture.

I hope what comes around goes around. Would be nice if thier floor pans let go on the highway. Sad part is my friend would have given them the part had they asked and they would not have had to hack up some good stuff to get to it.

A parts car my friend bought 12 yrs ago (a rollover) was given to me to strip . Over time someone went in his yard and stole the stereo and ingnition engine harness and FI parts without him ever knowing. Damn them. The int wiring harness looks untouched so I can copy it ,and some int panels were ok. I got the dash out today so tomorrow the steering column and lower harness/heater controls hopfully. It's sunk up to the rockers so it will take some work to get to the rack assembly. Not sure how much I can store but at least it won't go to the scrapyard.

I would definitly go around the car with a magnet to check for filler which maybe sitting on top of rust. With the hatch up raise the rear carpet. If you look down inside and see and two white objects those are your sneakers(found this out with my 82zx). Check all electrical devices , probably "just a bulb out" can mean the difference in your child going to college or not. Look in the galleries to see common rust spots and what it takes to repair.

Just thinking back when I took my stepson who was 17 at the time for the first ride in the 77Z. He got in and asked wheres the airbag and abs system? He didn't seem comfortable knowing that if I hit something it was just air between him and the dash minus the bag. And if I lock up the brakes, they be locked .I looked at him the same way I did when he went down the side of my car with his bike handelbars at 5. I explained to him that back in the day the only safety equipment was the horn and brake pedal ,and somtimes even the steering wheel if your hands weren't covering your face in a moment of terror. Even did the when I was growing up...... thing. He just seems to have the attitude that an airbag and abs will keep him alive no matter what happens. I just think the industry gives these kids a bit too much false security in the advertising . Won't listen to me and he's on the road next month. Maybe if Billramsy gave him a talking to hmmm..... My .02.

He still has hopes of buying a 78 in good condition so it may take another 5 years or so to get that one. Any parts I just don't use I'll keep around in case anyone (club member)needs the odd bracket/bolt or whatever . It will take awhile to strip and sort through it all and see what I need and can store. Trying to sell the wife on the engine block coffee table and 5spd nightstand with matching strut tower lamps idea !

My friend who has a 1978 ,parked for 7yrs and a rolled over 1977 for 12 years. He always had dreams of restoring the 78 and using the 77 for some parts. Well today he told me I can strip the 77 complete to use for my 77. The dash is not cracked even when exposed to the weather for that long. I plan to fight the mice for the wiring harness (unmolested) to copy it and replace my bomb squad special harness.I will catalogue and keep most of the parts .The body is beyond salvage ,sunk up to the doors in the backyard.What shape do you think engine and driveline would be in after all those years???

The motors still in the door . On the z32 I can't (as far as I know) remove the door panel with the window up and cannot access the regulator bolts. If you know of any way to lower the window without power let me know.I can't get the motor disconnected from the regulator inside the door. Running out of band aids ,Thanks.

Thanks for your help. I'll pull it out and test it in case it's stuck . The Z32's are nice cars but I still prefer my old 77Z.

Each wire provides power in one direction .Should I be able to just connect a jumper to either wire and get power to It ? Unfortunately on th 32 the panel only comes off with the window down and of course mine is up ,so I think 2 boxes of band aids should do it.Thanks for your help. (the 77 comes out tomoorrow!)

I tried jumping the power window motor with a fused wire from the battery to both up/down wires going to it but no go. It's just 2 wires so should I ground one and put hot to the other? I have power going in/out of the switch so I'm stuck here. It's for a Z32 I just bought to drive while I do more work on the 1977. Thanks

So true. When I bought my Z after 20 yrs without one I thought a running not perfect Z would be great and i'll just be happy and leave it alone . But no ,after 9 months of welding/body work I am now about to pull out the dash because the wiring was tampered with by the po and it just annoys me. Then I'm thinking why not another repaint because last years was a shade too light for me. I think my wife is planning an intervention of some sort! (probably run by a Kia salesman). But once you look in the gallery at the work these guys have done and the knowledge they have of the Z car the UPS man will be sitting across the table from you next Thanksgiving.

I have to change the fluids this weekend , been parked 5 months .Time to run it!

Mine stays in the garage all winter and when it rains since I've owned it. Just got 6+ inches of snow the other day so it's gonna be at least a few more weeks before my mechanic (avatar boy ) and I go for a ride.