'78 Z28 - Pro Touring Or Bust - Page 4

PFZ28 · 10-01-2010, 02:09:25 AM

One of my sweetheart's Before-I-Die-List items was to go for a hot air balloon ride. We checked that one off today. Couldn't have been a better day. We went with Merlin of Camelot Balloons in Eagle, just west of Vail. The air was so calm, we went up 2500 ft and came back down basically right where we took off! The view was incredible! Merlin told us something cool, he was Steve Fossett's ballooning instructor! (Quick review: Steve Fossett was the only person to have circumnavigated the Earth in a balloon).

Visited the Fast Forester's office on the way home for some perfect Colorado fall color. Man, Keith, nice office!

That was good. Important to keep wife happy while car project is going. Not too hard, though. I'm very, very, VERY lucky to have a wife who loves cars too. In case I didn't mention it before, she tells people she married me for this car. The story is that I met her in college just a month or so after the Z had gotten its black cherry paint job. Her heart melted when she saw it the first time.

Okay, time to get busy. The plan is to take the front off, remove the engine and separate the subframe. Clean everything well, but probably not sandblast much, POR-15 for many of the parts, rattle can spray job for the firewall and inner fenders.

Hmm, you say. Not quite a showcar restoration, there. Nope. Good quality clean-up so I don't have to cringe when I open the hood, but something that won't mind being driven in the rain. Showcar restoration can can wait until I'm retired and have nothing better to do. Let the games begin!

Got started on Sunday and took the hood, nose and left front fender off. These went pretty smoothly, I was impressed. I had taken my liquid wrench to the bolts a day or two beforehand, so they came off easily. It was fun!

I've made a commitment to not have a "Nuts & Bolts Can". Every bolt goes back in its hole after being removed. I've also committed to keeping my work area very clean, and to only work on discreet steps at a time. We'll see if I can keep it up.

Spot the missing bolt? It wasn't there - may have never been. Also mysteriously missing one bolt from inner fender to fender. Either they rattled out or were missed on assembly.

PFZ28 · 10-01-2010, 02:13:24 AM

Next step, passenger fender. I like the way this is going! Not staying up too late at night, but making good progress if I don't say so myself. Before I took the car apart, I spent about ten bucks at the car wash, blasting everything to get something clean-ish to work on. This is paying off very nicely. I'm able to work with my mechanix gloves on and really not get very dirty. Sweet!

PFZ28 · 10-01-2010, 02:27:58 AM

Took a couple of nights off and helped daughter with homework. The Algebra was a little rusty, but it's coming back...

The Z, I would say, is barely rusty. I'm definitely reaping the benefits of having a car that's spent the last 25 years in this great state of Colorado! With the exception of one fender bolt (down under behind the left front wheelwell), everything is very well-behaved! As I disassemble stuff, I'm not finding weak, rusty crap that's gonna have to be replaced. Even the battery tray is in fine shape!

Got the radiator support out tonight. I had sort of stressed over this step. I'm definitely in uncharted territory now. I'd read some horror stories about people having body bushing bolts twist off instead of backing out. Mine came out easily!

I decided to see what I would be up against with the subframe bolts. I took a wrench to the left front one, and gave it a pretty good tug. At first I didn't think we were gonna get anywhere, then, bingo! It turned. I gave it an eighth of a turn and stopped there. I'll wait until the engine is out before I go on.

The "Each bolt back in its hole" strategy is really going well. I have no little bags or boxes of small parts. Even the body spacers are reattached with their bolts.

TheFastForester · 10-02-2010, 12:19:38 AM

Good job Patrick, good updates! I wish I was in that office setting a bit more these days. Looks beautiful over on the West Slope.

PFZ28 · 10-10-2010, 11:50:56 PM

Well, I didn't make as much progress this week. Still made some progress, but it was in the area of disconnecting the engine. Doesn't look like I did anything, but I know deep inside that I'm not slacking.

Didn't get anything done last weekend 'cos we went to High Plains Raceway to work the last RMVR (Rocky Mountain Vintage Racing) race for the year. Here's a sample of the cars they run...

Wow. Above it at the fuel pumps is an actual Hertz rent-a-mustang from back in the day. He drives it to the track, races it, and drives it home. Incredible.

I worked flag & communications on turn 3. We had some pretty wicked-looking spiders inside the tire barriers. Well decorated for Halloween.

Hey, that thing got a hemi?

PFZ28 · 10-11-2010, 12:10:48 AM

I did a little side project today, have a look.

Bet you can't guess what it is...

Now there is genuine McGyver if I ever saw it. 4 thrown-away office chairs, a piece of scrap wood and a bunch of bolts. Voila! an adjustable-height work platform for my rack. Or, maybe a street luge. You decide.

Cool, eh? I will probably find some throw-away carpet and staple it on the deck. It should be pretty darned strong. I figure each chair is capable of holding 250 lbs minimum. Not only that, but it's super stable on the river rock in my car area.

I will use it to put my jack upon in order to remove the transmission from the '79 while it's up on the rack. Should be good for working on cars up there as well. I found that if I'm laying on the ground, I can barely reach bolts on the bottom of the transmission. My creeper-without-wheels will make it nice and comfy.

Still needs a bit of work, though. The platform doesn't raise and lower smoothly, probably because I can only hit the valve for one or two at a time. I may run some cord to each handle and tie them together so I can release the valves all at the same time. If I get crazy, I'll plumb it for air so I can operate it with my air compressor.

TheFastForester · 10-11-2010, 12:19:25 AM

PF, that is just plain sweet, gotta love that CSU Ram ingenuity at work. I'd like to see a CU Butt Buff come up with that apparatus. (OK I guess they can claim a space walk or something like that.....). While you are at it rig up some steering for it, and a back rest and bring it over here. We can test it from the top of the hill to my house!

PFZ28 · 10-11-2010, 02:00:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheFastForester

While you are at it rig up some steering for it, and a back rest and bring it over here. We can test it from the top of the hill to my house!

Heh, how about a box fan and a really long extension cord? It would be Colorado's only swamp boat!

PFZ28 · 10-11-2010, 10:02:41 AM

Well, I guess I made more progress than I thought. I was standing there going. "Hmm, I really can't think of anything that's left to disconnect." So I gave 'er a yank and she came right out. Well, sort of...

Banged up the airbox for the A/C on the way out. I'll have to see about fixing that.

But, here it is, the blank space of my dreams!

Next up, scrubbing & sanding & blasting! And subframe bushings. See? I really am not a slacker after all.

PFZ28 · 10-24-2010, 02:39:32 AM

Well, I switched focus for a bit. Turns out that the licensing in Colorado is now pretty strict. I thought I could turn in the title after a couple of months and then get a temporary tag later. Nope, they start counting from the day you buy the car. So, I got busy and swapped in the transmission that I pulled from the '78.

Happy to report that the '79 is now on the road. Fixed the massive fuel leak at the tank, replaced the spark plugs (the miss is now gone), swapped the tranny, replaced the alternator with the one from the Chevelle, put the '78 nose on, installed the grilles & headlight bezels.

For some reason, the previous owner even primered the grilles & bezels. I'll paint them black next chance I get. The turn signals were missing so I 'loaned' it the ones from '78, which doesn't need them right now. Will probably do the same for the left rear taillight.

The car is getting pretty solid. Drove it a bit today. The brakes are excellent. Engine is strong. Weird problem with the turn signals, that one will be a puzzle - they don't click.

z28rod · 10-24-2010, 02:46:55 AM

looks great run that baby..... prime it all one color and drive her....

arick793 · 10-24-2010, 10:35:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by z28rod

looks great run that baby..... prime it all one color and drive her....

Flat black! Are the turn signals blinking, but just not clicking?

PFZ28 · 10-24-2010, 02:28:39 PM

Hi Arick, the turn signals are behaving differently based on what's going on. I noticed the emergency flashers do work. One moment when I was testing those, the lights would click on and the blower fan would click off. Then when the lights clicked off, the fan would click on.

Do you know if the turn signals and the emergency signals use the same clicker?

The taillights were smashed when the car was sitting in a field, so there's that to consider. It could be just a bad bulb somewhere on each side. When I hit the lever for left, the light on the dash comes on and stays on, the signal light in the front comes on dimly, signal light in the rear comes on brightly. When I hit the lever for right, I just get the right front dimly and the dash light.

My first test will be to just swap in the rear bulbs from the '78 and see what happens. Seems like a problem with voltage drop, though. I know the clickers operate by measuring voltage draw somehow.

Last bits of random data - the door switch never turns off the key-in buzzer and there is an aftermarket radio installed. Food for thought.

Oh, and BTW - Flat black is a cool idea!

TheFastForester · 10-24-2010, 03:40:25 PM

Sounds like things are progressing well Patrick, electric gremlins can be a bear to figure out. What do you mean by they start counting on the title from the day you buy the car? I have done nothing with the title the guy signed over to me over 2 years ago....

PFZ28 · 10-24-2010, 05:29:47 PM

Well I seem to always forget the overall process of buying a car. Here's how it worked for the '79. Bought it Aug. 16. Took the title & bill of sale in to Adams County on Oct. 13. They said that they could transfer the title to me but since the purchase was more than 30 days ago, I would have to have insurance on the car before they would give me a temporary tag.

I got insurance for it (something I wasn't really planning on) and went back to the county on Oct. 15. They said the temporary tag was for 60 days, but that they started counting from the day the car was purchased. Since there was 1 day left for the original 60 days, the gal gave me an extra week to get the emissions test done. That's why I got busy and swapped the transmission in a hurry. I got it driving, but the lighting issues prevented me from doing any real tests of the car at night, so I still haven't done the emission test. I believe that I will have to pay a $25 late fee next week when and if I get the plates. I say 'if' because I'm going to put the car up for sale, so I really don't need to plate it. I believe I have a month to decide.

I think the late fee is $25/month - which is not good news for you. I wonder, since your purchase occurred before they changed the rules in Colorado (last June), maybe your purchase falls under the old rules. I have a friend at the Denver DMV who might be able to provide some advice in exchange for dinner & beers.

Something to keep in mind for everyone who has a post-1975 car which currently has classic car plates: The DMV WILL NOT SEND YOU A NOTICE when it's time to renew your plates. They're hoping to get rid of as many post-75 classic cars as possible. If you miss the chance to renew, you can't get them back. The classic car plates on my '78 expire in June, 2013. I've set all kinds of reminders for myself to get them renewed on time.