rtaylor

Thanks Dave. I thought it might be something like a week ot two. This gives me something to do this weekend, besides keeping my four year old entertained.

While finding my door rattle I figure its time to replace the upper door front weather strip. So I pulled off the old one and to my horror and shook I found the first piece of rust on my car! Imagine my surprise! I really did think I was immune. :laugh: I removed the surface rust with a dremel and plan to shoot it with self etching primer tonight when I get home, then top coat it. It is only about 1 inch square where the sash meets the door, under the small front part of the seal. How long should I wait until I use the black 3m adhesive to glue down the new riubber? Thanks. .

I was hearing a rattle inside my drivers side door for awhile and I finally grew tired of it. I hate rattles. After pulling the door panel and driving around without the panel to locate the sound, I identified it as the door lock rod rattling against the rod at the bottom that it connects to. So what I did to silence it was slice a piece of clear hose, put it around the verticle lock rod then taped it closed and finally pushed it down as far as it would go . No more rattle. Happy camper now.

Arne, that's sacrilege. Nice job.

Chris. My 2/71 had yellow cad clamps, were the 70's different?

It was a people's choice award. Very rarely the best judges. The paint looked good on the car when I saw it, but I didn't get to see the engine compartment. Based on the pictures Bob posted, there was a reason the hood was down.

Rich. I understand you hesitation. I had it when I started my refresh. Remember it is only "original" once. If you start replating your Z it will no longer be original. And the bad exisiting paint on the block will make it look like you scimped on the "refresh". Been there, done that. Your choice, but just trying to give you another viewpoint. You will still be able to claim all original parts, or mostly so....I do!

Dan. That color looks perfect. Great job.

Hi Rich. Just as we said at the last show, once you start it is impossible to stop. Get some blue engine paint from Les while at his shop, you will be glad that you did. Looking forward to seeing the final product. Randy.

Count me in as well Mr. Esprist.

The dash covers work great to cover up the cracks Mark. Good luck on the windshield install.

But those are very expensive...

Water pump bolts are another thing entirely different from the thermostat housing bolts. It is hell having one snap off. If I had it to do over again, I would have outsourced the job knowing one or two would snap off in the block and the chore, and I mean CHORE, would become someone else's responsibility. I broke easy outs in the block and it took many hours to drill it out and I wound up having to use a helicoil.

Hi Mark. Maybe you could take care of the cracks in the dash while it is out using the methods others have used. It is so much easier with the glass out. You could patch, sand and paint it using the SEM paints. Don't mean to rain on your parade. The channels look great.

I believe that Les sells a mirror bracket for the passenger side.

Nice looking Z there George. Looks like it is in pretty good shape.

Now it will be all yellow Arne. A little incentive to get off my backside and get it done. I like the look of your car and Julio's car with a solid paint treatment.

Talk about chipping. I had a truck throw a gatorback in front of me last weekend. Cracked the spook in the middle. Its off the car now waiting for some fiberglass repair and repaint.

I like the laser gun idea. I am going to find someone that has one. Seems like you would have to take the read from the thermostat housing, as opposed to the radiator, does this make sense? If not there perhaps from the metal tube for the heater hose? But temp may drop at this location.

Trevor. I think that would be the case. That's why I was asking about running it without the cap. Dan, I would be real interested in the article if you can locate it. That sounds like a great idea. It is just unnerving to see the gauge so high.

What should "normal" operating temp be Bruce? Any idea?

Bruce. That sounds like a great idea. Rocket science. May I ask a dumb question? I know the cooling system is under pressure when running. Do I bring the parked car up to normal operating temp with the cap off? Will it get to normal operating temp with the cap off? What is a normal temp measured by a thermometor? I want to keep the metal fan and the 71 did not come stock with the shroud, so that is not an option. Thanks Esprist. I'll give you a call.

Ok, so I drained and flushed the cooling system to rid it of all traces of anti-freeze. Next I drained the old oil and put in Mobil One. After all that I drove to the ZCCIV show in Temecula. It was a warm weekend. I did not notice much of a change on the gauge; maybe slightly, and I mean a slight cooler reading on the gauge. The car did not overheat and I was going 80 most of the way, about 50 miles each leg. It still read about 3/4 hot. I have a new sender and thermostat as well Arne. But, as an unexpected and pleasant side effect, my oil pressure gauge now does not read zero at idle. Go figure.

Tom, you are correct, it's a V-12. About the same gas mileage as my Escalade, about 12mpg.

A 2006 Toyota Prius and recently a 2003 MB CL600.