mperdue

Here's a pic from this afternoon. Took 'er out for the first time in over a year so someone could take a look. Really makes me miss working on it.

Will, I've considered a lot of options and they all require money and space which are at a premium at my house. I don't even have cash or time to POR the chassis - at least not to do it right. And I'd rather pass it on to someone who will do some good with it rather than let it rot away. trwebb26, I'm accepting offers. I've already turned down $1000 for the chassis/body/suspension. I'm also carefully considering an swap offer for some remodeling work on my house What I would pay doesn't matter as each of us has different reasons for doing what we do. If you want to buy a project to start from scratch then don't buy it as a big chunk of the work is already done. Michael

Oh yeah - I'm in Dallas TX by the way, not in the middle of Love Field but not too far from it either. Mr. Camo - I've got several reasons for selling, the main one being that I don't forsee that I'll be able to put much time and money into it for a long time. Buying our first house that is a) a major fixer-upper (we can only occupy about 30% of the house right now) and has no garage didn't help. This car really needs a garage to do it right. Also we're expecting an "addition" to the family early next year so I really need a working car soon, and the Z is very far behind my other Datsun. I need the space in the shed and I want to stop throwing money away for space to store my Z parts. Actually in a way I"ve known this was coming for a long time, really right when we bought the house but I've only now come to grips with it and I've decided to get it over with. So no - I don't really want to but I've got to be realistic... One day I'm sure I'll take another shot at a Z.

I guess it really depends on how much I can get for it. Anyone interested email me at michael (at) datsunprojects . org or send a private message. Details can be seen at http://www.datsunprojects.org/mps240z/ I'm thinking if I do sell it'll be the chassis/suspension as one deal and everything else parted out or sold on ebay. Some details on the chassis/suspension: - Suspension parts blasted and painted with POR-15 and Chassis Coat black - Almost everythign replaced with new parts (bushings are poly, new tie rod ends, ball joints, bump-steer spacers, Eibach progressive rate springs, Tokico non-adjustable blue struts, new strut insulators (poly from MSA with camber adjustment), all new bearings, new turned front rotors, almost all bolts/nuts/washers replaced with new parts from Nissan, new u-joints, boots (steering and 1/2 shaft), etc...) - Rear brakes removed and maxima bracket is installed allowing for the use of 280ZX or 240SX rear calipers - includes new rotors. - Chassis is in great shape but still needs som work. Most of it is bare metal right now so it needs a quick sand and painting in many places. Surface rust is minimal here in TX. Some body work was done recently but it was not perfect so a little more is required. Rear hatch panel, floors, frame rails are exceptional. This would make an excellent starting point for a race car. I don't know how much I want for it exactly but if I hear the right offer I probably will. I have the feeling I won't hear an offer that'll make me happy so most likely it'll just rot away in my shed or if it comes down to it I may part out the suspension on ebay and donate the chassis to ??? Other parts that will be for sale: - Slightly used Z Therapy Carbs - 4.11 differential (requires swapping of 1/2 shafts but I have a special tool that will make that easier) - Complete butterscotch interior - About 2-cars work of other stuff - but please don't email me with requests or offers yet as I dont' know if it's all goign to go yet. michael

Thanks Will 0- Michael

Hey Will, After a year or so since the above post how has the Glisten PC coating held up? Has it chipped or cracked at all? Any discoloration, scratching, peeling? ANything at all? Have you given it a thourough shakedown? Also was the AP120 easy to work with? Tell me all you can - I'm thinking of using it. Thanks - Michael

Thanks - I'll try cleaning with something like that. Maybe a wire brush. Not sure I'd want to put itin the washing machine though. My wife woudl probably kill me.

I just bought a small wheel and Tripoli buffing compound to finish up a cam cover I'm working on. The buffing wheel quickly turned black I guess from aluminum particles mixed with the Tripoli. It's basically ineffictive now. Is there any way to remove the black gunk from the wheel or is it now trash - or shoudl I try to cut the outer layer off it (probably will throw it off balance though)? I only got about 1/4 through before it stopped giving a nice shine. Here's the wheel: eastwood co wheel Thanks Michael (ps I'm using the wheel with a hand drill motor, not a bench motor)

Nope Dallas TX. Good luck with your project. Post pics if you have some! michael

One good technique I've used to grip parts that I don't want to scratch up (such as the piston on strut) is to wrap it with a thick piece of rubber such as a rubber bungee cord, and then grip the outside of the rubber with the channel locks. If the rubber and the part are sticky enough you should get enough grip to hold it in place without ruining your finish. Well I haven't actually tried it on powder coating but it worked great on the strut piston which is maybe chrome or some kind of polished metal. Good luck MIchael

As you can see below I went with Isky. Thanks again for the recommendations. This grind was only about $100. SHould know how I like it by the end of the summer when it's back together. michael

What brand bushings and what year/model car is it? (this thread needs more cowbell...)

To help remove moisture you can run the compressed air in a long metal pipe(s) from the compressor around the garage and at a slight downward incline with a water drain or trap at the end/bottom where you want to hook up the compressor. This air will cool in the pipe and the water will condense on the walls and drip down to the trap. Use larger pipe to minimize pressure loss. Have fun with the cabinet. I did all of my parts in one and with the right material, nozzle and pressure it make rust and paint clean up a breeze. michael

do a search for maxima bracket. we've covered this topic before.

I tried 2 browsers and 2 different sources for the same video and I still can't view it. How bout a synopsis?

Hey hls30 if you zoom in on your camera and move further back you can minimize the distortion that you see in that ruler for example (the perspective slant of the lines). Your camera has to be able to focus from further back but cameras these days can do just about anything. ANyway just a tip. michael

I guess I meant more like "yeah my local blah blah blah shop carries it". I'll do some searching if one one knows off hand. Sometimes you find weird things like this in unlikely places. I'm guessing mcmaster-carr probably has it but I'd like to avoid online ordering if possible. Thanks for the tip on that oil hls30 - I'll look around for that too. michael

Thanks - I'll do the WD40 thing when it's ready. I learned about bagging the hard way. I stuck my freshly reworked head in a bag and a few weeks later there was rust on the non-aluminum parts anyway. Any idea where I can pick up desicant? Thanks again - michael

Anyone know of a good way to store bare metal parts that may have to sit around for awhile? I'm thinking something the size of an engine block. The outside will be painted but the guts will be exposed and oil free while I wait to have the bottom end balanced and the cam ground etc. Texas is extremely humid so rusting may be an issue. I say that but my partially bare metal shell has been sitting for over a year with no obvious problems but I think you have to be more careful with parts that won't be painted like the inside of an engine. Thanks - Michael

Yup I had the same problem (see pic below). My solution? For now I took the bump steer spacers out. May need bigger wheels because as you can see the spacer increases the spacing between the hub and the bottom of the tie-rod end. Another solution is to machine the spacers thinner. Making them thinner will decrease their effectiveness but may be cheaper than getting new rims. BTW mine are also 14". I don't think the springs have much affect on this problem. Good luck. Without spacer below:

I recently took my 240 ones apart to replace the boots. I took them to "drive shaft king" here in Dallas. Those guys had never seen a half-shaft like this before. With my help we got them all apart, repacked and replaced the boots. Really a nightmare getting those little spacers back in right and sliding it back together. I hope to never have to do that again. Are you working on a 280Z or do you just have 280Z shafts for some reason? Anyway, I'd like to see the pics too when your'e finished. Unfortunately I wasn't able to take any pictures of mine.

Vic I was simply asking what percent of his job is action and how much is crap that he has to put up with to be able to do that percentage that is exciting. Not sure what you thought I was implying. I've done my share of working for the government/military indirectly at least and know how putting up with a lot of crap or nothing is worth it for the interesting parts.