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Keep your eye on the government is the massage here. Happy 4TH

Is that AAR Cuda? It always amazes me how PPE is overlooked by us regular guys and the ones on the fake resto shows on TV. They're grinding away without any earplugs or glasses most of the time. I always make sure I have hearing and eye protection and usually wear gloves of some kind. Also a respirator/dust mask if needed. Thanks for bringing that up.

I just happen to be replacing the seats in my 71 with seats from a 77 and going leather from Interior Innovations. While taking the 77 seats apart I did notice that I could see through the center insert panels where the backing foam had disintegrated so I don't think it's just an embossed pattern on a solid surface.

Yes. Plugging the elbow nipple on the back corner of the head is the same thing as closing the water temperature control cocck. And if you are putting in a manually (hand) controlled ball valve, it doesn't matter which side of the core it goes on.

You probably already know this but that works wonders on old furniture, mine's not a wet blaster though.

Finally added an MSA air dam to the front. It's amazing how much of a difference this makes in the car's appearance. The fit is "OK", but I expected it to be a little wonky since this car is so old. It works well enough. I don't think I will paint it. Gonna get the car painted by the end of winter, so I'll probably just leave it for now out of laziness haha

Coilovers are in and couldn't be happier with the stance and fitment. The front will come down a hair with the engine and trans to closely match the rear. I will even be able to run spacers to fit some larger brakes!

I think I'll have that inscribed on my head stone. The glass bead wet blaster is worth having just for the aluminum parts,

I have an engine in my garage from a ZX that I was thinking of selling. My current engine is very solid. I also have a 78 280Z EFI harness that I used to run it, to make sure it was good before the one month warranty period ran out. And some spare electronic distributors. You know he's going to swap an LSX in there after he looks at all of the options though. Mark, that yellow 280Z is still there.... @Mark Maras

I'm doing this right now. The rear wasn't so bad but I did end up using a recip saw along the edges and once out, removing the spots from the underside. The front was harder since access to the welds was limited. I ended up cutting the whole thing out and again removing the spots from under. BTW I have this cutter and while not perfect saves a lot of time. http://shop.blairequipment.com/Premium-Spotweld-Cutter-Kit-p/11082.htm

Car meet, lots of people and cars.

I think I’d like to use the original carbs if possible. My goal is to restore it to the way it was when I drove it off the dealer’s lot. The only changes I made to the car over the years was to add the aftermarket a/c unit (that I personally installed. Maybe that’s why it never worked very well ?) , replaced the radio with a Blaupunkt, and the carb “upgrade” (which cost me $554 in 1980 dollars!) The Datsun shops back then made a lot of money off of gullible flattop Z owners like me who bought off on the supposed superiority of the round tops. For the record, I had never had any vapor lock or other problems with the car, and this was during a time I was driving all over southern California making sales calls. I just wanted to “improve” my car after listening to a presentation at the Orange County Z club meeting by the mechanic who I then went to for the conversion. Hmmm...

I just linked this thread in someone else's, and noticed the above. Now that's commitment. Bought a new house so you can do your Z project. O Canada...

Wow.....Can’t wait to see those seats....shaping up....may change some minds about the Z31’s.

Love it! You put towels down so you don't scratch the paint?

Hello all, My hoses had dried up, they were cracked and if I touched them they would fall apart in my hands. I replaced them with 1 1/2 ich flexible sump pump hose and connected them to the heater box with 1 1/2 inch ABS fittings. Perfect fit and the hoses are flexible enough to go around the different components under the dash. As for the oblong ports on the heater box, I used 2 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inch reducer ABS fittings. I put them in a vise and slowly heated, the 2 1/2 inch end of course, with a propane torch while tightening the vise. I put a 1 1/2 inch ABS pipe in the fitting to prevent it from deforming. They took an oblong shape and fit perfectly on the ports.

Yes. That's an AAR 'cuda. Vitamin C orange, numbers matching, 4-speed, bucket seats... I always wear gloves. I'll wear a mask in tight spaces where there isn't good ventilation. I wear "headphones" that cover my ears and keep the harsh sounds out. Safety glasses and shields always allow debris to bounce around and end up in an eye. I've had good luck with the goggles so far. I once had a piece of metal get stuck in my eye that the Dr. had to remove. And then he ground my eyeball with a little die grinder. Fun times... Chuck