mperdue

How can you tell if a radiatior is 2, 3 or 4 row? Mine is supposed to be an upgraded but I want to check to be sure. If not I will upgrade it (I'm in Texas ya know!)

Eastwood Co has some products for painting wheels. http://www.eastwoodco.com/cgi-bin/sgsh0101.exe?&UID=2002072512513771&SKW=TSC3&FNM=20 I don't really know how these differ from other paints. I'll be using epoxy paint for mine since I'll have some left over from my suspension.

Anyone know when the defrost lines switched from vertical to horizontal? The '72 I've bought has the vertical strips. Also on the subject of glass, when I was removing my front windshield the other day I chipped it a little at one of the top corners. It didn't chip all the way through but only about a 1/2" chunk on the top. Should I scrap this? Is it possible it will crack?I guess the worst problems could be that the rubber won't seal and water will get in around it.

I tried toasting the rubber too. I got rid of most of it but what was left was REALLY stuck to the metal. I ended up filing/sandblasting the rest off. Sandblasting didn't work very well though - I guess the sand sorta bounces off the rubber. But if you file it down close to the metal it works.

Well if you've been tracking my recent posts you'd see that I came up on some nasty rust problems with my '73 Z I bought a few months ago from Timberwolf. http://www.utdallas.edu/~perdue/rustpics/rust1.jpg http://www.utdallas.edu/~perdue/rustpics/rust2.jpg http://www.utdallas.edu/~perdue/rustpics/rust4.jpg It was quite unexpected but I was planning to try to repair this myself - bought a MIG welder and I was about to order my floorpans. BUT I was saved at the last minute by an email from kmack. He pointed me to a rust-FREE silver '72. It's just a body, but that's all I really need. So I checked it out Saturday and sure enough, it's solid as a rock! It's got some body damage but almost no rust at all -and absolutely no through rust (I know what to look for now). I can replace the fender and door panel that have damage with the ones I have now- just needs a little work on the rear end. The best part is it was only $200 and came with a wrecked '71 parts car!! Well I don't really need the parts car but the rust free body is worth it alone - the floor pan kit would have cost $250. So the plan is - pull my engine and everything else from the '73 and put them in storage. Do a full restoration (bare metal?) of the new '72 and nice repaint. Put everything back together with the upgrades I'd planned all along. Drive!!!!!!! Thanks again kmack!!! Michael

Also send a PM to kmack - he's got plans in AutoCAD format that may work for you.

http://www.gti-vr6.net/GTI_vs_Civic/ hehehe

Ouch. That's a lot lower than I want to go. maybe I should keep looking. I don't understand why all of the aftermarket springs lower the car so much. Is it too much to ask to keep the stock ride height??? I guess I could buy the stock springs but they cost too much. Michael

How do you like the Eibachs? I'm looking for new springs too and I don't wanna lower my car too much (at all preferably but it seems like ALL the springs lower at least an inch). Do you notice a difference in height?

My car had the cheap KYB strut cartridges - around 40$ each. They were supposedly only 2 years old and one of the front ones was already dead. I can't verify how old they are but according to the PO they were new. ANyway i'm gonna stay away from them - but the more expensive ones may be ok.

if you find some let me know. i also need a few.

I know first hand that rust can really be a pain. If you don't know what to look for it's not too hard for the PO to hide rust and make it look "solid" to the eye. If you can spend a few bucks on one of those little Rot Spotter things that you can use to probe the metal areas of the car for rust. Go all along the floor boards, mainly up near the firewall, and all around the battery tray area. Check the rear hatch area and along the bottom sides of the car. You'd probably be better off with a much less than perfect car than one in great condition but with major rust problems. Good luck! Michael

haha.. run as good as your 240 USED to. See my website for more details. Yeah i'm trying to laugh about it... michael

Hey guys, I'm going to sell my spare set of wheels and tires. I'm wondering what price I should be asking for these. I'm selling the wheels, tires and nuts (including 4 locking nuts plus the key). They are in good shape except for one that has some discoloration shown in pic#2. Two of the tires probably should be replaced soon and the other two don't match (manufacturer) but are in good shape - I'd guess 80% tread left?. I think they are 225/50-15. Anyway here are links to my pics and thanks a lot for any help!! http://www.utdallas.edu/~perdue/wheels1.jpg http://www.utdallas.edu/~perdue/wheels2.jpg http://www.utdallas.edu/~perdue/wheels3.jpg http://www.utdallas.edu/~perdue/wheels4.jpg http://www.utdallas.edu/~perdue/wheels5.jpg http://www.utdallas.edu/~perdue/wheels6.jpg Michael

The early covers have a "D" instead of a "Z" on the emblem and look different. I usually see the early ones black and the others silver/gray color, and the shape is different too. Check ebay. They frequently come up. See here for the later style (correct me if I'm wrong but isn't this '71-'73 - and the older ones are only on the '70 cars). http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1839505451 Here's the early one: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1839520169 notice the difference in price! The single '70 one went for more than a set of 4 of the later ones - all of them look like they're in good condition too. I guess since you've got a '72 you won't have to worry about finding the expensive ones. I've got 7 of the ones with the 'Z' but none of them look great - i'll probably end up buying a set like the one shown above on ebay. Michael

Hey 240ZNZ, let us know how that spoiler works out. I was thinking that if I were to need one I'd go for the BRE style but that one is even less imposing. May also be less useful too though! MIchael

Hehehe... yeah i'm currently trying to learn how to weld now. That's why I was think I may be able to build something like that someday - but not now! And V8 those pics are nice. I like the one that goes from the strut towers over to the center of the cowl area. I don't know how effective that is compared to the others going across but it seems that it gives better access to the engine. Michael

Are front strut bars used mostly for racing or do they also improve daily driving ride quality? this looks something I could do myself someday if there's really much need for it. I must admit they do look pretty cool anyway!

Thanks Royce! I was hoping the difference in gas milage wouldn't be too much. This car will eventually be a "daily driver" except that I'll probably continue to take the train/bus about half the time, so maybe I can deal with losing a little milage. The car still has the stock 240Z rear diff for a '73 (3.54?) so I think I will switch to the 4.11 - when I get the money that is - and when I get to the point where I need it again. Right now my top speed is 0mph! Michael

I was just looking through this post for about the 5th time and I'm still not sure about one thing. Is the final drive ratio (listed in the article) mean the number of engine revolutions per wheel revolution? If so that means the 4.11 diff in a ZX 5-sp requires 3.18 engine cycles per wheel cycle but the 3.9 is only 3.01? Seems like a significant improvement in cruising RPM with the 3.9 but I don't really have a grasp on how that really affects the milage. I'm trying to decide what rear diff to put in my car and I like the idea of greater acceleration but I don't want poor milage on the highway. Does anyone know how much REAL difference the milage would be for these 2 w/ 81ZX tranny. Is it a difference of 1mpg or 4-5mpg (for highway driving)? Thanks for the help, and thanks 2MZ for the tech article Michael

Oh mine's from a 73, and meaning smaller on I meant the one that connects right up by the filler hole. They're both off the same car and in good shape. I don't know what year models are the same or different.

I have a gas tank (both the large and small). how's $25? Michael

Leif - i've got some black interior plastic panels I'd sell cheap. Pretty good condition (one is cracked). PM me if you're interested. MIchael