Zedguy

I really don’t want to take the chance of tearing interior pulling it back, but really like this brace. Another Life dilemma!!! Haha!

Did you have to pull the vinyl off the tower to install the bottom brace?

Actually, they are Cosmo Racing. Thought it would be fun to try them. Z forums trash them, but BMW and VW Forums praise them. Decent price compared to Ground Control, and no cutting/modifying required, so no huge investment if they suck. :-) Paint is awesome! My guy rocked it! I had all the right colours and decals thanks to my good Friend Ron Carter who did all the research when he built his a number of years ago. (Photos of his car are on this site and I would imagine many on here know him well.) I know he did alot to help Randy Jaffe with his car, as well. My Dream car is getting close to a reality....finally. :-)

Thanks again. Lots to work with here....and I am not feeling as concerned. Blue stopped over for a few hours last weekend and I think we both felt pretty confident that it was not structural and we will work it out. We worked out a reassembly plan for the car....so I am getting very excited about moving forward on the project, and finally finishing it. :-)

Urethane bushings.....and stock (for now, anyway). The Springs were front to back backwards. DOH! The car is sitting much better now, but still seems high on the driver's side. (front and back) Although I was out-of-line with John (thanks for setting me straight everyone).....I am going to take his advise and see how it sits after all the weight is in it. I think he is correct that there is likely no structural issue. As I mentioned, the body panels and doors line up better than ever.

I will take some better photos of how it is sitting.....but I do want to share my excitement of 10 years. :-) The car is actually sitting better now than in this photo. Springs were backwards in this one.

Hey John, If your comment was made as a joke....I apologize for missing it. It is not always easy to read the intended tone of a comment. Yeah, it's been 10 years. 10 agonizing years....and it would be even more agonizing if anything structural was off. That would kill me at this point. Anyway....lots of good info here. Thanks to ALL. Look forward to having you over BLUE. :-)

Thanks to all but John. It never ceases to amaze me how there is always one person on a forum that feels the need to belittle other member's questions. If you don't like the question...ignore it. (which is what I should likely be doing regarding your response.....but I dislike Bullies and people who feel brave behind a keyboard) The stance is off enough that if it is due to a structural issue, it would make more sense to deal with it before the car is fully assembled. I turn to this Forum in case anyone else has had similar issues and would be kind enough to share their knowledge. No sense trying to reinvent the wheel. Chances are that it will right itself once assembled....and I am finally behind the wheel again. :-)

Hi all, Sorry if this has been asked, and answered, before. I did a search, but did't see it. I am in the final phases of a 10 year resto project on my '73. It should be very exciting, but I have hit a head scratcher. The car is still without the glass, interior, exhaust, manifolds, carbs, etc.....so still has some weight to come, but it is sitting pretty uneven. The driver's side of the car is almost an inch higher than the passenger side. I have new Tokico blues in it.....with the Suspension Techniques lowering springs I put in it about 14 years ago. The car was only driven sparingly in the summer and has been apart for 10 years now....so I expect the springs to be fine. It also sat with a nice squat when it was all taken apart. I started to panic that maybe the new rails had somehow been put in slightly off, but the gaps on all the body panels have never been better. Doors, fenders, hood are probably better than factory. The car saw two different body guys over the project, and the one who didn't do the rails believes them to be good. I know that without a jig....there are no guarantees, but the panel gaps are MUCH better than when it was taken apart. Anyone else come across this before their cars were completely assembled? Should I stop worrying and just get the car together and take it from there? I just figured it wouldn't hurt to get some input from those who may have been through this. Perhaps you will make me feel worse....but better to face it. Thanks, Eric

I put up my experience on the twice pipes on the 'Reviews' section of the site about a year ago. Check it out for more detail if you want. I will say this, I love my twice pipe setup! Yes, it's pretty loud under full throttle! Is it ricer buzzy? Absolutely NOT! Will you like it? Who knows. Depends on what you want. I always say that it is a personal thing. Exhaust can give your car that last bit of personality. It's up to you what you want it to be. I wanted late '60's supercar sound. Got it! Car nuts always want to know what I have under the hood and comment on how great the car sounds. The rumble at idle is amazing....and I definately felt a difference in power after it was installed. FWIW, Zedguy

Hey Inline6, You asked this a few posts back, and I'm finally answering. The pipes on my dual exhaust are 1 3/4". Plenty big when going dual....and I get NO evil resonation at high RPMs!! (I was worried about that!!) Also, my pipes come out side-by-side at the stock exit point. Had to have the hole custom cut to accomodate. Zedguy

I have to say, the exhaust has to be one of the most fun additions to your Z!!! I know I've posted this before, but I really believe it: It defines the personality of your Z!! My dual system? -3 into 2 Header -twice pipe system customized. Cut off the 'collector pipe' and ran each pipe into the header. (3 cylinders per pipe) -twin glasspacks at the rear. I love the rumble at idle!! I love the roar under load!! To me, it sounds like a classic '60's supercar!!! (I've even had people comment the same....so I accomplished what I set out to do) Zedguy

OOOOOO...I'm looking forward to hearing that!!! I have a dual setup on mine.....and love it!! Zedguy

I'll let you know if I run into a problem....but, I swear, the stuff has made a HUGE improvement in the short term. I only used it under the floor mats and up the firewall. I don't really see heat being a problem there. One of the uses on the packaging was for heat resistance in autos. (photo of it being used in floor of van.) Also, it was listed as sound absorption on generators. I guess we'll see. Like I said, if the stuff fails, I WILL let you all know!!! Zedguy

Yes. Under the carpets. No problem with popping. With the carpets and the mats....it would take alot of pressure in one spot to cause a problem. Zedguy

I just put new upolstry on my Z's seats and thought I should replace the insulation on the floors and firewall while the seats were out. (actually, 'replace' may be the wrong word, as I was amazed at how much was just not there!!) I've been thinking about doing this for awhile and was looking at the stuff offered at MSA and Victoria British. Then I had an idea to try something different....and cheaper. I went down to Home Depot and bought a 10' roll of water heater insulation and foil tape. (about $30 Canadian at the end of the day!) The insulation is silver foil on both sides and 'bubble' in the middle. It was remarkably easy to work with. Took me about an hour to do both sides!! I wasn't sure what to expect on my first drive? WOW!!! :classic: What a HUGE difference!!! Nothing but the sweet sound of my exhaust now....and it's cut down on the fumes entering the car through the firewall!! (still need to deal with the hatch area!! ) Just thought I'd pass that along. Maybe others have already done this....or have an even better solution. But, Man, I'm VERY Happy!!! Zedguy

'Keep your Bilsteins'???? Ouch!! That hurts!! :disappoin I put KYB's, Suspension Techniques lowering springs & urethane bushings all around on my '73, about 4 years ago. I've been very happy with it. :classic: I had KYB's on my first 240 19 years ago, and, obviously, was happy then, too. Maybe it's a case of never trying something else? Ignorance is bliss, perhaps???? Zedguy

I've got to put my 2 cents in on this one. I read alot of posts on the Forum (including the archives) before finally deciding on my exhaust system last year. The biggest discussions were always 2 1/4" vs 2 1/2" pipe. (And some VERY strong opinions for and against each setup) In the end, I decided to buck the trends and be different. Bottom line is that everyone likes their setup for different reasons...and everyone has a different opinion on what's 'too loud'. I went with a 3 into 2 header and twice pipes. On top of that, I customized it to 'true' dual exhaust by eliminating the 'collector' pipe and running 3 cylinders into each pipe. (Which, by the way, is 1 3/4") The result? A system that I think sounds spetacular and a very noticible power increase at the top end. (And NO resination) I have had no negative comments about the system....in fact, most people say either 'that's what that car SHOULD sound like' or inquiries about what is under the hood? As for the glasspacks 'burning out? Yeah, it's going to happen eventually....but, I also know people who have run several years without that happening. Plus, they are fairly inexpensive...and MSA assured me they could bring the muffler in seperate to the system. Further to that, someone once wrote on this forum, that an Austin Healy muffler (dual inlet, dual outlet) would fit as a 'quieter replacement. Don't know if this is true or not. as I never looked into it. I would suggest that if you want to go this route that you price out the glasspacks seperately and see if it's worthwhile getting the 'pipes' done custom. With the modifications I made, it WOULD have been much cheaper. (Live and Learn) Bottom line, have some fun with this. The exhaust is often a big part of your car's personality; what do YOU ultimately want? Of course there are performance advantages to each system.....and everyone thinks their's is better. 2 1/2 vs 2 1/4....header vs manifold.....chevy vs ford????????? Take it all in.....sleep on it.....dream about it.....take a deep breath and make your decision. Good Luck!! Zedguy

Resonator is like a small muffler usually near the front of the system. Takes the 'vibration' or 'resonence' noise out. I think mine got plugged up with rust or something. I've had similar problems with the cat. convertor in other cars. Had a VW GTI that plugged up. Made all kinds of noise and then finally I noticed a power loss. Took it to a garage and they took it off and blew it out. Said it was like a birds nest in it. Ran like a charm after....and much quieter!! Zedguy

I had a similar problem with my first 240z back in '85. It sounded like a ball bearing bouncing around in the pipe right under the floor. It would come and go. Strangest thing is, I put the car up on ramps and rapped on the resonator with a hammer :stupid: (being the mechanical genius that I am!) and it went away. Go figure. I haven't had the problem with my present 240z...and I am about to replace it completely with a custom job....so probably will never have the problem again!! FWIW Zedguy

I've read a number of good reports on the MSA header gaskets.....but, hey, who knows!! I have one that I plan on installing before the spring, so I guess I'll soon know. I did a quick search of the Forum, since I know there has been some great posts on this topic. Here's one that 2manyZ's wrote recently: "A lot of people just bolt on a header without thinking and then after a while it starts to leak or the header flange warps a little and they blame the header. Well, it may be the header and it may well have been prevented. To those of us who have taken the intake and exhaust off a Z know that the studs and the cone shaped "washers" under them don't seem to be the best way to secure two separate manifolds to the head. One thing to check when installing a header is to check the thickness of the header flange as compared to the intake flange. If the header flange is even a little bit thinner than the mount on the intake you will not get the same amount of torque on both when you tighten the mounting nuts. If the header flange is thinner try a flat washer ( a little grinding might be necessary to clear the intake flange) under the cone so that when you torque the nut you will be applying the same ( or close to the same) torque to the header and the intake. A properly torqued header with a good quality gasket should not warp or leak, so take a couple extra minutes to check, you might save yourself a little grief later down the road. And before you slap that header on take a minute with a wide flat file to make sure those ports are flat and have no welding slag hanging off them to ruin the gasket. Just a light touch is all that is necessary, if you file too much you will end up with one port lower than the other and then you will have a leak for certain."

Motorsport Auto in Orange, CA sells gaskets for headers. They say they will fit most 240z headers. Zedguy '73 240z

Prayers and condolences form Canada. Zedguy