2ManyZs

I remembered seeing a bench top english wheel on one of TNN's auto shows a while back and look what I found.... Not exactly cheap but....... http://www.metalcrafttools.com/

English wheels are a tool used to form curves in sheetmetal by rolling it between two rollers of varying diameters and curvatures. I doubt you are going to have an easy time of finding a used one. There aren't too many companies that even make new ones anymore. Last time I saw a new one advertised it was in the 1-2K range for the full set-up. Unless you could find a Nascar team that is selling off its shop full of tools that is.... most of them still have a fabricator using them to form the fenders and such....

I'd say you should have a talk with the shipping company and show them the damage. Looks like the dummy used an ordinary chain hook in the holes on the rails instead of the T hook that may or may not have prevented the damage. With a little work with a hammer, you should be able to repair it to the point it will be almost invisble. They ought to know better when chaining down a car that was built out of too thin metal and expecting it to hold up after all these years of rust and use....:stupid:

That must be why "Pee-Wee Jr." is flipping us off huh? :tapemouth

Not cheap, that's for sure. But it would have to be cheaper than a new dash at 800+, if you can find one that is.....

The floor looks pretty darn good to me. You will find the same type of damage on probably at least 85% of the Z's that have ever been into a garage for an oil change or had an owner that liked to do it themselves. It's not critical unless there has been rust in the rail and the rail has collapsed, which this one obviously doesn't have that problem. As far as the title goes, he probably bought the car and never changed the title over into his name. He might have only bought the car to re-sell for a profit. I've got a buddy who bought a car from me, and 6 years later the title was still in my name when he scrapped it. Unless there is a lot of rust somewhere else, this car does look really good underneath unless you aren't showing the worst areas......

Oops, I goofed. I thought they had gone to 5 lug in 84 but the only ones that got 5 lug wheels were the turbos. They didn't go to all 5 lug until 86.....:stupid:

Well, you could try lemonZ and see if those are still available. I think the ad is still in the for sale section..... http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4799

Try PM'ing kats and see if the guy who repaired his dash has any ideas. If you look in kat's gallery, you'll see a repair done on his dash to hide the empty hole above the flasher switch that is completely hidden...... Once they start to crack, there is no stopping them unfortunately, you can try to repair it, but like Carl said, they usually end up looking like they were repaired. It would take a someone with a perfect touch to fix it. BTW, Eastwoods has repair kits if you really want to try one. www.eastwoodcompany.com

Hmm, never thought to check the height..:stupid: Be while before I have room for a roadster anyways.... That is if I don't hack the roof one of these old Z's sitting around here.....:devious:

I think if you count the lugs you'll see that they won't fit.... The brakes can be converted with some work and special brackets, but as far as suspension, especially the rear, they are quite different. Course, the VG will fit, but with not much gain since the 84 is only about 160hp......

Hey Victor, have you ever seen anyone try an L series in a roadster in all you roadster travels? I know it is nearly impossible to fit one in without either sectioning the firewall or moving the core support forward for fan clearance, but it seems like this would be a bit easier than the FJ, SR, VG swaps you see. Not only that but it would be a whole lot cheaper as well..... I almost bought a ex-CA 1600 from a buddy of mine until I measured the firewall to core support clearance, figured it would cost too much considering the shape the 1600 was in...:disappoin No rust to speak of, but half the parts were missing........ and it was a 68 with the "ugly" dash......:cross-eye

I was always under the impression the late 260's with the 280 bumpers had FI as well. But, after seeing a few pics lately and examining the microfiche, I believe that all the 260's had the flat tops. They did however, have the wiring harnesses that were similar to the 280's in the engine compartment with the fusible links that mounted on the passengers side inner fender. I guess that is what always threw me off, seeing a FI style harness in a carbed car, I always "arse"umed the carbs were put on in place of the FI. But after looking a numerous pics lately that show the later wiring harness with original flat tops, it seems to me no one in their right mind would replace the FI with flat tops, so it must be stock.

Bet they wouldn't last long in my neighborhood!:devious: They would have them stuck in "their own" tailpipe....:cross-eye Guess there are no noise ordinances there huh?

Hope he can do a "tushy tuck" as well as the door handles..... The elongated nose does make the lights blend in better with the body. But like the ZG nose on an original Z, it's gonna highlight the short rear deck and on the Z33 it's going to be more noticeable than on the early cars.

For those of us who have never driven a RHD Z I guess it is just something we have gotten used to as it never really mattered to me. The only times it has been a PITA is when I let a girlfriend try to drive my first Z and her arms were to short to reach out and relaease the brake. Course, her legs were to short to reach the pedals too.... at least I didn't have to let her drive the car....:devious: The one thing I has annoyed me is how high it is on the tunnel. Sitting in the passengers seat cleaning the dash and console, it has more than once been in contact with the "funnybone" and caused more than one curse....

Actually I think that looks a lot better than what the "real" one looks like.......:cross-eye

It's not just you Carl, it's the way he posts them...:cross-eye

Hate to tell you this Bonnie, but it holds 5 quarts with a filter change.....:cross-eye

The sliders from 75-78 are the same, but, if I'm not mistaken, the sliders will fit onto a 240 seat so that you could use any of them, just change the sliders.

I guess I should have explained my reasoning in my first post a little better...... guess I'm getting too much radiation from my monitor...:cross-eye

That's why I suggested the 5 BTDC as a baseline setting. If the distributor has no more adjustment left just to get to 5 degrees then it will show that the timing gear is indeed advanced and the problem will become more obvious.

It should be a simple bolt on. The larger master cylinder should increase line pressure slightly due to the fact it is able to displace a bit more fluid. Not a huge gain, but with the 4 piston calipers and rear discs it might be more noticeable than if you had the stock brakes. Stock cylinder size is 7/8 so the 15/16 is not that large a gain, but the only other way you could do it would be with a totally different master cylinder arrangement.

Have you checked the timing with a timing light? It should be 5BTDC static timing. Have you checked to see if the vacuum advance is working? Do you have the correct spark plugs and gap? Have you verified the point gap if you still have points? Could you have a pair of plug wires that are swapped around and that is whay you think is pinging? Lots of questions with no real answers, but it will give you some ideas anyways......

These are the numbers I got from an ex-buddy who worked at Auto Zone for the 79-84 4x4 calipers. FWIW anyways.... 7142 L/H 7141 R/H $69.94 each plus 30 core D137 Carbon metallic pads to fit were $11.99 back then