Mark Maras

Mac's Radiator Shop here in Portland. They're not cheap, but they are good. I would trust a rebuild from them more than a replacement.

My son discovered that the car is on the way to Canada. This was the trucking firm that he talked to. No word on where it was from or a firm destination. Any of you Canadians in the club expecting a Z that you haven't told us about. My guess is it will end up somewhere in B.C. Mark in Portland

Welcome Shawn Prepare to meet your fate. Owning a Z is like the "Hotel California" most of us couldn't leave them if we wanted to. Your chances of findind a good "rust-free" 70-71 are probably good in Ariz. Keep us posted of your progress and good luck. Mark in Portland

Look at what I spotted on the way home from work today. This was sitting in a car lot. It appears to be a 72 or 73. This was as close as I could get. It looks, to be stock height or even a little higher. Probably tires. I couldn't see any visible rust from 150' away. The place was closed, left a note on the gate begging them to call me. I'm worried, the car lot is not a sales lot. It appears to be a holding yard that moves cars in and out every few days & open the gate only when car-haulers are coming and going. Tomorrow, my son is going to "camp-out" there and try to talk to someone. The chances of getting our hands on this are probably slim to none but we'll take those odds. No regrets if you give it your best shot and still come up short. That said, sleep is going to be tough tonight and work tomorrow is going to be even tougher. I'll give you all an up-date tomorrow. Mark in Portland

Key off.Pull your positive battery cable & with a volt meter see if you have current flowing between the cable & battery pole. Should be little to none. The little bit will be the clock or maybe a few more items on a later Z. A bad diode in the alternator can drain a battery with the key off.You can determine which circuit it is by pulling fuses one by one until you lose the current flow between the battery & cable. Mark in Portland

Back to combustion basics. Fuel, air, ignition source. A lack of voltage can effect any of these especially in a F.I. engine. If you think the battery is low, check it with a volt meter. it should be a little above 12volts with the engine off. Engine running voltage should rise to 13 + volts if the alternator is charging. While on the road, if you think the voltage is down, turn on everything electrical; lights, heater fan, etc. If voltage is already down, this will make the engine run worse. Mark in Portland

Nice to see that energy going to a deserving project. learn as you go. We all do it. Let us know how it went, ask questions & show us pics please. On a more serious note, not knowing your prior experience with cars, for at least the first six months of driving your Z, take it easy, you have a bit to learn about the behavior of these cars under many different conditions and an old car to limber up, Should you have the desire to go fast, what are the chances?, run to your nearest Z club that is involved in club racing and take a driving course. Fun! Fun! Fun! and you'll learn the car that much faster. That was the father of 3 & Z driver of 22 years in me talking. I got my Z at age 24, in 1973. Remembering myself at 19, neither the Z or myself would have had much of a chance of survival. Hope you and yours enjoy each other for years to come. Mark in Portland

Lots more info needed. Year? Method of lowering? How was the rear done?

A circuit breaker, got mine at NAPA less than $10.00, that replaces the fuse in the circuit being powered up will ensure there will be no over heated wiring issues. They are usually too tall to use the fuse block cover but they are great insurance while you're testing. Mark in Portland

The first thing I do when a new piece of vintage tin shows up, is to get a service-repair manual & start reading. Should you choose to have a mech. do the work, your new knowledge will help both of you. You may also find that many of these upcoming repairs, even the electrical, are very easy to understand and can be done at home. These early Zs were not a complex car at all & most repairs are doable with basic tools. The manuals will also warn you when you're getting in over your head. As always, you have this incredible group of knowledgable well wishers to help in any way possible. Enjoy your toy. Mark in Portland

Hi Dan I'm curious about the chrome that had been replaced by rust on the ashtray. Do you have a method for restoring it? Great job on your Z. After hearing about the problems in your dash, I'm going to pull mine and go through it. Got my L26 running but the only power I have to the dash is the map light & it's dim. Electrical is next. Mark in Portland

The symptoms point to trouble in the trans tail-shaft & possibly the reverse idler gear if the u-joints look good. Since you already want a 5-speed this would be an excellant time for one. Otherwise you'll be opening up your 4-speed to find the trouble. Mark in Portland

A couple of questions; Has the clunk gotten worse over time? Is there any high speed vibration? Is it difficult to shift into reverse? I don't recall any movement in mine but it has been close to 40 years since I had one apart. Mark in Portland

The question that arises in my mind is, how much does it cost to ship a Z to NZ? I imagine a left hand drive there would be as desirable as a right hand drive here.

Dennis How about some pics. of you and your Z in the nice weather? Then we all can be envious of your location. Rain & snow predicted for this weekend in Portland. At least we can look forward to nice weather here about mid June. It usually shows up right after our Rose Festival ends! Mark in Portland

Do you still have vibrations? I realize that most of them were eliminated with the diff. change but it sounds as if you still have some remaining. If you discover the reason for the driveline vibration, we'd all appreciate knowing for future reference. Mark in Portland

Just a hunch, the studs on my L26 stick out 1 1/4". Hope it helps.

Yeah. I agree. I'm leaving mine on my 260. I thought about changing it but I'm trying not to get caught up in the " as long as I'm here I should". When I really thought about it, that is so far down my list of to-dos that it may never get done. It's a long list. But for those who truly have Z fever it doesn't matter, It's a labor of love with huge rewards that few understand. Mark in Portland

It's a return line. According to some of the threads I've read it can be eliminated if you use a fuel pressure regulator. 3 1/2 lbs. seems to be what everyone runs on SUs. Mark in Portland

Looking back at your original description of the problem, I've never had a vibration that was horrendous or changed with applied power except the front of the drive shaft. Slack in the rear of the drive shaft will give you clunks but not a horrendous vibration. Here's my suggestion- With the car safely secured in the air, trans in neutral, hand brake off, crawl under the car, grab the drive shaft near the front yoke and push, pull and twist in all directions and try to see any movement then rotate it and do it again. There should be NO MOVEMENT except rotational. It only takes a few thousanths of an inch to give you a terrible vibration that will change with power application. Other possibilities-the u-joints that were installed will not balance. The front yoke was damaged during u-joint installation or not installed in the same position in relation to the drive shaft. The old c-clip was used on the new u-joint. The drive shaft is bent.Another club member, a while back, said that he had found a problem with the out-put shaft in the rear of his automatic. By your description this doesn't sound like it is relatable to wheel speed. I've had some severe wheel vibrations but they pale in comparison to drive shaft vibrations because the drive shaft turns about 4 times faster than the wheels and axles. Mark in Portland

I'm surprised it's not iron fortified and rusty red.

If you have adjustable rods on the master and slave cylinder, my 260 does, adjust the slave cylnder until you have about an 1/8-1/4" freeplay. Push hard on the end of the release lever, you'll feel it. The freeplay insures that the release bearing won't ride the pressure plate at all times. Next adjustment is the master cylinder, under the dashboard. Set it to the pedal engagement height of your preference. This is the point that there is no more freeplay and the release bearing is touching the pressure plate. I don't remember nor did I look to see if there is a pedal height adj,, there probably is no need to change this. Mark in Portland PS You could also skip all this and just move your seat back a notch.

Grant 83 - At this point in time, it will cost little to nothing to try the shake, rattle & roll method of scrubbing the tank. If the coating is as loose as it sounds you might be pleasantly surprised. Mikes Z Car--- I agree, but I can't help but wonder how much visible blue smoke you'll get with that ratio of oil to gas to say nothing of black oily plugs. It would probably help lube the cylinder walls though. Any 2 cycle fans have an opinion? Mark in Portland

Grant83 What are your plans for the tank interior after cleaning? My tank was scrubbed with rock. It's nice & clean but prone to rust. ajmsforesters' oil treatment would work but raises several questions in my mind. The only cars I've heard of, that mix oil in the gas, have Wankel engines and they use 2-cycle oil but far less than a quart. After doing a little research, I have found that many restorers use POR 15 or RED-KOTE successfully as long as directions are carefully followed. I'm going to use one of these products to treat my tank. Has anyone, that has used these products, had any long term issues with them? I don't want to clean old sealer out of my tank in the future. Mark in Portland

PO of my 74 had a creative method for scrubbing the interior of the tank. He bought the car as a project, {still is} He pulled the tank, stripped it of all hardware, put in a "shovelfull" of clean crushed rock, sealed the holes and rolled it around the yard for a reported 4 hours. That probably included an hour of cleaning. I can verify the interior of the tank looks good and fuel system is clean.The engine runs good. I tend to believe his story. If nothing else he is creative. I'm now dealing with some of his less than successful ideas and probably will find more. Mark in Portland