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If I may intrude.... Carl is spot on. He should be--he's discussed this loads of times. Undercoating is mainly there to deaden road noise and provide some thermal insulation. Oh, yeah--since it is porous it also does a heck of a job keeping moisture up against the poorly-prepped sheet metal of the floorpans. So, the "tip of the iceberg" is very true to form on these cars. Take off the tar crap, I suggest heat gun and paint scraper, but it sounds like dry ice also works from other folk's impressions. I then took a small skinny screwdriver and jabbed it into the floor pan, "mining" for rust. I found it along the front firewall, drain plugs, seat mounts and along the rearward weld line. Not much, but the pock-marked looking pinhole type problems. All of this was covered by the tar insulation, giving the intial impression of being "rust free." "Rust free" and "Z" rarely go in the same sentence! Grind away. Wear a mask. When everything around you turns dusty-orange, you may have had enough fun with the grinder. Vacuum, rinse, then scrub it down with Marine Clean to get the last bits of grease and grime off. Rinse again and allow to dry. Since the bulk of my pans were pretty solid, I used Metal Ready to get the good metal prepped. (POR Inc. states you don't need to use MR if only applying to rusted areas.) Rinse again. Apply the POR in multiple thin coats according to the directions. Cover the floor pans entirely, you will thank yourself later. Work in a well-vented area. Wear a mask. Wear gloves. All those kind of things. Hope this helps. X

Having had a similar experience, I can say that my problem was reinstalling the calipers with the bleed valve on the bottom. Had spongy brakes and no stopping power until i flipped 'em over and got the last little bits of air out. I guess looking at the service manual during the reinstall would have saved me the trouble..... Are your calipers on properly? X

Yikes! I know we need to pay a bit to the State for highway maintenance, but this is crazy!!! Questions: 1) How can you guarantee that CA-based cars do all their travel in CA? If you gas up in San Diego and drive in Baja, why pay tax on the mileage? 2) Conversely, what about interstate travel? Live in say, Tijuana and gas up there (no GPS yet) and use the CA highway system and pay no tax? Not very accurate a taxation system if you ask me. I would expect this idea and the whole "Big Brother" effect to generate major bad PR and hope a less-invasive means of taxation (property tax-type of highway use taxation plan) would end up being the lesser of two evils. Good luck, Californians!

Hey! Welcome to the club. In reference to the above, about 500 or so 240Zs were built in 1969 (1970 model year) with a little over 16,000 shipped and sold during 1970. Check out www.zhome.com for more historical info... BEFORE assuming it's only good for spare parts, let's see some pictures! Some folks may be interested in the whole car! Or, if you are not interested in selling it, there are tons of excellent opinion-makers on what is or is not repairable/restorable for the money you may want to spend. Of course, anything is restorable for the right $$$ Again, welcome! And let's see what your aunt's car looks like! X

Ummm...I think they may have changed their name to Balanced Performance Motorsports. Website URL is http://www.balancedperformance.com/index.shtml I think it's related to Sunbelt because Mapquest shows a similar address, so it's probably the same people. X

Ahhh, here's a cheesy haiku for you to muse over while restoring the Z.... Scrape, scrape, scratch, scratch, sigh The orange-brown cancer spreads Oh, no! More there, too?!?!?

here's alink to one of the other zcar sites with an extensive write-up about door problems. Hope it helps: http://www.zcar.com/forums/read.php?f=1&i=222776&t=222738

I noticed recently the NADA website slashed about $5,000 of value from a high retail 1972 240Z from $17,xxx to about $12,5xx. Needless to say I was pretty well shocked by the price cut, and continue to hope this is a typo. But, given the condition of my car and the cost to attain stock restoration it seems like a pretty severe financial loss, since my car will have this new benchmark for insurance appraisal/resale negotiations. Having had my mind recently warped by watching the B-J 2004 auction highlights, I wonder if a high-quality resto-mod might be a better value. After all, resto-mod appraisals and sale prices appear a bit more subjective (I think) and don't have entrenched written-down value guides. In essence, resto-mods may rely more on the quality of the work done than whether the restoration is "Factory correct," which is the benchmark for stock restorations. Each indiviual resto-mod car would appear to me to stand on its own merits more so than a stock restoration which has clear benchmarks for quality. Having said all this, I am certainly of the denomination that believes in enjoying your car however you see fit to restore it. Just do a good job, care for the car, and keep it away from the crusher! Whether you choose to modernize your restoration or make it a time-warp to the early '70s is a personal decision. I am just wondering about people's opinions on value since there is somewhat of a move to look upon classic cars as serious financial investments (e.g. recent WSJ article) thanks, X

check out this link: http://www.arizonazcar.com/brake.html They also have complete strut assemblies for the oh-so-low price of $1300 per corner. Start savin them pennies! X

wait a sec... let me get this straight. In order to use "performance" springs on a 240z, you should cut the strut assemblies? I just checked the MSA website, along with Tokico's website and their install guide (I just bought the ILK-252 set), and nowhere does it mention irreversible alteration of such a key component! After all, aren't the strut cartridges designed to sit within a normal length strut tube, and wouldn't cutting the tube just expose the top two inches of cartridge? I would think that a performance suspension package that is designed for the 240 would have taken into account such things as preload, travel, etc. Now (along with he thread Mr. C mentioned above) I am a bit worried I wasted some money on those springs..... Ugh. X

I hear you.... My Z is under my carport, and those same storms got me, too. I need a garage so my back and butt don't get soaked whenever I work on the car! At least your Z is still intact.

Yeah..and it's not even at the reserve price yet!

thanks, will. uh..and that IS what she said!

Hey all! Hope the fall weather has been as good for you as it has been here in GA. On the spur of the moment I bought late-model dual tone horns I would like to add to the 240 I am working on. The current horns sound pretty weak (but do function), so I thought an upgrade would be sorta cool. Has anyone had experience with wiring problems while doing this? The stock horns have a single lead from the wiring harness, while the new horns I bought have two spade connectors. Can I just ground the horns individually to the frame, or would that short out the circuit? (Obviously, I am new to wiring...) I have tried searching the forums but came up empty. If this has been discussed before, my apologies! Thanks, Steve

Ummm...your next post better begin with "so, when I got the Z home last night..." Given the degree of restoration, I would pay 12k CAN for that car. Heck, the more I think about it and the description of the amount of effort that got it there, it may even be a "bargain." Best of luck! Steve

I bowed to pressure to sell my car ("need a reliable car for college," "you won't miss it," "people enjoy Hondas, too!," blah blah blah) and regretted it for 17 years. Finally made right with fate when I bought my 72 earlier this year, now all is right in the world (The Sox won the Series, right?) Anyway, unless your marriage depends on it or you need the cash for an organ transplant, I would not sell. 17 years has taught me that much... Best of luck, X

here are some sites with good info (not exhaustive by any means): zhome.com zcar.com atlanticz.ca zcca.org hybridz.org Best book you can buy is Factory Service Manual (hard to come by, consider the CD version from Courtesy Nissan), ZCar Microfiche (ahem...this site has a good one...ahem) and Wick Humble's book on Z car restoration. I also bought Monroe's book on L-series engine restoration as well as a book by Des Hammill on SU carb tuning. As always, if anything in those books leaves questions (like the ever present "remove special gland packing nut with special gland packing nut tool # 378239400000000" which I like to translate as "get some PB Blaster and a BFH or pipe wrench") about how to do things, search the forums or post the question! Good luck with the resto! X

It looks gorgeous to me! I think a minimum opening bid of 12k may seem a bit steep, but not out of line for NADA valuation of high end (but not 100-point) restorations. At least, it's steep for my pocketbook! As usual, look before buying, check for receipts of work done. Is he serious about 15xxx miles (naturally skeptical) I remember recently some "perfect" restorations going for more than 12 on EBay, but they didn't have an altered head and triple carbs, nor did they have the non stock wheels, air dam and rear spoiler. Good luck on the roadtrip, and color me green if you get it (lime green, that is) X

Thanks for the advice, everyone. Enrique--great post! I will print it out and tape it up while I do my repairs... MOst of the damage is in the middle of the floorpans near the drain holes, so I think I will POR those (unless the Metal Prep uncovers more extensive damage). There is some through-and-through rust along the welding line near the firewall (pic #3) which I would feel more comfortable having welded. The car is not going to be a 300hp hotrod, so the odds of it ripping in half from some rust like above is pretty slim. I'll post some "after" pics when I get done... Again, thanks!

Hey all: I need some expert advice. I have been griding the rust off the floorpans over the weekend, fully expecting those "little holes" I noticed initially to end up taking over and making my decision to opt for new floorpans an easy one. But, after finishing up all I found were those pesky little pinholes and about 4 areas maybe 1 x 3 inches (2 on each side) in size... Should I still get the floorpans whacked out and rewelded? I was on the POR-15 website and they talk up their PorPatch product which sounds like a great option for wha I am dealing with. Has anyone used this stuff? Is this even a proper indication for that type of product? Here are some pics. Many thanks! X

Arrgghh! Why can't one like that be on the East Coast??? Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Man, guys...I feel badly for you. It sucks to have a law directed at what I perceive to be such a small contingent of cars in such a large state (at least that's how it appears to me from the East Coast.) Here's a brief analysis for other non-Californians like me: http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/bill/asm/ab_2651-2700/ab_2683_cfa_20040524_183247_asm_floor.html :Trying to make lemonade: At least it only reaches back to 1976... :subliminal message: Ummm, Z Clubs in the Southeast are always looking for new members, and the Atlanta job market ain't that bad. Maybe you could visit??? X

I am just glad mine is a 72...The "Z" centered ones seem a little more plentiful than the 70-71 "D" types.

but I am getting ready to prep and paint the undercarriage of my car, and need some expertise. What are the proper paint colors for the floorpans, wheelwells, suspension parts? I apologize, but I don't know of any restored Zs nearby I can use as a guide. I figure I will paint the suspension parts flat black (POR Chassis Black), clearcoat the brake calipers, and put a flat black finish on the floorpans and wheelwells (POR-15). The exhaust will remain unpainted. Any suggestions? Thanks, X

Victor: Thanks for the product number. My microfiche CD is still en route, so now I have a shot at replacing them! Hopefully they won't cost an arm and a leg, like most dealer-bought parts... X