Jeff G 78

Looks like a solid deal to me. Rust is your only real enemy with Z cars. Crawl under the car and look at it closely. Do a search here for common rust areas and you should find lots of help in knowing where to look for rust. If you can't find the answer, post again and I'll walk you through the rust-prone spots. The broken door handle is a free repair. Just swap the RH and LH handles and both sides will work fine. If the body is as good as it looks, the car is worth $600 even if the motor is shot. Be prepared to go through the FI system and probably the fuel tank if it hasn't run in a while. Also search for Z clubs in your area. Chances are good, you can get a local Z expert to go with you and inspect the car. Most of us Z nuts are happy to help out if we can. EDIT: Be sure to find the VIN stamp on the firewall and compare it to the dash VIN and title. Also be sure to get a signed bill of sale and be sure the signature matches the one on the title. When you buy it, take a picture of the seller standing next to the car so you can ID him to the authorities just in case something is fishy.

Welcome to the forum Wick. Good luck with your search and your new build. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your book when I bought it 15+ (maybe closer to 20?) years ago.

Looks awesome Guy. It's a great addition to your garage (like your garage isn't already cool enough)

Another Zombie thread?

I've cut up plenty of Z cars. Once they have rotted beyond repair, they are more useful as parts cars to keep other Z cars on the road.

Anybody here have an active Carfax account? I'd like to check out a Toyota 4Runner. Thanks.

Al, I think I've got what I need. In October, I tried the slotted hole six-spoke wheels during practice and they held torque. I also raced for 25.5 hours on the rim with the slightly damaged lug holes and it held fine as well. The main thing I learned is that shank style lugnuts from auto parts stores are not made well enough for severe use such as racing. I noticed that we had to keep retorquing several of the wheels early in the race and when I inspected the nuts, I found that the nuts themselves were wearing badly where they interface with the washers. I used a different set of nuts (with shorter shanks) that I bought off ebay on the damaged wheel and that was the only one that held torque throughout the race. After 25.5 hours and 1400 race miles, the ebay nuts looked like new and the Autozone nuts were in lousy shape.

They should be Weber DGV 32/36 carbs. I am not a DGV expert by any means, but that is the typical Weber down drought carb for the Z.

Looks like Weber DGV's to me.

My first car was a Z and I'm still here alive and well. Z's are fun cars, but they aren't particularly quick, so they really aren't bad starter cars. If he learns to do everything himself, he will have a better appreciation for what it takes to own a car and make it nice. Make him pay his own insurance. That too will make him understand the importance of safe driving. One mistake and his rates will likely park his Z.

Sorry for the thread hijack, but do ALL of the '75 - '78 Z's have a crooked LH turn signal? Look at the picture of the front of the ebay car and the front of mine. My 260 also looks the same, but I don't have a clear picture of it. I have noticed this for years and don't ever remember anybody bringing it up.

Well, the spreader plates have to be .125 for the racing I do (CCWS and LeMons), so right there, the HH140 is nearly maxed out. Otherwise, yes, the 110V MIG can weld a cage, but the duty cycle isn't nearly as good compared to a 220V MIG. The HH140 is only a 20% duty cycle at 90A compared to 30% at 130A for the HH180. BTW, CCWS and LeMons require 1.75" x .095" OR 1.5" x .120". We use 1.75" x .095" DOM. Don't get me wrong, I love the HH140, but there are times I'd like to have one that will do 1/4 material with shielding gas.

I bought a Hobart 140 110V MIG from Amazon last year. It is a great unit, but I'm wishing I would have gotten the Hobart 180 220V MIG. The 110V unit will weld everything that came stock on the car, but there are times when I need to weld roll cage parts on the race car or angle iron and other stuff around the house. Simple adds or repairs can be done on a cage, but the 110V welders are pretty much maxed out just below typical 1/4" thick steel. Building a roll cage from scratch should be done with a 220V MIG. People have done it with 110V, but it's not a good idea.

+1 on the Porterfield R4. Not sure why the Toy 4x4 pads are so expensive though. I only pay $78 a set for R4-E (endurance) pads for my stock Z calipers. They are bigger, but 3x the cost?

I found that a Wasp and Hornet spray can lid was a perfect fit for the filler neck and I cut some sheet metal discs for the sender hole. I used some hose with bolts in the ends for the nipples. The spray can lid was great because it went on and off easily to allow quick drainage and refill.

Beautiful artsy photography. I love the rustling leaves in photo #6.

Fixed that for you

Great pics Michael. Thanks for sharing them.

Looking fantastic Lee. Thanks for sharing the pics.

In order of likelihood, I'd say front diff mount, mustache bar bushings, driveshaft U joint, and then halfshaft U joint.

I tried to something similar based on what Bruce suggested, but I couldn't tell where the fuel was in the nozzle. I know my eyes aren't what they used to be, but this method didn't work for me. Bruce suggested that I tune the carbs as usual and then set the floats so the fuel level is 1/16" below the nozzle. Maybe the method you show would be easier since the fuel would be at the top of the nozzle rather than down in the tiny orifice.

Beautiful car Arne. Congrats.

Is that the Z's replacement?

I tried that once. It ripped the threads right off the pin. It wasn't pretty. The idea behind the puller is that the puller to pin joint is more or less rigid and the wear and tear happens within the threads of the puller itself. Plus, the puller's threads are much larger and stronger. To update the original thread, I will hopefully be moving forward soon. I still have many little projects to finish up before tackling the puller, but I'm hoping to get the order in within a few weeks. Stay tuned.

It could easily follow something across and leak down the driver's side. THE way to know is if the defroster blows coolant. It will smell sweet and make the windshield very streaky.