Patcon

Just remember media blasting works best with the car totally stripped, and the media gets in every little nook and cranny. If you strip the car down and do your work and the car is staying inside you don't need to rattle can. I use Eastwood after blast and the car doesn't rust if it stays dry. If you are gonna drive it you will need to keep the metal coated. Also remember a bad media blasting job will ruin a Z, the metal is very thin!

Blue, Are you in Fiji? My son will be going there for some missionary training soon

Also if it's in the floors, I would be surprised if you don't find some elsewhere. Doglegs, under the battery, wheel arches, inside the rear wheel archs on the front side behind the doglegs, behind the gusset plates on the front frame rails. Look for paint bubbles. If there is a paint bubble, then there is a hole from the back side of the panel.

Auto body painters are at risk of inhaling isocyanates, which include two-part coatings, paints and paint pigments that use a hardener in combination with a catalyst. Sprayed airborne paint chemicals include chromium, cadmium and lead. Primer and sealer paints contain aliphatic isocyanates and ethyl acetate. Clear coat paints contain toluene, petroleum naphtha and mixed dibasic esters. Metal cleaning and body trim work contains epoxy resins, methylene chloride, styrene and adhesive fumes. All of these airborne chemicals can cause respiratory inflammation or disease, as well as skin rashes and inflammations, allergic reactions, nerve and brain damage, nausea, organ failure, headache and vomiting. Read more : http://www.ehow.com/info_12171111_health-risks-associated-auto-body-painting-materials.html The solvents are explosive so be careful with fans, water heaters and other flame sources. The bigger risk in my opinion are the carcinogens and toxic chemicals. I have done a good bit of body work over the years and I have made my self sick more than once. Respirators help, but a fresh air system is better. Also remember many of the chemicals are absorbed through the skin. Wear gloves and a tyveck suit. That will also help with dust in your paint. I went epoxy instead of self etching. I believe the epoxy is tougher and more rust resistant. Most of the auto restorers I have researched use epoxy on their bare metal. Then buildable primer from there. I am older and my kids are getting grown. You appear to be a young man so you should be even more cautious. You need to stay healthy longer than me.

Chas, Are you gonna put the front signals back in the grill where the bars are shorter? I wanted to do a grill similar to this when I put the airdam on the car I am working on. The factory grill doesn't fill the whole area up when you add the airdam.

If you have rust on the car there is no good way to avoid cutting and welding. I am not talking about the surface rust on the rear quarter, that can be sanded, converted and primed. I use epoxy primer on my projects. It's good stuff, tough and waterproof but you need to be careful with commercial paints. They can be very dangerous!!

The frame rails up front run from part way under the floor boards up to the front of the car. They tend to rust from the inside out or around the gusset plates behind the struts. They didn't seal these areas really well so water gets between the layers of metal and rusts it out. The true factory front rails are basically NLA. You might find some but they will be quite pricey. The "Bad Dog" rails deal with the biggest problem which is the reinforcement of the firewall section of the front frame rails. The Bad Dog rails also go to the back of the floor pans and tie to rear frame section. It is a nice product. Look at Careless's thread. He installed those rails on the project he is working on. I don't know how much shock tower braces stiffen the car but they have to help just because they limit movement of the towers.

Buying a car with no title makes me nervous. There are title companies you can get a title from but if the car shows up stolen you are out of luck and out of a car

Just looking through some of the old Z registries, I would say that is #00854 by the build date. That is probably why they imported it. That's a car I would try to save if possible and it were mine...

It sounded like the fuel pump kept running? No connection to the oil pressure I assume? Would like to see what the car looks like from the outside. Especially after the launch over the hill.

Yes. I used a short nipple and added a brass tee between the sender and the block. Turned the tee up and used a piece of copper tubing to feed to the back of the gauge. I will try to post a picture at some point.

I have 2 l28et's here in my shop, if I ever get around to trying this swap I will not be using the stock EFI. I will go Megasquirt and spend several years sorting it out, but that is standard operating procedure for me.

Very nice work!

I have the found the gauges to be just short of idiot lights. The one on my 73 was reading very low (close to zero) so I piped a gauge in at the oil port on the side of the engine 30 psi at idle and almost 60 when revved up.

Lowered to me would mean the rockers are closer to the ground versus the stock 6 inches or so. A larger wheel will fill the wheel arch even if the chassis is no closer to the ground.

Site, Ouch!!!

There are a lot of considerations for going L28ET. Fuel tank? Fuel line size from the 240z tank? Find a 280z Tank? Fuel pump? ECU and harness? Is the donor engine and turbo good? Its not a plug and play deal! I can tell you there are always unintended repercussions from getting off the beaten path. Been there, done that. It will be cheaper by far to get what you have running and go from there. From someone who hasn't driving a Z regularly in 20 years or so. Get it running and enjoy it, don't try to "reinvent the wheel".

I quit riding when I had little kids. My wife didn't like being left behind and both of us riding seemed foolish for our kids. I don't enjoy it any more. I've been hit too many times and too many close calls. I hope you enjoy the car...

Bondo is not gonna add any strength!!!! Fiberglass maybe, but not much. The real strength in the roof comes from the perimeter frame not the roof skin.

That was the point of my question. If the details of the application are the problem, contact Dave directly and see if he will make one correct for your application. I think he has done this in the past if you supply the connectors...

Red7 That's a great looking car!

My thoughts on the registration went like this. It was my understanding the rooms were $20 cheaper a night with the registration, for me that's $40. Then the meal at the banquet is what $20 or more. Then the shuttle another $20 or so, allows me to not worry about transportation or whether I can drink or not. Then that really cool T-shirt. So that was about $80 plus the shirt plus any other perks I don't know about. Also I look at it this way the registration goes to furthering these events and making them possible in the future and I am ok investing in that.

Why do you not want the MSA unit?

CO I am still unsure. If we go it will only be for Fri and Sat and yes we will be Z-less. The car I have been working on and is almost running is too far from being trip ready to get done in time. I am self employed and have picked up a ton of work in the last two weeks and will be wide open during that time. It may be hard to get away but the break might be welcome. I would like to meet y'all in person and this is pretty close to me. It looks like the block of rooms will only be held until June 19th so I will shoot for that as a final decision day. I am unsure about registering, money is tight but the shuttle to downtown and the meals might make up for the costs. Don't know how much not registering will restrict access to things...

I have a very similar philosophy. I like some of the modifications people do to Z cars. I think a well done RB26 is really cool and can make incredible power but I like to see those cars built out of less desirable cars or cars that need significant repairs or have already lost their drivetrains. The better well preserved cars and the lower number cars should remain original or bolt-on mods only. Of course this is only my opinion and everyone tends to have one...