kenz240z

I'm kinda partial to the orange. But, someday I'd like to paint one chartreuse. I think a bright green with black interior would look cool, kinda like an early '70's hemi 'Cuda, only on a Z!

I'm a 38 year old middle aged fart.

I wouldn't start it unless you plan to drive it and get the engine up to operating temperature. You'd also have to redo any winterization steps you took before parking it. I'm sure the temptation is great! We've been lucky here in Colorado. Temperature has been in the 50's/60's this week. I've had my Z out a few times, even washed it!

It may have a little rust, but looks like a great Z to start a project with. I wonder if the new owner is a member here? It would be neat to track his progress with the car.

Hi Eric, the paint on the Z is awesome, looks like a nice job was done on the body and paint. But, at $8450 I'd be worried about the mechanical performance of the car, which the hard start may be hinting at. If possible, do a compression test on the engine to help determine what kind of shape it's in. And, look for the obvious, like smoke out of the tail pipe, oil leaks, etc... What about the brakes? Are they solid, or do they need work? Pull the front tires and look at the rotors & pads. Pull the rear tires & look at the drums & pads. How about the suspension? Are the struts and bushings in good shape? Listen for telltale signs, clunks & thunks if you drive the car. Look at the tires. In addition to normal wear, look for indications of alignment troubles, uneven wear, etc... If these areas have been neglected you're going to have to spend a bit of money to make the car safe to drive. The $8450 car just got a little bit more expensive. I'm not sure about Illinois, but in Colorado, the state statutes require the seller to provide an emission certificate with the car showing that it passed. Check your local statutes to see what options you may have. If the car is truly solid and mechanically sound, then perhaps $8450 isn't too bad. You could easily spend more trying to refresh another Z to the same condition, depending on how much work it needs. Who knows, you may be able to negotiate a lower price, or at least get the seller to correct any mechanical issues so that you purchase a car that you can enjoy right away without having to dump any money into it. I hope it works out for you!

ZEN SARCASM 1. Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either. Just pretty much leave me the hell alone. 2. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt and leaky tire. 3. It's always darkest before dawn. So if you're going to steal your neighbor's newspaper, that's the time to do it. 4. Don't be irreplaceable. If you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted. 5. Always remember that you're unique. Just like everyone else. 6. Never test the depth of the water with both feet. 7. If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments. 8. Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes. 9. If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you. 10. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day. 11. If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it. 12. If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything. 13. Some days you're the bug; some days you're the windshield. 14. Everyone seems normal until you get to know them. 15. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it back in your pocket. 16. A closed mouth gathers no foot. 17. Duct tape is like 'The Force.' It has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together. 18. There are two theories to arguing with women. Neither one works. 19. Generally speaking, you aren't learning much when your lips are moving. 20. Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it. 21. Never miss a good chance to shut up. 22. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

Jack, that looks awesome. I like the combination of black, silver and red!

Hi Eric, welcome to the club. There are lots of places on the Z cars that are prone to rust: Fenders behind the wheel Top edge of fenders Rocker panels Dogleg in front of rear wheel Rear wheel arches A pillar (side of windshield/door opening) Floorpans Rear hatch sill Cowl area Door edges Battery tray Frame rails These are a few areas. Any metal part can rust. The difficulty/cost in repairing the rust depends on where the rust is, and if you are a welder. Almost anything can be fixed, but be prepared to shell out some bux if the car needs extensive rust repair. The worst is probably floorboards and frame rails. If you know how to weld and are good at metal fabrication then you should be able to do any rust repairs yourself. I spent about $190 for replacement rear wheel arches & wheel houses from Tabco, and another $600 to have a body shop install them. One of these days I'd like to learn how to weld. If you search the site you should be able to find information on various rust repairs done by members here. You may want to update your profile to include where you are from. There may be a member or two nearby who could take a look at the car with you. I hope the 240Z you're looking at turns out to be a good project for you! Keep us posted if you purchase the car, and put up a few pics, too.

Hi David, your Z looks fantastic! The seats look comfortable, was it easy to put them in?

Wow, Rick, your Z is beautiful! Nice work! I like all the original hose clamps under the hood.

Hi Enigma, you may not want to take the differential in to be media blasted. You would run the risk of having the blast media get inside. Definitely not a good thing... Having the other suspension parts blasted is a good way to go, though. The $140 you paid sounds like a fair price, and I'm sure it's nice to get the parts back clean and ready to paint. I cleaned my suspension parts the old fashioned way, lots of elbow grease! Hi Bryan, my thoughts are that the main thing is to properly prepare the parts for paint. Any skimping and the part will look bad, the paint will peel off sooner rather than later, or worst case, the paint won't stick. Cleaning a part to bare metal is the only way to reveal any rust that may be hiding underneath. Ultimately, it's all a personal decision anyway. How much time, effort & bux to devote to it. Me, I'm the kind of fellow who finds it relaxing and enjoyable to spend the time scraping off the old gunk, washing parts, sanding & prepping, etc... To me the effort pays off when the part looks as good as new with a fresh coat of paint.

Hi Jim, I used PPG Omni AU to primer and paint my Z. I had to fix a couple of dents in the doors & fenders and used rattle can primer. When I was ready to paint the car I started by spraying a coat of PPG Omni MP180 sealer. Check out PPG's website (http://www.ppg.com/cr-refinish/phase1/frmFindProduct.asp), you can download the product information sheets that have all the information on mixing, drying time, compatable substrates, etc...

Chrome tape might work well for detailing some items, but I'm not sure how well it would work on the parts I have. With the shift plate I was concerned about having the "chrome" continuously applied all around the rectangular outline. In other words, I didn't want an obvious cut at the corners, which I'd get if I had used 4 strips of tape, one for each side. And the shift handle is a curved and rounded surface. Tape would probably not give a good look there. I was surprised at how well the silver leaf foil molded to the part without looking bunched up. Chrome tape would probably work really well for the chrome strips on the door panels and interior dog legs. The silver leaf foil wouldn't do so well for those, since the sheets are only 5.5" sqare, you'd have splice lines every 5.5 inches...

Hi Steve, weld away! Your initial post mentioned nothing about welding up the unused ports and polishing the intake & balance tube. Now I understand. Loren, those pics of your engine, intake & carbs look fantastic! I really like the look of all that cad plating! Do the headers have that jet hot coat that keeps them shiny looking?

I recently purchased a new fuse box cover and Z plate on ebay for the console in my '73 240Z. Both new pieces have chrome accents around the perimeter of the part. My Z is an automatic, and the shift plate has a similar contour that I thought would look good with chrome, too; however, I would imagine that it would be extremely expensive to have chrome applied to the shift plate, especially for just one part, so real chrome was not an option. :lick: I've been looking for alternatives that would look good, especially to the untrained eye and casual observer. None of the paints or pens I've seen have the ability to provide a comparable shine. But, while perusing a non-Z site, I came across a recommendation for using metal foil to restore chromed trim parts. I decided to investigate. I made a trip to the local Hobbytown store which has a lot of modeling supplies, but struck out. I went next door to the local Hobby Lobby craft store and found a fair selection of metal foil products including gold and silver leaf made by a company called Mona Lisa Products/Houston Art, Inc. (www.houstonart.com) I purchased a package of Silver Leaf foil (25 5.5"X5.5" sheets), cost $6.99; a bottle of Metal Leaf adhesive (2 oz.), cost $2.99; and a bottle of Gloss Medium & Sealer (2 oz.), cost $2.99. I figured for around 13 bux I would experiment with a few older parts I had on hand to see how it would turn out. I had an old shift plate and an old shift handle, so I practiced on those first. Here are the steps I followed: 1. "Paint" the adhesive on to the areas to be "chromed". I used a ProTouch micro brush (I bought a pack of these at a local paint shop). The ProTouch brushes have a small, round tip made of non-absorbent fibers, perfect for precision application of paint, or in this case - adhesive. A small paint brush would do nicely, too. 2. Wait 30 to 60 minutes for adhesive to "tack". 3. Have a beer 4. Cut a piece of wax paper slightly larger than the square of silver leaf foil. Put the wax paper over the foil, rub it a bit, and the foil will stick to the wax paper. Makes application easier. 5. Apply the foil to the part and lightly rub the wax paper where the adhesive has been applied. 6. Remove wax paper. 7. Run a finger around the edges to remove the excess foil. It is very thin, kind of like burned paper that has turned to ash. An old toothbrush helps remove the little bits of foil that are trimmed off. 8. Coat the newly applied silver leaf with the Medium & Sealer. The ProTouch micro brush works well, so would a small paint brush. 9. Wait 30 minutes for sealer to dry. 10. Enjoy another tasty beer. :squareeye 11. Apply second coat of the sealer. 12. Wait 30 minutes for sealer to dry. 13. Time for one more beer... :knockedou 14. Admire the newly "chromed" parts As a follow up step, the sealer can be wetsanded with a very fine grit sandpaper and buffed. I haven't done that step yet, figured I'd wait until tomorrow to make sure the last coat of sealer is thoroughly dry. The results turned out pretty good. Not show car perfect, perhaps, but a nice bit of detail none the less. The same technique should work well for restoring the "chrome" on some of the trim parts, such as the hood emblem, fender emblems and rear hatch emblems, too. I made a new album in my gallery with several photos. Here are a few showing the metal leaf products and the finished results.