Marty Rogan

I still have a tan cap and a T-shirt.

Oddly enough I don't have a full on picture of the driver's door. the attached pic at least shows a part of the door. Its just starting spring here and I still have the car in storage, so I can't get a better picture right now. Below are instructions that I followed many years ago to apply the SEM to a new black door panel. It has held up extreemly well I can't recall who gave me the instructions, so apologies for not being able to give credit where due. Marty Painting the vinyl and plastic in a Z is easy. There are 2 sources for the dye. If you don't have a paint gun, find SEM vinyl dye at a good paint store. SEM is the only way to go, and I have never found another product that works as well or lasts so long. It also looks totally natural. They have Satin Black for your 240Z, and Napa Red for your red 240Z. They have ZX colors, too. Please do not even consider any other brand. Been there, done that. In my experience, there is no other brand that has the correct gloss, durability, and chemical composition to bond to the vinyl. SEM is about $7/can. I use 4-6 for an entire interior on a 240Z. If you have a paint gun (door jamb gun is good, HVLP jamb gun even better). Dupont has vinyl dye that is comperable to SEM. It is about $20/quart. Does one car. Preparation is everything! Here's my process: 1. Remove seats and carpet 2. Use a couple of rolls of paper towels to clean all the vinyl/plastic (VP) with a water based cleaner (soap/water, ammonia, Mr Clean, Mrs Pineoil, ect). Let dry 3. Wet wipe the surfaces with lacquer thinner. Not Enamel or poly thinner, just cheap lacquer thinner. Wipe and scrub and scrub. You will notice the VP getting soft. Stop before you ruin the grain pattern. 4. Now shake your paint can. If using the Dupont, it is ready to spray. Mask off all the unpaint items. I use Big Gulp bottoms taped to the gauges. 5. Rewipe the surfaces quickly with a very wet paper towel, and start fogging on the dye. It is very thin. You may end up with 5-12 coats to get good heavy coverage. Let dry, and you are done. Note: DO NOT PAINT THE SEATS. IT WILL RUBv OFF EVENTUALLY ON YOUR 501'S. The Napa red is a precise match for the Datsun red interior. Even a patch of paint will blend in to the existing panel. The theory behind the lacquer is that it chemically softens the VP. When you apply the dye, it soaks in and grabs the substrate. Dupont also has texture paint to redue the texture for Ford Bronco tops. It so happens to look like vinyl when it is dry. I use it to redue the sill plates... It also works for roll bars to spiff them up. The stuff is bulletproof when dry. It does not match the Datsun sillplate vinyl exactally, but it is a lot easier than trying to recover that rusty piece with contact cement and vinyl. This paint has to be applied with a non-HVLP gun (your normal old fashioned gun is not HVLP). It's the pressure that makes the spiderwebs as it comes out, which then coagulate into the vinyl texture. This coating can then be recoated with black semi-gloss vinyl dye.

Glad to see Gary is doing well and still playing with Z's. We have not heard from you in a long time either. what are you up to KMack? Marty

Hi Gav, I have had excellent results using SEM dye. I needed a blue drivers door card and could only get black. I had an auto paint shop custom match the SEM to my new passenger side door card. After the SEM, you can't really tell which one was dyed. I can send you some instructions if you need them. Marty

There is a cool video on YouTube, where Tom Cotter of Barn Find Hunter reveals this car and the Cobra that is mentioned in the article. Check it out here: Marty

Congrats Ben, that car looks fantastic! Marty

That is pretty awesome. So, if Trevor got a 240Z for Christmas, what did your daughter get??

The 5th picture down is the infield at RA at the bottom of turn 5. I was there with my first '73Z a couple of times. Marty

That could be turn 8 at RA, but you can't see enough of it to be sure.

I bought one for my track Z. The fit was perfect. I did have a manufacturing defect with mine, where it leaked in one of the corners of the casting. He replaced it without a hassle and the replacement has been great ever since. I highly recommend it. Marty

Glad to see someone is coming out with this. I don't do Facebook, and the pictures are not close enough to tell. Which year are these modeled after? Marty

Thanks for the picture. It give me a much better idea of what it is supposed to look like without an engine on it.

The HF dolly looks like the way to go. It will cut down on the time to source and attach wheels. And I have some scrap 2x4 in the garage already.

That looks like it would do the trick. And probably less expensive than buying a commercially built one. Thanks!

Does anybody make an engine cradle for the Z engine? I have an L28 that I am going to need to move to a new house in a few weeks. I have it on an engine stand right now, but I figured that is not a good way to move it. Thanks for any suggestions you might have. Marty

Is there an Optima battery that is an exact fit in a 240Z??

I had the hood and battery door open the whole time I was charging it. Only closed it to start the car. Could gases build up that fast?

Well, its about that time of year to put the Z away for the winter. It has been sitting in the garage for a couple of weeks and it is around 40 here today. Turned the key and got nothing. I am not too surprised since the battery is pretty old and its cold this morning. No big deal, right? So I put it on the battery charger for 2 hours. When I turned the key to try it, I immediately heard a really loud pop and vapors came out from under the hood. I was really shocked to see that my battery had exploded!! Not only did it blow the cap off, it blew a big chunk out of the top and broke out one whole corner of the top portion. The explosion was so powerful, that it put a bend in the battery hold down frame. Luckily, had the battery access door closed at the time and the acid only hit the underside of the access door, instead of spraying all over my paint. Anyone have an idea of what would cause the battery to explode? I have never had this happen before. Marty

Congrats! Looks like a nice big space. Seems tall enough to put a lift in too. How many cars can you fit in there? That is the dream I hope to realize in the next couple of years. Marty

This last post reminds me that I have an ECU out of an '83 ZX, with a 5 spd if anyone wants it. Marty

The guy that owned the Green Hornet was selling it??!! I am shocked!! By the way he tells the story, it sounded like a life-long passion. Why in the world would he sell it. I suppose a life tragedy could give you a reason though. I have watched that video many times. I have often thought that it would be the ultimate Z Car for me. Driving that car on track would be such fun. Duplicating it would be really costly, I am sure. It still inspires me to build another track Z.

I am to hear that your race weekend went well. These cars are a total blast to drive on track. they feel very at home there.

Hey, it is your car, do what you like best. But if you are looking for opinions, I agree with the Captain on Type 1.

Congrats! Hopefully it runs as good as it looks. Marty

That unit looks pretty nice. It looks really big though. will it fit in the dash of a Z Car??