EScanlon

Prior posts that may help: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13929 http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1642 E

Here's a link on ABC News since it's no longer on the Aussie page: http://www.abcnews.go.com/Business/TenWays/popup?id=3770216&contentIndex=1&page=1 E

Asta, in the pictures you posted, if you'll notice the picture where you annotated "missing one of those rubber plug things, replaced with this metal thing" (I'll post a note on that metal thing later), you'll see that there is this "indent" in the general floor surface. That indent is the edge of the "tar mat" that Beandip is referring to. If you'll look further up the floor pan on the passenger side, to just below the firewall cardboard/insulation, you'll see where the tar mat did NOT cover the metal and you can spot a dash of surface rust. Also on the right edge of it, you'll see the tell tale signs of it starting to creep out from underneath it. The basic problem with the original tar-mat is that it was applied at the factory on unprotected metal. Some people have said they've noted it on top of color paint, others on primer and others on bare steel. Since it's impossible to detect whether it is hiding rust or not without removing it, it becomes a kind of "Russian Roulette" (no offense intended to anyone), with the bullet being rust. You could leave the tar mat alone and never have problems arise, or you could be masking a serious case of floor rot occurring right underneath you. I've posted a few pictures I took on a car I'm working on. The first 4 are from the passenger floor pan, and the last is one section of the driver's side. You'll note that while the under seat area tar mat looked okay, it proved to be the one hiding nastier rust than the general floor pan mat. Then when you look at the piece I chipped off on the driver's side under seat area you can see where the mat was put directly onto bare steel, and part of it seems protected and part is beginning to rust. This is an area of known problems on these cars. While the "originality" factor will be considered by some, it needs to be stressed that the rust is ALSO original. FWIW E

At the rearmost part, gently insert a wedge/prybar and lift the chrome piece up. Do it a bit at a time as you work your way forward and at one point or another it will come free. Works better with the window down. Interior felt gets stapled to the top of the door panel. E

EXCEPT, you don't want to put wax on fresh paint. Check with the body shop, and you'll find that they'll recommend between 30 and 90 days before you get your first wax job in. This is to allow all the solvents that will yet be exuding from the paint to do so and not be trapped in the paint itself. Here's a link to that question at the Meguiar's site: http://www.meguiars.com/faq/index.cfm?faqCat=paint%20care&faqQuestionID=54&section=_54#_54 Don't ruin that nice paint job with a too hasty wax job. 2¢ E

Jason; Did you note where he said the other side functioned normally? E

I don't know, the bar code kind of sets them off from the regular run-of-the-mill center cap...... E

Check the behavior of the lights on the outside (front/rear) of the car. See if they do shut off after you return the turn signal stalk back to center. If the exterior lights behavior matches the dash light, then I would suspect the turn signal switch. And in thinking about it, even without the matching behavior. That's because the dash light receiving power when the switch is purportedly off means that it's getting power from somewhere. 2¢ E

Dave's right, it was a dealer option that got put on a lot of cars "automatically". Depending on how they mounted it, rivets drilled through the sheet metal or two sided automotive sticky tape, it can be easy to remove but hard to repair the effects on the paint/body. FWIW E

With the sound being "pinging", I'll bet you do have something that fell into the "squirrel" cage. Simply remove the 3 bolts holding the fan motor to the fan motor housing and you should be able to withdraw the cage from the housing. Then see what fell in, either into the cage, or on the "floor" of the housing. Don't think it's your fan motor dying, more than likely it is a twig, small stone, bit of rust/metal or even the plumber's putty that connects the air inlet to the cowl inlet. HTH E

If I had a Z shell and no stock motor for it, but I did have a Rotary, or a V6 or V8 readily available, then it would be a definite consideration. The only limitation (to me) would be the money and knowledge necessary to make it work correctly and without problems. But to remove a motor simply to put in a bigger or different style engine requires being enamoured of just that type of experience. Like Red-Dog said, just another conversion wouldn't be enjoyable. Finding and getting a Rotary, or a V12 or ??? to work would be challenge enough to make it enjoyable for the experience. But again, you need to enjoy doing that type of work. However, in my opinion, to remove a good engine for the sake of swapping it out, is why this kind of venture gets a bad name. At least amongst other enthusiasts of the car, and I would venture to say that it goes to other marques as well. There are enough cars out there that have bad engines that could use the "transplant" to keep them on the road without sacrificing a car with a good engine just to do the operation. I like painting cars, but I can't say I would paint my car once a year just for the sake of it. I'd rather paint a different one, whether mine or someone else's. My 2¢ E

I'll jump in, since it's apparent you've got your undies in a tight bunch over this. In response to your question: "Dash Removal Help ---Anyone done this?" Since this has been asked numerous times before, I replied with my tongue firmly in cheek: "Nope, never been done. You're the first....." and provided a pair of links with a LOT of information to help you, to which you seem to have taken offense. May I ask why? Your urgency of need wasn't stated in the post that started this thread. Your frustration at not being able to remove the dash is not of our making, and the urgency you are under, again, is not due to anything we've done. In fact, we've done nothing but try to give you the information you needed. Whatever other pressures, threats, deadlines, or problems are causing you to react like this are extraneous to this forum. You complain: And you blame our not giving you a specific count of how many screws and their sizes you needed to remove in order to remove the dash. Then you add that your question wasn't answered because of that omission. What have we done to deserve this from you? We've responded to your request. Several of us posted what to do, and due to this having been asked and answered before, I posted a link to two of the more concise threads about this specific process. Yet, apparently we weren't helpful enough. What else would you have us do? Do you need one of us to come by and read the thread to you? (That IS sarcastic by the way.) You've accused us of flaming you, but it seems as though you are the one who has gargled with gasoline and started "flicking your Bic". Sorry I tried to help. E

Nope, never been done. You're the first..... http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20818 http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6981 E

Will thinks the first one is "closest to stock" because of the fresh shot of undercoating it has....... J/K....but just barely..... E

I've noticed them as well, but I'll leave the genealogy and geometry of their provenance to others who delve into such details. That part of the body is notoriously prone to rust, and that doubler almost seems to guarantee it. As a result it isn't uncommon to find that it's been replaced, re-welded, re-brazed, or rivetted back in place due to it falling off or rusting off. There are also size variations.... E

Don't know that you'll get many responses about this swap. Most of the guys here are into keeping the Straight 6 engine, although there are a few Hybrid Z owner's. But Hybrid Z is the site where you'll get more information than here: www.hybridz.com (someone can correct me if I'm wrong with that URL). But, if you're shying away from doing a head job on the original engine due to expense ($700'ish per your friend's guess, which may or may not be accurate), then even with a "free" engine there are still a BUNCH of items to consider in order to complete the swap. $700 may only be a DROP in the bucket of that exchange. But, then again, I've not done nor am I familiar with the details of such an exchange. But you need to answer something for yourself first, and that is what you will be using the car for. Daily driver? Have you considered the expense of a big bore V8 as far as gas economy, what like 10-15MPG if you don't tromp on it? Then you say "semi-daily" driver, you mean only when gas is below $3 a gallon? (Don't plan on driving it much do you?) Then toss in your age, 24 going on 25....want to make a bet? I'll bet that as soon as you put a big bore V8 engine into the Z, you're going to tromp on the accelerator pedal HARD. That's going to mean TICKETS, for speeding, show of power, and possibly even Reckless Driving. Not saying you're a bad person or that you have no self control, but rather that you will find yourself getting stopped and ticketed for those things because you will find yourself enjoying the sheer thrill of the acceleration and speed. (Been there, have the t-shirt, the sweat-shirt hoodie and all, heck have the sweat pants and the designer gym bag that goes with it, including the limited edition running shoes because of it.) Then, your insurance will go up, or your Dad's coverage on his policy on you. Neither one of which you want. You might even find yourself having to research for a new insurance provider. But, it IS your decision. Check out Hybrid Z, they're better informed on V8 swaps. E

What does the extra "M" stand for? No slight intended, just trying to figure if there has been a change to the age old Laughing My Freaking A$$ Off to ??? E

Are you sure that isn't the Rear Window Defroster Relay? That's what that mix of wire colors leads me to believe. E

And now you know why even YOU refer to it as "down under"...... E

Nope. 920 is Safari Gold. Period. E

One of the members was showing an avatar with a very pretty placement of the logo, maybe he/she can post the full picture? E

Not to flame you, but you are being one. While this appears to be an issue for you, for many of us it is not. Take a look at ANY picture of the installed air dam on ANY Z, and see if everyone of those cars hasn't had a fitment issue with them. Arne even wrote a complete article on it and the pains he went through to try to eliminate that exact gap you are so fixated upon. There are also other posts questioning how to mount it and NOT have that problem. It is one of those "things" that we've all encountered and learned to live with. Then again, take a look at the walk-around video and you'll notice that on BOTH sides of the car the air dam is just a wee bit out of alignment. Might this be a problem with the air dam? Very well could be, most if not all of those air dams are fiberglass molded from a mold taken from the "original". Over time, those molds loose their shape for a number of reasons. The end result is that the umpteenth molded piece coming out of that mold is no longer a LOYAL reproduction of the original. It will have the wrong curve, wrong flair, etc. Try as you might, it is very difficult to bend fiberglass. If the mold were steel or some other metal, then you wouldn't have that problem. That's what GM does with their Corvette parts. However, most of the air dams being sold aren't being manufactured by a company with the resources that GM can bring to the molding process. Hence, a fiberglass mold. Many folks simply mount the air dam to the best of their ability and take up the excess in various ways. Some drill extra holes, others use shims, others spread the excess on both sides of the car. And in many cases, people get frustrated and realize there's not much they can do. So they compromise the fit. Might the air dam have been removed and reinstalled AFTER the car won the show? Maybe. Maybe then he didn't get it lined up correctly. Maybe his car was the BEST of what was at the show. That car didn't have to be perfect just be the best one of the ones that were there. Again, not trying to flame you, but all your posts have centered on that gap and ONLY on that gap. Does that now make sense? 2¢ E

Jim, the RL wire that powers the Brake Warn Ind Light connects to the G wire that powers the Tach, and is not part of the lighting circuit. Bo: While unwrapping the harness is a PITA, you might not need to do that. It might be that looking up by the Tach or the Speedo you note a loose RL wire without a connector at the end (because it would have been soldered onto the bulb holder). It also may be that the wire pulled off AT the connection to the Green wire, in which case it would be inside the harness. The big question is; Did you remove wires or have wires suddenly come loose from the harness when you did your mods? A wire doesn't just disconnect itself, it either fails at the connection or breaks mid-wire. Powering the light with a new wire doesn't eliminate the problem of a loose powered wire, it just makes the light operational. FWIW E

If you DO decide to rip out your AC condenser be careful of any residual Freon that may be in the system. Just venting it is bad for the Ozone layer (there I've done my part for the eco-system) but breathing in the fumes or having them hit your body is also NOT a good idea. Stephen is the residen AC expert so I'm hoping he'll chime in with his knowledge and experience. What I'm relating is just what I've heard. I myself have not removed an AC system core. As far as the overheating is concerned, the small amount of air blockage may be contributing to your overheating, but if the AC compressor pump is still connected via the fan belt to the engine, THAT is contributing a LOT more. Check for debris on and between the AC condensor and your radiator. Those types of blockages will decrease the effectiveness of your radiator. FWIW E

That's actually pretty cheap! Since I've only sold small items (under $1k), my percentage rating was based on those figures. I figured that a $45k listing would result in a couple of hundred $ in listing fees, let alone final value fees. Thanks for the clarification. E