Patcon

If I didn't already have a gallon of Nason black, I might look at the Eastwood products but I am a little sour on them from a couple of other products I bought and their lack of customer service. I have a DuPont flattening agent and have cut the catalyst as recommended by the Jobber at the paint store. I am 8 paint : 1/2 catalyst (1 normal) : 1 1/2 flattener with no reducer. That makes the flattener like 15% I think, but doesn't cut the sheen very much. I can still see my reflection in the parts. I would like to get a little closer to the factory sheen because I think it makes the car look a little more classic. Could be obsessive though... Was hoping someone could get me a little closer on the percentages so I don't have to make 10 test panels. Charles

Still working on getting the sheen right on the suspension parts. Any help... Charles

No plates on the front of our cars in SC. At least no DOT plates C

Oh well. I am sure it will be nice to get it done... C

I was doing a little parts sorting in the shop today and came across a fuel pump assembly out of a 76 280z. If it would help let me know and I will post a picture to confirm its the right item and test the pump to confirm it runs. It could be had for postage... Charles

Love it. I like a great Bimmer. Do you have any 0-60 or 1/4 mile times. I would love to know. I like a great sleeper about as much as anything. That project took a lot of time and money. Especially the go fast parts. How fast do you want to spend? Charles

Won't be able to spin it very fast with those oil cans but just think of the TORQUE. Although there may be some other technical issues... C

At the end of the rocker panels there are two nuts welded inside the rocker to receive the bolts thru the lower edge of the fender. Many times those bolts are rusted up tight and I have actually broken the nuts loose from the welds inside the rocker panel trying to unbolt the fenders. I don't know if I have a good solution for you though... Charles

That is a very good idea. I like it, very clever... C

I wouldn't cut any of that out unless it is starting to get pinholes in it from rust. Clean it up so you can see what you've got. Treat the rust and seal it down. Assemble and drive. Most of that looks very minor compared to the early Z cars and many of them still get driven.

I think the hammer and dolly set I am using is a Harbor Freight $30 or Northern tool would also have reasonable tools. You really need the dolly to roll the metal around it and prevent stretching. You can hammer right against the dolly to flatten and hammer "off dolly" to shape. We have about the same weather as you; its like living in Seattle recently... C

Looking forward to it C

Double post

He does beautiful work. I have all the more appreciation for it after having done some of that myself. Charles

How do I add that as a picture and not a link? C

Added this as a reference, am leaning towards this layout 432R is beautiful; but - Classic Zcar Club Photo Gallery

The reality is that a Ford car probably has a Mazda transmission along with a lot of other foreign parts. The platform for the car was probably developed with another auto maker and many products that say "Made in USA" have parts that were produced overseas. There was a study a while back and I believe it was Toyota that had the claim to the most American made car from their domestic plant because they had the highest percentage of parts made in America. Even if you buy from a domestic company it may not be owned by Americans so the money could end up off shore anyway. It is very hard to know because companies don't advertise this sort of information. Like Walter said many products are not even produced in the US any more. Many dirty manufacturing processes have gone over seas because the EPA, OSHA and DEHC have higher compliance costs than China which has a horrible history as an industrial polluter. It is the reality of the today, give it 20 years and it will change again. Nothing is static... Charles

Have you had trouble shaping the floors with a body hammer and dolly? We have the same floors but I didn't find it overly hard... It is kind of loud though. Remember more lighter blows is better than fewer heavier blows. I have never used heat to shape panels like that. C

Did you prime yet? Where are you at with your paint? Pictures? C

Thanks, Jim That picture was exactly what I was looking for. The black is only on one side of the radiator support, correct? I had thought about keeping the wheel wells black because I thought they might look better than "dirty yellow". I don't know? C

I about have the Z ready to paint. The car color will be "Lemon Ice" which is a very bright yellow. I was going to paint the under side of the car black and the wheel wells black. I was also planning on blacking out behind the grill. My question is where do I paint yellow and where do I stop the yellow. Do I paint the whole front clip yellow and just black out the wheel wells and the radiator support? Do I paint the underside of the front rails black instead. What would you paint yellow on the inside? All of it? Some of it? None of it? I plan on using a lot of sound mat so I don't know what makes the most sense. Every thing will be epoxied primed to get started... Thanks, Charles

What was the answer to Beerman's ???'s how much ? how often? If your rear drums are dry and your pads are not very thin. then I would suspect the booster. The master cylinder can be pulled away from the booster. If the end of the master cylinder is corroded it has probably been leaking. The only way other way to check is to open up the booster or take it off the car and see if any brake fluid will drain out the vacuum port. C

$6 not a bad price C

Do you prefer one car over the other? Do you drive them both or just one or almost none at all? As I get older I look at all the Z's I have and feel like I will not have the energy or free cash to keep them all road worthy and put miles on them. I think as time goes on I will reduce my fleet to what I am willing to keep up with. Charles

I was looking trying to find out what well restored cars go for. I am all for the cars going for good money. I have seen very few sell in that price range recently, 5 years ago many car makes were higher but many have since retraced a lot of that.