MikeW

Something similar to this happened in Atlanta a few years ago. A fully loaded tanker truck rear ended a car in the middle of the night. The driver of the car stalled in a center lane and just left it there without hazard lights on. It just so happened that this occurred under the bridge of one of the busiest highway intersections in town (6 lanes crossing 8 lanes). The heat was enough to suspect structural damage to the steel girders and the bridge had to be closed for repairs. Based on what I've seen of traffic around DC you had better hope a long term shutdown isn't required.

Thanks. That's what I was thinking. Perhaps I could pay some up front and more as needed to cover things.

Whoa!!! This doesn't make sense. Who diagnosed it? Unless it was a doctor then they're just guessing. If it was a doctor but not at an ER I would assume that the doctor would arrange transportation immediately to the nearest ICU. I can't imagine anyone being afraid of getting treatment for something that's potentially life threatening. In this case, the treatment may not actually be all that difficult or expensive but getting treatment is critical. It sounds like you might need some help trying to get them to listen.

Sorry to hear about this. I read several links that Google turned up and it looks like the outcome likely depends on how soon it was discovered and treated. The scary part appears to be if it progresses to septic shock. However, it also looks like treatment with enough antibiotics soon enough can prevent it from getting that far. Obviously this person is already being treated at a hospital so there's not much more to be done. I'd keep reading stuff on the internet and hope that it was caught in time. Good luck ...

Power steering? I suspect the appraiser meant to circle brakes ...

Thanks for the advice, guys. It may not be as questionable as it might sound from my initial description. While he does the work at home he does appear to be set up for it and has been doing it for years. I took a look around at his work areas as well as the two jobs he currently has going and my gut says it looks reasonable. This isn't just an on the side thing but rather his full time business that he just happens to run out of his house. He said he would take all of the glass out, take the doors off, and basically get all of the places where the original paint was. He pointed out all of the small defects in the body work that I already knew about and some that I didn't. He said the first step would be to hit it with a flat board sander and find all of the problem areas. He prefers to weld small patch panels as needed as opposed to replacing entire body parts. He only uses PPG paints if that makes any difference. He said he would take off the cowl panel and really clean up all of the slots that were neglected during previous paint jobs. The job would probably take 4 weeks if that's all he's working on and I'd be welcome to stop by and watch the progress. Really, everything seemed reasonable other than asking for money up front. Does this extra information change anything? Does anyone here know anyone else they can recommend in the Atlanta area?

I've found someone to do a proper paint job and his estimate of $4-$4.5K seems in line with what others have said a good job will cost. I still need to check out some references but so far it looks good. I actually got his name from the local store that sells auto paints so I figure they probably know a lot of people in the business. I do however have one question for you guys. He says he would want 1/2 the money up front to cover supplies and the initial labor. Is this a reasonable request? He does all of the work at home so he doesn't have the bankroll of a large paint and body shop.

I suspect they're there simply to reduce weight. As you said they were covered already so it's not like any air flows through there or anything like that.

I suspect they're there simply to reduce weight. As you said they were covered already so it's not like any air flows through there or anything like that.

First of all, there really isn't a '69. It's common for cars of a given model year to be built towards the end of the previous year. Therefore the early 1970 cars were built in late 1969. Since the earliest Z cars are considered more desirable those built in 1969 are certainly the earliest. In the USA, at least, 1973 cars had to meet more stringent emissions regulations. Nissan used so-called "flat top" carbs for '73. Many people don't like thes and instead prefer the earlier "round top" carbs. Also, the bumpers for 1973 were pushed out from the body a bit to improve crash worthiness.

Yes. From what I can tell, the old foam core may be part of the problem. I'm guessing that if you tried to peel the old vinyl from the core it would take clumps of the foam with it - thereby leaving a bumpy, uneven surface. Doing that to the whole pad might then make it hard to smooth it out back to the proper level with some kind of filler. JimK, if you're reading this perhaps you can respond.

Well, I'm not going to peel off the new vinyl to find out. It may be that the old vinyl was just left around the instrument holes. I did trim some of the new vinyl and what appeared to be old vinyl back to get my speedometer and tachometer back in. I agree that the new vinyl is thicker and that might be contributing to the problem. I'm actually happy at this point so I don't want it to sound like I'm complaining.

I'd like to see that. Can you take a picture or two?

Is it possible that you're talking about cracks in the paint on both sides where if roof meet the rear quarters? If so, I believe this is common. My car has been repainted 3 times after leaving the factory and now has those cracks in the current paint (which is almost 20 years old).

Let's try again. "Upload Photos" is not a tab. It's merely a link once you click on the gallery tab. Here are some other links on the gallery page; do you see any of these? : My Gallery | Album Admin | My Favorites Home | Profile | Upload Photos | Logout

No, you don't have to pay. You're already a registered member so you should be able to upload. You say you don't have the gallery tab? Even guests should see that. The "upload photos" is just a link on the top right of the page when you click on the gallery tab. What happens when you click on this link: http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/uploadphoto.php

Tell us more about you car ... any pictures? You'll find quite a wide variety of people here. Some are going for he perfect showroom restoration while others are busy dropping in V8's or adding body kits. Wick Humble's book is a good thing to have if you're doing a thorough restoration as is any information you can find on the Nissan "factory" restoration program of a few years ago. Feel free to ask questions here as well as searching for old posts. There's lots of good information available here.

I'd be extremely careful with it. I recall reading here that Armor All is the worst thing to do to your dash. You might want to search for old messages regarding this topic.

I'm actually quite happy with mine. As expected, there were some negatives. By far, my biggest problem was getting the speedometer and tachometer back in the dash. Unlike the 3 center gauges which are installed from the back, the two bigger gauges are installed from the front. The new covering appears to be installed on top of the old covering instead of replacing it. Because of this extra thickness I found it impossible to install from the front. Instead, I was forced to trim some of the old and new vinyl and, after warming it up and applying some water-based lubricant ease the gauges in from the rear. It worked out perfectly but was a bit tedious. Overall, DR did a great job matching the color sample I sent and the workmanship seems top notch. I agree with 26th-Z that it would have been less of a hassle to send the entire frame, but that would have left me without being able to drive for 4 months. After removing the dash and separating the frame I simply left all of the instruments and wiring in the frame and put it back in the car. I had to repeat that process once I got the restored pad back.

I'm happy with mine. I had thought about trying to find a NOS dash but my fear was that it would crack sooner or later even with proper protection. The fact is that the original design/materials is just plain bad. That's why almost everyone with a 240Z has cracks in their dash.

Yes, it's great. I plan on putting up some pictures once I get the new carpet in place and can get some good shots of the whole interior.

Having gone down the dash restoration process recently I would have to say that trying to replace the harness (assuming you could even find one) might be overkill. Keep in mind that the most likely place for electrical problems in the harness are where the connectors are. With the dash harness there are basically 3 groups of connectors: at the ignition/steering wheel, at the fuse box, and under the glove compartment. All of these connectors are fairly accessible even with the dash in. I had one connector that was basically melted closed due to overheating years ago and simply cut it out and added 4 separate connectors instead of a single molex connector with 4 wires.

Have any pictures of the Galaxie? My dad still drives a '64 that he bought new in '63. 390cid V8 and 250,000 miles on the original clutch. Within the last year or so he had a lot of work done on it - including getting the original engine rebuilt by Jasper before I decided to do the same with my 240Z. His biggest problem is rust in a couple of places. There's rust around the bottom of the rear window which allowed water into the trunk thereby causing the whole trunk floor to basically disintegrate as well as doing some serious damage to the trunk hinges. We have it easy around here with a car body that was basically unchanged from '70-'78 that sold in large numbers. Back in the 60's American car companies often came out with a whole new body every year. Needless to say, finding replacement parts is problematic.

Based on ZHead's location I'd say that might be a bit of a problem.

My wife's 2001 PT Cruiser actually has fairly high fit and finish. The only problem we've had in 50,000 miles was a power steering pump failure that was replaced under warranty (thank goodness as it was something like 8 hours of labor due to all the stuff in the way). It does seem to consume oil faster than normal. My 1990 240SX doesn't burn any between changes even at 150,000.