Ed

I love it! That was great. Made my day! That first Z with the sloted mag rims, what engine does it have? And I really dig the music!

And here is the after picture.

The rust I had looked almost like yours. I didn't know for sure until I removed all of the tar paper and cleaned it real good. I ended up only having to replace a 10" square under the seat support. I bought a couple of 12" x 12" x 18 guage pieces of sheet metal then just formed and cut. Here is the before picture.

You could also take it to an automotive detail shop. Where they can buff out the paint. But with a cheap paint job you can expect it to get dull again in a few months.

Not sure but it looks like the hood or bonnet for you English folk goes all the way to the windshield. It doesn't look like it has the cowling.

Boy this brings back a bad memory. Only differance was I had a Subaru 4X4 trans on my chest. Damn thing was heavy. I laid there for about 15 minutes trying to muster up the strength to move it.:stupid:

I installed a red top optima back when my car was on the road. To hold it down I used the "stock" Z battery hold down and fabricated a metal bracket 1" wide and 3" long. Measured the distance between the hole on the firewall and the top of the battery hold down, drilled the holes and presto. Custom battery hold down. Works great!

I have the ones on the front but nothing in the rear. Any chance someone could post a close up picture of the one in the rear. I'm thinking it couldn't hurt to put atleast one on there. A couple of years ago I had to have my Z towed. And the tow truck driver not knowing any better put one of those big metal hooks into a small drain hole on the body and stretched the sheet metal. I was not happy.

I was reading (drooling) my fall issue of Sport Z. Checking out the centerfold (again). That beautiful Orange 1973Z up in Minnesota. :love: Anyway I noticed that there were some tow/tie down hooks by the rear bumper guards. Are these homemade? Or are they available some where?

I see you bailed out of Buffalo. Enjoy Charleston. I did about 4 months down there and loved it. Especially down town:classic:

If it doesn't have too much rust I would think it would be a great candidate for a resto. To me it seems like the car hasn't been butcherd too bad. It still has the original hub caps!

I use the rattle can for small items. Like suspension parts or engine parts. Mostly just for detailing. Then I stepped over the line and decided to paint the gas tank on my motorcycle. Not too bad but you can definately tell the difference.

I believe most of the A/C units were put in by the dealer by some aftermarket company. None came with it from the factory. I guess you would only need to find one that will fit under your dash.

Just wondering how many Zed heads were going to the US Grand Prix in Indianapolis September 28th?

I got one at Autozone for $40 bucks. Works great.

I might not be completely correct on this but I believe the struts or shocks are there to dampen the spring action of the spring. If you didn't have a shock then the car would bounce like a basketball. Do a little test to see if your shocks are gone. Push down on the car just above the wheel. Get it to start bouncing up and down. If the car continues to bounce even after you stop then most likely the shock is gone. But if it stops imediately after you stop then you might have another problem. Hope this helps

I had the original L24 in my car do the same thing a couple of years ago. And I was thinking the same things you are. A few things more things to consider, was the crankshaft dammaged? You will also have to replace the con-rod. How bad was the head damaged? When It all came down to it, it was cheaper to replace the entire engine with a L28. But If you must rebuild this engine. If you do replace just the one piston you will have to have it balanced along with the other pistons. If the engine does have 220,000 then most likely the sleeves will need to be machined to get them nice and smooth. I'm not sure if you can use the L28 pistons. You might have to machine too much material from the sleeve. I don't know. Also If memory serves me right the L24 had flat top pistons so if you are going to retain the original head then you will need the flattop pistons from a later model 280. I'm not sure if it would be cheaper to use over sized pistons and bore the sleeves. Or replace all the sleeves and use L28 pistons. Good luck.

Thanks for the advice. I'll get one of those for sure. How would I go about rust proofing the inside of the rail after it is installed?

When I mentioned the steel brush I was talking about between the lobes. From the picture that is where I saw the rust. If the lobes had any rust on them I would probably think twice about using it. Be sure you do keep any engine parts as clean as possible. Something as small as a grain of sand can really bugger things up. When you remove the studs spray some WD-40 or other penetrating oil at the base of the stud and let it sit overnight. You can use the two nuts tightened together trick. Be carefull and work the stud loose. Don't force it or you will end up with a broken stud and that is a different story. You should be able to pick up new studs either from the dealer, VB or MSA. Good luck.

From what I can see you have a pretty good head. The manifold bolts you should replace anyway. The nipple on the plug side is for your heater core and if in bad shape should be replaced also. The rust you see inside the head is part of the water jacket (where the coolant flows). Looks like the previous owner ran rusty water instead of coolant. Either way it won't hurt your head unless the rust build up restricts the coolant flow. The rust on your cam can be cleaned up with a wire brush and an oily rag. Check the cam lobes for rust . They should be smooth. I would take the head to a shop anyway and have the head checked for straightness and pressure tested. Everything else can be done at home.

Does anyone have a picture of this grill? I'm have no clue what you guys are talking about.

So, I'm cutting out the rust on my car. About a 1' square below the driver and passenger seat. Pretty much right where the frame rail ends. After I cut the square out I take a look down the inside of the frame rail and all I see is more RUST! I imagine that both rails are just as bad. Is it possible to remove just the frame rails without damaging the floor? I was thinking about replacing just the rusted spot in the floor board (about a 1' square) then getting the replacement rails. I do have an air chisel but that usually rips the metal apart. Unless I'm using it wrong. Has anybody else succesfully removed the rail from the floor?

Yea, the car is in pretty good shape. I got it in San Diego. So far the only rust is in the floor by the end of the frame rail. Part of the frame rail is gone too. I don't know but I think that those frame rails are rust magnets. The steel I used was 2" square tubing .120" and I got the specs right here on this site. I did a search on rotisserie's and came up with a couple of different designs. I just took what I liked from each and put it into a design that I liked. I got the welder at Harbor Freight. It's a gasless wire feed. I would have gone with the gas but I didn't have the budget (about 300 bucks more). I like it, it does require a little more cleaning though.

Notice the hole I cut out of the drivers floor board. Rusted! I still have to do the passenger side.

I finished my rotisserie. $80 bucks in metal and a 200 dollar welder. Now she's ready for the basting.:classic: