26th-Z

What are you doing up at this hour?

I bought a car sight-unseen and look what I got! That isn't rust. It's a brown metal-flake "finish"! You mentioned that the car doesn't run. That is going to be your big problem. I got quotes as low as $800 from Delaware to Florida in an open trailer, but most of the quotes were over a grand because the car was dead. I hope you really want this car. It is going to cost you as much to ship it as you probably paid for it. Springle Transport Services, Inc. stscars.com TugRacing at aol dot com Tell Billy I said hello. Best of luck

Suffering from the same agony Zman seems to be having, a dear friend loaned me his metal working videos from Eastwood. Great inspiration and I learned a lot about repairing car bodies. I highly recommend them. They don't teach you how to weld but show you what procedure to use and where it is appropriate to use what technique. There is one on making metal shapes and one on repairing sheet metal. I think they are Covel videos. Look them up.

Skip, I probably deserved that. Owe you a beer. OK, PENETRATING OIL FREAKS ! ! ! DIRECT RECOMMENDATION FROM AIRCRAFT MECHANICS http://www.mousemilk.com/

Skip, Learn something. WD-40 is NOT a penetrating oil. I doesn't do basically the same thing at all. What's the difference? Viscosity, surface tension, chemical composition...stuff like that.

Yes, they all have that plate. The "Z" logo is special also.

The sway bar mount area of the frame gets a lot of water and the sway bar bolt threads above the captive nut welded inside the frame get rusty. You were trying to unscrew a badly rusted bolt. Shame on you! And shame on whomever suggested WD-40. WRONG stuff for this application. Use pentrating oil like PB Blaster or Kroil. So if you go the EZ-out route, you are still trying to unscrew a seriously rusted bolt. DON'T DO IT, MAN !! Drill out the bolt and re-tap the threads to remove the rest of the bolt. Spray a bunch of oil up inside your frame. You have a rust issue.

Hi guys! I didn't want to seem like I was hijacking this thread. The electrolysis rust removal process SuperDave is talking about is exactly what I am doing to 26th and what 27th faces. Those shots were "just out of the tank" and the babe was still wet and full of bits of crap. Her Majesty sat in the tank for about three days however they pulled the car out and rotated it every day. Yes, all the rust in the hollow spaces and layers of metal is gone. These pictures just don't do this process justice. Its just amazing. Rusty areas are eroded like an achne on the metal. Holes are jagged with thin edges. Seams that had rust inside look like an explosion went off and even some holes look exploded like a bullet hole. Then, there are some really interesting things to see in the factory metal. What I have decided to do is leave the car with welder Dale in Wauchula. He gave me a very optimistic estimate for the metal work and I think this is going to save me a bunch of time and effort as well as provide better results. Actually, I was shocked when he told me he didn't think it was going to take him more than a week. The car will be dipped again after the welding to get rid of the surface rust that is going to happen between now and the end of July. Then with a clean shell again, there is about ten days time before surface rust. The car gets hauled back to Sarasota, two hours away, and we set the car up on stands to prime it right away. I have these long plastic wands to spray primer up inside the metal sections so that the end result is coverage better than what the factory did 36 years ago. Then, all the seams get sealed again with new sealer. Then the floor tar insulation goes down (I bought factory tar material from Chloe years ago). Then the car gets painted. Sounds like a lot of work by August, doesn't it? Well...I can dream. Here are a couple of shots I have been sharing around. Factory stitch welding over the front and rear of the tunnel. This demonstrates the hand fabrication techniques of the time and shows how sub-assemblies were connected. The last shot of the front radiator gusset plate shows a welding rivet peculiar to the early body shells. Later shells have nice spot welds.

28527th is an estate sale car and was on eBay last March. I don't recall that it sold at that time. I'll have to look it up. It is a nice one - #918 New Sight Orange. Evidently, it was driven occasionally when it was purchased instead of garage collected. The story about the son buying the car for his retired father is true. I talked to the son last March. At the time, I think we were picking at it because the lighter was missing from the console. I wouldn't be surprised if this car has a couple of maintanence issues. Look, you guys. Vintage Zs have all sorts of oddball parts and features. Take my word for the moment. A cassette deck is quite possible. An incorrect dash would be common. A real leather interior is unlikely. I think the only people who know that the interior isn't leather are us. I'm still working on the biggest, longest explanation of Vintage Zs you can ever imagine. Including; "Pictures with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back explaining each one"! I think the Vintage Z story is fascinating and unique. If I were to buy a collector / investment grade Z, I would consider one of these. Great car to show and dabble with. Thanks for the heads-up, Patrick. So, its out of the bag, Vicky? On its way? When does it arrive? Did you buy that brochure? Was that your car?

This is Her Majesty the 26th, bare naked metal and 100% rust free. She also has some holes where rust used to be. Poor thing. She is just out of the tank and has not been wiped down yet. These pictures are from this morning. She sat in the electrolysis tank for three days after all the paint and junk was stripped off. The plastic covering on the wire harness metal tabs has not been harmed nor has any of the lead filler. She is 100% rust free inside and out. Cool, huh?

When I drew the drawing in my gallery, I imported the .jpg and scaled it to approximatley the metric dimensions shown by laying out the size in Cad with construction lines. Then I traced over the lines using the curve and line command. Once I got the basic curves and lines drawn, I edited the lines to make the endpoints meet. I didn't spend a lot of time accurately tracing the picture or making sure the picture was a matching scale. It's close, but it could be better. Lets see if this replacement picture will load. Its nice and large.

I haven't done any research work, however I will some time in the future when I start restoring consoles. I'm headed for SEM products. Kats told me about a filler material he used from SEM. But this is a problem like getting a pinhole leak in the radiator. The problem is far greater than one or two cracks. The covering has dried out and it is seriously fragile. Eventually, the Z car dash is going to crumble to dust. About a year or so ago, this club went through a big dash restoration project and a bunch of us shipped our dashes to Australia to be recovered. I think everyone was pleased, but we were all whincing from the price we paid. At this point, I would say that having the dash recovered is the first class way to go and perfectly acceptable. Full dash caps are fine, but noticeable. Half caps are hard to fit, but they work well also. I would suggest that once you glue a cap on the dash, there is no turning back.

Rubber parts source http://166.82.96.9/homeframes.html Steele Rubber Parts. See their add in Hemmings.

Sorry to just post the link to my drawing and blow town. I drew that picture in AutoCad when I did a garage for Carl Beck. He never built the garage. That drawing is by no means accurate enough to model. I just drew it - like a CAD hand drawing, if there is such a thing. I have drawings of all kinds of cars, F1 racers, motorcycles, boats. I use them for presentation architectural plans. Send me your e-mail address and I'll copy some .dwg files to you AutoCad buffs. I picked up AutoCad v.2 when I was using VersiCAD in a UCSD Pascal P-system environment. I am a retired DOS-Meister. Bet you guys didn't know that. These days, I just surf porn sites and pay some young kid to service the computer network. So....I suggest the easiest thing might be to draw plans and elevations from the design drawings in the Factory Service Manuals. Mark, your idea has some great merit to it. I don't think anyone is going to come up with any earth shattering aerodynamic discovery, but it sounds like a fun project and if pictures can be posted, they would be fun to see and discuss. I think we pretty much know all about the aerodynamics of the S30. Perhaps the information that has been published has now become collector's items. I think a new discussion would be appropriate. I'll warn you all, though. You're going to find out that the S30 is an aerodynamic...what was that?....turd in a punchbowl? TOO FUNNY! I don't think there is any need to expend a bunch of time and energy on "laser 3D profile dynamic surveys". The information you might get from all that accuracy isn't going to have any application value. If you want an aerodynamicly efficient Zcar, buy a 350.

http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=5479&cat=500&page=8

I'll post another thread to get this in front of everyone again. This issue contains all kinds of other good reading. How many times do I hear questions about changing U-joints? Great "how to" article. How about skim coat filler body work? There is a nice conversation with Barry Mequire - wax and polish mogul. This is a keeper issue and a Z is on the cover. A yellow Z!

Yes, the subject involves several other issues such as pitch-roll-yaw and drag. From what I read, the Nissan rear spoiler was designed and placed to destroy lift by separating the accelerated boundary layer of air traveling over the hatch. I don't think it has anything to do with the rear suspension exclusively. There was data available from Jim Cook Racing lab work conducted in the late '70s which points to the same conclusions. Suffice to say that the S30 produces lift causing instability and that the BRE combo spook / spoiler is a real good "bang-for-the-buck" solution. The setup closely mimics the Nissan solution and even though it produces more drag, it probably helps with cooling better. I'll reiterate my point and that is the combination of equipment gives the best results.

Not a problem, Alan. We are getting off the topic and loosing ground on factual information anyhow. My suggestion to Patrick was simply do both the front spook and the rear spoiler. Not just one. I don't have time to argue my reasons. Carl, how about if we just agree to not talk about automotive aerodynamics. I'm really not up on the fine points luggage influence. In the mean time, you might go back to your Z Car magazines and read the articles Ben Millspaugh, Phd,. Aerospace, wrote in 1995. That would be good reading for anyone who is interested in Z car aerodynamics. Thanks

Heads up all kinds of people here! July issue #115 - Classic Motorports. Not only the road test comparison between the 240Z, TR6, MGB, 914, and Volvo 142S but.... Shelby's Toyotas: A Look Back at the Historic 2000GTs

Hey sopwith! Over here in Loxahatchee, we got Carroll Snailby- fastest woman clay track land speed record driver ever. You should see her weave her way through the sugar cane fields! She was gonna do a cover for Spots Illustrious magazine, but they wanted a smile photo and she ain't got no teeth. Best damned kep secert. You go ahead and keep boasting about Indianapolis, but they're snickering at you down there in Loxy. "Why are the media and some fans are so passionate about her that they're willing to blow her accomplishments out of proportion and ignore other deserving drivers in order to create a hero?" Because she is unique! :stupid: She's young, cute, fit and fast. You can pronounce her name. She's All American. And let's face it, she's fast. I hear that Bobby Rahal scouted her from an English Formula Ford series. She was runner-up in one of the old Toyota Atlantic seasons. Quite frankly, she turned "a miserable race that doesn't matter" into the cover of Sports Illustrated. She is exactly what the 500 needed and precisely what a serious group of people have been trying to do with F1. Danica put on a show. Danica is on the cover of Sports Illustrated because she did what Danny Sullivan did - she spun in the middle of the race and survived. She has made Bobby Rahal so much damned money in the last week, it is incredable. The All American kid is exactly the hero all Americans want for their All American race of races and they finally got it. And she was a girl! Even better. I'm sorry to say that no one cares about Fillipe Giaffone. They can't even pronounce his name. The first comment I hear about the guy who won, is: "yea, a Brit". So there is my answer to your curiosity. I think it is even greater that she didn't win the race. She won the publicity race and you can bet that she will win races in the future. She has the car and team behind her and she is making them a ton of money. She is exactly what Americans want. __________________

Hey sopwith! Dirt track racing mecca in Loxahatchee, Florida. Home of the Southern Hemisphere Hog Pull. Over 20 million people toured the museum and attended the Hog Pull last year. There. Change your avatar. You guys are taking this all too seriously. I can't help but chuckle. Memories take me back to the SCCA beer parties in Palm Beach when the likes of Rahal, Guthrie, and St. James were thrashing it out. Bobby Rahal had an incredible Ralt.

"Car & Driver also tested the factory front spoiler and found it to be all but ineffective. It only protruded down about 3.5" and had no significant effect on reducing lift." That is a correct statement only regarding Car & Driver's article. There are other tests, including Nissan's that convey different results. That's why the cars were fitted with the devices to begin with. Car & Driver, as well as BRE / Interpart, recommend both devices - front and rear. "The additional lift at the rear is hardly noticeable... and all but gone if you are packed for a road trip." That is a subjective statement that cannot be substantiated. What does it mean? Every time you want stability in the rear end at speed, you put a couple of concrete blocks back there?

You guys are too much. Geez, Beaver, give it a rest! Indy is Indy and it always will be. Yes, racing capital of the world as well as greatest spectacle in motor racing. No justification required - that's just the way it is. Good on the young lass. She gave excitement and controversy to what was otherwise another boring roun-D-round. Very few spin at Indy and survive. For all the bumping and bashing that went on, I would say it was a very good show. Best Indy show I have seen in recent memory.

Ben, I always took you for a waxing sort of guy. You surprise me. I have been using a polymer sealer and glazing system made by Klasse lately. But if I may... - ...point out some things and make some comments. Metallic blue / light blue is probably the worst color for sun damage and fading. Your color will only last as long as you care for it. Red colors are similar. The clay bars are effective for removing environmental polution damage as dust fuses with the paint surface. Keep the surface you are working with the clay bar very wet and lubricated. I fold the clay bar over on itself every now and then to get a clean surface and not wipe the dirt it is picking up. Very light pressure wiping motions. You will feel the surface clean up. Clay cleaning is serious and should only be done occasionally. Normal waxing cleaners should keep the paint surface free from the contaminants most of the time. There are waxes and then there are waxes. No fooling you get what you pay for and the better stuff gives you better looking results. But wax evaporates. My car sits out most of the day and in the Florida sun, I wax every month. Then I bought this stuff called Klasse from a club member and I swear by it. My latest secret car shine goo. It says to use it every six months, but I have been doing the car every three. Back to zero's original question about what to do with a crappy paint job. The only way to get the runs and puddles out is to sand them - as suggested, block wet-sand with 600 grit and finer. Buffing the car may be the easiest solution for the most immediate satisfaction. It is well worth the cost to take it to a detailer and have it done. Then you can become a waxing queen. Remember: a waxed car is 5mph faster.

I had a half dash cap once.