Mark Maras

The only two explanations I can come up with are, an elephant sitting on the hood all winter long (doubtful) or the springs missed the tempering process during manufacturing. It will be interesting to see if the springs expand to original unsprung length when they're removed. Be sure to share the unsprung length with Vogtland.

A miss in three cylinders has to be in the cap, rotor, plug wires or plugs. It would seem that you've eliminated wires and plugs (NGK BP6ES?) from the list. Don't know what brand the cap and rotor are nor how old they are but I'd replace them with a quality brand. Nissan and Bosch are the two I'd investigate. Jalex in Panama cleared up a similar problem with Bosch parts.

Good advice above, However, I'm not a fan of pulling spark plugs from a hot aluminum head. I've done it many times successfully but I hate the feel of the plug coming out. @jalexquijano Have you pulled the plugs lately and compared #1,2,3 with 4,5,6 and how many turns down are you running on the mixture screws? Both the same? Deja Vu!

The only two reasons for switching to electric fans (IMO) are increased cooling at low or no speed and a slight horsepower gain. I think you're on the right track suspecting plugs. Especially because you said the problem went away after a quick Italian tune-up. What RPMs did it begin to misfire? Normal for fouled plugs is around 3500 and above. Is your engine still overheating in traffic jams? If so, I'd look into the electric fans. In extreme cases (hot weather and long waits) I just turned the engine off and when I did get moving slowly I kept the RPMs as low as I could. Fewer RPMs equals less heat generated. That said, I never had any percolation or vapor lock problems that would have prevented it from starting right away.

According to my notes and using the mount on both sides of the tail shaft housing for reference, your trans is a 77-79 wide ratio. 1st-3.321, 2nd-2.077, 3rd-1.308, 4th-1.00, 5th-.864

Ah, The Chevelle. It came with the Muncy (rock crusher) 4 speed. There were many things I liked about that car but in 1973 the gas crunch dropped the value of low mileage cars. I sold it in 74 for $800.00. Saw an identical one sell for $67,000 on Barrett-Jackson a few years ago. That said, after buying the Z, I was done with the Chevelle. I fell in love with sports cars at an early age. Thanks to the book "The Red Car", my insatiable mechanical curiosity, my sister's 58 MGA (which I used to hotwire and drive at the age of 15), it was only a matter of time before I ended up with a sports car.

If my memory is still working, that's the month. Definitely a Series 1. Dug out some old paperwork on "Hiro". April 1st, 1972. (I forgot it was April fools day.) I do remember driving by Gran Prix Motors in my 69 SS 396 Chevelle and seeing my soon to be stunning yellow Z. It was a spur of the moment decision. A short drive later and I deposited $15.00 with Joe Black to hold it until I got back from the bank with the sum of $3695.00.

My original Z is #08750. Series 1. Registered as a 71

No need to remove the ball if it's in usable condition. Save any good pieces of the linkage for repairs in years to come.

I can hear it now. "Back in the day, you could pick up a good rolling shell for $1000. I remember one in Raleigh. I had enough parts to finish it too".

You won't find big ego's here. Our love of Zs drives us to want the best for all of them and do all we can to keep 'em on the road. The friendships that develop, on the way, are frosting on the cake.

I like the OCD discussions about details. It's the Hoover in me.

I ran out of likes for the day. Great news.

The front cup holder is installed wrong.

Sorry, no pics. It was long ago. Admittedly, the solder repair wasn't pretty, but it sealed and was hidden from prying eyes. If I had to do it again, I'd research epoxies.

Have you tried to clean it? I had success soaking mine in lacquer thinner and plowing it out with compressed air. It took three cycles of solvent and air to get it clean but the key to getting it to spray properly was cleaning the spray holes with a torch tip cleaner. The old spray bars work quite well if they're clean. Frequently the soldered joints fail but that's an easy fix.

Correct. Unscrew it from the rod. The threads can be cleaned with a fine wire brush.

That was my first impression but I found that difficult to believe. Does anyone have an idea of how the bushings are oriented on other makes of cars?

I can't figure out the bushing orientation in the pic.

Measure your old one first. Disassemble both and use the best pieces from each one to assemble a good one. Adjust the new one to the original's length. I'd start with steel wool if that doesn't work, fine sandpaper.

I like the sea of 510s sitting behind the two US land yachts.

I've never seen a blond wheel shown in the early ads nor the deeper red (maroon) sported by the almost NOS wheel being held for ransom. IMO it's been refurbished.

Use 4' piece of garden hose as a stethoscope to pinpoint the noise while starting the engine.

How old are the spark plugs? The only time my Z misfired above 4000 RPMs was a track day. (Murphy's Law) The old plugs looked pretty good, but a new set cleared up the problem.

I'd look into shoulder bolts. They're made to have a bearing ride on them. You may get lucky and find one that will work or make it work by modifying it.