motorman7

Just for reference, anyone planning on tapping the holes out to install the original air galley should use the ¼”-19 BSPP tap. The BSPT will not go deep enough to allow you to start the threaded fittings of the air galley. Unfortunately, I ordered the BSPT tap and the fittings will not start into the holes. Got out my calipers and found that about half way up the tap, the thread max OD is 0.537”. The air galley fittings are 0.542” OD and will not thread into the smaller diamter. The upper portion of the tap is 0.545”, so that part will work. I will take a die grinder to the tap this afternoon and cut-off the lower, smaller diameter portion of the tap. This should make it possible to tap the hole to the right diameter, instead of popping another $20 for the BSPP tap. The tap can be purchased from McMaster-Carr as discussed earlier here.

Installed the Eibach springs on my Yellow Z last weekend. I had been running the stock springs with the Tokico 5 way adjustables. The stock 40 year old springs were getting pretty weak and the rear was sagging more and more. Guess that happens with age  . I even went so far as to cut 1.5 coils off the front stock springs just to get the car level. Anyway, I am very happy with the Eibach springs. I did cut off one coil on the front Eibach springs to get the car level. I can slide my hand in between the top of the tire and the fender well. Both front and rear have the same amount of clearance. I will post pictures once I get a chance to take a decent photo. I am running 16 X 7 Offset Panasports and 205/60/16 Yokohama 520’s. The best part of the springs is that my steering wheel shimmy is gone when driving at freeway speeds. My steering wheel used to oscillate back and forth about .5 inches between 50 and 70 MPH. I thought it was wheel bearings or alignment. Had the car aligned and no difference. Now with the Eibachs, the steering wheel shimmy is gone. A very pleasant surprise. Now I need to see if the rear end vibration at 100 MPH is gone. Haven’t had a chance to take the car to that speed yet, but I am hoping the springs were the problem. Will post again here once I get pics and 100MPH data. Rich

I love the color and the motor. Need to get one of those motors for my yellow Z. Thanks for posting the pics.

I do think the outside temp and humidity effect the final product. There are days when things plate perfectly, and others where you really have to work at it and re-do the parts. Weather is my only guess. It wouldn't hurt to filter your plating tank. I just take an old dress shirt and pour the liquid from one 5 gallon bucket into another using the shirt material as a filter.

You're question is a bit of a challenge as there are a number of steps in the process, especially after the zinc plate. I have run into what you are mentioning but changing my procedure has helped. I will detail what I am currently doing and what works best for me, and maybe that will help. Currently I am doing the heated acid bath for 15 minutes or less, then the electro-zinc plating for about 15 minutes. I am guessing you are probably doing this. For the brightener, I put in one teaspoon about every 3 or 4 batches - as needed to get the brightness I am looking for. Once I am zinced, I use a spray bottle with RO water to clean/rinse the part, then I dip into blue chromate for about 30-40 seconds. You may not be using the blue chromate, but it gives you the nice rainbow effect on the parts plus helps the yellow to stick. Immediately after the blue chromate, I dip the parts into the yellow chromate for about 2 minutes till I get the right shade of 'gold', then I rinse in a bucket of very hot tap water, then light air dry from the compressor (10 -15 psi). The very hot tap water is key. I think if you rinse with cold water it effects the yellow plating. This is what I was running into. Also, I make sure my yellow chromate is heated to about 90 degrees F. This seems to help a lot. Also, regarding the quick rusting, sounds like you are not getting enough zinc on the parts. I'd crank up the Amps a bit or increase plating time. Hope that helps. Rich

Hi Cam, Congrats on the new car! Does that make 3 now? I don't have a turbo, but keep thinking about it. I keep waffling between the turbo or the LS motor for my yellow Z eventually. Of course I have to finish the roadster first and that may take a while. Too many projects. Unfortunately, my job keeps interfering wih my hobby. Have fun with the new car, Rich

Thanks Cozye, that's gorgeous!

Thanks for all the pics Steve, they look awesome! Special request - Can you get a picture of the motor in that Safari gold Series 1 with the hubcaps for me? Will be going home now to make sure mine is still in the garage

Link work great! Who's car is File007 and File0079. That car looks exactly like mine and I'm not there :-|

Living in SoCal, I don't even comprehend cold weather :-)

I agree with you on the well over 60+. I think crash tests and horsepower are a bit overrated here in the US. Personally, I have just decided not to crash , so no need to beef up the car weight with all that safety stuff. As for horsepower, I was very content with my little Datsun roadster's 94 hp back in the '70's when I was a teen. It's plenty of horsepower today to get me where I need to go. No need for 300 Hp in that baby. Of course Motor Trend, Car & Driver, and Road and Track magazines wouldn't like it, but they don't pay my gas bill. Anyway, just cool to see a lightweight turbo diesel out there. I'm all for it.

A Diesel in the series 1 sounds like a great idea. I for one would like to see Detroit produce a high mileage Econo car that weighs about 2000 pounds and has a 1 liter turbo diesel with 6 speed for a drive train. I'm betting you could get 60 MPG with that.

Wow, your fast! Brake lines look super as does the rest. At the rate your going, you'll have it on the road tomorrow.

That's a steal for $200, I'm jealous. I would love to buy more Z's, but I'm out of room :-|

Thanks Bob! The great thing about a 240Z at a Concours is that most people recognize what they are, and it seems almost everybody has owned one at one time or another. It makes for great conversations. I'm trying to venture out here and not attend just the Japanese or Datsun car shows. The Concours are very well run shows which makes for a nice event. Those with nice restorations could easily attend these events. This exposure for the Z is good and can only help over time.

Those pics just look incredible. The paint and every thing else just looks great. I will nit pick a bit, but you probably have this covered already. Brakelines? Hard to tell from the pics, but they look to have the 40 year old patina on them . I cleaned mine lightly with scotch bright and the then put a coat of that clear high temp enamel on them. Not perfect, but they look decent for brake lines. Ideally I should have had them re-zinced but did not want to go to that extreme. Keep up the good work. That car just looks beautiful. Rich

Z coverage in Automotive Traveler magazine . Car is on page 24 of the online picture magazine. http://www.automotivetraveler.com/magazine/viewer.php?path=2011/06/2011_Dana_Point_Concours Those hubcaps look great in the photo. If Guy sees these, he'll swap out his new Panasports for them .

Hi Jay, Congrats on Palos Verdes invite. I am not sure if they want my car as I have not received an invite yet. This does bring up an interesting subject though. For a Concours event, an un-restored car is truly an anomaly. Your 1972 and my 1970 fall into this category (and I still think my ’70 is better :-) ). Of the over 250 cars at the Dana Point Concours, I spotted only 3 that were not restored. None of these won awards except for the 1930’s Hudson that won the Survivor award. The winning cars at a Concours have flawless paint jobs, like new under carriages and perfect interiors. I really don’t think it’s possible for a 40 year old car that has been driven thousands of miles on the highway, or stored for long lengths of time (rubber deterioration) to compete with cars that are newly restored and trailered to these events. There are no points or bonuses given for the age of the car. In some cases, you don’t even get points for having the original parts. Either way, I have yet to see an un-restored car of any type place well at the Concours events I have been to. On the flip side, it makes no sense to restore such cars. In my opinion, it would cut the value of the car in half. So, the bottom line is that true Concours vehicles will be excellent restorations, like your white Z. As for the survivors in excellent condition, those will be honored in museums and by the true connoisseurs of our hobby/passion. I did get to speak with Barry Meguiar (of Meguiar car wax fame) –Honorary Judge at the Dana Point show. Like most people, he owned a 240Z and stopped to chat with me for a while. He loved my car. I joked that that I probably would not win the Meguiar's "Finish Fantastique" Award presented at the show with my ‘41 year old single stage amino alkyd enamel’. He agreed, but like most people said the paint and car should not be touched. This was the overwhelming response, even by the judges. Anyway, just thought I’d post my opinion. As I’ve said before, I’m getting old, so I’m becoming more opinionated. Also, below is a copy of an e-mail I sent to the hosts of the Dana Point Concours expressing my thanks. Hi Janet, I just wanted to send you and everyone responsible for the Dana Point Concours event a huge “THANK YOU”. This was by far the best car show I have ever attended. Every aspect of the show was very well done. The facilities were gorgeous, registration and pictures went very smooth, and show vehicle parking was very well coordinated. `The announcers were excellent and always kept the interest of my wife and I. They were very key players in keeping the show interesting and entertaining for everyone. Even my wife was very impressed and commented on how knowledgeable they were. She was also very impressed with the one announcers singing of the National Anthem. Since my wife in a concert flautist with a music degree, I trust here opinion on this. I also appreciate you allowing me to display my Japanese vehicle at the show, an original un-restored 1970 240Z (I am pretty sure it was the only Japanese car at the show ). My car was very well received by both the judges and the crowd. You also provided me a great location to display my car, at the very front of our display area. It was prime real estate. I say this only because the early Japanese imports are often an afterthought of most car shows or relegated to the far back of the display area. Again, thanks for the very special treatment. I could not be more satisfied. One more thing , the display placards for the car and promotional gifts were top notch. Thanks again for everything, Best regards, Rich Scharf ZCCIV President (Z Car Club of Inland Valley)

I'm going to borrow Jay's thread here for a post. This will give him something to look forward to at the Palos Verdes Concours. Maybe we should start a thread called Z's at Concours events. Anyway, thought I'd post some pics. Had a great show. I have to say this is the best car show I have ever been to. The car was well received and they gave me a primo parking spot. You had to walk by my Z to see the other cars in this section. Had a great time and a lot of great conversations. No awards, but that's OK. The competition was excellent. Enjoy the pics. Rich

Spent most of the day prepping my gold Z for the Dana Point Concours. I am entered in the "Sports Cars Postwar under 3 Liters to 1972" Class. We'll see how it goes. While prepping, looked at the passenger door and this is what I saw, so thought I would post it. Thought it looked cool. Rich

My comment probably doesn’t belong on this thread, but I thought this statement was interesting. Removing the hook because it “wasn’t supposed to be there” would open up quite a can of worms if someone was really serious about this concept. Does this line of thinking include the runs in the original paint? I am guessing those weren’t supposed to be there. And believe me they are all over the place: on the engine block, battery cover panel, lower valence, radiator support, etc. What about the overspray on the motor? Was that supposed to be there? And how about undercoating. Mine never came with it. Is undercoating “supposed to be there”? I am sure there is much more that I am overlooking on this subject. Personally, I think all of those original items that “weren’t supposed to be there” are what make the car VERY COOL. I wouldn’t remove any of them or change any of them for a judge or a show (Although, I have cleaned up some of the motor items out of personal preference- I’m questioning that decision now). I love the drips, the inspection marks, the overspray. It’s a nice contrast to today’s cookie cutter cars that all just kind of look the same. Anyway, as time goes on, I am drawn to these original and unique items of the car. It represents history and change. Just my opinion and not meant to offend anyone (Obviously I am getting old here). Peace out, Rich

If you are running the original sending unit, I believe that is very normal. Mine operates about the same on HLS30-02614. The oil pressure gauge seems to have a mind of its own.

If you are running the original sending unit, I believe that is very normal. Mine operates about the same on HLS30-02614. The oil pressure gauge seems to have a mind of its own.

Yes, the lean to the passenger side is correct. I made that mistake once, swapping the mounts to make the engine straight up and down. What clued me in was the smog pump could not be installed because it was too close to the drivers side sheet metal.

And what do those read?