Pop's Z

I have had the same problem on 2 different cars both 73 Zs. My "solution" was to reinstall the knob using a dab of silicon seal on the threads of the lever. Worked both times. Word of warning: don't use too much silicon seal or it will be difficult to remove the knob later on. Cheers, Mike

FWIW, I had a new exhaust system built locally for my 73 stock Z. I used 2- 1/4" aluminized pipe and a Dynomax ROUND super turbo muffler part#17 741. It looks almost like the stock muffler(dimensions:14"X6"...19" total). When I first had the system done I had them put in a 20" glasspac(reversed for better flow) for resonance, but had it removed as the system was too quiet,almost like stock. It sounds much better now, but is not at all loud...just right for me and no resonance. I also had them weld in a flange up front so the system could be removed for suspension work, etc. I'm very happy with the system. It cost about $200 and is nicely tucked up underneath the car...in the same plce as the old system. Cheers, Mike

FWIW, I used plastic covers that come with new mattresses. They were free and the material was very heavy duty. I used the door panels to make a template, cut them with scissors and put them on with weatherstrip adhesive. You will probably ruin the plastic when (and if) you have to remove them, but as I said they were free... Cheers, Mike

Or you could just block it off on the inside w/ a piece of fiberglass tape put on with some epoxy resin...Cheers, Mike

FWIW The KYB struts I installed on my 73 were silver and the above part #s are correct. Cheers, Mike

Arne, When I put on my KYBs a month ago it raised the ride height of the car1/2" all around. I measured very carefully before and after installation. I feel the old Konis had sagged that much. As I stated before the ride is MUCH better: smooth, yet firm, yet not kidney busting. fwiw. Cheers, Mike

There are no rubber end caps on my 73(build date 6/73). There are some rubber pieces between the bumper and the body, but they are small and go over the fastening points on the bumper ends themselves. They don't look like those in the Black Dragon cat. Hope that helps. Cheers, Mike

Dave, It's not really your car until it has taken some of your blood. Cheers, Mike

Dave, Saw your carbs at the MSA show...I would trade, but it's too labor-intensive to change. I really like your balance tube. Cheers, Mike

As ZSaint sez: The best is yet to come. I put my ZTherapy carbs on a month ago and WHAT a difference! The car was transformed from a nice runner to a great runner. It winds up to 6K without a miss or stumble. I was skeptical about the $600, but it was some of the best bucks I have spent on the car. Cheers, Mike

Arne, The Konis were on the car when I bought it last spring from the original owner. He said they were installed in the 80's. He also said they were set to the "softest setting". The car had only 69,000 original miles so the Konis weren't that old mileage-wise. The reason I changed them out was after some spirited driving three of them were leaking(possibly age related seal failure). When I pulled them they exibited signs of failure(easy to pull up hard to push down w/leaks around the top of the strut). They rode fairly hard, but they had no rebound i.e.firm on the downstroke, poor rebound on the upstroke(almost like there was no strut in the car). I am very happy with the KYBs. The ride is firm w/o jarring your teeth, but smooth over most road imperfections. For what it's worth, I also had Konis on my 2 Datsun 2000 roadsters and set on the lowest setting the cars had great road control, but rode like trucks. Cheers, Mike

I just changed out my old Koni struts for KYBs. The ride went from hard/harsh to smooth,yet firm. No more kidney pounding for me. I'm very satisfied with the KYBs. I did this work myself and found that it was not that difficult. I got the struts as a package from shox.com...great people to deal with. That being said, shipping to Bahrain might be a tad on the expensive side. Cheers, Mike

No. Colo. 5 estimates to repair minor surface rust on hatch from previous vinyl roof and paint "as close to factory color #114 metallic brown" with clear coats. Bids were from $3,000 to $8,000. I went with a local shop who paints custom cars. $3,500 including under hood, but no engine bay, door/hatch jams(they didn't really need painting as the color wasn't changed). They did a marvelous job and I was completely satisfied. I did run into many shops that were not interested in painting a whole car...it slowed down their insurance repairs. Go to car shows and ask around about paint shops. You will get some answers there. Gday, Mike

Kenny, Check your PMs Mike

Hi Kenny, Good on you for the trophies. Are you going to enter the "Old Town Car Show" sponsored by the Silver Grille in Ft. C? It's on June 10th. I believe that "Z-Ferrari" was in last year's show...the owner was representing it as a Ferrari...it was nice ,but not a Ferrari. I have my car running really good and have had it out a few times. New suspension pieces(bushings, ball joints, tie-rod ends, KYBs,etc), new exhaust system, Ztherapy carbs, Crane XR-700, new seat foam(BIG difference). I took it to Boulder thru Hygiene...where is T&D exactly?...and a quick trip up thru Estes and peak-to-peak...WHEE. These cars are sure a lot of fun. Mike G.

I just did this and believe me it was a lot easier to take the arms to a machine shop and have them pressed out. You can burn out the rubber, but the sleeves are NOT coming out. ZTherapy has a video that shows a couple of ways to do this, IMHO a machine shop is the easiest way. Cost $25. You won't believe the difference when you are all done...you won't believe it's the same car. Be sure to check your ball joints and tie rod ends while you're doing all this. If you have any doubts about them...replace them all. Also after you re-do all this you will need to get an alignment. Have fun. Mike G.

Not to hi-jack the thread, but in order to use my old car in the winter I had put radial snow tires on all four corners...it helped, but it was sure exciting at times...maybe a limited-slip diff. would have helped...it did on my 68 2000. That did have a lsd and went pretty good for a sports car...also exciting at times. Mike G.