kenz240z

Very nice work! Outstanding job on beating out the dents. That is fast becoming a lost art. I love the color, it looks great on your Z!

Hmm, in looking at the photos for the car...are the rear bumper over riders on upside down???

I would recommend using a drop or two of Craftsman Grip Doctor (item #41782 on the bottle) on the tip of the Phillips screwdriver. When I disassembled the rear window frames on my Z to replace the window glass gaskets I stripped the head of the first screw I tried to remove. That's when I remembered the Grip Doctor stuff. I used it on the remaining screws and got them all out without any trouble. This stuff works. As far as the stripped out screw, I used a Craftsman screw extractor. I have a three piece kit #52154. I selected the proper size extractor and used it to successfully remove the stripped out screw.

I cleaned the brake lines on my Z with steel wool and brake cleaner. Once nice & clean I refinished them with Eastwood's golden cad paint kit (http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?itemID=722&itemType=PRODUCT). First you spray the part with the gold paint, then apply random thin coats of the red & green paints. It looks almost like a cadmium plated part when done.

Hi MEZZZ, one thing you could try to help the Kleen Strip work better...after you have applied it over the paint, cover it with plastic (cut up garbage sack, plastic sheeting, etc...). That will keep the Kleen Strip from drying out and allow it to remove the paint.

Steve, one quick thought, did you disconnect the condenser when you took the dizzy apart? Can't tell from the photo if it is hooked up or not.

Steve, I just took the cap off the dizzy in my Z and it looks just like the photo you have, as far as where the wires are going. I can't really tell from the photo, but the wire that runs from the points to the terminal with the black wire looks like it might be frayed. You might make sure it doesn't have a break in it. That wire broke in my old dizzy - I've got a rebuilt one in the car now.

Most likely your '73 has an electric fuel pump mounted under the car back by the fuel tank on the passenger side. There is a fuel filter inside of it that you should check. Mine was filled with silt/sediment from the tank. My '73 had been sitting for 7 years before I bought it. I'd also recommend replacing all the flexible fuel hoses that connect the electrical fuel pump to the tank and the hard fuel line. Follow the recommendations that Warren, Jim and Enrique have provided and you should be in good shape. A few other suggestions: replace the points, rotor and cap in the dizzy. Change the oil and oil filter. Drain & refill the radiator. Replace the water pump and thermostat. Replace all belts, hoses and flexible fuel lines. Replace the mechanical fuel pump and the fuel filter on the passenger side inner fender. Adjust the valves. Clean the carbies as best you can WITHOUT taking them apart or fiddling with the linkage between them. Oh, and a new air filter, too. A few more things if your car has the round top SU carbies: Remove the banjo fitting from the float bowl cover on each carby and clean the filter screen inside. Then remove the float bowl cover, drain (if needed) and clean the inside of the float bowl (unless you have very early SU's, there should be a drain plug on the side of the float bowl). Inspect the needle, seat and float for any problems. Adjust the float (do a search, I can't remember the measurements...). Put the float bowl covers back on with a new gasket - make your own or buy new ones. Remove the dipstick on the top of the carby dome and remove any old oil that is in there and replace with clean 20 wt oil. Check to make sure the fuel nozzles aren't stuck or frozen in the carbies. Pulling the choke lever back should pull the fuel nozzles down about 1/4". If the fuel nozzles are stuck, plan to remove the carbies for thorough cleaning and a rebuild (or replace with refurbished ones from ZTherapy). Hopefully that will cover most of it, I may have forgotten a few things. But, these are all items to consider before you run the engine for any length of time. Once you get the engine running I would discourage you from attempting to drive the car until you have addressed the following: Brakes Steering Suspension Clutch (if equipped) Transmission Lights Horn Wipers Seat belts In short, you should insure that your car is SAFE to drive before you ever take it out on the road. Keep us posted with your progress.

My buddy has a little Ford Festiva, with small thin tires (13" I think). Great in the snow and good on gas mileage.

Does using the choke 5 or 6 hours later help? Perhaps the choke isn't properly adjusted. With the choke lever pulled all the way back, the fuel nozzles should be pulled down out of the carb body about 1/4" and the throttle valves should be cracked open. Be sure to adjust the valves if you didn't do that yet...

Warren, leaving the ignition in the ON position for 24 hours will burn the points in the distributor. Sometimes filing the points will save them, sometimes they are toast and need to be replaced...

Yep, as has been mentioned the '73 has TWO fuel filters. One on the passenger side inner fender, and the other INSIDE the electric fuel pump mounted back by the tank (also on the passenger side. I had a similar problem with my '73. I replaced the fuel filter on the inner fender when I bought the car, along with new distributor cap, rotor, points and plugs. Still had problems. Then I "discovered" the filter in the electric fuel pump and replaced it. The old filter was thoroughly caked with silt and sediment from the tank (the car had been sitting for 7 years, go figure!!!). I also noticed that the fuel hose from the tank to the electric pump had a split. So I replaced ALL the sections of fuel hose in the fuel line: to the carbs, to/from the mechanical fuel pump, etc... At this point the car ran great for a while, but then started having problems again. On a whim, I replaced the filter on the inner fender again. Problem solved. Apparently, this filter got plugged up from the sediment, too. It just took a little longer for it to become a problem. Focus on the simple things first. Then fine tune everything. Start by adjusting the valves, as this affects the vacuum signal, which in turn affects the timing and the carburetors. Then replace the dizzy cap, rotor, points, plugs and plug wires. Take care to gap the plugs properly and adjust the point gap. Next set the timing. Finally, adjust the carbies.

Dave, thanks for the excellent information!

A base coat/clear coat paint job with a catalyzed acrylic urethane clear coat will provide a pretty strong finish. It could still chip, though. And bc/cc is harder to touch up if the chip penetrates through to the primer or metal. A single stage paint would be easier to touch up (no clear coat). I'd recommend finding a good paint/body shop and talk to someone there to see what they recommend. Avoid a commercial shop that does nothing but insurance work, look for a shop that specializes in restoration and custom work.

You may consider dropping down into Nebraska on your way to Mt. Rushmore to visit carhenge - http://www.carhenge.com/

I bought a 3 1/2 ton professional floor jack from NAPA. It's heavy, but rolls smoothly across the garage floor. The lift saddle has a rubber pad, so it won't scratch the paint on refinished suspension parts.

Bill, if you and your Z are ever up in the Berthoud area, give me a shout. I'd be glad to help you get your Z to start easier.

Gary, I agree that proper use of the choke may be all that is needed for Keith to get his Z to start right up. Many of the items I asked about would affect the performance of the engine while driving, too, not just starting the engine. Even so, the things I mentioned about float level, fuel nozzle/needle mis-alignment and choke pull off could be contributing to hard starting. Once warmed up, the problem might not be as noticeable. It's possible that his engine is running too rich/too lean due to a problem with the carbs, yet overall driveability might not be too aversely affected. Keith mentioned that he rebuilt the carbs, so I feel these are all valid suggestions for things to double check, especially since I'm not there when he starts it in the morning, and I'm not there to experience how well (or poor) the engine runs at normal operating temperature. The mechanic in me can't resist the urge to help troubleshoot the problem, even though I'm more than a holler down the road from Keith... And with that, I thought of another thing to check, although it would affect the carb when the choke is off. Keith, when you rebuilt the carbs what did you use for the fuel line that connects the float bowl to the fuel nozzle? The carb kits I purchased recenlty came with a nice, braided piece of fuel line. Neat looking, but not as flexible as the original line, and can contribute to the fuel nozzle binding in the bottom of the carb so that when you push the choke lever forward, the fuel nozzle(s) won't pull back up into the carb. This will cause the carb to run rich.

Another option is to lightly coat the cylinder head side of the gasket with grease. As Carl mentioned, torquing the bolts in the proper sequence is important.

Are the valves adjusted properly? Are the points gapped properly? Have you set the timing? Are the floats in the carbs set properly? Are the fuel nozzles properly centered? If not, the fuel needle may stick and prevent the piston from dropping all the way. Did you remove/replace the needles when rebuilding the carbs? If so, did you reinstall the needles correctly? Is the choke pull-off set properly? With the choke lever pulled all the way back, the fuel nozzle on each carb should drop about 1/4" AND the throttle valve should be opened slightly (around 0.025" iirc). Consult the FSM for all the carb adjustments (if you don't have a FSM, get one). I have '71 round top SU's on my '73. It will start on the first turn of the key after about 10 seconds of cranking.

xray, good tip about the Harbor Freight furniture dollies! When the engine is on the dolly is there any chance it could tip over? Perhaps strapping it to the dolly might help. Having a Z engine tip over and hit your Z or your body would be a real bummer...

Steve, looks like your Z is coming along nicely. A good body shop can be hard to find...it looks like you found one! I can't wait to see how it turns out!

Steve, if you are ever up near Berthoud with your '71 we can do a little comparison...a little drive in the foothills should do. The Peak to Peak highway might make for a good test.

Looks like a good score to me! I'd like to find an original, crack free dash for my '73. My Z has a full face dash cover and looks great, but not as good as an original! $850 for a mint dash is a big chunk o' change. But, if your Z doesn't need much else, you're getting off cheep. Consider this, my latest order from MSA came to just over $500 for such things as: 3 new fuel tank vent hoses 2 carb rebuilt kits 2 jet needles 2 carb nozzles 1 radiator cap 1 set of spark plug wires 1 6 slot plug wire clip 2 wiper blades 2 wiper blade refills 1 set of intake manifold coolant hoses 1 female hood latch 2 rear deck dove tails 2 rear deck side strikers 2 rear deck bumpers 1 hand brake boot 1 throttle pedal 1 coolant sending unit retaining nut 1 pack of interior rivets The order before that was $350 for a header and turbo exhaust system. Hmm, that's $850 so far...as I dig through the receipts I see another one from MSA for $324, one from Victoria British (now Black Dragon) for $498, another one from MSA for $356... You get the idea. My name is Ken. I own a Z car.

Just a thought, but if you truly plan to sell it, then sell it as is. From what the photos show, it appears that the car would be a manageable project to refresh or restore. When I buy an older car, I'm primarily concerned with how much time/effort/money it will need to make it safe to drive. The integrity of the body and subframe is part of that determination. I'd prefer to see a car, rust and all, rather than trust that all of the body work (including the repair of structural elements) has been done properly. There are exceptions, of course, say if the car has been thoroughly and professionally "refreshed", but then it would most likely be beyond the $3000/4000 range. A lot more than that if the car has been restored. But, I'm a do-it-yerselfer, and the challenge of tackling body work, mechanical work, interior work, etc... is something I enjoy. So, my thoughts are biased in that direction. If you don't find a buyer for the car as is, you can always part it out. It sounds like the car has several good parts that other Z car owners are in need of. Then again, you may consider keeping it and working on it yourself. I'd like to have TEN Z cars!