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Carl, Very well written post. As you point out, UV is the real culprit, followed by thermal stress. Can't do much about thermal stress if you use the car. I used armor all on my previous daily driver 240Z dashes. I covered the dashes with a sewn cover when parked in the sun. Cover was made with black cloth and an underlinging of black-out "curtain" cloth. Had both cars almost 9 years and neverhad a crack. My white 1971's dash was still good even after it was totaled in 1998 by the moron who hit it while parked.

Rebello is doing a similar upgrade to my L24 right now. I don't plan to have the car running before September (at the earliest), but I'll let you gus know what I think. I expect I will be pleased with the result.

Are you sure it's the bearings? Check the steering arms, ball joints, etc.

Very Nice!

It does'nt look like we will gather enough parts to reduce the price. I'm at work and don't have Zedsaver's link on my work computer. Perhaps someone else can post it. Otherwise contact http://www.mmmetalizing.com/pricing.html

Not a U.S. Navy sailor, but I do "sail". Currently have a 25 year old sailboat and have sailed most of my adult life on San Francisco bay and coast. Even been dis-masted once. Boat maintenance has been lacking since I started resto work on the Z. Late this fall and early next spring I'll pay for that with lots of sweaty work for having ignored her...

Does anyone know if there is a "correct" location for the cast aluminum racing mirrors on the doors? I need to tell the body shop where to drill the holes. It looks, (to me), like the front of the mount should be between 2-1/2" to 3" back from the forward edge of the door, at the centerline of the mirror base. Was there any specified "correct" location? Thanks!

Nice!

My Z's not done yet, so not displying at Z shows. Before I sold my MGA, I would display it at the Palo Alto British Car meet. I'd register as soon as I got the invite. Never "competed" though, just put her on display. Most of the winners had almost as much money in their paint job as I had invested in the whole car... Will probably do the same with my Z. This weekend I plan to attend the Hillsbourgh Concours de Elegance. Lot's of very cool, expensive classic cars.

Mike, On the few parts I've seen where this process was used the plastic surface was damaged. Perhaps it was the quality of workmanship as opposed to the process. Either way, I'm kinda like a crow. I like shiny things...

Mike, I'm not surprised at the loss of detail. It's almost impossible to remove the old chrome, (unlike metal parts), so some build-up is to be expected. I think I'm willing to trade that loss of detail in the flat black middle section for shiny, unpitted chrome.

Opps! Forgot to mention he is also selling a stock c-fibre air box...

Jim, I agree with all your points. The point of my post was that many of the "rice" c-fibre parts being sold are actually heavier than thier sheetmetal counterparts, unlike the race quality parts you reference. Many after-market hoods are a good example of this.

Aside from asthetics, I question whether it does any good. Is it lighter than the stock air box? My guess is it's probaly heavier...

Just an FYI. Placed ads in classified sections for red interior parts for both sale & trade.

The problem, (as I understand it), is not that the frame rail box structures aren't strong enough, but that the spot welds holding them together are too far apart. Stress causes the them to flex and the metal distorts around welds. This flexure eventually breaks the welds and the frame rail fails. I'm having my body guy stitch weld the frame rails. Did this on my previous 240Z and had no problems. Of course, I'm talking a street car here. On a highly stressed auto-cross or track car, I'b beef-up the structure as described in KTM's post above.

Those look nice! Based on responses here so far, it's looking like we won't get the volume of parts required to get a price break. My guess is we'd need 20 parts to get a reasonably discounted price. Perhaps that will change after people see Zedsaver's parts at the show. Two of my trim pieces can be polished up acceptably, (though not as good as new chrome). If we don't get enough interest, I'll just polish-up my best set and get the other set electroplated.

Ok, I'll weigh in. I don't like more rules and regulations, but.... If everyone was responsiblem and acted with commmon sense, you wouldn't need them. However, the reality is that without regulations, you'd have bozos trying to use their old football helmet for autocross. Maybe my example is a bit extreme, but it illustrates my point. The argument that "it's my life and I can do what I want" does'nt hold water. Even if you have no freinds and loved ones affected by your being injured or killed, it can have an effect on others around you. A few injuries / incidents and club autocross's could be outlawed in some areas. Regarding old helmets, plastic composite materials do loose strength and flexibility with age and use. On top of that, technology get better, providing better protection. A word from someone who has suffered head trauma in the past. I'd rather spend a few bucks every few years than take additional chances with my noggin. Medical science still can't transplant heads and brains. Just my 2 cents.

Just got an e-mail from that vendor today. They estimated about $75 to $100 per piece. That sounds about the same as Zedsaver. I'm still thinking we can probably get better pricing with a larger piece order.

Yes, that's the part I'm talking about. Since they were origninally chrome-electroplated, that's the only good way to re-do them and expect the the chrome finish to last. Zedsavers quoted me $300 to do my 4 pieces. I found one other vendor who has a minimum charge of $250. I still need to talk with one more vendor, but expect their pricing to be similar. My expectation is that all the vendors will add incremental cost for additional pieces, but we should be able to reduce our individual cost if we have more parts in a "batch" order. I have not physically seen the quality of plating other than on the web, but I will insist on good quality for that kind of money. I read somewhere here on forum that Zedsaver's work looked good.

I'd buy it if I did not already have one...

Sounds like a steal. Worth way more than that if they have any half-decent parts. Too bad I have nowhere to store them...

I meant to say "if several of us do them at the same time"... Sometimes my brain moves faster than my typing fingers.

Anyone interested in splitting the cost of electro-plating tail-light trim pieces? I'm looking at vendors now. So far it looks like there is about a $250 minimum charge. Please let me know if you know of a good vendor. I'm thinking that if several of us do them at the same, we can get them done at a reasonable cost for everyone involved. I have two sets to do, (4 pieces), and I'm willing to organize things unless someone else would prefer to do it.

Looks like there are quite a few of us in the paint stage. What color will it be? Good luck with your paint job!