jfa.series1

Jeff, Thanks for the tip. Yes, all were replaced at the same time. I'll attack it piecemeal with the T/C bushings first as you suggest. Jim

Mother often said "Be careful what you ask for... you may just get it.". Agreed, poly bushings do a much better job of holding the rack tightly in place. With that comes a significant loss of compliance in absorbing minor road bumps. I installed poly rack bushings and the steering rod coupler in my rebuild (poly also in the T/C rods, Delrin/aluminum camber adjustment in the LCA). Every road bump is now transmitted directly to the steering wheel, sometimes with some unwanted snap. If I can locate rubber rack bushings, I plan to go back to OE style mounts to reduce harshness. For a car that is tracked, A/X'd, or similar events, poly is probably the way to go. My ride is strictly for weekend cruising and some shows, a more forgiving steering feel will be just fine. As Carl says, FWIW. Jim

If they do not adequately "plump up" to push out the wrinkles, consider adding some high density unholstery foam available from hobby stores, craft stores, ...etc.. This is a pic of 1/2" foam I added to the bolster areas and around the skirts. I was reusing my original seat foams since there was no deterioration in them. Jim

Well... we all know it is a bit damp up in the NW but this seems excessive.

Here is my tush with a shaved skinny bumper in body color. The same for the front bumper - I was looking to strengthen the horizontal lines across front and rear. The BRE Spook and spoiler bulk up the look a bit. Jim

Have patience. Look at other current threads, you will see similar view vs. reply rates. Not everyone looking at a thread has experience with your topic. You can always use the search function to get a look at old threads related to weatherstrip.

Yes. The BD pieces are typically made by PRP. BD's customer service is not set up to answer product questions, they are focused on ordering merchandise.

I bought the Beck-Arnley 1515725 from RockAuto for $40.79 in Nov., 2010, it is a Kyosandenski unit. They are now listing only the Airtex and Carter units for my car.

Like Bruce said, not too many kits around so may have your best results by building it yourself from multiple sources. The folks at Vintage Rubber are advertising two kits, they are anything but cheap. If you decide to order, I suggest you check in advance to see if all parts are available. The VR products are excellent, they have cured most or all of the fitment issues you get with some other products. Most of the aftermarket items are made by Precision Rubber Products (PRP) and are generally good products. The most troubling fit areas with PRP are the big gaskets for doors, windshield, rear hatch. Genuine Nissan gaskets are also available for these areas, try Courtesy Nissan for help. They know the old cars very well and provide excellent service (a lot of international shipping). http://www.vintagerubber.com/ http://www.courtesyparts.com/ Be cautious with going with all poly bushings. You will get a very hard and potentially noisy ride if you move away from rubber bushings. I know - I did this and will begin the switch back to rubber in the near future. Hope this helps. Jim

My 12/70 car had a only a jute pad between the metal body and the carpet (looped). The carpet did have velcro at the rear corners with corresponding velcro on the metal body to keep the carpet corners secured. Hope this helps. Jim

I damaged the visible threads on a stud in the re-assembly process and a pro showed me a good trick to help break loose the damaged stud: he gave it a couple of good whacks with a hammer to break it loose internally before attempting to unscrew it. It came right out! Jim

Lee, thanks for the additional comments - they help to clarify things. I really like your silver/red theme, red seats will make a significant impact. The means the "deal" stock seats aren't intended for the car anyway. Excellent rationale on the bumpers and lights and it suggests these items are not all that important to your vision for the overall results (letting us into your head a bit more). Since the items are important to someone else, you get to free up a bit of liquidity for your own personalizations. I'm in your camp on nostalgic/classic - keep working to make it YOUR car; my few resto mods also took me away from purist. Jim

I suspect there were many things about your new car that attracted you to it, beyond the LS1 conversion. Those would probably include the unique appearance items you identify. Ask yourself if you will still be as satisfied with your car if it substantially reverts to a stock appearance. We already know it is not about the money - so I think this is a question only you can answer. Jim

At our monthly Z Club of Texas meeting this week, "Mad Mike" Taylor specifically commented on Mr. K. He continues to do well, still retains his driver's license and is unhappy because his 98-year old wife will no longer allow him to drive (he does have very bad knees). Mike talks to him on a regular basis. Jim

I think this is a variation on the very old "water injection" scam claiming that water can be broken down by a "patented and revolutionary device" into its hydrogen and oxygen elements to aid the combustion process and provide massive increases in mpg. Pure hoakum!!! Jim

No can do! I am right there with you. At one time MSA offered a cover for the new box but it is NLA. I am not aware of anyone else fabbing a cover for this item. Jim

Chase - I had a similar problem with my OE antenna after the resto. I found that the thick nylon cable had broken near the core mounting point. So... it would extend but not retract. Open up the cable housing and check for a break. There are posts on the forum for repairs, some have used string trimmer materials about 0.080" thick if I recall correctly. Hope this helps. Jim

You don't specify year model, but I picked off a P/N from the online catalog and got a hit with Courtesy Parts - US$8.52. It is called a joint tube (no joke). Jim

Agreed, looks like a deal, lots of stuff in their store. If you pull the trigger, you owe us all a comprehensive report back. Jim

Hah - "opinions are like belly buttons, everybody has one". Ultimately everything boils down to money and how you want to spend it. Off the top, neither car really qualifies for potential "collector" status so that actually takes some load off of you. So... now you are into fun and enjoyability investment. As to the "clean" car, you state it is not the safest feeling but don't say why. Did the collision cause any serious unibody/frame bends that compromise handling or safety integrity? If not and it is the cleaner car cosmetically, this is probably the ideal candidate for the turbo motor and some additional cosmetic work like a replacement hatch. As to the "rusty" car, do hold onto the original motor but build yourself a very realistic budget of what it might take to put the car back to good and safe condition BEFORE you undertake the project. Doing the labor yourself will help hold down costs. Even if you value your labor at $0, there is a strong likelihood you will never recover your investment when it comes time to sell the car. Matching numbers will always mean something to a lot of buyers, so stay true if you can. So... there you have a brief opinion and it is worth exactly what you paid for it. Good luck and always consider yourself a man of good fortune to have two Z cars that you can drive on a regular basis. Jim

If using the MSA kit muffler, here is a fitment tip: center port input, offset port output. Tilt it about 30 degrees into the fender cavity at the top. Get ready for a lot of Symphony In Straight Six! Jim

You can also get some adjustment with the bolts that attach the hinges to the body, same caution as above. Jim

VERY pretty car!!! Striking color and wheels you don't see everyday. Have fun. Jim

I took my car to its first Cars & Coffee meet, have a nice new showboard to explain its history and the work done on it. Jim