EScanlon

Or splurge and go whole hog and do the outside of the tank with POR and their Top Coat Satin Black. That way you know it's protected to the best known possible protection. 2¢ E

Too Intense Restoration

The "front joint" is actually just the overlap of the front fender over the rocker panel. As such it isn't a joint at all. The rust you are seeing is undoubtedly from the vibration abrasion of the fender to the body, exacerbated by the pound or more of debris that's undoubtedly sitting inside the fender area and resting on the ledge that Jon mentioned. That's where the cowl drain tube empties. You'll need to remove the fender(s) to see just how much crap and damage is there. Then you'll know if you have damage in the forward part of the rocker panel. The "rear joint" is a true seam joint between two pieces of metal. The small amount of rust visible there is normal to an unmolested rocker panel. (i.e. one that hasn't been opened up and other than a repaint, straight from the factory) However, you really need to look inside that area as best as you can. There are a couple of holes on the inside part of the rocker where with a flashlight and an inspection mirror you should be able to get a good look in there and asses whether it's rusted on the inner part. Take a look at the pictures jmortensen put on HybridZ to see what a poorly addressed rear rocker /dogleg turns into (the half-assed repair the old man did) and what you eventually end up doing if you don't address it properly NOW. Not saying that what you end up doing now, may not end up being what Jon did, but that you may avoid having to do it again, as Jon had to. 2¢ E

That fitting into the cowl is your windshield washer nozzle. Those battery terminals seem awfully dark on the inside, be sure to give them a solid brush out to effect good contact. If you did in fact clean to the metal on both of those metal pieces where you have the battery ground bolted to, that is both of the sections touching the lead, then you should have both enough and proper ground. Check your voltage between the poles at the battery, then between the positive pole and a point on the body metal and compare the reading. Your two readings should almost be identical with only a MINOR variation. But to go through all the trouble you're mentioning to open up the cowl JUST to put a bolt through....seems excessive and unnecessary. But opening up the cowl is a good idea, if only to remove whatever crap may be in there clogging up the drains and to determine the condition of the bucket. FWIW E

I don't understand why you're removing the cowl to address an electrical issue, as the only electrical items in there is the windshield wiper motor. From what you posted, you're planning on installing a new ground bolt, but you might be better served using a bolt hole on the frame rail below. However, addressing the cowl issue: The cowl is probably glued down with the "dum-dum" (per Wick Humble) used to seal many of the seams etc.. If so, use a small bladed scraper and gently insert it along the leading edge of the cowl, right behind the hood/body weatherstrip seal. There are 5 sheet metal screws holding the cowl in place. Once you lift that forward edge, then slide the cowl FORWARD and then UP. If you DO drill through the cowl bucket, be sure to seal the bolt hole well, as that little bit of space between the cowl bucket and the firewall metal....is your interior. FWIW Enrique

I don't know that I can agree from the one picture that there is more rust in the rocker panel....from the ONE picture. That rust is the typical rust found underneath the door weatherstripping and the aluminum threshhold plate. Those holes are more than likely caused by the screws that held the aluminum trim piece. As such, the rocker may still be relatively clean of rust inside. The front threshhold of the door opening where the other screws that hold the alumimun trim in place don't show any rust. This does NOT mean that the rocker is necessarily rust free. As Jim pointed out, it IS possible that water has seeped in through those holes and caused rust, but not necessarily a fact. The rocker panel DOES have drain holes which might be more at fault for letting water in than these screw holes. Joey: Post some pictures of the rest of the rocker, both front and rear ends as well as the center, and check for bubbling. Once we see more pictures we can give you a better idea as to whether the full rocker or a partial. Then again, if you have the money, the time, and the welding skills, then heck, replace away... new metal is better than restored metal. Jon, the rust you found in the rear quarter panel is from the condensation inside the rear quarter panel that seeped into the rocker plenum. Unfortunately the "geezer" as you called him, probably only replaced the metal that had rusted away and didn't do further. Could he by chance have been the "low-bidder"? If so, that might explain why he short-cutted the job. On another point, the rust you mention on the FRONT of the rocker (sand et al) is generally the result of the cowl draining into the space between the fender and the body and depositing the debris it washes out of the cowl onto that ledge. Sand is notorious for holding water (almost better than leaves/pine needles), so, that you had some rust issues because of the sand isn't surprising. The poor drain design is why I added PVC hoses to mine to actually drain OUTSIDE the car. But your point of looking inside is spot on. That's the only way you can really see what's going on there. Joey: Lift the vinyl on the inside of the rocker and look inside the reinforcement holes on the inside rocker metal. You'll need a light and an inspection mirror, but you'll be looking inside the rocker. FWIW Enrique

Isn't Las Vegas ~technically~ south of Washington D.C. at least by GPS coordinates? So you got your wish! Are you going to be driving the Z back or trailer? As you know if you do a DITY move, you might be able to make some money and allow you to move items you'd otherwise have to discard. Planning on coming back to Vancouver for a visit? If so, let me know and we'll get the CZC-PDX crew out to say hello. Enrique

Green and White ARE the two wires to the Turn Signal Flasher. That settles that. The Hazard has a Blue/White and Green with a white band on the end by the connector (if the 73 schematic I'm looking at applies properly to your car). And if memory serves should be mounted on the kick panel. With the Turn Signal Switch in the center off position, check for voltage between the two wires going to the T/S Flasher. If you do show a voltage, it shows that you have a short to ground between the flasher and the turn signal switch. The turn signal switch basically switches grounds to select which circuit to activate. Give the Hazard Switch a check also, as the Hazard Sw receives all of the wiring for the turn signals and the stop circuit through it as well. Hope this helps. Enrique

Mark: I agree with Enigma, drive it, enjoy it, get the mechanical work recommended by your mechanic done, and put a couple of thousand miles on the car. If it's everything you've said it is, and everything the e-Bay ad said it was, and everything everyone else thinks it is, then why rush to tear it down? There will be plenty of time to let it sit in the garage waiting for the next batch of parts....later. Right now, get to know the car, find out what and where to spend your money on before deciding that it needs restored just because it's an older car and that's what one does to older cars. Otherwise, you may find that in a few years, after you've lost interest in the restoration....that's STILL not finished, you end up selling it for pennies on the dollar. I bought two just like that in the last couple of years. FWIW Enrique

Since that section is relatively flat it would be easier to patch with standard flat sheet metal available locally. Now, if the rust extends down to the bottom part of the rocker.... E

The Hazard Flasher and the Turn Signal Flasher are two separate flashers. From your post it seems you're aware of that. However, WHICH flasher did you replace? The one at the passenger's kick panel, or the one on the driver's side close to the pedals? (This is presuming that your 73 has the Bus on the Passenger Kick Panel, and not the earlier bundle of wiring there.) Simple check, replace the OTHER flasher unit and see if that fixes the problem. 2¢ E

And pray that the traffic conditions when recording match the conditions when playing it back....EXACTLY. Otherwise ANY variation in speed, acceleration or braking...heck after a bit, EVEN the rate and radius of the curves you do effect will eventually add up to put you out of synch. If you don't take that into consideration and cite landmarks by which they can re-calibrate / verify the position of the recording, then it won't fly. Ever taken a tour in a museum or historical site with those Narration players you rent at the entrance? Those have full function tape controls (Stop/Rewind/Fast Forward/Pause/Play) specifically because people don't walk at the same rate from exhibit to exhibit. FWIW E

IIRC, the manufacturing schedule in the early 70's for Datsun was Jan to Dec, unlike the U.S. schedule of Sep-Aug. That caused a lot of confusion as to what year a car should be designated as. Even now, 30+ years later, we are finding that there were some vehicles registered as next year / prior year vehicles that causes a lot of grief to owners when they try to get DMV to understand (Hey! Isn't that an oxymoron?). Simply put, you've been given a small bonus as your car is now registered as a 70 which purportedly makes it more valuable than a 71. Amongst the folks here, you'll find that your build date will be what people go by. The Build Date is what helps identify those items you are most likely to have and which ones you are (again) most likely NOT to have. Confusing? Welcome to the club! There are vehicles that "shouldn't" have certain features that yet, DO have them, and others that "should" yet do not. At least as far as their "model year" or "registered year", but what makes it worse, is that even closely sequenced VIN number vehicles will throw a solid whack into the linear assembly logic.....these vehicles weren't built in a linear fashion. As mentioned in a different thread you started ("Warning dumb question...") they were built using "using modular production techniques", which makes a lot of sense once you start looking at the disparity of last/first vehicle with/without certain features. (i.e. obvious model changes such as hatch vents vs pillar vents, as opposed to metal / fiberglass sugar scoops) So, go buy a lottery ticket and include me in the winnings (Cuz I suggested it). Enrique

Paul; I also can't place a value on them, but if all you want is postage...DONE! Let me know if that was your intent, or if there was some value you had in mind. Thanks in advance Enrique Scanlon

Will; When I was buying my tools from the Snap-On truck, way back when, I remember that some of the screwdrivers had a plated look to their tips very similar to the finish on the Series II ashtray cover. If memory serves, he called it VAPOR plated. Don't know if that bit of info will help or cause more confusion. IIRC there are other tool manufacturers that use a similar process to create a "slip-proof" finish to their screwdriver bits specifically, which means it may have a name to give to your plater. But, I'm wondering if your plater is doing the full plate job, that is: copper plating followed by a number of chrome plating steps. Could it be that the copper plate is excessive, or any one of the subsequent plating steps? Since the copper plate is basically to ensure adhesion of the chrome, is there any possibility of doing it without the copper plate? Lastly, what about the number of plating dips, maybe one longer one? FWIW E

Nice car, Root Beer Brown! You might look at those wheels, they are referred to as "SIDED" wheels and I may have the name in error BUT the key thing about those wheels is that they are Right and Left sided wheels. Your Left Rear wheel should be on the Right Front and vice versa. OR Your Right Rear to the Left Front. But you might also check and see if there are some "vanes" in the dark portion of the wheel that would either push air OUT from under the car or IN towards the brake. Some of these wheels were designed that way to purportedly help the volume of air / cushion of air underneath the car at higher speeds. And depending on front / side / rear skirts or air packages would purportedly "significantly" increase the amount of down-force of the car. It's sales talk. As it stands, you have the front doing opposite air pushes as well as the back. Another way of looking at it...Look at the wheel, and imagine that the CENTER of the wheel was able to spin for part of a revolution before the OUTER rim began to spin....causing the "spokes" to distort. Your Left Front wheel looks as if it were moving forward, whereas your Left Rear looks as if it were going in reverse. Hard to see the Right hand side, but I'll bet it's Front going backwards and Rear going forward. Arne is the wheel connoisseur and will (hopefully) add to everything I'm posting here. But the reason for posting this, is that your car's wheels look uneven. Enrique

Panamared: You don't post where you live, so I can't address more specific details. But, next time your BIL wants to race you, suggest this. Instead of a "drag" race, i.e. straight line start up to top speed, go for a modified X-country race. That is, you pick a point on the other side of town / county / valley, that has both open CURVY road and IN-TOWN driving (preferably 35mph+) to get there. Then you BOTH head to that point AND back WITH an observer of your choice in the other's car. That is, your friend in his car and his friend in yours. The simple rules? No exceeding the speed limit, and no "ignoring" the traffic laws (stop signs, lights, etc) and stick to the agreed upon route. Your friend monitors his compliance, and his monitors yours. Or stick a video camera recording the instrument gauges. If it has the proper amount of curves, and even some straights, you'll leave him in the dust. He may have excellent acceleration, and even top speed, but you have him in quickness of response, time to a set speed, and maneuverability. Unless you really mess up. And as far as "looking" like as good as a Sports car.....the Z IS a sports car. The Mustang is a Muscle car. 2¢ E

Excellent! Thanks First Gen Alyssa; go with Charlie Osborne @ Zedd Findings. His quality is superb and it makes it a no-brainer. I had mentioned Banzai, because to my knowledge, they were one of the first if only (at the time) vendors to offer that piece. An advertised price is an advertised price, if when you step into the store, or go to complete the sale, the price "miraculously/surprisingly" gets adjusted UPWARD then, in my opinion, it taints a vendors TOTAL reputation. This happened to another vendor that I know of, and it has taken YEARS for that reputation to boil down to a simmer. Even though a website isn't a "store" per se, it is a medium by which people can view a vendor's goods or services. To claim that the pricing is out of date is in a word - B.S.. The consumer has no control over the pricing listed on the website, but to decline to honor the price you, as a vendor, list on the site....it's simply unethical. They should spend the time and money to update their pricing, or pull their website off the net, or honor that pricing until they can update it. But since there isn't any regulatory body to which one can complain, one is left with passing the information on to others. Then of course, the Tina's and the Tonya's accuse you of having a stone to grind. Oh well..... E

You're welcome! The fact that you got yours working is what makes it worthwhile to post in the first place. E

First Gen Z; could you post the section where you found it at Zedd Findings? I've looked and can't find it. E

Well, here in the Pacific North West part of the USA, if we didn't EVER drive in the rain....well, that's like a very very l o n g time. If you've taken care of the underside, gotten rid of the rus that may be there and put some form of proteccion, then you should be ok. The problem arises when you leave road salt, debris and other corrosive stuff to sit for weeks on end. If you're really OCD, then get a piece of PVC plastic, bend it at an angle, and spray the undercarriage to get rid of the gunk after you ride in the rain. Just my 2¢ E

HEY! :tapemouth I resemble that remark.....besides, I've only ridden with you once or twice! Next time you're over it better not scrape as it comes into my driveway or there'll be heck to pay!!! E (Hey Bryan, could he mean you?) :devious:

Ian; I have to ask: On what basis are you making the claim that there might be troubles under the paint? That's the case on so many vehicles that it's like saying....if you poke your finger up the exhaust pipe, it's gonna get dirty. I'm not saying that it's obvious that there AREN'T any problems, just wondering how you arrived at that conclusion. I looked at the pictures and couldn't really discern anything that would indicate what you assert. In fact, the pictures, even enlarged, belie what you are saying to the point that one wonders if you looked. Let's not get into the Tonya / Tina nit-pick routine of denigrating EVERY vehicle simply to be the one to post the defect. Cars that are driven and not stored as museum pieces tend to get little imperfections here and there. This isn't a flame, I'm just asking for clarification of your post. E

That's interesting, I copied the text directly from their site. Look under "Bits and Pieces" I wonder if "Bait and Switch" might be a better name, or if a discussion would be effective. E

Give Banzai Motorworks a check: http://www.zzxdatsun.com/ It's item BO-56 Repair panel 1970-1978 $110.00 E