Jeff G 78

Yep, like Guy said, if your Z does not have a spray bar, you must use an internally oiled camshaft. They can be identified by the oil holes in the lobes. If you do have a spray bar, you can use either style cam, but if you have a weak oiling system, your pump might not be able to support internal and external cam oiling. With a tight bottom end and a turbo oil pump, using a spray bar with an internally oiled cam is fine. An alternative is to use an internally oiled cam and buy the MSA block off plates for the towers. They are cheap and eliminate the spray bar. Given the choice, I like the spray bar, but it needs to be in good shape.

If you are only replacing the cam and leaving the springs alone, you can simply use a large flat blade screwdriver to remove the rockers. After you remove the springs at the adjuster end of the rockers, pry the valve spring caps down with the tip of the screwdriver while the shaft of the screwdriver is against the cast part of the cam - NOT the lobe. It's very easy with stock springs. Once removed, lay each rocker out on a clean towel or board in order so they can be reinstalled the same way they were. You will have to turn the cam such that the lobes are up while you remove the rockers. Once all the rockers are removed, set the engine to #1 TDC and wedge the chain before removing the gear and cam retainer plate. The manual can be downloaded from xenons30.com. It doesn't matter what year manual you download as the base engine disassembly is more or less the same.

I used an Optima in the stock location with my own hold down bracket. It works great. Search my name and optima and you will find pics and a dimentioned CAD drawing.

Yes, the cam can be replaced with the head on the car. You do NOT remove the towers. What you need to do is remove the trans mount and lower the rear of the engine. This points the cam up enough to slide it out the front and clear the radiator support. You will need to remove the hood and radiator as well as loosen the fuel rail and move it up or down to clear the cam path. It isn't easy, but beats removing the head, manifolds, etc.

Yep, you have cracked vacuum hoses. Cut a small piece off, take it to an auto parts store and buy enough to do the whole underhood and interior. I think it takes about 12' if I remember right. Until you replace them, reach up under the dash allthe way to the firewall with your right hand while in the driver's seat and you will feel the vacuum diaphram. There is a rod on the bottom that you can push up with your finger. Once up, the air will divert to the floor or defrost depending on HVAC lever position.

Another word of caution about the smell. If you have a gas, forced air furnace, you need to keep the use of all chemicals to an absolute minimum. The solvents will quickly make the whole house smell like an old service station. If your work area is anywhere near the furnace or gas water heater, it will be even worse. Keep a window or two open and turn the heat down so the furnace doesn't fire while you spray. This applies to all automotive chemicals like carb/brake cleaner, WD-40, gasoline, PB Blaster, etc.

If you don't have the Factory Service Manual, you can download it free here http://www.xenons30.com/index.html Be sure to ask lots of questions here if you are not 100% sure about something. You will have an answer within hours if not minutes and you can save yourself a lot of problems later. Good luck!

http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/TB/70-1041 It's even on sale!

Getting it in there is easy. Tear it down, clean the parts and take it down in pieces. Getting it out is much harder. I rebuilt my first L28 in my basement 25 years ago and it was a pain to get out. It took four of us to carry it up the stairs and out the door. I don't think I would do it again that way. The problem was that it was hard for four people to fit up the narrow stairway and through the door. One idea I had was to attach 2x4s to each side of the engine so everyone could stand at the ends of the handles and stay closer to each other rather than if they were holding the engine directly.

The first thing I noticed besides the obvious bolt-on stuff is the front edge of the hood. The San Diego car has a completely red hood. The other car has the correct white front edge. The reason I noticed is because I gave my teammate crap when he painted our LeMons hood all red. Of course, the paintjob was done with Rustoleum and applied with rollers, but it should still be accurate, no?

When I replaced the master and slave on my LeMons 260, I could not get it to bleed. Finally, I had someone tap the side of the master repeatedly with a wrench while I pumped the pedal. After only a few moments, the trapped air moved into the line and I got pedal pressure. From there, we could bleed normally.

That is super purdy! Thanks for posting all the pictures. I LOVE before, during and after photos.

Ouch. Those pics make me sad. Like Richard Oben said, buy the best body and paint you can find. Don't limit your search to Ohio and Jersey. Good luck!

I like Porterfield products, but there are many others. Porterfield R4 would work fine. They are easy on rotors and work well. What type of racing though? For auto-x and open track events, the R4-S is good and for endurance racing, the R4-E works well. Have him call Livermore Performance. They can recommend a brand and compound for his needs. http://www.lpiracing.com/livper/brake_home.html

It IS a rust-free Z and all the mechanicals are done. It just needs to be stripped and painted. I've been saying "One of these years I'll have the cash to redo the body" since 1991. Life just keeps getting in the way :disappoin

I met Jim at the 2008 Cleveland RockZ national convention and he is a great guy who is as humble as they come. I will be sure to look him up if I find myself in Florida. Being in the company of Jim, Carl, Chris, and other Z masters at the convention, I was embarassed to even let anyone see my pathetic Z. :laugh:

I had the single ITG on a triple Weber 240 I used to own (now Lazeum's car). It was big $$$ and was hard to get on and off for tuning, but from everything I read, it was supposed to be the best for performance. I think I paid close to $300 for it many years ago. I doubt I would buy that one again due to the cost and pain to R&R.

My car was also hit in the front before I bought it. The LH side was cut off and replaced from behind the strut tower forward and across the radiator support. If done right, it will be as good as new. Mine came out great and I'm sure yours will too. As long as all the bent areas are replaced and everything is measured to the specs, you'll be fine. I also had to replace the crossmember, LCA and the TC rod. They were all bent. Sorry for the small, grainy pics. The repair was done 18 years ago and the film pics were scanned at least six years ago when scanners still sucked. Wrinkled rail and shotgun Donor car Donor corner cut off Bent parts cut out and ready for replacement Back together and painted

I run 16x7 Panasports with the tires in my sig and yes, they rubbed severely. Do a search on my name and you will see what I went through. If you buy Panasports from Motorsport Auto, you miight not have rub issues. They sell +6 offset rather than the much more common zero offset like I have. They do look fantastic in zero offset and 225/50R16 tires, but I had to do a lot of trimming.