grannyknot

They all seem to crack there, probably all the door slamming.

Now is the time to install a bellows or boot to protect shaft. I've never seen that white plastic disc before, what does it do?

Danger, Danger Will Robinson! I take no responsibility for my poor judgement. The pics I posted above are from a new project, a 77/280z but I would be willing to bet if you drilled out just the lower hinge holes you would have enough room to tuck the bottom of the door in that little bit you need. Just so you know, body shops do this sort of thing all the time.

In addition to all of the above techniques to mitigating exhaust fumes in the cabin, you can also extend the tail piece of the muffler another 2-3" to get the gases out into faster moving air and installing a spoiler on the rear hatch disrupts the vortex at the back of the car and can help. Going Bosozoku would certainly help but would remove 10% of your power and probably get you a big ticket.?

There are a number of very good steering rack rebuild threads in the archives that go into detail on the procedure. When I rebuilt my 77 steering rack I used a slide hammer to remove the pinon shaft and upper bearing, the upper bearing and grease seal are still available and inexpensive, not sure about the lower bearing. As I remember, that white plastic plug was actually poured in to the rack as a melted liquid and holds and seals the rack and housing together, don't f--k with it. @zKars sacrificed the life of a steering rack to bring us that info

I p/u this last fall and although it's a good tool if it catches the metal wrong or you push too hard it will stall, your cordless saw would probably power right through, hard to beat the torque of an electric motor.

Maybe the south west, Arizona. Doesn't look like there too much metal left on that support, the formed bottom plate would still be use able if wanted to try and replicate it. Don't you love salt on the roads?

I'm pretty sure the rocker is original, if it was replaced I can't tell. So here is your last option before cutting in to your rocker, one side of the hinge allows adjustment, the side attached to the door does not. As long as you car isn't Concourse you can try this method, remove the hinges and grind out some metal around the holes for the door side, that is drill out those holes slightly larger so as to allow you adjust on both sides of the hinge. Now I can hear some people grinding their teeth because you're not suppose but hey it works if you're in a pinch.

It looks like a tall engine, it will be interesting to see how they handle that deep oil pan sump.

A thin paint scraper works great, if you do end up scratching either of the mating surfaces on the cover or block a few strokes with a flat single cut file will clean it up.

You won't have a problem finding the rest of the tools, I see them going fairly cheap every year at our Z swapmeet and I'll bet @zKars has quite a few sets.

Looks good, was it any harder to press the new bearings into the center flange with the added thickness of the zinc coating?

Jughead, I took a couple of pics of my car, just getting to ready to paint. Your lower hinge on the D/S door looks like it is standing off from the A pillar, could there be a shim in there or is it just a trick of the shadows? Try and get that lower hinge to sit flat against the A pillar. You can see my door dosen't line up perfectly with the rocker but it does line up perfectly with the front fender and all of it looks good when assembled.

You could just take a file and clean up the cast flashing and smooth the contact surfaces a bit, just don't wide on it.

Those are the drug bins.

Welcome to the forum, your Z looks to be in pretty good shape, certainly doesn't look like any rust from your pics. Even though you're going to take it back to original colour at least it looks like it has a decent paint job too. Easy cars to work on and a blast drive.

^Oh man, life is not fair! Very impressive.

Set the no# 1 piston at TDC on a compression stroke, take lots of photos before you tear it down. Those water pump bolts sheared off in the timing cover can very difficult to remove, sometimes easier to get a second hand timing cover instead. The ones in the block usually have part of the shank of the bolt sticking out so you can get a hold of it, if you have access to an oxy/acet torch that is the easiest way to get the bolt hot enough to break the corrosion, MAP gas can work but the iron block pulls the heat away so fast that it can take awhile. Get the area quite hot then quench with WD40 or something similar, repeat a few times then lock on with Visegrips and try to wiggle back and forth. Don't try to unscrew it all at once just forward and back a tiny amount.

Drive it for a while, they have a way of crawling into your heart.

Are those self tapping screws on the diagonal bar or did you install some rivnuts?

You thief! Well played, the only thing better than buying a Z in great shape is getting it for a bargain, you could probably double your money by listing it on BaT.

I like the way you think Charles, just wish I had thought of it first?

ZH, have you never had to pull a shock out of a strut tube that is rust welded in? The oil may not be needed for the operation of the shock but it certainly is needed for our strut tubes. @DangerBoy703, take mercy on the next guy who replaces those shocks, put some oil.

Who is selling that repop front valance? I have never seen that offered before, BTW the car is really coming along, great work. Now you will need a friend to drive the silver Z when you go to shows.

Mike, You are looking for 4mm punches, I got these on Amazon for $8. Nissan's spacing is closer together than the punches so you can't just stack them side by side. I tried making a jig so I could get the consistent look of the original but it didn't work well so I guess I will just have to free hand it. I haven't done mine yet, still practicing on thin aluminum sheet. I'm going to document it and include it with the cars papers so some future owner can't be accused of doing something fishy. If you come up with a better way than free handing please let me know.