MusPuppis

Getting a dead pic..

Screw blowing it, sell that bugger - lol. Nice win though. Ive never seen the show before but it looks interesting. I'll definatly watch the episode you guys are in..

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=134819-48540-K7060HFV&lpage=none Going to get it tonight or tomarrow evening. Also picking up a DA sander and cheapy air tool kit until I can afford something better. This means, not only can I make serious progress on the sanding of the Z, but I now have the power to paint and prime my car, lol. Been wanting to get a good air compressor for like two years but everytime I start to put the money together something comes up and I have to abandon the idea. I know its not perfect and its not the best out there, but for 500$ I think its pretty damn good - and should do whatever a home hobbyist could put it through. I know ideally you want about 15CFM @ 90psi to run a paint gun, but 13.3 is close enough, I'll just go slowly, lol.

Yeah,. the .410 is ok I guess. Its a J. Stevens Arms Company model from the early 20's, well before the Savage buy-out. Nice quality little thing but not fancy. But yeah, some Rotts, Dobermans, Mastifs and/or Am-Staffs (pits) should take care of the lions share of required security. Dogs are also kick-*** to have period. Honestly though, my cat wouldnt do a bad job acting as security either. Shes only like 10pds, but man she is MEAN.

If the car sat for a very long time that smoke could be water burning out. I bought a little Toyota Paseo a while ago that had sat for a few years - it smoked BADLY when we first started, pure white smoke, and a whole bunch of it. Let it idle for about 15 minutes and it got over itself. Also, Ive heard the smoke can be caused by condensation in the gas tank, it mixes with that old gas.. So it may not alleviate completely until the gas is replaced. Get behind it and try to smell the smoke, coolant when burning like that has a kinda sickly sweet odor, its pretty noticeable.

Best theft deterent you can have in my opinion. I dont have really nice stuff like alot of you all do, but what I do have is good for me and I protect it with my damn life. I have an English Mastif named Jeff. He weighs in at about 195pds and by the time hes fully grown he should be sitting at 210-220pds. Wanna see someone stop dead in there tracks? Let em walk into a garage with one or two Mastifs. Nothing says "Get the **** out asshat." like a pair of dogs bigger than the theif. About a month ago I heard a noise from my garage followed by Jeff's growling and barking, I grabbed my shotgun (its a .410 so it most likely wont do much except make the theif angry.. =/) and ran into the garage to see what was up - As I came in, the side door into the garage slammed shut. I ran over to it and opened it to let Jeff out, sure enough, some little ****-turd was running full speed away. Jeff gave chase but the guy got in some little compact thing and drove off. I couldnt get the plate number though =/ With Mastifs you also get the benefit of having a dog thats not anti social and likely to attack and maul small children. As stated though, get one hell of an alarm and something with fur and teeth. I hope you catch em man, I hope *you* catch em and make em hurt.

Theres mine. Rusted all the way through. You can see where I've cut it so far. I cant get my grinder in to finish the cuts, lol, wont fit. Gonna have to wait till I get my air compressor and a cutoff wheel. The rust actually extends down into the light mount area below - which really sucks. Kind of canceled my idea to get the patch panel. I'm just gonna do some boneyarding and find a rust-free peice (or atleast a peice thats rust repairable, lol) and weld it in place of the other one. That way I can get the lower area replaced as well.

Going to be adding a rear strut brace before long and I came up with a couple designs. I'd like folks opinions on which one (if any) is decent. Simple and straight forward. I would assume it would brace pretty well for most normal use (ie amatuer autocross stuff and generally driving like an ******* on occasion). ONe worry is cutting the stock angled braces to allow for the tubeing to pass through and be welded to the bottom of the tower. I dont know if this would weaken them. Perhaps they would need to be re-inforced? This doesnt give alot of support if the lower area of the strut tower flexes, but it should brace it pretty well regardless I would think. The little black squares would be plates I would weld to the floor of the Z and the tubeing would then be welded onto the plates. The point being, it would be easier than cutting the current supports to allow for the tubing to pass through. A larger plate for the tube to mount to would disperse the forces applied a little more to wouldnt it? As opposed to it all being focused into one small area.. Same as the last one except the tube would be welded into the shock tower itself. Again brings up the question on wether or not cutting the stock braces to allow for the tube to pass through would weaken them. Anyway, just some thoughts I had, I'd like folks opinions. I could be overthinking this as well of course and a simple, straight bar across the top would be all that was needed.. but *shrug*.

From my understanding the foam would be good to do on an all-out race/track car or something very new. It will indeed help but it makes repairs extremely difficult by making a huge mess - and I read somewhere on HybridZ that when it burns (if you had to weld something or the like) it gives off very toxic fumes. As stated it holds moisture and will aggravate any rust problems you have. Just not the best option for an older car really.

I have some nasty rust in that area as well. I didnt even know those patch panels existed.. I was planning on boneyarding the peice. But yeah, spot-weld as stated.

I dunno if this counts, since my Z isnt done, but heres what Im shooting for upon completion: '72, 240 Fairlady Z. Engine. L28ET w. stock bottom end. Volvo FMIC 1st Gen DSM BOV MSnS 2.75 Downpipe (Fab or bought, dunno) Copper Head Gasket. ARP studs T3/T4 Hybrid 2.75-3in. Exhaust with some type of muffler. Other crap as well! Other Drivetrain. r200 w. LSD 5 Speed Decent clutch. Suspension/Wheels. Urethane/Poly bushings. Reasonable sport type suspension setup (something not quite bone jarring, but stiff and responsive) Not sure on wheels and tires yet, need to do more research. Frame. Subframe connectors. Rear strut brace (will be fabbing myself) Front strut brace (Fab or buy, dunno) Body. Home grown paint and primer job. Unsure of color. Lotsa rust repair ZG Flares Mild body kit perhaps. The car is a long way off, currently its torn down to a shell and Im slowling fixing it and preparing it for primer and re-assembly. It'd be nice to see the car on the road in 2 years.

That sounds like what I'll be doing. I dont have access to a frame machine or any way to "jig" the car. I cant even put it on engine stands, heh. My little midget garage and midget budget dont allow for such things. Heres to hoping!

Two of my fingers are bleeding at the tips from all this damndable sanding, lol. That has no bearing on this post though, I just wanted to mention it. Why? .. I really couldnt say. Anyway. I did a search. I know someone else will come along and do a search and find this info and post that they found it in .031 seconds of searching and make me look like an idiot - which is easy cause I am - but I wanted to put the little search disclaimer up anyway. On the points - Going to be fabbing up my framerails/subframe connectors (credit goes to 240hoke on the design/idea. His website kicks ***) and I was curious, Should the car be loaded? (sitting on its tires) or should I jackstand it up when I go to build them? If I should put the car on stands, where do you recommend I locate the stands on the frame? If it matters, the car is torn completely down with the exception of the suspension and rear end. The engine and tranny are out (or rather will be before I do the rails). Thanks.

I looked into removing the bumper myself. Scrapped the idea in the end though - looks like a *alot* of work.

Yeah, Home Depo is even worse than the places I called. I basicly went into the phone book and started at the first supplier listed and worked my way down, one by one. The price I listed above was the cheapest I found. Oh well, Just gonna have to dig deep into mah pockets, lol.

Called around today trying to get an estimate on the steel I'm gonna need for my pans and frame rails.. Jesus.. 5ft x 5ft 18 guage sheet metal for the pans (I want atleast 2x what I will actually need. I need a LARGE margin for error) - 140$ 14ft 2x3 square tube - 120$ Having never really bought steel before, I dunno if those prices are normal or not, but I was really expecting it to be alow lower for some reason. Like 100$-120$ for both items, heh. Bleh.

Yea, a couple searchs will net you a metric asston of info on all the questions you asked. In answer to #6 though, the Z will do whatever ya want it to really. Thats the beauty of them, (well, one of the many anyway). Whatever you build it to do, it'll do.

Wholey crap what a deal..

Nice nice nice. I love the color on the Z.

Thanks. And I most certainly have. I didnt know this site existed. I got the call saying I was getting my Z back and was on the computer forum searching as soon as my screaming fit subsided. (it was a solid 8 or 9 minutes of "HELL YES! F--- YES! I WIN GOD DAMNIT" etc). I found this site after about an hour of google searches and site checking. This is without a doubt the single most knowledgable forum I have ever come across. Ive owned several cars, an 88 CRX SI, my Z, 92 Lumina Euro (one of my favs.. they are actually really nice.), 73 Catalina (R.I.P), 92 Toyota Paseo (engine swapped and it was still slow, HA!), 94 F-150 (current DD) and now back to Z. NONE of the communitys for any of the vehicles could hold a candle to this one in terms of knowledge, willingness to share that knowledge and over-all experience and ability.

Very good luck to ya.

I read over that post earlier and missed the info from HS30-H. Thanks.

Projected price? That time frame for completion puts it right at the time I expect to be beginning my engine build..

I feel stupid for not knowing this - but I dont. A site search (several) and a google search didnt bring up anything either. I was told, some time ago that the 240 Fairlady's rear-end was different from the american model 240's. I wasnt told what different meant exactly, just that it was supposed to be "better". Better is a subjective term in the automotive world though.. The source of my information is also less than perfect.. So, it could very well be that its no different at all. But, if anyone knows if it is or isnt any different and could let me know, I'd appreciate it. -Thanks.

I just noticed it didnt have chrome.. I was wondering what made it look so different. Dope as hell. Fantastic motor by the way. This thread was one of the main ones that tipped my resolve towards the L28.