EScanlon

Hard to say. If everything is perfect, humidity, temperature, you used a good etching primer or used some sort of metal wash before primering; you might be good for a few months, maybe longer. But please don't take this as being informative, take it as a willd assed guess as at best that's all it is. If conditions heretofore have been correct, there's a chance that rust has ALREADY started, but again I'm just guessing. If your intent is to save money, while you park your car until you can get back to it, in the long run you'd be better off spraying some form of paint on top of the primer, even if it was a rattle can paint job. When you have the time and money to get back to it, you sand that off and continue. Between being in the garage, or outside (even if covered) I would choose the garage. The temperature won't be fluctuating as much and hopefully the humidity changes would also be lessened. FWIW Enrique

Actually Mike, with Candies you're not limited to one specific base coat, although that base coat is usually NOT primer. That's not to say that you couldn't shoot Candy directly over a primer, it's usually not done. The different bases are sometimes mixed to give some startling results in the final finish...after dozens of coats of Candy paint. Using Black primer for the time being won't necessarily be bad, except that primer IS porous. After all that rust work you've done on your car are you sure you want to top it with a SPONGE? If you get ANY kind of rain in the next few months, I'll be willing to bet that you end up with some serious surface rust. Your best bet is to shoot ANY kind of paint on top of the primer to SEAL the primer. Otherwise you are looking at problems down the road. Even if you use Epoxy primer as I did on a car years ago, if you drive it and get it wet, it WILL rust. So put some paint on it. To answer your basic question, Yes the color of the primer will have an impact on the final paint job. If you use a dark color primer with a light color paint you can expect to have to paint extra thick coats of paint and possibly extra coats at that. Both lead to added expense and most importantly the possibility of a sag or a run while it's setting. The same thing applies with a dark paint and a light primer, although this is usually done to ensure that the coverage is complete and even. E

For regular body work (bondo, fiberglass, grinding, etc) a dust mask can be sufficient. It will keep the dust out of your nose and lungs which is your main intent. Very few of the fumes in bondo or fiberglass are noxious enough to warrant a respirator mask. At least this is what I use. If you are VERY worried, you could step up to a painter's mask with NIOSH filters and charcoal packs, but I think after the first time you sweat a gallon or so you'll give up on it. As far as painting, if you stay away from the multiple stage paints (these are "typically" the ones that carry the cyanide) you would only need a standard respirator half mask with the charcoal and felt paper filters. Check the application sheet on the paint and it will tell you what it recommends as far as breathing protection. A half mask respirator, with outside air being piped in is what is considered MINIMUM protection for use with the cyanide paints. You are still advised to use goggles and even then you run the risk of the soft tissues around your eyes absorbing the cyanide. Granted, if you are only painting ONE car, then your exposure is minimal. If you were doing this as a job, then nobody would recommend it. The FULL face mask respirator with outside air is the best method of protection. There are those that use piped in air from your compressor and those that use their own fan/hose assembly. There are also combinations with a complete head hood as well as the full face mask. You end up looking like you're working with the ebola virus, but safe is safe! Unfortunately, you're talking pennies for the dust mask, $15 to $20 for the half mask and add for the cartridges and filters, to at a guess, close to $100 for the half mask air supplied respirator and a couple of hundred for the full face. Add extra for the hood. FWIW E

Actually, I think that the point you are missing is that it might not even be a neighbor that complained. From what you write " if they are going to complain against me, they need to get these other guys (or gals) to complie to ...", and from the letter you posted it isn't even the HOA that's doing the citing. It's a MANAGEMENT company hired by the HOA that's going around and inspecting compliance to the CC&R's. The FIRST sentence in the letter states "as agent for your Homeowners' Association", and nowhere in the letter does a penalty for non-compliance get stated. That says that your HOA isn't the one being confrontational, nor the one that specifically singled you out....it's just some person who is paid to go around the neighborhood and "observe" and write up people for non-compliance to the written and codified CC&R's. What your neighbor(s) are or are not doing is irrelevant. They may not even have ANY complaint with what you are doing at all. It's just some guy/gal doing his job. Heck, his pay might even be docked if he does NOT write any tickets. Like the famous "ticket quota" that we accuse Police Officers of complying with (which I will neither deny nor admit exist), it's simply PART OF THE JOB! So, if you were a Homeowner in that situation, I would advise you to get together with all the neighbors and rescind that part of the CC&R's or modify it such that what YOU are doing is in fact in compliance. Heck you might find that the HOA's contract with that management company is due and you get enough people to complain and that management company realizes that it's about to kill it's cash cow.....democratic capitalism at work. But since you are NOT the Homeowner there (your parents are), then as you point out later you only have to put up with it for 6 more weeks. But...you better look at the CC&R's where you are buying a home. You might find another covenant or restriction that you don't like there. I won't surmise as to what you have to do if you do find one, but I figure you'll either abide by it, or not and find yourself in the same situation later. You did post that you weren't looking for advice....in a column MOSTLY frequented by guys? Heck, that's what guys do....we have a problem, we bitch about it to our friends in hopes of finding solutions and to receive advice and then, hopefully, resolve the problem. If it was sympathy you were looking for, shouldn't you have said that? Or written it into your own personal Blog, or sent an e-mail to your female friends support group, after all that's what they are always bitching at us about...."I just wanted to talk about it......I'm not asking you how to fix it!"..... Don't take this as a personal attack, it is not. FWIW Enrique

I hope Victor Laury sees this, and if so: Doesn't this look a LOT like the original Roadster (pre 67) steering wheels? Just thought that it would at least "look" proper in a Roadster. Aside from that, it is a handsome wheel. Now you'll have to wear sun-glasses to avoid the reflection! (j/k) E

Before you go shooting your mouth off and finding out that you literally shot yourself in the butt, get the facts! Don't ~assume~ anything, have them S-P-E-L-L out Why, What, When, Where and How you are in non-compliance (note the wording). Do NOT admit to anything, nor agree to anything, get the facts. Once you have the facts then you can range them and sink them in the water. Your post doesn't explain why YOU can't park a Z in your driveway. Is it because YOU did something? or because of something else? Is it because you're working on the car and THAT is what isn't allowed, or is it because you're up until 2 am banging at it with an impact wrench? Is someone citing the CC&R's of the complex or someone complaining that they don't like your mess? What "violation" are you guilty of making? That your neighbors are also breaking the CC&R's is NOT a reason why YOU don't have to abide by them. Is the HOA a true membership association or simply some Nazi-Tonya that insists you kow-tow to his/her/it's whims? Are they citing specific items in the CC&R's or simply someone's opinion? What YOU think of the condition of someone else's vehicle is irrelevant....if their vehicle is operable and yours is not and the CC&R specifies NO NON-operating vehicles on your property. The number of cars need not necessarily come into play either. If the CC&R's address your situation SPECIFICALLY (i.e. no mechanical work to be performed outside of the garage for more than 2 days without moving the vehicle), find the "exception". If the exception is like the example, without moving, then simply move the car back and forth one or two feet and take pictures. Better yet, once you find out the facts, it might be easier to get the majority of the Home Owners in the area to agree to rescind that part of the CC&R and you can then tell that Nazi-Tonya to go pound sand. But remember this, you MUST be an owner and a member of the HOA before you can approach it this way. All of this is food for thought, see if you can scan and post the letter. Enrique Get the facts.

Once you get the hatch and the hinges off, you'll be able to see the hatch "sock" as we call it. The "sock" is a rubber "glove" that fits into the cavity in the roof member that surrounds the hinge inside the roof. Unfortunately it is a rubber part and they dry out and crack / disintegrate into a thousand little bits and dust motes. There are a couple of us that are looking into making workable / suitable replacements, but I've not heard of anything being finalized as yet. The two "socks" are sided, and one of the problems so far has been finding good mold candidates, although I think HLS-30 was able to make a mold from Beandip's covers. As far as repairs....the standard metal repair works well, or you can use the POR and Power Mesh repair (as long as the metal hasn't been compromised too much). I've also received suggestions as to an aviation type material that "might" be feasible, but more to come on that later. As it stands right now, I don't have an answer for you guys yet. I will keep everyone posted. Enrique

Definitely rust from the Hatch Hinge Pocket. Once you get the hatch off, and the hinge out of the way, you'll probably discover that the Hinge weatherproofing sock is gone. Probably dried up and crumbled to dust. That part of the "gutter" is actually a "low" part and it tends to pool water. E

Hey Billy, I forgot, would you remind me; which record is it that you are going for? Is it the MOST number of posts? The most posts WITHOUT content? The most CONSECUTIVE posts without content? The LEAST amount of content for the TOTAL number of posts? or: ALL OF THE ABOVE? Inquiring minds want to know.......

Brian: In one word.....Beandip. He infected you. Me? I'm a carrier. E

This answers my prior misgivings and you can count me in. Any discounts for quantity buys? I have 3 that I would want and I think I can say that at least two other people in the immediate area would chip in so we could save on the shipping. For those of you who didn't order the Headlight Harness when Dave was making them, I'll state it bluntly.....YOU BLEW IT! For those of you who balked when the price went up due to prices of the connectors....YOU BLEW IT! For those of you who are hesitating now on this item....Purse your lips and take a big breath of air....you already know what's next. E¢ P.S.: Dave; with all the responses you've gotten over the HHUH, is there ANY possibility that you might re-consider manufacturing them again? I need another and I know of at least one other person who would like one if not two. I understand that you are busy, but would you consider it? Especially if the price was right?

How many PM's have you received over the Smurf Patch? E

Gregg: The "rule of thumb" that we went by at the body shop I worked at was simply this....All metal work (brazing, welding, bumping, cutting, etc) should be completed before ANY painting is done. This minimizes the hazzle of having to re-do everything you've done to the surrounding/opposite areas. That said, IF you are good at welding and can effect a good strong weld with a nice bead that does NOT overheat the metal, then you could probably get away with coating the inside of the frame rail supports you will be adding. BUT, and this is a key point, you MUST grind to clean metal wherever you are planning on welding. Additionally, on the opposite side of the metal from where you will be welding you can count on whatever is there to be burned off. So, check to see where the metal pieces will be coming into contact with each other and leave those areas in bare metal and POR the other areas. Remember that the opposite side of the metal will undoubtedly have whatever is on there burned off, so keep that area paint free as well. I can understand your concern about unprotected metal, but if you take reasonable precautions after the welding such as caulking, or using seam-sealer then you should be ok. FWIW E

-duplicate posting---

First remove the tar paper that is visible in the picture. Then, if possible, do some sandblasting to get rid of the obvious rust scale. Vaccuum/blow the sand out and THEN examine the piece. It may be that the rust you have left is minimal and the Metal Ready and POR would be more than sufficient to fight it. Remember, unless you have the time, money and wherewithal to disassemble every welded assembly, you simply aren't going to get rid of EVERY bit of rust. You need to have it professionally dipped in an acid solution to get rid of all the rust. However, aside from the expense and the ensuing difficulties (no caulking on anything, nor body filler, etc) which you must then overcome, you would then find that you have many areas where you STILL wouldn't be able to insert a magic wand and coat. Professional outfits such as Ziebart and other "rust-proofers" used specialized tools and equipment to try to coat all of those hidden areas and even they failed sometimes. If you like the POR idea but are unsure of how to "blow" it in there, try a siphon air blower. I've done it that way and believe me you will coat anything you point it at very very quickly. FWIW E

I'll vouch for Andy. But I'm not sure he's still selling Z parts. Feel free to mention I vouched for him, and ask him about his cars. Enrique

emphasis mine. You hit it on the head with the two bolded items. Thanks for all the comments, they are received at a very appropriate time. If any of my rambling helps one of you, to avoid a problem which I've had the "joy" of experiencing, then I'll have been paid in full. When I was first working with this problem on that Thunderbird (the one with the 2 man mirror instalation), I tried silicone and another harder setting substance. Neither one seemed to do the trick and in turn was a real pain to clean up for the next attempt (Hardened Silicone makes it darn near impossible for anything else to stick and stay). It wasn't till I came up with JBW and I had ground off the silicone that it worked. Remember, I was trying to figure out how to get the nut held in place while I screwed the mirror mount onto the door. Once I had the nut on the screw I could slowly tighten it into position, mount the mirror onto the base, check alignment and if necessary de-mount it and adjust the mount's location. The main trick is to NOT wrench real hard too quick, or you run the risk of having it break loose. But since that's what caused it to strip, in the first place, I know you'll be careful. However when you're adjusting doors, from my experience, you adjust and tighten bolts to where the latch plate is snug, you operate the door and you repeat until you have it working well. Then you tighten. Tightening to full specs EVERY time you adjust, is not only a strain on YOU but also likely to cause you to strip whatever metal you have left. The JBW is to provide you with a way of keeping the nut on the plate so you don't have to reach back there and hold it with a wrench, but it is no replacement for metal. I've used silicone to hold nuts captive in another completely different application but I've not had luck using it where you'll be applying more than just a few pounds of torque. Sadly, in this situation unless you use a star lock washer nut on the back side, and it had begun to "bite" into the metal , I don't know that it would stay put for you to tighen securely. FWIW E¢

The rope method was something I came up with when I needed to mount a mirror on a door that didn't have any access holes handy (i.e. the design engineers had made it a 2 person job, one to insert the nut and the other to hold the mirror and bolt it in place). There is also another product called a "Nut-Sert" which like a rivet, compresses a metal tube such that it flares out, except that it has a nut on the end of the tube where the rivet has the nail head. I didn't mention this, because in my experience the nut and the tube are made of such a low strength alloy (I suppose to make it easy to bend) that it won't take a lot of tightening before you strip it again. Additionally, the nutsert has a collar that in this application would probably limit the small amount of travel the receiving plate has even further. Anyhow, hopefully you're on the road to getting it fixed. Enrique

The reason the backing plate is not welded to the back of the panel is to allow it to move a few millimeters in all 4 directions. This is the main and only method of adjusting the door latch mechanism. (I'll admit that some more adventuresome tonya might attempt adjusting the door latch via shims on the hinges, but it's extremely difficult to adjust it that way.) If you weld your 1/2" bar stock, you'd have to size it such that it could be welded to the backing plate, yet not interfere with the cage that holds it captive. By the time you've cut the access hole large enough to do all of this, it will have been easier to just remove the old plate and replace it or weld shut and re-drill and tap it. If you were thinking of just welding it to the back part of the door frame, and giving up the adjustability of the latch, then why not just weld from the outside and fill in the hole in the backing plate? Not trying to be "cute", but trying to answer your question accurately. E

This is one of the hardest and nastiest of repairs to effect properly. As has been noted by others, the simplest although not easy fix, is to drill and tap for a larger diameter bolt. Unfortunately, you are limited in that the latch receiving plate that bolts onto the car there also limits the size of the bolt you use. If you drill and tap too large, you might find that the bolt head will not rotate properly due to the curvature of the receiver plate's flange. JB Weld is an excellent fill, drill and tap epoxy that for many applications is the ONLY solution, but not here. In this application there is an expected impact strength requirement that it will not fulfill. Due to the impact to the latch when you close the door, from prior experience you will be finding loose bolts falling out sooner or later. Simply put, the threads you make will not have the strength to hold the latch to the body without cracking after repeated impacts. If it were a static (i.e. non impact or fluctuating force) repair then it works well. It is the repeated impacting that causes JB Weld to fail over time. But, if you use it to secure a Nut to the backside of the bolt plate that's cradled inside the fender, you ~MAY~ be able to make it work. To do this, here's a cheater technique which I developed for mounting a nut to the backside of a panel where I couldn't get a wrench/socket to reach. Start by finding the corresponding mate to the bolt that you would use. Next with a length of rope whose diameter is close to the diameter of the bolt, thread it through the stripped hole and grab it from behind the plate via one of the holes in the inner dog-leg panel. Once you have the rope out, thread the Nut onto the rope and tie a knot in the end of the rope. The rope, with the knot on it, will allow you to pull the nut up tight to the back of the plate with the stripped hole. Now before you pull on that rope, mix up your JB Weld, and apply it liberally and generously to the part of the nut that will be contacting the back of the nut plate. Once you have done this, THEN pull on the rope and snug the Nut and JBW to the back of the plate, secure the rope with a pair of Vice Grips, or by tying another knot. I prefer the Vice Grips as it makes it easy to retrieve the rope and doesn't allow the nut to slip while you're tying the knot. Once the JBW has set, remove the rope. If everything is perfect, you should be able to push the rope through the nut and grab it as it goes into the panel cavity. The nut will have been securely JBWelded to the back of the plate and you can now bolt the Latch with the original bolts. I would strongly advise that you chase the threads so that you don't break the nut off the back in trying to cut thread with the bolt through whatever epoxy made it into the nut threads. If the rope gets glued onto the back of the nut, cut the rope and either burn it out or drill it out, and then definitely chase the threads. This isn't a Permanent REPAIR as much as it is a Temporary FIX. It will allow you to use the bolts to secure the latch, but in time will fail and require being fixed again. The difference here is that the JBW is being used to afix a NUT to the back of the plate instead of being the threads the bolt is secured by. Once you've tightened the nut, the nut / bolt will receive the impact stresses and transmit them to the body. If you want to effect a more permanent repair: Solution A: Drill out the stripped hole just enough to clean up the hole. Using a MIG Welder spot weld the hole shut, or alternatively, using some wire, and as done above with the rope, pull a piece of metal to the back of the plate, which you then MIG securely. Then drill and tap accordingly. Don't forget to adjust the length of the bolt if necessary. All of the prior suggestions can be done from the door opening. If you want to do the repair properly without so much hazzling with pulling while welding etc, and/or your car is painted and you don't want to chance melting or burning the paint, then simply cut an access hole in the inside sheet metal. Once opened up you can remove the plate, weld the hole shut and drill and retap it without being hindered by the space and surroundings. You can always weld and hide the opening behind the dog panel trim and no one will be the wiser. FWIW E¢

FWIW: When I bought my car it had Webers. Mileage was awful (like 10mpg), performance was....well, I wasn't buying the car for what performance it ~had~ at that time, and it took a l o n g crank to get the car started. Took the car to a specialist in Datsun (M.B.Anderson), he said that he could ~probably~ get them tuned "somewhat", but that he would neither warrant the tune up, nor stand behind the engine tune-up, simply because of the problems he knew the Webers caused. He recommended I swap them for a pair of "regular SU carbs" "just like it came with originally". I bought a pair from a boneyard and had him clean and rebuild them then replace the Webers with them. That was ....4 years ago, going on 5. I've not had problems, my mileage is up to 20-24 (on occasion I do idle the engine without driving), it starts even on cold days with relative ease and it accelerates very nicely. So, FWIW, I recommend the SU carburators. I'm not a mechanic and I'm sure that someone else feels differently about the Webers. Since I'm not into racing, neither street nor track, the putative claims of more power (when tuned right) or acceleration (again when maintained in tune) without reference to gas mileage, weren't sufficient for me to maintain them. Also, since I don't mess with the engine mechanics, I needed to adjust the car in order for a REAL mechanic to willingly work on the vehicle. So, hope this helps you make an informed decision. Enrique

Sorry Dave: Alternate Translation I: "I also read the posts on Classic Z Cars and am aware of the 'spy' mission you are planning and your prejudiced view. I refuse to participate.' Alternate Translation II: "With all the vitriolic and degrading questions asked so far through the e-Bay auction, I know the car probably will not meet my reserve. I don't wish to suffer the consequences of being harassed in person by another self-appointed Z policeman nor to cooperate so that you can belittle the car afterwards." Alternate Translation III: "I have several prior commitments that I scheduled before I put the car on e-bay. You are asking me to break one of those commitments to allow you to come view the car. The reason I put the car on e-bay was to not have to baby-sit it while people came to look at it. Sorry, but I don't have the time before the auction ends." E

--"The TRUTH of a proposition has nothing to do with it's CREDIBILITY. And vice versa." and --"You can go wrong by being too skeptical as readily as by being too trusting." and --"Never underestimate the power of human stupidity." ALL: R.A.Heinlein. E¢

I own a 71 Gold 920, as well as an Orange and a Red 72 and 73 respectively. With that said, I'm going to cast my vote for ... Yellow. With a very strong second choice of that Lime-Yellow of the series I. These in my opinion, and as asked, are ~THE~ COLORS of the Series I and II 240 Z's. 260 Z's? Dark Green. 280 Z's? Silver, and 10th Ann. in both Gold and Red, and Metallic Sky Blue. FWIW Enrique

Sorry Chris, I think you're way off base on that comment. Aside from that, did anyone else note the wheels? They have a special feature that might be completely missed if not pointed out. But I'll just post the pictures and see if anyone notices. E