Captain Obvious

Wow. $10.4K Woo Hoo!! Most of us must be sitting on a gold mines!!!

Well don't get me wrong, it certainly looks intriguing. It's just that the bidding looks like it's gonna hit $10K, which is a good price for an 18K car, but not necessarily an unrestored 118K car. I'm just wondering what it is about that one that everyone else is seeing that I'm not. I feel like I'm missing something important. I just would need to see it in person to value it that high. Maybe the people who are bidding HAVE seen it in person. Auction is going to close in two minutes. Guess I'll wait around to see what it goes for.

The odometer says under 18K, but what makes everyone so sure it hasn't turned over and is actually 118K? In light of the bids this thing is receiving, it's apparently just me, but someone would have to convince me that it hasn't turned over once. It's not original paint. It's a hood and hatch closed respray, so who knows what's hiding under the paint. Nobody (in their right mind) resprays a 18K car in that way. To me it looks like a resprayed car with 118K on the chassis and no pics of the underside. I mean, I'm all for the values going up, but call me skeptical.

OK, I think I understand where some of the confusion is coming from, and some of it was mine. That auction is for two leather pieces, not just one. One piece is to be glued onto the flip open lid, and the other piece is to be glued right onto the console itself. So even if you're not intending to use the lid skin (don't know if you even have a lid), you might still be able to use the other piece of leather to glue onto your 73 console, right? The question becomes... Is the shape of the 73 console the same as the 74 and later consoles, and would that skin designed for a 74 and later even fit on your 73 console? And unfortunately, I don't know the answer to that. I can point out, however, that the console they have pictured has been cut up and modified up near the radio area. There's supposed to be holes for the knob shafts and plastic bar that spans the two sides. Someone has removed a bunch of material from that console and I think that might make it look more similar to the older units.

Hmmm... Methinks there's some kind of confusion going on here, but I don't know where it starts. First off, make sure we all agree on exactly what that auction is for... That auction is for a piece of floppy leather fabric that you spread over and glue onto the flip open lid that already exists on your Z car console. That auction is not for a console. Nor is that auction for a lid. That auction is just fabric skin cover. So, if your car doesn't have a flip open lid on the console, that leather cover is useless to you. Next, I don't believe they started putting covers on the consoles until sometime into the 280 timeline (75 maybe?), so unless your car is already non-stock in that regard and you or a previous owner has already put a lid on your console, you'll need to do that first. And last, I don't even know if the 240 consoles have the same shaped pocket as the later years. I believe the size and shape of the 260 console is the same as the 280 and even has provisions for hinge attachments for a cover, but there was no cover included. The point is, I don't even know if a 280 cover will properly fit on something earlier than 74. I know that's kind of rambling, but hope some of that helps.

Haha!! Interested. Interested. Very interested....

Those carbs are not original to the car. That car came out of the factory with the early style flat top carbs and someone converted over to the round tops. Why do I say that? Because the fuel rail, balance tube, and intake manifolds are the from 73, but the carbs are from earlier. Also looks like "double stuff" phenolic carb spacers.

It's not that old. 66, 67 tops.

Yeah... Just like that. Thanks Steve!!

It's on the wiring diagram at the top, near the right corner. Up by the fuel pump. And one interesting tidbit... On the USA and Canada diagram, it does ay RHEOSTAT (IF EQUIPPED), so I don't know if it's really the case or not, the implication is that maybe not all cars got one?

Beautiful. I'd love to see one of those in person someday.

Shut up Beavis.

The oil level should only affect the force required to lift the pistons if the jiggly bits on the end of the stalk are not fully submerged. Once you've got enough oil in the tubes such that the bits are fully submerged when the pistons are in the full down position, then adding more shouldn't have any effect.

Sorry to hear that you're going to have to give up on the project before you even got really started. Looking at the bright side, however... At least you can sell it with a title, right?

About a third of the way down on page two of this thread, cbuczesk recommended a blasting guy. If he really would do a whole car for $500, that's a good deal. I'm cheap and almost always lean towards DIY, but if my choice was blast it myself or spend hours and hours working with the methylene chloride, I'd spend the five hundred bucks.

Now there's a reference you don't see everyday. That movie scared the crap out of me long time ago!!

Nice gesture. I suspect the car those tags came from went to the great junkyard in the sky. So you're going to buy new plates that match your firewall stamping?

I don't know what kind of access you have to the hole from the other side, but if you're really anal about having the outside flush, you might be able to run the setscrew outward from the inside. In other words, use the allen wrench from the INSIDE of the pump instead of from the outside. If that works, you could run the screw in until it's recessed a little on the inside and then file the outside completely flush. Inside would have the hex recess, but it's on the inside where you'd never see it. Don't know if you've got the access to do that in there, or if you even care that much. As for sealing, it seems like a pretty non-critical thread seal. If it leaks a tiny bit, I bet you'd never know or care. Only thing I might consider would be minimum thickness requirements of the sealing compound. One of the anaerobic thread locking compounds might be a better solution. But anything including RTV or epoxy on a threaded plug is going to be way better than the gaping hole you used to have!

Cool. And if you change your mind and need another one for parts, the one I have is available. And I've got a couple of the braided hoses as well. I've never been inside one of those pumps, so if you open it up, I'd love to see some pics.

For me I think it's a little less important because on the 77-78 plates, they even stopped putting the engine serial number on it. It's VIN only, so even from the factory, you can't use the plate to determine engine originality. I only want one because it looks funny to not have one.

Thanks wheee! I see they also have the 77-78 style like what my car needs. I'm just not sure I want it fifty bucks bad. I'd love to have one, but there's lots of other places my car could use fifty bucks!

That air pump I have doesn't have a hole either:

Haha! Glad to help. I'll check when I get the chance. I don't remember for positive, but I believe the pump stuff I have is from a 74 260.

I wish he did engine compartment plates for the 280. Mine was missing when I bought the car..... (wait for it!) Previous owner took the (removable) aluminum plate off to paint the car and never put it back on. Car changed ownership and I thought it looked weird to be missing that plate, so I grabbed one off a wreck and screwed it to the car. Engine compartment plate doesn't match the rest of the car and it's going to be some mystery for the next owner of my car. Just like Sweaty's.

I hate buying rebuilt parts. For all the reasons you listed above. Alternators, calipers, starters... Hate it. I've got a smog pump in a box in the shop and I'll check for the existence of that hole if I get a chance today. I could also be talked into parting with the stuff I have if you're interested. Don't know about the internal condition, but I could open it up if you're interested.