AK

WoW - oooohh Did some one do a deal with the devil! Possessive stuff Love how it made the other cars look big cumbersome even the Porsche Awesome job LCR - unbelievable. I grinning like a loon AK

Hi Rev. Wish you all the best up the GOLDY say good by to cool winter days. Travel safe. AK

Hi Buddy I could be interested in all of the rubbers you have left? Any idea what you have left? My assumption is that they are for 260z 2+2? Thanks for time and effort - appreciated I know where Kerang is - I was born there some 40 plus years ago - nice driving up there - long stretches of open road! Cheers AK

Hi Ben Wish I had the money for such a mean-as car ! Can I ask you a questions about your build on this car ?: 1. What type of glue/silicon did you use to glue down the carbon fibre roof to the existing roof? 2. How has weathered any problems? 3. Anything you would do differently? Any advice is good advice Cheers AK

Hi Guys - I hope to come out in the morning - Z is in the garage almost 70% disassembled for a full resto so will not be driving but good dose of inspiration will be just what the doctor the ordered see you out - will be wearing a Chicago Bulls Cap baseball cap if ya see me say hi Cheers AK

Hey thanks for sharing - the trip and the pics - both great examples got agree that the OS Ginken had the wood - the wheel combination with on the OS Ginken with standard guards could be the most perfect I have seen any idea what they where running might have to rethink my own build. As for the twin cam head god if they could crank them out for 5k DREAMING they would sell everything they could they make, been to Vegas several times great party town is understatement. Plenty of interesting Automobiles as well with out the Auto show normally. Meet my wife Vegas story for another day, thanks for the pics AWSOME! Cheers AK

Execution Step by Step Reconditioning the Fuel Tank Hi Guys I tried the scoria pebbles and cement mixer combination to internally sand-away the rust and it worked really well. See picture below or the scoria stones – excuse the finger pic 1 This is what I did. I hired a large tow behind the car cement mixer that had 4hp 4/stroke motor powering it. - this was $50.00 for a day. On the inside of the cement mixer drum was some angular bars welded at one point on the sides and also close to the centre point of the drum base (these bars serve as paddles to mix the concrete inside the drum) I ended up using ratcheting straps and anchoring to them to the angular bars on the inside of the drum, and looping the strap around the tank to hold the fuel tank across the end of cement mixing drum, it kind of looked like aeroplane propeller. See pic 2 This worked well but required a lot of tension and you also have to pad the fuel tank against the brim of the cement mixer drum – I used some cut pieces of old BMX tyres to do this, this was perfect as they were grippy an strong. Without them the tank would always loosen and slip. I filled the tank to about 15% of its capacity with 10mm scoria pebbles. My fuel tank had probably had 5mm of rusty slag and scale in the bottom and after this process alone the rust was almost totally gone on all the flat surfaces. In total the fuel tank spent about 3 hours rotating and I did flip the tank over to make sure the top and bottom both got equal treatment, as the stones tend to slide against the side facing the cement mixer drum. Getting the stones out wasn’t as bad as thought it was going to be but you have to patient it takes time and some stones got wedged under divider wall between the low part and deep part of the tank which I has to poke out with a stick, note you have to get the pebbles out the fuel sensor hole as there is a lip on the inside of the filler pipe that prevents stones coming out easily. After about 1.5 hours turning like a propeller on each side it was time to empty it out so I stopped the mixer filled the tank with water until it was spilling out than put the mixer on high rotation this spilled out the stones and water so it was 80% empty when I turned it off for the last time. The worst part of doing all this is the mounting of the fuel tank to the cement mixer drum this was a cumbersome time consuming and difficult task apart for that it was all pretty good. After this process stone washing/sanding process I flushed the fuel tank clean with water, it pretty close to 90% perfect but some rust in the centre clamshell seam grove Photos after pebble mix process - see pic 3 & 4 Next step was to put in the 16 litres of apple cider vinegar which I will leave in for about 2weeks and flip it regularly, this should take out all the rust – concentrating on the seams by letting the tank sit on the seam sides for days. I almost considered not doing vinegar treatment as the tank looked so good after the pebble process but I am glad I did because a huge amount of rusty crap still came out of it after this process ;lots more rinsing Note you have to tape up all the holes in the tank I did this by using the good ole duc-tape and some zip ties to ensure the taped caps stayed in place, I used a typical spray can cap to seal the fuel filler neck with some duc-tape and zipties Pictures of the of blocking the holes in the tank below pics - 5,6 & 7 With Fuel sender hole I found a big washer and then I made two gaskets out of bicycle tube then screwed the lock ring down – perfect seal After washing out the tank several times and blowing out the pipes eventually the rusty crap stopped coming out Then I used Por 15 Metal clean to clean out the tank once more and neutralize the effects of the Vinegar Drying out the tank I did straight away by putting a heat gun in the tank filler hole in the lower setting and letting it run – I also put electric strip radiator heater on faced it on the tank – the tank was heated inside and outside it got pretty hot to touch and effectively dried out in about 30 min. The same process of dunking the product in Vinegar was also applied to the Fuel sender unit see pictures below - pics 9,10,11,12, & 13 Tank inside after the cement mixer treatment and vinegar and Metal Clean - pics 14,15,17 & 18 I put paint striper on the outside of the tank and removed the paint with a hand held wire brush, then used a wire wheel on 240volt drill to clean her up fully and get rid of any of the stubborn rust spots, tank is looking really new - pics 19,21 & 20 Then then I Used the 1st step of the KBS Gold Standard Fuel Tank Sealer Kit (Got this from Autobarn) pics - 22 &23 1st Step KBS kit is pour in 50-50 mix of Aquaklean tank cleaner solution this is mixed with 50% hot water Ieft this in 24hours and repeatedly turned the tank in this period and gave it a really good shake. Note you have to tape up all the holes in the tank I did this by using the good ole duc-tape and some zip ties to ensure the taped caps stayed in place, this solution should help get rid of the vinegar and neutralize the effects of the vinegar The next step is to proceed with step-2 of the KBS kit putting in the rust buster solution which I put in as per the recommendations an I made sure that the centre seam got extra time immersed in solution The 3rd step of the KBS kit is the silver tank lining solution which I again followed the instructions looks like really good stuff the tank is thickly lined in silver paint now and looks brand new. This stuff is super strong pretty impressive. Tank finished with the tank sealer inside. pics 24 & 25 List of steps Remove tank from car Hire Large concrete mixer Fill tank with 10mm scoria pebbles about 15-20% full Strap tank to the front of the mixer ratcheting straps Run for 1.5 hours on one side Run for 1.5 hours on the other side Add water to the tank and run mixer on highest speed until most of the water has come out Get all the stones out and flush tank with water Add the vinegar for 2 weeks and flip regularly Take out vinegar and flush with water and detergent Use POR-15 Metal Clean solution and dry the tank 100% Sand blast or paint stripper on the outside of the tank Add the 1st step of KBS Tank reliner kit witch is a cleaner, Give a good swish around Dry out the tank fully used a Heat gun in the inside through the filler neck and also used a radiator style electric heater to heat up the quiet hot to get all the water evaporated Put in the rust buster solution step 2 of the tank reliner kit Dry out the tank fully used a Heat gun in the inside through the filler neck and also used a radiator electric heater to heat up the quiet hot to get all the water evaporated Pun in the special tank relining solution swish evenly around the tank, tip out excess and let it dry Remember to blow out the pipes before the reliner paint dry’s Paint the outside with POR 15 BLACK GLOSS after making sure the surface is properly prepped Please note I also removed the fuel sensor system let that soak for 2 weeks in vinegar – cleaned that with POR Aquaklean and then used the rusbutster , then used the tank liner solution on all the outside surfaces except for float and the electronics. It was still some how working even know it was caked with rust Good lesson for all is to keep fuel stabilizer in your cars if you are only using cars occasionally. The modern fuels goes off quickly - off fuel and half empty tanks accelerate the rusting process – also keeping the fuel tank fully topped up will help slow rusting because nothing is left exposed to rust. $200-$300 on parts to fix the original tank may also be better than the original - a reco’ed tank from USA was about $600 without shipping so it was cheaper and no doubt done better than most reco’s but it was a lot of work. But thought of sending rusty crappy fuel down to a beautiful straight six engine is not something I wanted. I am also considering covering the top half of the tank with adhesive sound deadener (stinger brand) this will quiet down the car a bit more as the tanks act like drums. Hope this all helps fellow Zeders looking for a reference - Cheers AK

I am with six shooter some video footage would awesome I sure - get a gopro

Crazy Stuff - Got Love it - More rear rubber for sure!!

Congratulation's on the find and the purchase looks like a pretty good one, keeper her dry until get the rust out. cheers ak

Hi Mr Blu - the great work continues, II am not a specialist at all with engines but a manifold leak could be the problem, I only say this from a threads I have read. Mad body work skills!!! Blue engine works well in the black engine bay. Keep up the good work Cheers AK

Hi Rudi If you are anything like me the amount of time I have spent thinking about sunroof option is boraderline certifiable but in any case I in some ways I do want to keep a fixed sunroof and others I would like it gone completely it certainly a little bit of easy fix to shape some 8mm acrylic to fit the roof shape although I looking at some specialist help to do this as you need a large oven Pizza Oven size to get it heated to right temperature to shape. I think you can certainly get a acrylic roof in place with no water ingress if done correctly. The botched patch up job you speak of is most likely a different scenario where they had patched up existing hole and with gap filler between the sliding metal roof and the fixed roof . Significant rust would of been around the edges and the roof and you would not get a not got track of seal and the seal from the glue/silicon would be done on rusting surface all not going work long term. Fish tanks stay together and hold water for years with no problem - anyway I think it can work and your right if not done right it could be a disaster and then I would be kicking myself that I did not get a blank welded in, of a whole new roof skin, or doing Carbon roof as Ben did from Otomoto which looked super cool and really trick I will revisit that build again by I do struggle with how he got the roof to seamless blend to the existing metal body. I have got my Drivers door off at the moment full disassembly and clean it out get the rust out POR - 15 treatment - re-lube everthing, get the rust of the widow mechanisms' POR 15 treatment, weld up the mirror holes going for the fender mounts, my stainless steel frame was cracked halfway through where it went into the door on the lock side, took this to a stainless steel fabricator specialist who specialized in industrial kitchens who welded the crack up and put a 1mm plate on it. Already done the full reco on the passenger door came up perfect - love a good set of doors on a classic car nice and solid and working perfect - if let go much further another year or 2 they would of been cactus jack. In regards to colour I starting think I may change to candy orange with a Gold metallic fleck - pretty in your face but not seen that often Thanks for the perspective on my build - keep up the good work buddy. Cheers AK Don't worry I still considering options for the sunroof delete.

Hi Rudi Very inspirational build - I have the same car - pretty much the same condition but had a sliding sunroof fitted to it which I hope to delete with slump molded 8mm Acrylic panel that will be silicone and bolted permanently in place , I have started a full pull down rebuild resto as well. Thanks for taking the time to share you build really appreciated!!! I like the stock blue colour and the longer you have it the more you like I find, I think I will be keeping mine blue and I would stay with blue engine bay as well over the grey - grey reminds me of old holden for some reason - just my 10 cents . You have done the hard miles with this one whatever colour you want I am sure it will look pretty good . Anyway just shout out to ya - and thank you for sharing your build - Awesome work! Cheers AK

Amazing build!!! Hopefully I will see in the flesh one day. Mad skills

If drives like this and I can drive it like this I the looks are just a bonus Check out the u-tube above if ya haven't already Cheers AK

Hi MR BLU Z I have a Blue 1976 2+2 260, the blue gets addictive after a while. Your work is inspirational and thanks for sharing method and technique and your trials and tribulations of course. Great work, keep it up. Cheers AK

More time on the car less on the web-site - yes I do have a problem

Hi Benny Hope all is going well. I was thinking of trying this as well - it been a while since you posted - did you ever try this? How did go ? Was there any rust problems that eventuated or any special treatment of after west blasting. Thanks for any advice. Cheers AK

Yep that will work - hopefully if is to big - cheers for idea. AK

Hi Ice Thanks for the article - really well done! As it happens I had a RDO today (I HAD NOT READ YOUR ARTICLE YET - ##XX!@!!!) and I decided I would pull out the fuel tank out of 260 2+2, lots of rubber hoses attached to the fuel tank and that weird breather tank set up in the back quarter tank pretty complicated for model year 1976. Anyway mine was worse than yours by the looks in fact I was thinking is was a throw away, then I went to the all-mighty google/YouTube to see what I could find, I found a couple of extra things that you have not mentioned. Which may or may-not be helpful to other Zeders. I am going to use 10mm scoria pebbles to loosen and sand the rust away inside the fuel tank, the idea is you might fill up about 20% of the tank with the pebbles and then find some way to tumble the fuel tank continuously for 1 hour or 2, I plan to use a large cement mixer provided I can hire one with a big enough opening to slide the fuel tank into then flip it around at the half time interval. The tank will really need a good clean after this, the internal pipes will need a blow out with a compressor but it should get rid of most of the rust. Note that the Fuel tank float sensor is quiet a fragile looking thing and was rusted to hell but still working, I have this soaking in some vinegar but there might not be much left after the rust is taken off - see how we go, anyway do not do any of the pebble action or even hard pressure washing until you have removed the fuel level sensor. Step 2 after the pebbles would be to use Apple Cider Vinegar solution (This type of Vinegar is said to be the strongest and is often use by vintage antique resto people, this will act as acid to eat the rest of the rust in the hard to get at places out, this might take a week or more with some regular flipping of the tank. When this vinegar has done the trick, then neutralize it with a baking soda mix, then lots of pressure washing and detergent to get it all clean then basically follow your steps from there. I plan to use the POR - 15 black gloss on the outside after striping the outside back to naked Will let you know how the scoria pebbles and the Apple Cider Vinegar go . Cheers AK

Congrats on your purchase I hope it all looks as good as the photos - cheers AK

Hi Rev Don't know if you are still looking for something. My wife is in HR she might be able to help, sounds like you are as well. You might want to send me your resume I will it to forward it to her . I know they have one HR potions currently in the company where she works, if this is the field of your expertise. Do this quick as they are interviewing now. My phone number is 0491 106 078 if ya need to chat. Cheers AK

Hi Rev I am one of the new members AK (Adrian Konings ) if ya have room for one more? it would be good to meet some fellow Zeders Let me know if you need any thing bought along extra will bring some food drink ect. My Z is the process of get full strip down so I be with out my z. Cheers AK

Hi Chris Stay away from the black cats - Seriously Welcome on board from another new club member Cheers AK

She looks really nice!! Doesn't look like she needs any work. Keep her straight - Brenton. Cheers AK