mlc240z

definitely love the color. welcome and keep us posted. bart

red-eye, same site under new parts http://www.cybersanford.net/NEWPARTS!.html bart

i never understood the benefit of an impact wrench, always thought it was just a tool to loosen nuts quickly. then my son bought one........ it's gotta be one of the best tools to use especially on older rusted fasteners. i have yet to break a bolt using this thing, and i know if i just used a breaker bar i would have torqued off quite a few.

one thing i notice is that all these people interviewed say they WITNESSED beatings and rapes, and then ask "where is the help and the police". no tv available so i guess that's their entertainment? just stand there and watch? why can't THEY do something, after all they're right there. 15,000 people in the superdome, at least half adults. in a society, it's everybody's responsibility to respond, not just the 'government'.

can't help you there, i haven't done it..........yet. i'm sure someone else can answer that, there's a lot of guys who autox here. bart

watch your prices, but i've had some good luck on ebay. beck-arnley ball joints with shipping for less than local parts store, MSA or VB. local parts stores, napa, autozone etc are also options but expect to wait a few days for special ordering and shipping. online for beck-arnley and generics try www.rockauto.com pricing is pretty good and fast, reasonable shipping bart

I think the scope of the devastation just overwhelmed any preparations they had in place. You can plan all you want, but the best laid plans become really inadequate if the wind shifts and the storm comes ashore 50 miles away. It's just too unpredictable. As far as the levees and other flood mitigation projects, we're all guilty of the same thinking, even to the local and personal level. Despite what a lot of people think, there's no money tree. It's a finite pot and everybody chooses what to spend it on based on the needs at the time. Say, for example, the government has $300 million to spend on NOLA. They already have the current levee system in place and if, before this storm, you went to the people and asked what to spend it on, I doubt few would have said make the levees stronger IN CASE we ever get hit by a storm. In the past, we've weathered everything and it always misses us anyway. That's why a lot of people stayed thinking they'll just ride it out. They would say been there, done that, we've ALREADY spent all this money (over $450million since just 1995), don't waste it on the same project. With all the other needs to throw money at, they probably would want roads repaved/improved, welfare assistance increased, job training, a new park, a new stadium or convention center and the jobs that go with it, more police, etc.etc.etc....... NOONE can predict the future. I can guarantee a lot of money will be thrown at this now, but you might never get hit by another storm like this. Unfortunately, people often use hindsight to point fingers at everyone else but themselves.

try here, but you'll have to check on international shipping. http://www.ztherapy.com/ bart

i think we all get hit by the "might as well's", as in while i'm replacing this heater core i "might as well" replace the hoses, and the valve, and the grommets, and since i have the box out i "might as well" clean it up, lube the hinges and the cables, repaint it, replace all the door gaskets............... ran into the same problem fixing just a hatch lock. by the time i was finished (????), the hatch had new glass weatherstripping, all rear lights had new gaskets and cleaned lenses, new rivets, redone antenna, new paint on hatch strut, refabricated and recovered hatch finish panel............... fix and clean up one item, it makes the adjacent piece look crappy by comparison so you just keep on going. the good thing is by doing it all at the same time, you're refurbishing parts that probably haven't been touched in 30+ years and finishing whole quadrants at a time. the bad thing is a $30 fix can turn into a $300 refurb in no time at all. but we all have to have a hobby, don't we? bart

i've only used dave's so i haven't any personal experience with vb's. i know dave's is more expensive (about 2X) than vb's with shipping but after reading about some of the installation quirks and seeing the pics of the harness, i'd still buy dave's. check these two threads: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18141&highlight=vb+harness http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14466&page=1&pp=15&highlight=vb+harness bart

heartily recommend this upgrade. zsondabrain (Dave Irwin) sells the harness. check for current price but believe me, the quality of his fabrication and the boost in brightness make it worth the money. it's totally 'plug and play', fits perfectly and looks like it came original with the car. plus he's a nice guy who will answer any questions that come up during installation. bart

definitely check wheel bearings, especially a change in pitch with turns. off the wall idea, but could it be coming from your fan clutch or water pump? if the clutch is frozen and turns at engine speed, it could make a 'roaring' sound at higher rpms. if water pump, bad bearings can also make a moaning sound. just a guess, tho. bart

agreed. new hoses with today's better rubber compounds married with the look of oem braiding. i just like the 'different' look of the braiding compared to the plain rubber you see on every car today. just another detail that sets the Z apart from the rest of the pack.

i'd love to find someone who sells just the cloth braiding that could be slipped over aftermarket hoses to simulate oem. everywhere i've looked the only thing available is stainless covered hoses. they look great but i'd rather the oem look. bart

i'll second that. do it once, replace all hoses, clean up the heater box, lube cables etc. i had my heater core boiled out and pressure checked/repaired at the same time. you can sleep easier knowing its all good. it's enough of a PITA that you won't want to get it all together and have a leaking hose in a couple of months. on my '71, there is a small prebent hose connecting the core to the valve (don't know if same in yours) that i was able to get at local auto parts store. the counterman was able to find the same bend and i just had to cut it to length (about $6). bart

tomo, when you say hatch stays, do you mean the brackets for the hatch struts? that's what i thought you were referring to. the 240z only has one strut, so by heating the panel up 'a little', i was able to bend it around without removing the bracket. after i got the panel out, i still couldn't see how the bracket was attached (welded?) so unfortunately, i'm no help to you there.

it also might help to heat them up a little with a hair dryer or leave in the sun for a while to soften them up. i found this helped to reduce my 'stress level' when bending 30+ year old plastic trim and allowed them to have a little more 'give'. bart

Enrique, where do you dead-end that clear tube. from the pic in your gallery, it looks like it goes to the other side in one continuous piece. did you wait until both fenders were back in place before cutting it? looks like a great idea, by the way. thanks, bart

yup, just bought one this past weekend. Lisle #20750 about $20 at local auto parts store. the bigger chains (R&S in NJ, Autozone, didn't get to Sears ) didn't carry them anymore. makes bumping the engine a breeze. bart

ditto on the beck-arnley, seems to be a good mfg. same for wagner and standard (elect). always had good luck with napa parts also but i don't know who makes them. One company i advise you to stay away from, if they're still around is KEM. Especially avoid their electric/electronic parts, unless you need the practice by replacing the same part in a year. i don't know who was the 'real' company behind them, but they across-the-board sucked. used to be sold by a parts store called KarParts out here (wow, amazingly went out of business), but i have a sneaking suspicion they were a division of advance auto parts. hope this helps, bart

ed, just about the most beautiful Z i've seen yet. keep the pictures coming, the ones i looked at have my drool all over them. congrats on the end of what must have been an incredibly long, hard road. but jesus, one look must make it all worthwhile. a true show piece. enjoy, bart

isn't it amazing how easy it gets when you finally acquire the wisdom (and experience) to not sweat the small stuff.

i've used JBWeld before but i've also had very good luck with regular soldering. i've soldered small leaks with a propane torch, acid flux and regular plumbing solder. drain, get the area of leak as clean as you can (wire brush), apply flux and heat the part until the solder will flow into the hole. heat the part, not the solder which will help it to flow and seal. don't overload with solder internally since it might plug the tube you're trying to fix. alternatively, i recently took my leaky heater core to a local radiator shop. for $35 they boiled it out, repaired the leak and pressure tested to 25lbs since i didn't want to have to pull it out in the near future. for me it was worth the price. hope this helps, bart

best to check it out with them, i could be wrong. but i've always seen fresh air ducts shown as being the underhood elbows that come off the radiator support. at $10 each used, the price is consistent with what i paid for mine. at least you can get them now without waiting for them to pop up on ebay.

just got an email ad from www.zcarsource.com they list fresh air ducts 240-280, $10 each side. Summer 2005 specials.doc