Mark Maras

And does the blower turn off and on?

Radiator support, Is it rusted thru or pitted? If the rust is worse than shallow pitting the best way to repair it is cut the offending section out, back to solid metal. Cut a new piece and weld it in. If the damage is extensive, I'd look for a donor car and consider replacing a larger section. There are some common spots that are prone to rust. I haven't seen a rusted rad. support but so much depends on where the car spent it's life. Also, on different cars the rust will be worse in some areas than others. I've seen Zs with one side rusted out but the other looks fine. On others, the front or back is bad but not both. It's best to assume the rust is everywhere. That way you'll be pleasantly surprised if and when you find good steel.

Charley Browns' Christmas Z will have a home. HLS30 39360 originally an automatic trans, now a rolling chassis. Rust damage; rear hatch sill plate and supporting body, floors, spare tire well is not rusted thru judging by the pond in it. frame rails, Missing items; console, heater core, rear plastic panels, trans., tail lights, right fender & head light & trans. Hatch was opened with an axe. I have a spare. He has a 2.8 that came out of it (E88 on a N42) and the orig. 4 screw round tops with E41 manifold and balance tube. The owner is selling these separately if anyone is interested. The body sheet metal is in pretty good shape as is the glass. Vert. defroster. The car has no title and at first he didn't want to talk about anything except parts and they had to pull them for me. Said the car could not be sold whole. I made a list of parts that I might want, and we determined that per E-Bay prices we were looking at around $1,000.00. He knew that was out of the question and his chances of moving the small parts were slim. He said it was too bad I didn't have a dismantler's license so he could sell me the whole car. I asked if he could do it if he was sure the car was dismantled by me? THEN, he asks would I might be interested in it if he took the vin #s off it. Evidently, as long as he's sure the car will never be titled again, he can stretch the rules and sell it to me. He offered it to me for $500.00. SOLD I'm making arrangements to bring it home before New Years. I'll be cleaning it out and assessing the parts and body and their usability. I really don't know what I'm going to do with it yet. The body really is not much worse than the 260 I'm working on now. And there is still that hypothetical question, posed above, rolling thru my mind. I'm open to opinions.

Gonna go look at it today. So many things to consider. The largest hurdle is behind me, I think. My wife, Kathy, is now convinced all thing$ Z related are a good inve$tment. Pretty much a 180` change. Last year she was a "Datsun widow". The diZea$e is contagious. I didn't know the sill plates with the logo were hard to find. A quick E-Bay search turned up none. What is a pair of those in fair condition worth these days? I just bought an EXTRA pair for $10.00 in a bundle deal. I think I did good. Now, A very hypothetical question. Let's say a person bought a 71 chassis with no title and that same person had a 71 with a title. Hypothetically, how difficult would it be to "adjust" the untitled chassis to "conform" to the title already in possession? Hypothetically, the original ID tags could go with the title. Just sittin and a thinkin.

It could make so much sense to bring it home. I still have my orig. 71. Body was beyond repair when it came off the road in 96. All there except for a couple of parts that went to members. I think I'm gonna have trouble sleeping tonight.

Thanks for the trip in the "Way Back Machine". Those were great road racing days. Back then I lived close to what was then Kent Pacific Raceways. My obsession had an early jump-start.

SchiZophrenia?

I'll do that. I can practice on the original cowl. I have a replacement for it. The orig. was looking pretty good until it threw itself under the tire of an RX7. Actually, I leaned it against the wall, unsecured, and it slid onto the floor. Anyway that one will be my learning piece. It can only be improved.

Here are the first pics of the 71. He says the console is pretty bad and no mention about the heater core. looks like many good parts avail. Makin a list. Judging by the pics alone, It looks like a saveable chassis. What a shame it's been picked over.. OH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, The voices are returning again!

Going to give him a call first and ask specifically about those parts and let you know if they're available.. Big windstorm coming in today. I'll take a look at it Tues. or Wed. and report back.

IMO everyone that owns a Z should take it out for a spin in the snow. In my younger years, when it snowed, I would set my alarm for 2AM and take my 240, "Hiro", out for a joy ride on Portlands' streets. Night shift Police pulled me over a few times and wanted to know what in the hell I was doing? After they were convinced that my driving was not compromised by any substance other than adrenaline, they cut me some slack and would just blink their lights at me to say hi. Did I mention the 70s were great in Portland?

IMO, a ScotchBrite pad is easier on the bore and cleans very well.

Yeah, I had considered that too. I'm looking forward to learning a new technique. The next car is already on the list. My sons' daily driver 81 RX7. Hopefully the 260 will be on the road by late spring and then we can start on his. The subject has not come up yet but I can see the wheels turning in his head. I'm sure he's planning to drive the Z while the RX7 is down. Fortunately, he can be trusted but he's going to earn the privilege. The sooner we finish the Z, the sooner we can start on the RX7. It will be interesting to see if he still loves his RX7 as much after driving a Z.

Thanks. Great info. I hadn't heard of a shrinking disc. Just watched a couple of videos. Gonna get one and try it. I've got a ways to go on the bodywork.

If the hole in the manifold was centered over the stud a centering punch and a left hand drill bit would be my first choice. That not being the case, I'm with madkaw. Pull the manifold. It will probably save time and remove a lot of guesswork.

What does he use as a heat source. I'm getting frustrated with my hood. I tap the high spots down just below level and they want to pop right back up. I could bash them down and I know they would stay down but I want as little filler as possible. I'm thinking a little heat would help. Opinion? Also, Is he using compressed air to control the shrinkage?

Depends on the condition of the sheet metal of the body, the doubler and the surrounding area. If there is a possibility of rust between the layers, They should be separated and treated or replaced. I've replaced and added a few doublers (fish plates) on mine. 16g galvanized sheet metal with zinc rich primer on the body is my choice. In lieu of those options, a good rust converter should be used. I'm going to be using Ospho on the rest of mine. Wish I had looked into it previously. I don't mind rinsing some areas with water but I can't bring myself to use water to rinse the seams out. Ospho, it appears, can be left to dry.

Patcon When cooling the weld with air do you notice any warpage? I realize the weld probably adds enough stiffness to prevent much warpage. The reason I ask is the other day I was working on my hood when my neighbor came over and asked me if I had ever shrunk high spots with heat and compressed air? He has restored a 52 Pontiac and a 54 Studebaker, both look good. He explained the process, heat it with a torch (not too hot) and control the shrinkage with compressed air. I don't have the courage to try it. Especially on the thin sheet metal of a Z. Z hoods are thicker than some of the other panels but I'm not going to experiment on a reasonably straight hood. Curious if you've tried it or even heard of it?

So, So many. Back in the late 70s it was Huey Lewis "Sports" album on the Pioneer Super Tuner for me. Volume cranked up, a favorite road in my Z. Totally in the moment. Loving the drive and doing some of my best singing ever. Sigh.

I've been butt welding mine except where the floor pan welds to the rocker panel. Half the welding and grinding and no overlapped seams to eventually collect moisture. I have more trouble with patience (letting it cool) than I have either type of joint.

Lost the patient but saved some vital organs so another can live. Good job.

Thanks, I haven't tried that yet. Any problems with paint or primer not adhering if it isn't rinsed and just allowed to dry?

Ah, Memories of Zs and dogs. When I introduced my puppy Max (Springer Spaniel) to my 71 Z and went for a ride, he promptly got sick and filled the console tray to overflowing status. First and only time. His way of christening it I guess. From then on it was 16 years of clear sailing.

Creeping rust in the welded seams is the tough one to deal with. The seams that are overlapped or folded over and spot welded allow moisture to eventually eat away everything but the spot weld. There's no way to media blast between sandwiched layers so acid and a water rinse :( or neutralizing agent must be used. Or unfold it and take it apart. Does anyone know of a one-step product that will creep into the seams, neutralize the rust, dry to a paintable surface and maybe even seal the seam at the same time. I'm not asking for everything? I'll apply it.

Small wrecking yard SE of Portland parting out a 71. Craig's List, Portland. If anyone needs anything let me know. I can take a look at it for you.