madkaw

When it comes to working on Z's, I have all kinds of pictures of rust:D These are pics after the removal of the hatch sill.

Well my Tabco rocker didn't quite fit -actually it did fit but the holes to bolt down the fender underneath are over an inch off:mad: So I sent pictures and a nasty gram to Mill Supply where I bought it from and they are dealing with me now. I mean I could redrill and weld back in place the nutplates, but I paid good money for this panel. I let everyone know how this turns out. So I went back-literally to the back of the car again to press on with the rear valence area. I am very fortunate that a member here so my post and brought me a little present the other day. I guess he felt sorry for me seeing all that fab work I had to do. What a nice guy and what a nice panel he brought me. This will make things easier, but this will still be a challenge to splice in. As you can see I have it roughed into place for right now. It is just laying there, but it will look a hell of a lot better then me fabbing everything. This replacement is 98% rust free, so I just need to get it fitted correctly and be done with it. I spent several hours this morning fitting it and now it's too dam hot to do anymore. maybe I can get this knocked out by the time I settle over the rocker panel.

Have plans to go to OPR tuesday night(september 28) to run at the dragstrip with my Z. It's Tuesday night drags from 5:30 on till atleast 9pm. 20$ and you can run allnight, what a better dyno then the 1/4 mile!! I plan to play with timing and mixtures and just have some fun the legal way:D They sell racing fuel from 5 till 7:30 if you want some.Bring a helmet if your Z is going under 14 seconds(loosely enforced I heard). So if you got the time-- come out and play!

it's a shame that things are that way, but you know it happens all the time. The projects i have done for customers has always been documented by a digital camera and e-mails. yes it takes more time, but not that much time. If there is something that needs to be replaced or extra work involved I prove it with a photo. Fortunetly I have patient customers that don't mind slow work:classic: Of course i have a full time job that pays the bills, so i don't have to rely on a big payday working on these cars. Hopefully people like that will get their just rewards in the end;)

Greg, to answer your question the 19 year old ran a stop sign and came out on the highway at about 40+ and dina was doing 60+. She spun out about 5 times and took out the "do not enter sign" on the other side of the median. He said that he had never been on that road before and didn't know it ended there at the highway. What I did today was to get off my rocker, or get off your rocker:) probably should have done this first, but I am not looking foward to aligning this panel to look good everywhere. I also signed off on a new Forester for the wife, it's sweet! maybe someday the old man can buy a new Z!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well didn't get much Z stuff done today, although I did squeeze in a valve adjustment on my car. A few were off just a little, but to be expected after break in I guess. My Schneider cam looked good despite all the horror stories out there about these cams. More importantly I am trying to find another Subaru for my wife. Her baby, a 2005 Forester XT got broadsided last week and it was totaled. Thank God my wife is okay except for some major bruising. The way the Subby handled the crash only reconfirmed that we need to get another Subby. And of course my wife has tasted the Turbo power and she will only settle for it. I'm gonna tell ya guys, if you haven't ridden in one of these forester turbo's, your in for a suprise. They really do haul arse! And they handle too!! You know anyone looking for a 2.5 turbo, I know where there is a fresh kill;)

My car was apart and sitting so long I forgot about the Z experience. Now I'm just looking for a reason to drive her. i am so happy with the whole driving experience of the Z that I wouldn't trade her for nothing. Bonus thing is that I can't go a day without someone giving me the thumbs up or "nice car dude".

By the way Greg, that panel was already replaced once. I found all the brazing when I was tearing it apart. So the fact that it was messed with once already probably caused more rust. Hell- my car also had that panel replaced by the PO. Even with a metal brake this would be a PITA-like I said, too many angles.

Put some Marvel Mystery oil in the oil and gas and drive-a lot! All that sitting around isn't good for it. Get some real heat in the cylinders from some long drives and short ones too, then see what she does. I have been amazed more then once how these engines will come back to life. The marvel might help loosen the valves.

I just realized there was a forum on 'what i did today"-cool! I have been working on Greg's Z forever it seems-sorry Greg, but I'm back at it hard. Today has been a particular fabbing challenge in that I have to rebuild the sheetmetal under the rear hatch panel. Greg supplied me with a repair panel, but once I started digging into things it got ugly. This by far has been one of my most challenging projects. Too many angles and bends. I am pleasantly pleased with how the first side came out, but there is still much to do. Someday I might have some real sheetmetal tools like a metal brake or something, but the vise and some angle iron will have to do for now:laugh:.

I really like the ignition curve of that dizzy-that's why I am asking. I figured out the chart:stupid: and was excited to see that I actually have one of those dizzies that I inquired about. Now to play!

walter, I was pouring over your excel spreadsheets(very nice work by the way), I wonder what nissan had dizzies on line 16&17. I like those curve numbers, but don't know what the application is. Is all these numbers just for zx dizzies? Mine doesn't show on the chart, I have the d6k8-26, if I remember correctly. The first number match, but my dizzy ends with -26.

having no cruise or fuel injection really makes the engine compartment clean! You are running an air filter I hope? Nice ride!

Sarah has been really good about dealing with the quirks of an older car---like waiting on parts, but she understands it's part of owning a classic. The only problem is the winter, then it's not a practical car, but we trade off for my suby impreza since i only drive a mile to work. I had promised her before she started college that i would buy her a new car if she managed a scholarship, and guess what-she got a full ride courtesy of the USAF. So I told her that I owe her a new car, but she would rather have her Z look pretty again. So then my wife and I decided that we would give her our Suby Forester when my wife gets a new car next year, and all she wondered was what was going to happen to the Z. I said-relax, the Z will always be yours and in our family.

That's one thing about a picture-it can make you look good at 20 foot away. her Z and me are good 20 footers:laugh:

As you can see, the picture is of two families in one. My daughter and I thought this picture would be cool in front of her sorority. Sarah still loves her car and all the attention it gives her. All her guy friends at school are jealous and always looking for a ride:cool:. Don't know if dad could have done a better job finding her a car that she likes so much, and I love driving it too-when she lets me:) Now that my car is looking good, she's wanting to know when her's get's to look that pretty. I guess I know what my next BIG project will be. Maybe the next Zcon we will both be there. Heck, she might have won the daily driver with her car!

I know money is tight everywhere, but you can buy a multimeter for less then 10$. It doesn't have to be fancy, just something to read DC voltage. And i would wire that flapper open, but it looks like the exhaust heater hose isn't hooked up anyway.

I will tell you from experience that the frame rail had little to do with the difficulty of installing the floors. The Zed Findings floors are not plug and play-which it looks like you found that out. As far as the frame rail, is it damaged from a collision? Even with a sledge, it would hard to "move a frame rail". You also have mentioned rust, how rusted is the frame rail? It doesn't look bad from the pics, but it is hard to tell. The area you show that is "out of line" probaly would not affect alignment that much. If the crossmember sits on there square, then I think it would align fine. Replacing the frame rail is a big job, maybe bigger then the floor you just put in. My frame rail was also bent at one time from a collision, I guess it was bent up over 30 degrees. The rail was bent back by the PO and besides cosmetics, it was fine. Maybe a tad weaker, but since it wasn't rusted all to hell, it was fine.

my version of the shaved rear

gary, I respectfully disagree. I think the carbs are one the last things to trouble shoot. All the basics should be covered before diving into the carbs. Why do I say that, because most other items are more straight foward to check then carbs. A simple voltage check eliminates many things. The carb function relies on so many engine functions that I have learned from past experiences, unless your sure, don't start with the carbs. By theway Gary, I was born and raised in Moorestown NJ, but don't miss it:)

It's a matter of checking the basics. If your voltage regulator is not maintaing voltage, your spark might be weak at idle, causing a unclean burn. You have a hot ignition that needs good battery voltage. To cold of an engine will also create issues of a rich mixture. A lot of times the problems are caused by basic elements not being correct.

about 3.5lbs. The picture just looked odd. Have you checked the battery voltage at idle?

Hey frank, did you ever dyno your car again, and was the car really running that rich when you dynoed at ZCON? Many members on the sites here have questioned the validity of my dyno graph.

You know your going to hear" SEARCH", so I will be the first to say it. With 55 posts you should know how this works. I am also going for HP on my l24, but it's a road that is determined by cost and research. I have more money in my motor then i care to admit, but have no big numbers to brag about. I have poured over these Z sites and have the book on "how to modify..." and still know very little of all the options. TUNE TUNE TUNE-first, then go from there. Get a base line using a dyno or drag strip, and see if you are actually improving things as you go. do you want a fast DD or a week-end warrior? do you want to stay NA or turbo? I wanted a fast DD, something to take across country to the Z shows and also take it to do some autocrossing too. The L24 is a great motor, but much more money to modify then a chevy v-8, but that's not my cup of tea. I am shooting for 200hp at the rear wheels, more then enough for a fast car, but i have already done all the basic work(brakes, suspension,ect...) to start with. Good luck and keep those L24's going!

Alright, we need more Z's in Indy. i'm on the westside of Indy, and my kid goes to Avon schools-also a booming area and the schools are all 4 star-probably best in the state. GOOD LUCK!!