Diseazd

Sorry folks....Zed Head is right....it's the 72 (orange car) that runs right at 3000 rpm at 60 mph....it's running a 4 speed ( 1.0 ) final drive and 205 55 16 tires.....the 73 (silver car) is running a 3:54 also, but a 280 ZX 5 speed tranny....much more civil at speed....sorry for the mix up.

Patcon....I'm running a 1983 280ZX close ratio 5 speed. With the 3:54 rear, I'm turning 3,000 rpm at 60 mph. Believe me, if you are doing any long distance driving, it'll work on you . Can't say from experience what a 3:90 or 4:11 rear turns at 60 mph, but don't think I'd enjoy it. Just my humble opinion.

Never run either of those diffs, but can tell you I'm running one car with a 3:54 diff in an L28 with a 240Z crank and rods and at 60 mph on the highway, I'm turning 3000 rpm's .......not good for long term cruising. I would err on the 3.90 side IMO.

No, just smooth the surface until the paint is dull......if the paint is still on, there's no need to use any primer......just spray over the old paint....simple as that.

If it were me, I would sand it smooth with 400 grit sand paper......just to clean it up and break the surface. Go ahead and sand off or remove the red sticker. Mask it off and shoot it with a quality gloss or semi gloss black enamel.....light coats till fully covered. Then, order a brand new red sticker from Mike at Banzai Motors......it'll look like brand new!

Low mileage garage find......8,000 original miles .........rare Safari Gold....always garaged!

You also are aware that Miss Hungary for Orange gets her stuff for free......Mike is no dummy!

Also,If you are a fairly regular customer, and a quick payer, Mike will ship the same day and mail the invoice with the parts.....you can then mail him the check.

Thanks Steve.......They are easy to restore......get some steel wool, a can of good quality spray paint in Chevy Orange, good primer and a lot of quality masking tape, and of course some quality stickers from Mike! He has all the other stickers needed to do radiators etc. etc.......and all those little details make a heck of a difference under the hood. You, Hardway, Motorman7 and many others on this forum can attest to that!

Another shot.....

Call Mike at Banzai Motors.....his stuff is the best!

My 1990 300ZX......no vacancy in a garage.

Patcon and Siteunseen.....you guys crack me up! I love my Gator....I mean really love it. The Canadians make a damned good Gator......I do use it for deer hunting....it goes anywhere!

Finally stopped.......

I'm a little late on this thread, but I'll throw in my two cents worth. Getting the dimples flat is the key. Then, I put a little sealant (and I mean a little) where the front and rear bearing caps meet the block.....especially where the rear seal sticks are.....that's it....no more sealant. Then, I like the cork (it conforms to any low or high spots).....keep the torque to factory specs and re torque to those specs every 2 or so weeks for a couple months. None of my five Z's leak a drop. I find the premium gasket that MSA sells is too hard to conform to the irregularities of a Z oil pan. IMHO

Charles....... 10 to 12 inches so far. The snow is like a blizzard as we speak.....expected to stop at 10 pm tonight. I was hoping we'd get through the winter snow -free. Are you guys getting any in S.C. ? Don't know how our Canuck friends get through their winters.....guess that they must be laughing at us!

Still snowing in Virginia.... IMG_0512.MOV

One thing to point out. If you plug the water outlet ( and I'm one that thinks you should) at the thermostat housing and on the other side of the block (close the carb water circuit), just remember one thing......until the thermostat opens, you have nowhere for water to circulate. This means that water is limited to circulating in the block only, trying to circulate through the radiator. The thermostat is a dam, waiting to open. If you get down on a cool engine before your thermostat opens, a high RPM water pump is pushing against resistance.....you can blow a freeze plug like a missile projectile ( ask me how I know this). Just be patient like you are supposed to......let your engine come to full temp with an open thermostat before any quick right foot jabs!

Sleepy Time.......at least till April.

I'm with you moelk .......my guess is that Stephen will end up painting it the same color as the car......just my intuition.

Sarah. Hope the best for you and your friend. Guy