Sailor Bob

Whoa - that is absolutely beautiful.

Welcome aboard, your new Z looks great. The paint doesn't look that bad, looks like mostly the clearcoat that is shot. I wonder how that would look after some compound and elbow grease/or buffer. My paint was worse and came back to life pretty good. Anyway - I don't think you'll find a 70's car with much more character than a Z. Enjoy.

Excellent video. Wish I had the car, money and guts to have a go at it.

Looks too nice to put a spare tire in

Not sure about the centre peg thing mine just snapped in from the outside. I have some others that slide through the centre of the wheel to fit very snuggly (I think that is standard) Motorsport carries a couple of different types and sizes - you might be able to see them on their website which has a link at the top of this page. edit: Just checked - they are under wheels and accesories.

I think there is another thread on this.

I believe that POR stands for "Paint Over Rust", that being said ... Hmmm there's really not much else to say, but I will anyway My personal experience was to remove flaking and loose rust with a wire brush and paint right over it - worked great. I don't believe that you need to take the chance of passing right through the floor by using excessive force just to remove all hints of rust as this is designed to seal the surface without having to entirely strip it. The Marine clean is a degreaser/cleaner - marketing.

Thanks Mezz if anyone is interested going to Cold Springs Nevada/Cali to look at it I would appreciate the assistance. I mis-stated the location earlier. Didn't do well with geography.

"Washoe County, about 20 miles up 395, out of Reno" a quote from the owner.

Wanted to get a look at a Z to see if it as good as it looks on the net. Any volunteers?

Will - Thanks, I was thinking that way (sort of), but I have limited experience in such matters. The car is relatively low milage <50k and always garaged (according to current owner), so I am thinking the damage should be very local (what you see...). Would there be reason to believe that there are further concerns of this nature? May sound dumb to those of you who can simply go look at a car, but buying a Z from across the country is tricky and one has to ask the correct questions and look for the right things to be successful. It's like trying to thread a needle with a boat hook - you need good eyes, steady nerves and excellent timing.

I am looking at a 73 in Arizona that appears to be in very good condition all around. The paint appears to be original and in very good condition inside and out - as one would expect from a well taken care of, dry climate vehicle. Question is: the lower ledge of the rear hatch is rotted along a line, almost from one side to the other - What's up with that? Any reason why this would seem sensible? And is this an indication of other issues?

My 77 was the same - came from California and looking at the paint one would think she was never under a carport. the oxidation was severe enough to have a textured feel to it and a wipe of the hand picked up residue. I used a medium polishing compound followed with fine, that brought it back from the heavy oxidation stage. Last summer Enrique lined me up on Maquires polish and wax - worked great and has definately stood up well. Just follow the instructions on the bottle. No doubt it took twenty five years off the age of the paint.

Welcome to the site Woody. Congratulaions on your aquisition, your going to enjoy it. I can't recommend a shop in the area, but having gone through the process I can say that although it is time consuming it is a great way to become familiar with the car. You will need to determine exactly how far you wish to go with the job. Are you doing bushings as well as shocks/springs? In either case you will find lots of information on the what types and how to in the search function - it's all been well covered over the years. Good luck SB

I always wanted to sail on an aircraft carrier or a battleship, but it was not to be. Although the Canadian navy was the third largest in the world at the end of WW2, by the time I joined (after a significant period of liberal goverment) our large major vessel (HMCS Boniventure (aircraftcarrier) was on its way to the razorblade yard and we were reduced to a few destroyers, a fleet of frigates, four submarines and an assortment of minor vessels. You yanks got all the good toys - always did (Recent history). I was a sailboat sailor as well. Did some amature (club and regional) competitive sailing as well including a match series from Lake Ontario to Charlettetown Prince Edward Island. Vessels included C & C 27's/30's/35/36/38, C & S 33. This would be my other potential money pit for the future. Last point - I got my first Z when I joined my first ship - 71Z in 76.

Just cause you can does not mean you should! I am amazed that you even consider it.

Up here on the "Rock" (Newfoundland) in the city of St. John's we do a Thursday evening thing at the local A & W. Pretty much the same deal, but it runs in the summer evenings from about 6 to 9pm. It seems to have been a celebration of the old "drive in" days with mostly antiques or period vehicles, but now it is a combination of Antiques (of course all period vehicles are now antiques anyway), street rods and unusual sightings (saw a Mercedes there last year that ran on deep fryer fat (perhaps there for a fill up)). The people are largely members of the antique car association and largely north american car enthusiasts, but all are welcome. They seem to go more for Root beer than coffee .

Hey guys and gals - just wondering how many current or ex seagoing personnel are in this club. I made a comment in a 1 Bravo 6 funnybone thread: The difference between sailors and Z car owners is "Sailors talk about home when on the ship and the ship when they are at home, but Z car owners simply always talk about their cars". It is an obvious contradiction because as seagoing Z car owners we don't fit either bill entirely and both to some degree. Anyway, didn't want to highjack that thread, but found it interesting to find out I was not one of a kind and now I am curious. Who else is/was a sailor? Me - I was with the Canadian Navy back in the 70's, sailed on destroyers/frigates as a technician/seaman. I have 32 years on various ship's in various capacities and am currently with the Canadian Coast Guard working on an Offshore Fishery Patrol vessel (picture in my gallery). Don't be shy, admit the awful truth if you are/were a sailor:classic: and give a few details of your past.

Unintentional highjack: Seth - you wouldn't be the only Z if you went that route and there are several Porsches each year as well. I would like to do it but my car simply isn't ready for that (yet).

The difference between sailors and Z car owners: sailors always talk about home when they are on the boat and the boat when they are at home where as the Z car owners simply always talk about thier cars.

I don't think that is the only people complaining about gas prices. That is a very narrow view. If you are living on $10 an hour you will feel it soon in the supermarkets or for that matter anywhere that you have to pay for a necessity - prices will rise on virtually everything that is in anyway shipped - the truckers and air operators will realize their costs and recoup them out of your pocket (likely with a few dollars profit as well).

Oil investors are laughing til they crap their pants. A small munber of people are making billions of $$$s off our loss. We are sheep - simply following the path where ever it goes. It is amazing that so many people are aware that they are being ripped off and there is no action taken to regulate oil company's profits. Maybe when the cost of all goods rise it will sink in. I live on an island and shipping costs are beginning to be factored into food costs here. For me: I will get through it, but for the lower rung of society it's gonna sting.

What a pile of s--t that carbon tax talk is the liberals are talking the same BS in Ottawa. I am thinking they want most Canadians to have a unuseable and unsellable pile of steel in their driveways that cost $30,000 as planters. The outragious price of fuel will has already reduced carbon emissions with out adding a new tax. On another matter: I wonder how much George Bush had invested in oil when he went into office? Further, how much does he have now? It would take Sherlock Holmes to track it down I'm sure, but I bet in five years he will be the richest ex president to ever reside in the US of A. It baffles me how he ever got a second term.

Marty First things first, the pile of the 77 carpet is long - I seem to remeber that the older Zs have short pile, don't know if that matters or not. I needed to use a hard brush to open it to the base while spraying. I will go through my box of 1/2 empty spray cans and see if I can find one. I believe the product was actually called carpet dye - I bought it at a "Canadian tire" store - it's kind of a everything store for all kinds of car related junk and sundries. I am heading out there this afternoon - I'll see if I can get a name for you.

Did mine with a spray bomb (6) - after a very intense cleaning, it took several coats - brushing the fabric in every possible direction - but the results were dramatic. Looks new - I am very pleased. Also dyed the cargo straps in a bucket of hot salty water with regular fabric color - less impressed but adequate results.