2ManyZs

See his original thread for a description... http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6566

Whoa Mike... I'm not that old ya know...:cross-eye I've been messing with them for just a little over 20 years... I'm going to put my 2 cents in on the subject of the car. First, it is a low mileage car that has been stored away and pretty much neglected for a long period of time. Interior looks damn good, but the car still has issues that need to be addressed before it could be even driven out of the storage unit. Second, the Z market isn't to the point of the US muscle cars of that time period, which is good for those of us who might be in the market to buy a car. We just recently saw a genuine Z Store factory restored car sell for just a bit over 17K on Ebay, which would indicate that it better be almost a 100% perfect car to bring over 12 or 13 thousand, or have a very desirable history, such as being owned by someone we all in high regard in the history of the Z car. Third, it's a 73, which makes it a bit less desirable than a 70 or early 71. More desirable than a 74 and up car, but if it were an early model, then it would be a different story altogether. It doesn't seem that the car needs a whole lot of work, although what it does need could end up being fairly costly in the long run. I guess my question is this. Why would someone store it away for that long a period of time and not bring it out and fix what it needs to be road worthy? If the owner were to replace the weatherstripping, belts, hoses, and verify the mechanical condition of the car and perhaps have the paint buffed out, then the asking price would be pretty attainable in my opinion. It seems odd that someone would store a car for that time period and hope to sell it in the condition it is in now, when they could get more for it just by getting the car road worthy and perhaps polishing it up a bit. If this car were taken somewhere, for a grand or so in parts he/she could probably ask and receive 13K or more with no problem. But unfortunately as it sits, it's going to be tough to get the asking price.

This may not be on the subject, but whatever happened to the car that Fourways restored and was the subject of an article in the old Z Car magazine Premier issue in 94? Paul, car looks great, and at least it's in good company when parked... I have to agree with Alan, it sure looks odd seeing one without both rear quarters, kinda make you realize why these cars have been attacked by the rust monsters so badly... I've had Z's for 20 years and have yet to win the Lotto so I could drive a Ferrari.....:disappoin

There's only one way to get it off George, you have to pull the whole hub/rotor assembly to get to the 4 Phillips head screws that mount it. Once the hub is off, use an impact driver or a good set of Vice-Grips to break the screws loose, they usually are rusted and very difficult to remove without stripping the heads.... When you put it back on, you can always replace the screws with hex head bolts.

Hmm, never knew there were so many either.... Since you have an L-28 flywheel and a 72 I'd go with the late 72 bolts...the 12315-42L11's

You can use the 15/16 master cylinder from a 280ZX or you can use the stock master cylinder, as either one will bolt up to the stock master vac. I would do the swap first, then if you want, you can swap the master later. You might find that you will use more pedal travel with the rear discs especially if you go to the four piston front capipers at the same time. If you want to get the pedal travel back more to what it was before the swap, then use the 15/16 master.

Well, actually that would be a lower ratio, remember, higher numerical number is actually a lower ratio.... You've more than likely got a 3.54 or 3.70 now, so going a bit higher numerically will help... but, the biggest help will be to make sure all the engine systems are in top condition. A diet for the car would be the second best thing you could do...as they are considerably heavier than an early car.

I guess to follow on what Walter said, you'd also have to take into account Mr. K's influence on the advertising of the Z car in the US at the time also. I think he understood why the British sports cars were selling so well in the mid to late 60's. Cheap, simple, reliable(well, sometimes anyways) and most of all they were nearly all 2 seat cars. Now during those years, the VW's were selling like the proverbial "hotcakes" at the time, but can anyone really get in the back seat of a Bug? If you look at the numbers of Jaguar XKE's sold in the US, I think you would probably see a similar drop in sales when the 2+2's were introduced. People get used to something in one way and resist it when someone tries to change it, almost like everytime a new OS is introduced for the computers we use.... we get used to one thing and don't really want to change until someone forces us too....... Now, if the 2+2's had been imported from the beginning of sales in the US, you probably would have seen much higher sales numbers. Now, if we had never seen a 2 seat model, would the 2+2's have sold in the same number as the 2 seaters? Good question....

Two things come to mind right off the bat.. coil and/or water control valve... Try a different coil first, then try blocking the water from the manifold if you still are using the original 73 manifold. Could be on the borderline of vapor lock if the water control valve is sticking partially open. Another idea is points and condensor, how long since they were changed and/or adjusted?

Well, don't take the 100 dollar quote to heart... it's just a wild guess... but the main thing is, it will depend on who is carrying it.... Make sure it's crated good, some of these carriers are a bit rough in their handling... I know, I used to work for Overnight Transp...:cross-eye

Like EScanlon suggested, I would find a machine shop "friend" or someone at a dealership that might help you out. They usually get a better rate than an individual can from one of the larger freight companies... I've had an engine shipped to me in the past along with some other large items and shipping was not bad at all, less than 200 coast to coast. Try a freight outfit such as Roadway, ABF, Yellow, Red Star, and if their rates are a bit high, try one of the larger non-union outfits such as Con-Way, or whichever one of their subsidiaries they have in Texas now, CCX or whichever. Ca to Texas shouldn't cost much more than 100 bucks depending on the carrier.

Well Dave, I thought you might have been ready to spring a surprise on us....:classic: I didn't know he still had his IT car.. seems everyone else has gotten rid of them and gone over to the "other" side....:disappoin Eric, I'd be wary of mounting it under the exhaust like that as the box itself is going to act as a bit of a heat sink.. It's a good idea, just maybe not the best place to mount it. Not only will it absorb heat off the exhaust and the block, the only air flow it will be getting down there will be air coming through the radiator, which will be much warmer than the outside air, due to it's being warmed on its way through the rad. I've seen many people mount them on the drivers side inner fender, usually close to the radiator support so that the air coming throught that one opening would cool it. Some people even ran a short hose from the opening and ended it near the MSD box. I'd tend to agree with Dave, I'd mount it either on the passengers side, or on the firewall, either inside or out.

I have bought bolt-on valve stems from Pegasus Auto Racing in the past that should work OK. They have a lock nut on the top side(outside) of the rim and are chrome plated... Length is approx. 1" to 1.2" depending on how thick the rim flange is, this would be how high it sits above the rim. www.pegasusautoracing.com Part number is #3334.. and they are $3.79 each

Uh yeah.....:disappoin

ITS car Dave? Did I miss something?

240-280 inner fender should give you a patch panel that will work except for the fact that 90% of the cars you will find will have some kind of rust under there....

Well, here are your dimensions... http://www.msdignition.com/1ignstre.htm If you are planning on mounting this box to the engine I would strongly caution against it. Too much heat and vibration..... I wouldn't mount the coil there either becuase of the heat issue.

Haggerty's does have a lot of restrictions on your use of the car, but seems like you can get policies to suit your needs... maybe you just got a customer service rep that didn't know what they were doing...:cross-eye Most auto insurance companies do offer the same type of "agreed upon" value policies, you usually will be required to either submit photos of the car or have it appraised and more than likely their premiums will be higher than the specialty insurance carriers. I'd continue shopping around...

Hmmm, last time I was in a Doctors office I came out looking like this....:cross-eye :cross-eye :paranoid:

I'd do the rust repairs first as you will need to do a fair bit of disassembly of the interior and engine compartment to do the repairs correctly. There are two Z clubs in your area, the MD Z club and the Z Car Clib of Northern VA, so if you contact them, perhaps someone in your area can take a look and possibly offer a referral to a good place to have the repair work done. I'm not too far away if you are on the west side of DC if no one else can do it locally...

Can't help you on the radio, but here's an auction for a re-built antenna with new mast etc... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2410411862&category=6769

Mike, the main reasoning behind the left hand drill bit is this. If you have a broken bolt, and drill a pilot hole for an E-Z Out, when you insert the E-Z Out, you are forcing it into a hole that is smaller than the E-Z Out, therefore you are applying extra outward pressure which is increasing the forces on the threads. While using a left hand drill bit, you will be lessening the amount of metal in the center of the broken bolt, which lessens the outward pressure on the threads which hopefully will allow the heat and torque of the drill to retract the bolt when the drill bit is digging into the metal. While you are lessening the pressure on the threads, you are at the same time applying force to back the bolt out at the same time. Of course this only works when you can drill the pilot hole as near the center as possible. After drilling the pilot hole, you can then use the next size drill bit to enlarge the pilot hole, and sooner or later one of them is going to either take so much out that the drill bit will back what is left right out, or one of the drill bits will more than likely dig itself into the bolt and back it out. Ever tried to enlarge a hole in a piece of metal and have the drill bit end up only making a couple "threads" and the bit runs itself in all the way and the only way to get it out is to reavers the drill?

There is no problem getting to the spare as the speaker panel only sets out maybe an extra inch further than the stock plastic panel. It would be easy to make with a 1/2 sheet of 1/2" plywood.. just have to get the dimensions correct. If you have someone that is good with woodworking, they could probably make one up in an hour or so, then all you'd have to do is drill the holes, cut out for the speakers and cover it.

Yup... MX5=Miata....