MikeK280z

The perseverance of the people on that team impresses and amazes me. Thanks for the article. It went great with my morning coffee.

If the no rust car has decent paint, by itself that's a descent deal. All together I would call that a great deal. If possible, can you post a picture of the "factory vented/riser hood (rare)"? Are you referring to a hood that has the 2 rectangular vent holes up by to the inspection lids (came on later 280z?), or something completely different? Please excuse my ignorance. Thanks

My vote says use them. Great lucking Z!

My one-year wedding anniversary is less than one week away. Trust what everyone here is telling you, don't hide or sneak around about money or anything else. It's a great way to start to start a fight and ruin a relationship. Put yourself in her shoes. How do you think she would feel if a year or two from now she found out you were secreting away money to use on whatever. She would feel as though her trust was violated. Once you lose trust, you start to question everything your spouse is doing. My (opps) our Z needed some major undercarriage work this summer. Keep in mind we were also house-shopping at the time. When I told my wife I needed her to help me drop the car off, a discussion ensued about what was wrong, what it needed, oh yeah, and what I thought it would costs. Given the figure I threw out, (At least $500 or $600 labor) she was taken back that I was informing her I was doing this without discussing it. Keep in mind; I am the cheapskate in our marriage. If the rolls were reversed, I would have been upset with her for not discussing it first. I admitted I was wrong, because I believed I was, we discussed it, it fit our budget because I had saved for it, we moved on. In our marriage the biggest problem is communication. Don't get me wrong, our marriage is rock solid, we love each other very much and have a great relationship, but when we have disagreements, or fights, 95% of the time it's due to miscommunication. 1). If you really love her and love your hobby, you need to let her know that on both counts. 2) You also have to realize that you can no longer do whatever you want with money. Marriage means what's mine is hers and what hers is mine and as someone stated earlier relationships are about compromise. As far as Z's go, my wife is not a big car person. She's not a guy . I try to involve her as much as I can and she has been a good sport about it. We have plans to eventually buy a Z or Datsun roadster for her. She'll drive it; I'll work on it. But once that happens it's not just spending on "my" (I keep telling her its ours) car; we are restoring/ modifying our cars. Big difference. We are both members of our Z club. Does she go to every meeting - not even close. She barely goes to any. But I tell her about them when I get home. Mention names, what's going on with people's families and cars. I try to get her involved in the club events and outings that other women go to. Part of what I think a club should do is sponsor family oriented stuff to involve spouses, kids, etc. She has come to shows and sat behind the car with a book. Guys talk to her more than me???? HEY! I guess my morale is, unless you hit lotto, your "spending responsibility" will have to change. Let her know it's really important to you. Until she's out of school and making money, your project may have to slow down or take a back seat for a while. That doesn't mean you have to give it up, it just means that your marriage is more important than a car. Not always a bad thing. A possible suggestion: a friend of mine told me this, before I got married. Once you're married and establish your budget - after everything (including savings) is accounted for, part of your weekly budget should be for lack of better terms, an allowance. Whether it's $10, or $1000 (dream), you each get the same amount and it's yours for whatever. So if I save it for a month and use it to buy car parts, that's my money to do with as I please. If she wants to buy Cosmo every week or save it for a month and go to the spa, that's hers and I have no right to tell her what to do with it. This is simply my very humble and ignorant opinion. I'm not an expert by any means. Just remember, like an old Z, a marriage takes constant maintenance and care. If you put in the time and energy it will be a great car/relationship. If you do a half-ass job, you will have a half-ass marriage and a clunker. That means constant, constant open communication. You have to talk to her and you shouldn't hide stuff. Health and happiness to you both.

A long winter project for me (2 years ago) was polishing my wheels. I estimated 7 to 10 hours per wheel. Before starting, my wheels had remnants of clear coat on them as well as some pitting. I began by cleaning them as best I could, finished the cleaning with Brasso. After that I used a paint stripper to remove what was left of the clear coat. The stripper did not damage or affect the rims. Ater that cleaned them again with Brasso. Next step was sanding the pitted areas, long slow job. I don't know if it mattered, but I used Brasso for the "wet" part of the sanding (once I got tho that point). Part of the problem with sanding is you really want the wheel to look uniform when you are done, so sanding a bad area clean will affect the overall look of the wheel. After the pitted areas were cleaned up I tried using Emory cloth, and very fine sand paper combined with polishing compound on the whole wheel to get it all to shine and look uniform. I used Mother's wheel polish at this point to shine it all up. Once it was all done, I again used Mother's Wheel Polish and a rage to polish everything. Once it is all done, and shined, I would also recommend clear coating the wheels; otherwise you will be lightly polishing them every year. If you don't clear coat, I like Mother's polish for this purpose. I remember reading the above-mentioned thread before starting. I think Zhome also has a good write-up on wheel polishing. One thing I noticed about myself and other people I have talked to about wheel polishing; I am always more critical of the work I do then anyone else is. When they were first polished, people told me they looked great, all I saw were the imperfections. One bit of real advice: be patient. If you really want to do it yourself, it can't be done in one day. Take your time and do it right the first time. Spend your Sundays watching football with a rim in front of you. May make the job more enjoyable if you're a football fan.

Looks Great! I like the metal piping to and from the IC. That and the polished/ painted valve cover really stand out. ? Is the fuel pressure gauge supported by anything, or just the connection to the hose?

Most of my hand tools for working on the car are S&K. Open and box end wrenches, adjustable wrenches, socket set, screwdrivers etc. An old friend of the family gave them to me in the late 1980's at which time they were probably over 20 years old. The best hand tools I have ever worked with. I use the socket set for everything from the car to the junkyard with a breaker bar. It is still going strong and ratchets smoothly.

Thanks for the info everyone. It sounds like you get what you pay for. I only want to do this once, and I want it done right. This is my first house, so I want it to look good for me, but I also want it to hold up for resale value. Thanks again to you Pete, I'm going with the Sherman Williams product. I will have to do more research with the local rep and see which SW product will be best for my application; i.e. much older floor. I'll specifically ask about Tile Clad II Mike

Does anyone have recommendations on which brand of 2-part epoxy to use on an existing garage floor (30+ years old)? It is a 2-car garage that will be used for vehicle storage and light mechanical work. I'm not a mechanic, but I will use the garage for typical Z maintenance. Home Depot and Lowes carry the Rustoleum kit at $59, and $54 respectively. Lowes also carries another brand for about $39 a kit. Sherwin Williams suggests Armorseal 1000 at about $120 per kit. All kits and prices are for a 1-car garage. Someone I work with used the Sherwin Williams brand on a new garage floor (it was recommended by his painter). Can anyone tell me if it is worth over double the costs? Has anyone installed a 2-part epoxy floor or parks/ works on one regularly? If so any recommendations regarding ease of application, maintenance/ clean up, lifespan/ longevity would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Mike