dladow

I am sorry for your loss. My thoughts and prayers go out to you. Dave

That is going to be one kick-a** garage. Dave

I used rust bullet on my z, but I have not painted over it yet. The two or three rust spots on the outside of the car where I applied it look just like they did when I put it on, which was January of 2004. There is no sign of wear, chipping, fading or rust where I put the rust bullet. A good friend of mine, who is helping me with my Z and is also restoring a '68 Firebird, was impressed enough with it to use it on the inside of his Firebird. He ordered a gallon, did the entire inside of his car, and had more than half the gallon left over (applied with a brush, not sprayed). His brother also used it on the '68 Camaro he is restoring. We all used only one coat, not two. Didn't seem like two was necessary. None of us have used Por-15, so can't tell you if rust bullet is better. Rust bullet is less expensive and requires less work. Dave

Yes, I took a look at it and the radiator does stick up above the core support as you describe and there are no clearance problems. The JTR radiator and brackets are a great kit - easy to install and very well fabricated. Dave

I installed the JTR radiator set up on my '73 240z and had no clearance problems. Dave

I have the same springs/shocks as Zoldman and also like the combination very much. I got the 260/280 springs at ArizonaZ's recommendation since I am doing a V8 swap. The ride height appears stock and they are not too stiff for me. Dave

Nice looking swap, and nice looking car. Have you posted the specs on your V8? Dave

Thanks for the info. I was planning to buy a built 2004R from onw of the shops that do that sort of thing regularly, such as the Bow Tie Performance folks. I am starting out with a mild 350 build-up, estimated at around 300 hp at the flywheel. So I was hoping that the second tier "performance" built 2004R would hold up. I should be ready for that in about a month, and I'll be sure to ask about what model tranny it is, so thanks for the tip! Dave

Very nice car. It is similar to the one I am planning to build. I am also choosing a 2004R transamission. I really like the way you installed the shifter. I have been puzzling over what to do there. Could you explain what model shifter it is and how you got it fit under the stock center console? Dave

I bought a pair of Corbeau TRS seats and brackets. They are great seats and looked really good in my 73 Z, but (a) mounting them is almost impossible because you can't access the rear bolts except blind with the tips of your fingers; ( they are much higher than the stock seats so anyone over 5'9" bonks their head on the ceiling. I did eventually get them in, after much cursing, but then took them out and had the stock seats recovered. I really like the looks of Dan's seats. Are they low enough to give headroom to normal size people, and is their reasonable access to the rear bracket bolts? It would have been much easier if the seat cushion on the Corbeau seats could have been removed during installation and put back in with the seat bolted in, but that is not the way those seats are designed. Dave

Congratulations. Even if you decide you don't like the practice of law, law school will teach you how to read and analyze critically, and is helpful training for many business endeavors. And the old saw about law school is pretty much true: the first year they scare you to death; the second year they work you to death; and the third year they bore you to death. Dave

An interesting thread. I am building a street machine, at least for now. I am going for a budget SBC build-up with "smog" 882 heads (which came with the engine) and a mild cam (under 260 degress adv duration). A big part of this project for me is just the experience of learning how to put together a usable drivetrain and get it in the car. So I disassembled and prepped the block, and pocket ported the 882's myself - who knows if it helped or hurt, but it was a hell of a lot of fun. And I am refurbishing an old HEI distributor that came on my donor car. And rebuilding an old Q-Jet that a friend had lying around and gave me for free - doing some of the modifications Vizard and Roe described in their books - again just for the fun of doing it. It also teaches me how all this stuff works. If I screw it up, well, I figure that with a 2500 lb car I have a large margin of error when starting with a 5.7 liter engine, and it's all easily replaceable stuff. I am having the short block put together by a good machine shop with stout bottom end components. I figure that if I want more power, doing different heads, cam, and intake manifold can get me 20 to 40% more hp no problem. And if that is still not enough, I could pull the engine and redo the short block for a stroker kit or forced induction. Or stick this engine in something else and go with an LS1. These Z cars are such a great platform to work from. Who knows if my car will be the same in five years? Maybe yes, maybe no, but I plan on having lots of fun along the way. Dave

Interesting. I had no tools other than the stock ones; I had the original steel wheel spare; the stock brakes front and rear; and the original '73 bumpers as well. Dave

I took my Z (1973 240z) to a public scale this weekend, and it weighs in at 2,460 pounds with a full tank of gas and no driver or passenger. It has the stock drive train (2.4 inline 6 plus auto tranny), and stock seats. It has a new JTR radiator and is missing the smog pump and front skid plate. I added a layer of sound deadener (E Dead) to the interior, plus a carpet pad and new carpet. The suspension is stock, refurbished with urethane bushings all round, new springs (from ArizonaZ), struts, ball joints, etc. It sure handles well, and is an absolute gas to drive. You wear this car like a good suit. I have a G Tech and now that I know the weight, have to figure out how to use it to get some baseline acceleration and HP numbers before the SBC goes in. I think I'll go out to the track n tune at the raceway and see what quarter mile numbers I can post. The SBC is at the machine shop and I am itching to get it done. The car is such fun to drive now, it is going to be unbelievable with double (or more) the HP and torque. It's going to be a fun summer! Dave

After refurbishing my suspension, including a new stock front diff mount, there was no rear end clunk on shifts. Then, a few weeks ago, the clunk came back. This weekend, I crawled under the car to make sure every nut and bolt were still tight. Sure enough, one of the nuts holding the diff to the moustache bar was a quarter turn loose. I made sure all the other nuts were tight as well. Now, no more clunk. I've sure come to appreciate an easy fix. Dave

Actually, now that I'm home and don't have to rely on my faulty memory, I gave you the wrong book. It's in Vizard's basic "How to Rebuild Your Small-Block Chevy" book, not the "build a performance sbc on a budget" book (although both are worth having). He goes into some detail on process. Since I haven't done it yet, I can't say how easy (or hard) it will be. Otherwise, I haven't found a whole lot on the net about rebuilding HEI's. Dave

Here's something I have in my links library. I'm about to rebuiild my HEI as well. All I've done so far is take it apart and clean it. http://www.boyleworks.com/ta400/psp/distcurve.html In addition, David Vizard's book on building a small block chev on a budget has a section on rebuilding and tuning an HEI, complete with pictures. Vizard is a big proponent of HEI's. Dave

I used E-Dead from Elemental Designs and am happy with it. It is considerably less expensive than Dynamat. Here is a link to their web site. http://www.edesignaudio.com/ Dave

I just noticed this thread, and would without question recommend changing out all the bushings to polyurethane. My '73 was a tired old man with creaky clunky joints, and now it handles and corners great, with no squeaks or rattles, absolutely solid. I get great feedback from the road and the steering without a harsh ride or too much vibration. I also replaced the struts and the springs. Highly recommended. Dave

Check out this site. They remanufacture the dash. http://www.dashboardrestorations.com.au/ Dave

I bought my '73 automatic for $850 a year ago (can it be that long?) and it was in similar shape - has the round top SU's, original engine, tweaked rear bumper, some rust through on the doors, all soft suspension parts worn out, didn't run very well because carbs needed rebuilding, but otherwise solid. Interior was a little better than yours, but not much. I thought I got it for under market, so 1200 - 1500 should be about right. Dave

Thanks, Larry - what a nice install. I remember seeing it at the HybridZ meet in California this spring. I think I'll end up with a similar set-up, although it will probably be overkill since I am only doing a mild budget build-up with a Q-jet carb and no sc or tc. Did you redo your whole fuel system or use the existing fuel lines? I think mine are in pretty good shape, as is the gas tank, so unless I need bigger lines, I would like to use what's there. Dave