A Mani-Cure for Aging Emblems

I have the fenders off of the 280z which gives me the opportunity to freshen-up the fender badges.  One common problem with the aging badges is the orange epoxy surrounding the letter Z; the epoxy begins to crack and oxidize badly.

The first step in restoring these badges is to "chip out" the aging epoxy.

Once the old epoxy is removed the chrome plating will be exposed underneath.  

Many people simply paint the surrounding area with a gloss red such as Rustoleum.  While I considered such a path, I really wanted a finish that closely resembled the stock look.  I was having trouble finding the right color which was a dark metallic orange.  I was browsing Amazon for metallic paints and came across a 3-part gel nail paint with a color that looked really close.  I decided to take a chance and ordered a base, color, and top coat.  For those that might like to follow this path, the paint came from Elite99, and the color code on the bottle is 9914.

I followed the instructions and applied the base coat, 3 coats of color, and a thicker top coat, using an LED UV curing lamp my wife already had (this type of gel nail polish requires the lamp for curing).  The nice thing about this paint system is that since the lamp is required for curing, I could let the coats "settle" and smooth out before curing them.  The resulting color is a very close match to the color of the epoxy chips I removed from the emblem (judging from the bottom of the chip that was not exposed to oxygen and sunlight).

Knob Job

During my last few drives in the 280z, I noticed a rattling noise coming from the shifter.  After some highly complicated diagnosis of grabbing and releasing the shift knob, I came to the conclusion that the noise had to be coming from the knob itself.  My theory was confirmed when the knob actually came apart after a slight upward pressure.

So much for the Amco shift knob!  I began searching for a replacement knob, preferably a knob that resembled the stock shift knob.  I had difficulty locating a picture or description of a stock knob, but eventually found a brochure that featured a picture of the knob.

Apparently the shift knobs were commonly replaced with wooden knobs by dealers as an upgrade, so you would think a stock knob would be easily located... not so.  I had found cheap (really cheap) knock-offs, but nothing close to the original.  

I was about to give up and purchase a replica wooden knob when I came across an eBay seller offering a stock knob from a 1976 280z being parted out!  It was even being offered at a very reasonable price far below the wooden knob I was considering.

Upon receiving the knob, I found that the description left out a few details, such as the medallion had separated from the knob and the threaded insert was missing.  This shouldn't pose too much of a challenge though.

The medallion was easy to replace.  After cleaning out the residual adhesive left from the original installation, I used some Liquid Nails water based adhesive to secure the medallion back into place.

For the threaded insert, I used a 8mm furniture threaded insert nut (actually two stacked on top of each other) locked into place with JB Weld.

I now have an original shift knob!

Another badge of honor

I restored another badge on the 280z: one of the pillar vent badges on the rear of the car.  I removed this badge as I needed to paint the body underneath, so why not spruce it up a bit.  I used the smallest brush I could find to paint the outer ring where the paint had completely vanished.  I used some white Rustoleum for the Z in the center and Krylon satin black everywhere else.

Applying a little polish and elbow grease

The valve cover on an engine is usually the first thing that is noticed when a hood is opened.  Nowadays, pretty plastic covers sit atop the engine hiding the beauty of the mechanics underneath.  Not so on the Z, and the valve cover was looking somewhat dingy.  Since I wanted to inspect my top end anyway, why not pull the valve cover and give it a bit of a shine.

The valve cover had developed a dingy look over the years

Looks like there's a bit of sludge I'll have to flush out

A few areas of pitting had developed on the cover, so I used some JB Weld to fill-in those areas.  I knew that it wouldn't be a perfect match in color, but then again the valve cover itself isn't exactly show quality and the color mismatch between the aluminum and the JB Weld would still be less obvious that the deep pitting.

A couple of small areas of pitting needed to be addressed

I started out by soaking the valve cover in a mixture of Pine Sol and water.  This would hopefully address some of the gunk that had accumulated on the underside of the cover.  I used a pot scrubber to aid in the removal of the oil and sludge on the underside of the cover.  

The underside of the valve cover before cleaning

A soak in Pine Sol.  Note the balloon covering the PCV fitting to keep it in.

To begin addressing the outside of the cover, I mixed-up a batch of Simple Green and water.  Since the cover of the inline 6 is so long, I had to soak each end of the cover separately in a tall bucket.  This would remove the soaked-in stains in the aluminum exterior.

I don't have a bucket tall enough for the long cover!

Once the cover had soaked for a few days on each side, I then began the tedious process of shining.  I used sandpaper, Quick-Glo, a 3" random orbit polisher, and several buffing bits on a Dremel to shine the aluminum cover to a nice luster.  The Quick-Glo was applied at the end of the process to (hopefully) seal the aluminum with the wax that the product leaves behind.

Look at that shine!

I then donned a fresh gasket and re-attached the cover using new stainless steel hardware I purchased from a seller on Ebay.  Now the cover is the center of attention when the hood is opened!

Stainless screws complete the upgraded look

Pumped about washers

While cleaning out the washer bottle on the 280, I discovered that the washer pump was seized.  This is a common problem, but what to do?  On eBay you can find NOS pumps for a reasonable amount of money.  I found a cheaper solution: Trico makes a pump that is almost identical to the original unit.

The most difficult part of the swap was swapping the electrical connections.  The new pump had a large connector that needed to be cut off so that it would fit into the rubber cradle.  After using a Dremel to remove the connector, I used a soldering iron to transfer the connectors from the old pump to the new.

The washer is now ready to be returned to the car.