Pop's Z

No. Colo. 5 estimates to repair minor surface rust on hatch from previous vinyl roof and paint "as close to factory color #114 metallic brown" with clear coats. Bids were from $3,000 to $8,000. I went with a local shop who paints custom cars. $3,500 including under hood, but no engine bay, door/hatch jams(they didn't really need painting as the color wasn't changed). They did a marvelous job and I was completely satisfied. I did run into many shops that were not interested in painting a whole car...it slowed down their insurance repairs. Go to car shows and ask around about paint shops. You will get some answers there. Gday, Mike

Kenny, Check your PMs Mike

Hi Kenny, Good on you for the trophies. Are you going to enter the "Old Town Car Show" sponsored by the Silver Grille in Ft. C? It's on June 10th. I believe that "Z-Ferrari" was in last year's show...the owner was representing it as a Ferrari...it was nice ,but not a Ferrari. I have my car running really good and have had it out a few times. New suspension pieces(bushings, ball joints, tie-rod ends, KYBs,etc), new exhaust system, Ztherapy carbs, Crane XR-700, new seat foam(BIG difference). I took it to Boulder thru Hygiene...where is T&D exactly?...and a quick trip up thru Estes and peak-to-peak...WHEE. These cars are sure a lot of fun. Mike G.

I just did this and believe me it was a lot easier to take the arms to a machine shop and have them pressed out. You can burn out the rubber, but the sleeves are NOT coming out. ZTherapy has a video that shows a couple of ways to do this, IMHO a machine shop is the easiest way. Cost $25. You won't believe the difference when you are all done...you won't believe it's the same car. Be sure to check your ball joints and tie rod ends while you're doing all this. If you have any doubts about them...replace them all. Also after you re-do all this you will need to get an alignment. Have fun. Mike G.

Not to hi-jack the thread, but in order to use my old car in the winter I had put radial snow tires on all four corners...it helped, but it was sure exciting at times...maybe a limited-slip diff. would have helped...it did on my 68 2000. That did have a lsd and went pretty good for a sports car...also exciting at times. Mike G.

Boy, do those bring back some memories. I had a set of those on my first Z and went skiing almost every weekend. I also found out that a Z car is not what you might call a winter car. Slick roads were always an adventure. I'm with =Enigma=...sunny days for my current Z and for that matter...me. Mike G.

You got it in one. That IS the original glove box. If it is in the original packing it is probably worth buck$ to someone restoring a car. Don't know about putting a coating on it. What for? Mine is original and shows no wear, but then how would it wear out? I liked the vision of origami and staples...it is a Japanese car... Mike G.

Try putting a little dab of silicon seal on the first threads on the shift lever, then put the knob back on. I did this with a leather shift knob that exibited the same buzzing symptom and the annoying buzz went away. Mike

Hi Toni, Here's another help. Get one of the videos from Z therapy(www.ztherapy.com) Steve and Bruce know all there is to know about SUs. The tune up video is well worth it for a new Z person. Have fun with this and be prepared to spend $$. It's a hobby, right? Enjoy the ride, Mike G.

Hi all, I also met Mike at the MSA show this past weekend. He complimented me on my hat which was a "classiczcars.com" one of course. It was a great opening line and getting to know Mike a little added a lot to my weekend . He is a great guy! Mike G. ps: he's the one with the tatoo

Hi, I bought new seat foam from MSA and they literally changed the seats. I was contemplating new seats, but the foam made the seats like new. I can actually spend more than a few hours behind the wheel now. Thats a real improvement from before. My 60 year old butt was not happy w/ the 33 year old seats. Even my wife enjoys the ride. They were not that hard to install. If the old foam is mildewed they are probably not worth saving.IMHO. Cheers, Mike '73 Z

The part# for the ball joint tool was for a larger pickle fork tool. It will not work as it is too big...it just slips off the ball joint. It is not the c-clamp tool. When you are at the desk at AutoZone there is a big laminated chart of all there rental tools. Cheers, Mike

Hi all, I just finished installing new KYBs and refreshing the 33 year old front suspension( new ball joints, outer tie rod ends, urethane bushings). The original parts were totally worn out. The car has only 71,000 original miles, but 33 years of aged rubber. The project went well and I wanted to give a "heads up" about renting tools for the job from AutoZone. My local store had a set of spring compressors that worked really well for a $40 deposit. They also had a tie rod seperator( part#27025) that worked well on both the tie rod ends and the ball joints for a $15 deposit. Don't bother to get the ball joint seperator(#27020) as it's too big to work on the Z's ball joints. The tools made the job fairly easy, and the improvement is terrific. Mike

Dave, I'll be there. I went last year before I had my car. Wouldn't miss it now that I DO have my 73. "Be happy in your work" Mike

I just replaced my old round tops of undetermined age(on my 73) with a set from Z therapy. I got the linkage and new springs. What a difference!!! I took a run up into the mountains yesterday and the car seemed transformed. Power on after1500 rpms and no hesitations to 6000rpms. They also gave me different needles (at no charge) as I live at 5000 feet here in Colorado and most of my driving is done at higher altitudes. It may be my imagination, but the exhaust smell seems less obnoxious. It was not a hard thing to do and the video is very thorough and if you have problems Bruce at Z therapy is always helpful if not always available but keep trying. "Be happy in your work" Mike G.

No contest, you should stay with your current wheels...but then, I'm prejudiced. Mike 73 Z

Please check your PM. Thanks