nitsuj

I'm very seriously searching for a Z right now. Shoot me some details and pics. If it's what I'm looking for and the price is right, we can talk.

What Tannji said. Plus the use of aluminum windings instead of copper. A good source of welding info can be found at Hobartwelders.com, great forum over there.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned: Be careful, the Lincoln 140 you get a Welding shop is much different than the Lincoln you get at Lowes or Home Depot. That said, if you want a 140 class machine and don't want to blow the whole wad, I like the Hobart. (About $400) Made by Miller, so the quality is there. Bare bones features wise, but a nice capable machine. I like my little Hobart. All due respect to Mr. Vette, it isn't a toy, no welder is. It's all a matter of knowing what it can do and not excedding it's limits. Would I turn on the 140 if I had to whip up a bumper for a Peterbuilt? No. But for automotive sheet metal? Absolutley. For anything 3/16 or less? Sure. Different tools do different things. No one weldor willdo EVERYTHING. Well, maybe one will but not one in your price range. Do yourself a favor, seek out a welding school. Lots of high schools with welding vocational programs offer classes to adults at night. Well worth it. Vette, I know that you know your stuff. You seem very knowledgable, but you're being awfully hard on 140 class machines. I wouldn't choose one to be my only welder, but 90% of what I do in my home shop is less than 1/4 inch thick, the 140 works great.

Just caught the 2 most recent episodes on my DVR. Jon, I have to ask, whats your car worth? Ballpark, I'm not trying to be nosey. It looks like you have a bunch of money tied up in it. So how did they recruit people for this show? It doesn't seem fair. It seems like I could show up with any old junker, an old 3 cylinder Geo Metro. As long as I'm shrewd negotiating, I could possibly win. How is it fair that you put you (I assume expensive) car against stock cars from the showroom or even less valuable hunks. I've seen you race a Firebird (or Trans Am, whatever), a 06 GTO and a junky old Honda CRX. I won't give away the results in case someone hasn't seen it yet, but any one of those cars were WAY slower than yours, but because of how the show works, any one of them could have beat you (and maybe did). How is it worth your time and risk to come out and possibily lose your car when all you have to gain is a riced out old Civic?

To me, she doesn't belong there. Not because she's a woman, or even because she makes me want to choke her. But why go on a show where the purpose is to have a fast drag car, and take a stock car and then keep bitching about how slow her car is. I kept waiting for her pre-race negotiations to include "You have to remove one wheel, disconnect 2 plug wires, tow a boat, with no trailer, disconnect your nitrous and drive blindfolded. And I want 3 seconds." If she had planed to go one the show doing that, she could have saved a bunch of money by just showing up with a 50cc scooter and handicapping everyone 10 seconds.

Saw the episode today. Man, nice car. I don't know what drug you're on to keep you from choking that lady with the Trans Am, but it must be good. Good luck. Well, I guess you don't need it since the results are in, but, good luck to the past you.

I like that. A lot. If it could be done for a reasonable price, and I could sturdy up the chassis enough, I'd do it. If nothing else, I'll just send you pictures of my car and you can chop it off for me and I can pretend.

I thought about that. Thats why I asked here and not there. Thats a great forum too, but I figured there was probably some guys there who were orignal owners. I was more curious about how many guys here bought a Z back in the day, then kept them all these years then turned them into Hybridz. Like I said, I was just curious.

How many members here bought their Z Car new back in the day and are still driving it today? Anyone?

As usual, you guys have given me a lot to think about. I never thought about the lack of a sturdy frame under the car. I guess thats what separates my Z from my Dads vette, the frame. With this roof removed, his car can still remain rigid, where on the Z, the car would get flimsy. You guys are so smart!

So, I'm sirfing the Z forums. Not looking for anything in particular, just sort of surfing taking it all in. I notice that from time to time, I see people who have done convertibles. Good concept, but I don't like how it looks. No offense to those that have done it, it just doesn't fit my tastes. I like the shape of the Z. The convertible changes the lines too much, IMHO. Again, no offense to those of you who did it, just my tastes. Anyhow, I do like the concept. I'm a motorcyclist, so anything to get me in the open air when I have to drive the cage is all good with me. I like convertibles and I like T-tops. Even a moonroof, if thats all that available. I told you all that, to ask you this. How come I see convertible projects being done, but not T-Tops in cars that don't come with them? Or, better yet, why no removable hard tops? If you could just remove the roof panel, you'd be in the open air, but retain the hatchback shape we all love. My dad has a late 80's Vette with a removable top, I really like the feature. So, why don't I see these being done? Or are they out there and I just haven't found any yet?

I know this is an older thread, but it really hit home for me. I recently went to look at a Datsun for sale locally. It had a muffler from a Harley dresser mounted. Witha fish tail end cap. (I spent the last decade working at a Harley dealer, I recognized the part right away.)

Thanks guys. Still mile to maybe see the MSA kit close up, installed. And even the stock mounts. You guys rock.

Does anyone have any pics of the motor mounts used in a SBC swap? I'd love to see several different styles. I can find pics of the mounts themselves, but I haven't seen any decent pics of the mounts installed. Thanks in advance. (And, yes, I tried searching.)

See, thats just the thing A.G. I my mind, theres no sense in buying a car with a V8 when I know I'm taking out the V8 to put in a different V8. And heres why. Locally, I have 2 Z's I've looked at that I'm considering. Both are in about the same shape. Interior is shot, exterior is ugly, but salvagable. Neither is rusty, both have terrible shade tree paint jobs. One has the stock motor which runs, but badly. I suspect one carb needs attention. The other has the 307 in it. I can't tell which kit is used to mount the V-8 or even if it is a kit. It may be a home brew. The tach isn't hooked up, which makes me think maybe they didn't buy a kit. Now, heres my snagging point: The one with the V-8 is $2000, the one with the stock motor is $700. So, do I want to pay $1300 extra bucks for a motor I know I'm going to be taking out anyhow? If it had a nice 350 in it, and I knew it was a proper conversion, it would be a no brainer. I was really sure I wanted the one with the V-8 already mounted. But now I've had some time to think a bit, the $700 car seems really attractive. I'd get to pick and mount my own motor, so I'd be sure to be happy with the results. I'm just damn glad I found this forum full of folks that knows what I'm going through. My wife is getting sick of hearing me whine about the choice.

Yeah, you might be right. Price is 2 grand. Body is as good as I've found. Ugly, but solid. I was pretty pumped about it when I thought it had a 350 in it, but I guess a 307 isn't the worst thing in the world. I think I'm going to make an offer and see if he takes it. Then I can drive it around the rest of the summer while I gather parts for the winter.

I guess maybe you guys are right, maybe I did write down too many numbers. I'm a little bummed now, I was really hoping it was a 350 in there. I'd never heard of a 307 before, but after looking it up, I can't really find much good about them. Something about the block material being softer than normal. Plus, it's rated at 200hp. Sheesh. For 200hp, I'd just as soon leave the 6 cylinder in there! It does have a 4 barrel on it and a cam, so maybe it's been given a few extra ponies, but probably not what I was looking for. I began my search for a Z thinking I'd do a V-8 swap. This car jumped out at me because it already had a V-8 in it, so I could put all my money into the body work and interior it needs. Sounds like if I got it, I'd still be putting a motor in it, so I screwed either way. Anyhow, thanks for the help guys.

Let me add to my question. I've been googling. The closest I came to finding the casting number was 3970020. One zero short of what this one said. According to one site and Wikipedia, it's a 307 Ci motor, the lowest hp rating of any of the small block Chevy's. So, is this accurate or is that missing zero cauing me to lose something in the translation. Should I run screaming from this car?

I have a question I'm pretty sure already know the answer to, but I'm going to ask anyhow. I'm looking at buying a 73 Z with a smallblock already installed. The owner didn't know which engine it was, so I set out to try to find the engine number on the front of the block. It must be covered by the valve covers or something, because it's no where to be found. I did find the casting number on the rear just forward of the transmission. Can the engine be ID'd by the casting number? Just in case, here it is GM 39700200 Does that tell me anything at all? I'd settle for CI. I don't care what plant it was made in or what year it is. Thanks.

Thanks for the input and the warm welcome guys. I think I may do it. I'm going to let the seller sit on it a week or so and see if I can lowball him. Assuming it's still there and he takes the bait, I'll be buying it. Truth be told, I already wanted to buy it. I was just hoping you guys would give me some justification. I'll get some pics as soon as it's mine. I plan to do it similar to the 76 I had. Body kit, maybe wheels. Nothing too radical, I still want it to look like a Z Car. My last one was white. I'll probably do a different color on this one. Heres the only surviving pic of the 76 I sold:

Hi all. I just found this forum and this is my first post. I had a 76 280Z and have regretted selling it since the day it left, 10 years ago. Now, I got the itch again. I did some searching and didn't really find answers to my questions, so I thought I'd post up. Hope this is the right section. I didn't really see a section that looked right so I stuck it here. If I was wrong, sorry. So, here goes. In searching for another Z, I've found several that caught my eye, ranging in condition from decent to pristine restorations. None that I've found local have had the V8 conversion done already. So, I can buy one turn key and do my own conversion, which was the plan. I'm trying to stay local because I don't like buying sight unseen. I thought I'd seen every Z in a 50 mile radius. Until... I found a 73, not more than 1 mile from my house, AND it already has a V8 Chevy in it! Heres the problem, rather than doing an engine swap, I'd be basically be gutting the whole car and having it painted. The interior is shot, but repairable, way too ugly as is. The paint is horrible. Not much rust. In fact, it's the best unrestored body I've seen in the area. Main problem is, it looks like it was originally white, then some joker painted red over it, no sanding, no prep, just red paint. Now the red is falling off in big flakes, revealing the white underneath. Floor has some trouble spots, but nothing a few evenings with the welder won't fix. And I suspect the suspension will need freshened up. Engine runs great, fires right up, no smoke, no noises. But, I don't know what the engine is from, or it's vintage. The motor mounts look like they were bought and not cobbled up by a plumber. They may be home made, but they look good. I have no doubt this could be a nice Z, and at 2 grand, the price is right. But that leaves me with the conflict that I hope you wise Z owners can help me with... Is one better off buying a decent, turn key Z car then doing the motor, or buying a project car with the motor done and doing the cosmetic stuff? I have all the tools and know how here to do either job, so that isn't part of the equasion. Heres the pros and cons as I see them: If I buy a car that is already had the body work done, how can I be sure the rust is gone and won't come back? But if I do it myself, I know it will be done to my satisfaction. I'll probably spend more in the long run on a fixer upper body and interior. But that kind of project is nickels and dime over time. Little checks are easier to squeak past the wife than one big check for an already done Z. Then another big check for an engine and trans. I don't really want a Z that is completely done. I'd rather have a blank canvas that I can build to suit me. But, I also want a car I'll be driving soon. I don't want a 5 year project. The junker runs as is, so I could be driving it while I collect parts. I can't think of anymore. Sorry to babble on so long. Looking forward to input from guys who have been down the same or similar road.