MikeW

You posted this in the top level discussion group instead of one of the sub-groups like "Misc" or "Body & Paint" or "Engine".

Be aware that if your 240Z is an early model it may well have plastic headlight buckets.

On this auction you can see who's bidding and what their bids are. It's interesting to watch it progress ...

"Aircraft paint stripper" is really a generic term. There are many products out there labeled as such and the toxicity certainly varies from product to product. I'd wear breathing protection regardless. You should be able to find some at your local auto parts place.

Me too but keep in mind that my post was really in jest. Read this one for clarification: http://new.classiczcars.com/forums/showpost.php?p=97764&postcount=57

What if the parts included a spare complete deck lid, a spare door, a spare interior from a '73, brand new Nissan door skins, a brand new Nissan front valance and turn signals, brand new side marker lights, a brand new set of metal emblems including chromed Z quarter emblems and a brand new with the Nissan part sticker clear hatch glass. Wouldn't that be worth something?

You tried paint thinner and gas but not the POR15 solvent that comes in the floor pan kit?

I'm sure there was blood. No doubt you've worked on your car or been doing yard work and really nicked yourself and drawn blood. It's kind of a shock to your system and it takes you a moment to analyze the damage and realize that you still have all of your fingers. It looks like a little chunk has been gouged out of your hand so you go wash it off and put on a bandage. In an accident like this the guy probably figured a piece of wood or something flew up and hit him on the chin and he may have even been thinking, "wow, I'm sure glad that wasn't a nail that hit me when the gun went off accidentally". The entrance wound for something like this (or even a gunshot) can be quite small.

The key to polishing with sandpaper is to always use the coarsest grit needed to remove all of the current defects. I think I started with 80 grit because there were various scratches and pits already in the valve cover before I started. Sure, you could polish it up with metal polish right away but it's going to be nice and shiny everywhere there's not already a defect. Once you get all of the defects out with the coarse sandpaper you move to the next grade. You're basically removing all of the scratches left by the previous grade. If you try to skip grades you'll end up doing much more work in the long run. I think I used 80, 100, 120, 180, 220, 320, 400, 600, 1000, 1500, followed by various metal polishes. It's very important to make sure you've gotten everything before moving on to the next level. If not you'll end up backing up and repeating yourself. You don't want to be working with 400 and suddenly notice that there are still scratches left by the 120. Others have claimed that you can take your valve cover somewhere that does this kind of work where they use a big buffing wheel. That would definitely be a lot easier. Here's the article that I used: http://www.georgiazclub.com/tips/ztech/coverpolish.htm

Wouldn't that be a "Nissan"? Were they exporting fire trucks in the 30's and didn't want to hurt the Nissan name?

The paint shop that provided the paint for my car has a large selection of plastic rivets, clips, etc. They obviously supply this stuff to paint and body shops and it's nicely arranged in large books with the actual parts laminated to each page. If you don't mind departing from stock I'm sure there are better alternatives out there.

I specifically allowed multiple choices on this one so if you have multiple cars or match multiple categories pick all that apply or at least the closest that apply. I wasn't thinking about people who race but that could certainly fit the category of alternating with another vehicle.

As I was out driving my Z today I figured it might be nice to have a little poll to find out how and when others drive theirs. I fall into the nice weekend afternoon category but occasionally drive it to work or to the local car club.

Were there any factory mats? I would think that these were dealer-installed options. Edit: I see that you were told they were a dealer option but I'm still wondering if there was such a thing as a factory mat as was mentioned in your auction.

A quick Google search returns the following: http://dimequarterly.tierranet.com/vendors.html

I didn't ask about the carbs and intake manifold but he said that the valve cover was actually powder-coated.

Google is your friend: http://www.switchboard.com/Automobile_Repairing_and_Service/Campbell/CA/110876184-6/Campbell_CA_Repair_Auto/Merchant.html http://www.zcargarage.com/ Finally, this page looks useful: http://www.zonc.org/theZguide.html

I was watching the Barrett Jackson thing a while back and they were raving about this perfectly restored muscle car that went for something over $200,000. The radiator support intentionally was over sprayed with black paint or undercoat and it looked crappy but that's how it might have come from the factory and they were trying to make it perfect. In my opinion that's taking it too far but I know some people really go for that kind of thing. By the way, I saw this nicely restored '71 last night but even this guy doesn't have braided radiator hoses.

That would just be a feature of that particular battery cable and isn't needed.

A google search for "factory restoration checklist" turns up the following hit for a PDF file. http://www.jasonjarvis.com/main.html Download and print it out yourself and save the money for the eBay auction.

I agree that the driver's side looks quite good. You should be able to just remove the minimal rust and coat with POR-15. The picture of the passenger side behind the seat shows a lot of rust right above the frame rail (which is below the lengthwise hump). You might be looking at a new frame rail to go with that new floor pan.

As I recall the now-defunct "Z Car Magazine" (later "Z Car and Classic Datsun") had good coverage of this topic while it was current. This included the revelation that the two aforementioned shops were actually doing the work even though Nissan initially wanted that information kept from the public. There were interviews with Les and/or Pierre and photographs of some of the work in progress. When I get back home after the holidays I'll re-read the articles and post any interesting information obtained that hasn't already been mentioned here.

My early '72 (9/71) has vertical wires but I think that change happened right around this time.

I scrubbed mine with hot soapy water and then used black RIT dye (in a pot on the stove) to make them look like new. I then polished up the hardware using metal polish. It's not easy to get the buckles completely but it can be done.

The rear bumper center section has been NLA for a while. You'll occasionally see NOS center sections on eBay. They tend to go for $250-$300.