2ManyZs

Hmmm, you sure that was a Z? Maybe it was a figment of your Margarita's imagination? That was the 71 I've been working on slowly....and yes, those are the original floor pans and rails too...:cheeky: Only thing on the underside are a couple of vent hoses that I haven't bothered taking out yet and the speedo cable hanging from the firewall.....

Are you sure you have the correct speedo gear in the transmission for the rear end ratio you have? If you are not sure, there's no way you can go by the speedo as it might not be correct. Depending on the model of ZX it came from it could be geared for either a 3.54 or a 3.70 rear if I remember right. That will make a larger difference in the rpm reading vs the speedo reading if the improper speedo gear isn't used.

Sorry to get you lost Royce.... I was laying on the creeper when I took them... If I could get it a little higher I could almost sit up under it, but then I'd have to take the light down off the ceiling to give me room to go much higher. Got the tallest set of jackstands I could find and they are sitting on about 12 inches of cement blocks....:cross-eye Floor pan is 32 inches off the floor of the garage, call it a poor mans lift...:stupid:

Here's the list of the tranmission ratios that were available. I don't have anything that will tell me which trans you might have given the serial number. Perhaps Alan T. might have something that will decipher the serial number....

Anywhere along that frame section is good.... Udder side...

This is the safest place to put jackstands on the rear. This section of the frame very seldom rusts out so you can be quite sure it is strong enough to hold the car. The biggest benefit is that the jackstands are out of the way if you want to pull the control arms or any part of the rear suspension.

Yeah, we had a go on this one.... It's a decent enough car, but considering it is going to need a lot of work to even have it moving under it's own power, we all thought the price was a bit high. But then, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder..... By the time you went through the mechanicals, new hoses and all the weatherstripping it probably needs plus a paint job, the car would end up a 15-20K investment. Not outrageous, but a lot if you want a car you would want to drive...:cross-eye

Your pics quit coming through....:stupid: Looks to me like it would be worth saving.. floors and rocker panels and maybe a pair of dog legs ought to have it well on its way to being drivable again...well, and a door...:cross-eye

FWIW, be careful you don't keep overheating it, as the head will end up being warped. Many things to check, radiator, water pump, etc... Rnning without a thermostat usually ends up with the coolant passing through the radiator to fast to transfer the heat and it will end up running hot. Best to use some sort of restrictor or just a new thermostat in a lower temp, perhaps yours is a 180 that is sticking, you could try a 160 and see how things go. Also, when you get it to the point you can let it idle without overheating and think you have the problem solved. You might be wise to do a compression check and leakdown test on all the cylinders to rule out a blown headgasket or warped head due to it being overheated in the first place.

Doesn't look terminal in the pics, but where else is the rust doing its dirty work? Under the batter tray? Firewall? Inner fenders? How about the rear quarters? I've seen worse.. that's for sure... I've got one in the backyard now....:disappoin

Here's another wish for his speedy recovery. I hope someone tells him there a lot of people pulling for him.

The one marked S12(79-84) work with the stock solid discs on the 240. The ones marked S12W are the later calipers that will work only with the later ZX vented rotors. I believe these came on the later 4x4's and FourRunners.

You have a point, but you are forgetting the most important thing. Supply vs. demand. There are still so many cheaper(10K and under) Z's on the market that the values are being kept down. Yes, parts are getting more and more expensive (some of them anyways) but there are just too many Z's still in decent (read that restorable or driveable condition) that the values are being kept at a lower value at least for the time being. Do we really want the prices in the 30K and up category? Not for those of us who might wish to purchase a car.... Those of us who have cars that would possibly bring that kind of price if we were to sell them? Sure, who wouldn't like to get out investments in time and money back..... Comparing the Z's to other collectible cars really can't be done in the way we would like. There were so few true low production "special" models such as the Black Pearl Edition and the Anniversary models, whereas US muscle cars had many models that were limited production that we can't really claim any one model is more collectible than another. Right now the earlier the model, the more desirable it is in a collectible sense since a good 70 is harder to find than a 73 since the production numbers were lower for the 70 than the 73. 3 years in age doesn't make as much a difference as it is the total number of cars imported for the model year in question. In a few more years, after the "rust monster" has caused more and more Z's to be scrapped or crushed the prices will go up, perhaps more slowly than some other cars, but they are already on the rise. It wasn't all that many years ago that a 10K dollar Z car was practically unheard of. One of the things that also hurts the Z in terms of collectors values is that it was one of the cars that hit 1 million models produced faster than nearly all other sports cars of its time. Who knows what it will be like in 5 years, the collectors car market is kinda fickle. Only a few years ago the prices of certain models of Ferrari's went out of this world, cars were being sold for 1 million dollars that were sold for 25K two years before. Now those 1 million dollar cars are being sold for 100K and people are taking a beating. Do we want that to happen to our investments? I think not. Besides, the best thing about our Z's is that we can still drive them and enjoy them, I for one don't want to have a car just to look at because I can't afford to insure it or can't stand the thought of it getting dirty or hit in a parking lot. We could be or own worst enemy in the long run if we let the same things happen to our hobbies as others have had happen to theirs. Speculators and collectors just looking to make an easy profit can drive a lot of people away from what should be an affordable car to own and an enjoyable car to drive. I'm not saying there aren't Z's out there worth 15K and up, but they will be harder to find a buyer for them.

Hmm, don't know for sure, but it I am wondering if it's a viscous or clutch type LSD in the Infinity unit......

For anyone who thinks outlawing guns will stop crime only has to look at England, which has some of the strictest anti-gun laws in the world. Did it stop crime completely? Nope, cuz for every legal gun purchase by an honest, law-abiding citizen, ten guns are sold on a street corner by a drug dealer, thief or what have you.... The old saying is as true in todays society as it was in the past: When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns. What's next, they gonna outlaw all kinds of knives too? Even a kitchen utensil could be used to commit a crime... Then they gonna outlaw every type of sharp hand tool? Axes? Shovels? If they start, there will be no stopping the wacko's who think that guns are causing all our problems. It's the politicians and lawyers who are putting these people back on the streets after they have been "rehabilitated" that are what keeps crime rampant on the streets of most major cities.... Arguing this is like arguing politics or religion, there are no rights or wrongs, and no winners either...

Here's a few places to look for links to groups in your area... http://scca.org/ http://www.icscc.com/ http://www.racinlinks.com/ http://www.nasaproracing.com/

Look here: http://www.geocities.com/zgarage2001/engine.html BTW, bookmark that site as it has a lot of good info, it will answer quite a few questions that might come up on a lot of issues.

I can't believe it won't come off with the putty knife trick George... double check you have all the bolts out? Just keep at it, and don't forget to go around it on the front side where it meets the front cover. If nothing else, use a good stiff bladed carpet knife or utility knife to cut between the pan and the gasket. If you have all the bolts out, it's gotta come off sooner or later.....

If you have a stiff putty knife, tap it in around the pan to break the gasket loose, actually to cut the gasket as much as release it's grip on the pan and block. Go all the way around it and when you have gone all the way around it, take the putty knife and twist it to loosen the pan. The reason you don't want to use a screwdriver is because it puts pressure one such a small area it will bend the flange on the pan, using a putty knife will spread the force out. Probably someone has used a sealant on the pan gasket and it is well sealed.

Works cars: Built, maintained, driven by factory employed drivers. Semi-works: Built by the factory and sold to an independently run, financed team with their own drivers. Usually given parts at discount prices in exchange for advertising the manufacturers.... That about right? I see a huge number of Lancias.... nice to see som eof their vintage cars are still on the roads, they were a terror there for quite a while.... But, I have one question, is that really a 2CV or was that a trick camera shot?:cross-eye

I just received a post card from a cousin, seems I have a second cousin(her son) who is undertaking a hike this summer on the Appalachian Trail. He recently started out on his summer long journey, and his girlfriend has started a web-site to track his progress with pics and descriptions of his adventure. So, if any of you are into nature walks and the like, here a link to his site. If you wish, you can leave him a message on the site and give him some encouragement. It ought to be a shock to him if he starts getting words of encouragement from all over the world. :devious: You can use the contact on his web-site if you would like to send him an "atta-boy" and tell him where you are from, just so he knows he's being watched....... http://www.kayakinstruction.us/at/ Glad it's him doing this, he and I are almost the same age and I know I wouldn't want to try to tackle a 1200+ mile walk.....makes me sore just thinking about it.....

If you can do it legally, I strongly suggest de-smogging it if you plan to run the flat tops. That will help tremendously, and so will blocking off the water to the manifold and carbs. I had good luck running flat tops on my first Z after I did the above items, it ran like crap until I de-smogged it and blocked off the water. With a good cleaning and a re-build, and doing the above mentioned items and you should have a set of carbs that are as good as the downdraft Webers IMO.

Sounds to me like worn ball joints, tie rod ends are the most likely culprit for the shake while driving. It will be even more pronounced if the brake rotors are worn out of true even slightly, as the steering has play in it to begin with. I'd check the tie rods, ball joints, steering rack bushings first. See if this is causing the shake while driving (it could be also in the wheel bearings, tire and/or wheels as well) and if you fix the shake except under braking you will know you need to do some brake rotor/caliper repairs as well. It's probably best to fix one part at a time. It could be in the steering which can be fixed rather easily without tearing too much apart. If it cures the problem, you can save yourself the aggravation of having replaced a lot of parts without knowing for sure where the problem was originally.

I'd have to agree that it is probably an internal problem with the trans, possibly a bent shift fork or a bent roll pin in the fork is not engaging 3rd gear all the way on the countershaft. If it were the clutch, it would more than likely slip in all the gears, especially 1st and 2nd where it has more torque on it due to the gearing. It could also be something as simple as the shifter bushings as well that are contributing to it. Is this a later B model or the early A model? I have an A model that shifts fine in all gears except for 3rd as well, 3rd is almost impossible to even find and after the shifter finally gets it in gear, you can move the shifter around as if it were in neutral. I haven't torn it down yet to find the culprit, but it's internal on mine...:disappoin

Before you do anything else, you should verify the cable is working properly. It might be possible that it is loose on the backside of the control panel, the cable shield is clamped to the framework of the control panel. It might be loose or stripped of its covering and the whole cable assembly is moving instead of the cable connected to the heater control valve. It should work stiffly enough that it will hold the control valve at whatever setting you choose.