2ManyZs

Looks like a round port head with a square port header to me. :stupid: The square ports are not perfectly square, more rectangular than square actually. I think the P-79 and the N-47 were two of the heads with round ports on both exhaust and intake, the rest were round intake, square exhaust. Not sure about the P-90 as I have never had one of them.

Actually, I believe it is more a choice of how you are planning on driving the car than what the engine clearances might be. Especially when you are comparing todays multi-viscosity oils with the straight grade of old. I've seen engines that were filled with 20w-50 run from their first oil change to over 160,000 using the same grade of oil with absolutely amazing results. So the choices between 10w-30, 20-50, 5-30 etc are really more a matter of preference, useage, and sometimes geographical location more than any other reason.

Yes, she does sound like a car guy's dream come true. That might be why she is getting a pitt bull! You should be able to get caliper re-build kits from Napa, Advance Auto or any good auto parts store locally. They might have to order them, but it might be cheaper than buying them off Ebay. If you need a rebuildable caliper I may have a few here. I have taken them apart without using an air compressor (I didn't always have the right tools either) but it is hard to explain how to do it. But it can be done. I agree with Rick, if he has taken the caliper itself apart, it may be better to find another one if the PO wasn't sure of what he was doing. You will find plenty of people here that can just about guide you through anything you may try to do with a Z car.

Ivan just gave me another idea. You could try to pull the door panel off, and try small adjustments to the upright linkage that goes to the door latch from the door handle. It is possible the linkage is not allowing the door latch to fully engage. They are small plactic sleeves on the ends of the rods and have been known to crack, lossen, and sometimes fall of completely. They are a major PITA to get your hand into with the window glass in the way. The lower horizontal one is much easier to access than the upright vertical ones at the rear of the door. If you can get your hand in there to them, you could try small adjustments first in one direction and then the other to see if it makes any difference. This would be the last item to check after all the others like the hinges etc since these are such a pain to get to. Forgot all about the adjustments possible on them until Ivan mentioned them. Been a long time since I did go in there, and if you do have to go in, you will see why. The door edges are usually very sharp, and the area is very hard to access unless you tiny little hands that bend in three different directions at once.:disappoin

Have you got any play or looseness in the door hinges? If the door hinges are getting sloppy that would make a lot of difference, the door isn't making the same arc everytime and is putting excess pressure on the striker plate to latch. That's my first guess. :cross-eye Have you tried a different striker plate? Do you have the star washers on the mounting bolts? Are the shims in place? Lots of questions, no real good answers there are there? Just a few of the things to check.

Sage advice? Have someone who has done it before, do it for you. That's probably the best piece of advice, not the answer you were looking for though. Before you take it apart, I would invest in two new spindle pins, tapered lock pins and of course bushings. That way if you have to ruin the pins that are in there when you try to remove them, you already have new ones in your hands. Motorsport Auto has them, not too expensive, but a lifesaver if the old ones are stubborn. Try using the Search this site function in the Main menu. Look for control arm spindle pins. Or look through the Help Me forum or suspension forum. There have been numerous memebers before you who have experienced trouble with these. Hope you have a good selection of tools handy. You may need them. If you have trouble you can PM me and I'll do what I can to help.

750lb model should work OK, I'd go with a 1000lb if you can find one. Complete engine is probably in the 450 plus range so if you do any torqueing on the engine while it's on the stand it may not be as sturdy as you would like. Be sure to get one with wide legs, or adjustable ones. The wider the better, some are so narrow that just moving it across the floor is almost impossible without tipping it all over.

Have you tried a search on the MD-DMV? Maybe their website might have the info. I know the VA-DMV web-site is pathetic, to say the least. You end up going to the DMV or calling them since they don't post any useful info on the web-site. I bought a parts car from a friend who lived in Bowie, maybe 10 years ago. The 76 at that time had to be emissions and safety inspected. It passed the emissions test OK, failed the safety test due to the rust monster, go figure.

FWIW, I ran Castrol 20-50 in my 280 ITS car for 4 years. Then the last year I ran Syntec. High volume pump, mechanical oil pressure gauge and an oil cooler. Never had any variations in oil pressure even at water temps of 200-220 degrees. Always steady at 60 psi. How many miles are on the bottom end?

Eek, 88 to 1? Well, I guess we can offer some consolation, look at the number of "East Coasties" compared to "West Coasties".

Could be a fuel starvation problem, ignition problem (timing or advance) or it could be your valve springs are soft and the valves are floating. :cross-eye Check your timing, points, vacuum advance etc, then go to the fuel side if the problem persists. If neither helps, it may be time for a valve job and springs.

If the oil was foaming, and you haven't replaced the oil pump, I would say that is the most likey suspect. Probably has a little galling or pitting on the pump rotor or maybe has a little too much clearance due to wear. This could be the cause of a little cavitation in the pump, hence foaming in the oil. A new oil pump is not too expensive, and would be cheap insurance. I personally always use the high volume pump for a little added security.

I think a lot has to do with the brand of bushings. I've had one set that fit tightly without the sleeve, and one that needed the sleeve. I guess each manufacturer has their own idea about how they should fit. :stupid:

One hour at 90mph? Didn't you post on the thread about street racing not being a good thing? Shame on you. :devious: :cross-eye

Sure looks like a little Mr. PotatoHead to me. :devious:

I think I saw what this grew up into last night on Speed Channel. I was getting ready to leave and on comes this show (sic) called High Rev Tuners, yup, that's right, all about "ricers" and their funny little cars. I'm pretty sure one of them standing next to a Honda could have been the "grown-up" (?) version. BTW, the show is sponsored by none other than Pep Boys, go figure! "Ricers love us, real cars hate us":stupid:

Sounds like the barrel of the switch is worn out and causing too much play to make contact. You will probably end up replacing the switch sooner or later. Might try looking for one form a parts car that might be in better shape. You will need to find one from the same year car if possible as some years are wired differently and you end up with a mess to figure out.

This is one that will never grow up to drive a Z!! Must be a "ricer" in waiting. I can just see him now at Pep Boys......... Or just a good example of the need for safe sex.:stupid:

Hey, bribes are paid to the club. Shame on you. :devious:

Perhaps before you replace anything, you might want to double check your battery posts and connections at the starter. Try cleaning them with a battery post cleaner just for the heck of it if you haven't already. Might just be corroded. If not that and replacing the starter doesn't help, it's probably in the switch.

I think the thread size is 1/8 NPT, not sure about that but it sounds right to my failing memory. Most of the better gauge packages usually come with an adapter of some type that will work. If possible try to use a mechanical gauge as they will be the most accurate.

Those are the famous rear control arm spindle pins. Do a search for them here and you should find plenty of posts regarding these. They are the biggest cause of cursing and complaining on a Z car there is. :tapemouth

Double check your vent lines, you may have one that is either blocked, or possibly kinked. It may be that the tank is not venting and building up a little pressure and the "belch" came out the cap. Or your cap is just not sealing the way it should.:cross-eye Or it could be the cap is sealing too well, as the vent line from the vapor tank is under the cap and the cap may not be releasing the pressure. Look at your hoses and/or try a different cap.:sleepy:

Spokes should be black semi-gloss.

Sounds like either the clutch is shot or the whole copressor. It may have been used with not enough oil in the system and the bearings in the compressor are shot. You should have a good A/C mechanic or shop take a look at it to be sure. You could try to turn it by hand after removing the belt, just to see if the compressor is turning freely or not. You can purchase just a compressor from MSA if you cannot find one locally. They have a much better rotary compressor to replace it with and it will work much better than the old style compressor and be much more efficient.