mdbrandy

Eastwood has a vibratory cleaner type system that purports to clean and polish old hardware. It isn't cheap (at all), and I can't see paying that kind of $$ for it, but it sounds like the type of thing that Victor is talking about. They also have some stuff to replate hardware, but unless you're in business to do it, it seems really pricey. Link to Vibratory Tumbler is here if you're interested.

Might be able to find one at your local toy store. My kid has one that he used once for polishing some rocks, and never since. Came in a kit from the toy store (dont' know which store). Anything I decide to clean up vs buy new, maybe I'll try it....

Well, if the old US of A is in the Americas, then it wasn't on sale yesterday as far as I could tell. Ten to fifteen minutes to load their site wasn't conducive to me paying much attention, but I noticed it immediately today when I decided that I would probably buy one just to see what it was, even if I did have to go to lunch between page loads. I'm sure somewhere in the world, today is yesterday, and probably tomorrow too - but that just makes my head hurt so I don't think about it :classic: .

Whether you approve or disapprove, it is on sale through 10/1 at $18.71. Wasn't yesterday. Their site is so slow it is physically painful, but it finally displayed.

I THINK I can safely say that no 240, 260, or 280Z ever came from the factory with a vinyl roof. I've never seen one. None of the four I've owned had one. Anyone that knows differently can speak up. And from what I hear, POR-15 is not a good thing to use on exterior panels that you want a nice smooth finish on. I'm just getting started with POR though, so I haven't tried it yet.

ROFL ROFL LOL LOL !!!!!!

Do you mean this?

I'm staying here hiding at the University. I managed to go from private industry to the university just as the economy dumped. No raises to speak of, but things are pretty stable. Knock on wood...

Do you have all the ground wires from the harness attached to the appropriate places on the car body? On mine, I think that's only the screw on the main harness as it goes along the frame rail a bit forward from the battery, and then the negative battery terminal to the firewall. Oh, and battery terminals themselves from the battery to the engine. If the smaller ones weren't connected, then could all the car's systems that aren't engine related have been passing their current back through the clutch hose and to the negative battery side that way? I haven't looked at a schematic to see if there's any other path. Just a thought.

That'll help. But it's just a rubber mount with a single bolt, so it won't handle much of a moment. If the engine starts to tip, it probably won't stop it, although it will probably keep it from actually falling, and it will locate the assembly along the axis of the car to keep it from slipping that direction. Good luck.

I'd advise much caution. It sounds like you don't have the rear tranny mount attached (since it was off to the side), and so if you place something under the center of the engine and lift, it will be very unstable side-to-side. You'll need to have some way to keep the engine from tilting right or left as you lift it from the bottom and unbolt the mounts. Since you will be supporting the weight from the bottom, you might get away with ropes to two widely spaced points on the ceiling or something, but it's iffy from my perspective. You could take 2x4's on each side of the engine and wedge against the body, but you might damage the finish, and if one slips, the engine could tip. Bottom line is, be VERY careful if you jack from the bottom and then unbolt the mounts. I'd get the lift again. When I rented one, it was only $35. Cheap insurance against damaging that new engine or worse.

Now I'm forgetting to attach the pics...

One more - here is my right engine mount (passenger side). Compare it to yours, and you'll see yours is angled down, and this one comes out flat first. They're switched.

OH! I was looking at the photos wrong - the mounts are different, but they DO appear to be reversed! the one that comes out flat on top should be on the right (passenger) side of the engine, and it looks like you have it on the drivers side.

Nope, those mounts look OK. Notice that the right one comes out flat on top and the left one angles down. So, doesn't look like the problem. Sorry. There are only three mounting points for the engine and transmission - those two and the rear of the tranny. I don't see how the rear can be off if these are OK. Got me now...

You can't see the right engine mount here, but notice how the engine leans right. If your right engine mount is the same as the left one, then you have two of the same mounts, and that's wrong.

those photo numbers are the same, and the pictures look identical; did you upload the same pic twice?

And the left side....

In case it helps, here's the right side of my motor just as it came out of the car:

I was actually thinking about the steel parts that bolt to the block, but I just went out and looked at mine, and they are very different. The one on the left angles down, and the one on the right angles up so that the block leans to the right. Probably hard to get wrong. I don't think the rubber mounts are different. In fact the parts fiche shows the same part number for both sides.

I don't even know if it's possible, but could you have switched the motor mounts? That's the only thing I could think. If the crossmember is in the right place, and the motor mounts are in the right place, and the bell housing is flush to the rear of the engine, I don't see how the tranny could be too far to the side if the car is straight. Hmmm....

Here's after the pull (I don't have a picture during the pull). I rolled the car backward out from under the engine. Worked well.

Can't let Chloe beat me with pictures! Here's my engine hooked up to the hoist. When you lift it, the weight of the transmission pulls the back end down and allows you to angle the transmission down at the back and the front of the engine up. I left the transmission mount attached to the car and detatched it from the transmission. That was probably the hardest part - dragging the rear of the transmission off the mount as it came forward. Probably a better way to do that.

It's easier to get them out together, but you have to remove the shifter. Not sure what year you're working on, but the shifter comes out easily into the passenger compartment once you remove the console and the rubber boot around the shifter itself. Usually just a circlip and a pin. Although all I've ever done are 240Z and 280Z's; never a ZX.

Auction just ended. Was still at $100 until one minute before ending. Finished at $181. What fun! I tossed $125 at it at about that time, and I was already outbid by the time I submitted it!