Indeed. A good reminder thanks. I'll need to find out and note the proper torque settings and keep it in the car!
Cheers
Paul
Cheers
Paul
A Highland Z3 1.9 roadster
- Thread starter Pls
- Start date
Revisiting old haunts on our anniversary, we visited Fort George on the other side of the Moray Firth, where we had been on our wedding day, and had a picnic by the shore.
Meanwhile, Ray's car is back together, getting ready for its MOT, new paintwork polished,
Cheers
Paul
Meanwhile, Ray's car is back together, getting ready for its MOT, new paintwork polished,
Cheers
Paul
Wishing to check on my Z3's sea legs, we embarked on the Black Isle ferry from Cromarty to Nigg this afternoon.
I had been a bit concerned about scraping the exhaust, but I needn't have worried. At this state of low tide, the ramp was at a gentle angle.
The vessel, The Renfrew Rose, will just take two vehicles in a gentle sea state, with the rear wheels of the second vehicle to board being perched on the ramp.
On arrival at Nigg, to disembark required reversing off up the ferry ramp. Then we set off for fish and chips at The Crown in Portmahomac, with a glass of Happy Chappie from the Cromarty brewery.
Cheers
Paul
I had been a bit concerned about scraping the exhaust, but I needn't have worried. At this state of low tide, the ramp was at a gentle angle.
The vessel, The Renfrew Rose, will just take two vehicles in a gentle sea state, with the rear wheels of the second vehicle to board being perched on the ramp.
On arrival at Nigg, to disembark required reversing off up the ferry ramp. Then we set off for fish and chips at The Crown in Portmahomac, with a glass of Happy Chappie from the Cromarty brewery.
Cheers
Paul
Sounds like bliss Paul.
Tony.
Tony.
Sara spent the day in Inverness with a chum, so I set off to explore lower Strathdearn and the remote Monadhliath range south of the town.
On the Shennachie Road, at the bridge over the Funtack Burn, flowing down from Loch Moy to the Findhorn River, just north of the village of Tomatin, home of the eponymous malt whisky.
I returned over the Glentyllachy Forest; along the seven mile single track road I saw one other vehicle.
Passing over the high remote heather covered moor, I then descended past Farr Loch into Strathnairn,
Then back into Inverness and on home. Another enjoyable run out.
Cheers
Paul
On the Shennachie Road, at the bridge over the Funtack Burn, flowing down from Loch Moy to the Findhorn River, just north of the village of Tomatin, home of the eponymous malt whisky.
I returned over the Glentyllachy Forest; along the seven mile single track road I saw one other vehicle.
Passing over the high remote heather covered moor, I then descended past Farr Loch into Strathnairn,
Then back into Inverness and on home. Another enjoyable run out.
Cheers
Paul
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2019
- Points
- 84
- Model of Z
- 3
Great pics 
Indeed. The other day, this scene struck me - the story of the Scottish highlands over the years: sheep, forestry and power:
Cheers
Paul
Cheers
Paul
Thanks Charlie. As you can probably tell, I'm thoroughly enjoying my introduction to the Z3 as well! And our scenery too!
This week I got around to changing the gearbox oil. Having the car up Ray's lift to do so gave me another opportunity to spend some time under the car.
It needs a bit of a clean up, but changing the oil presented no problems, using a £6 Silverline half litre syphon/pump. The gear change was nice before, but I've convinced myself it's even nicer now!
The car has clearly had many parts replaced over the years.
A couple of rubber bungs missing off that caliper. Anybody chucking some old ones out?
I can see that many nuts and bolts will obviously need a lot of coaxing when the time comes to undo them. So I shall plan a session with a can of Plus Gas as a start.
I was going to change the diff oil, but haven't found a recomended product locally yet, so I may go to Opie Oils. Also, neither of us had a 14mm hex key to undo the plugs, so I wouldn't have got very far anyway! But I found a Draper one in Inverness today.
Oh, and the new rubber car mats turned up too - just the thing for regular use through the Highland winter!
Cheers
Paul
After contacting Opie Oils a few years ago to find out what gearbox and diff fluid I would need for my zed - which I believe is similar to yours (same engine and similar year) the guys at Opie sent me this:
I ended up using 75w90 oil from Redline, which has been okay in the zed so far.
I ended up using 75w90 oil from Redline, which has been okay in the zed so far.
Thanks Faheem, that's interesting. I'm confused over whether it should be 75w90 or 75w140. In Mike Fishwick's article on transmission oils on here, he says:
"When planning to change the final drive oil, it is essential to first find if your car is fitted with a limited slip differential, the fitting of which depends mainly on the market for which the car was ordered. For example, in terms of the Z3, all UK-market cars were fitted .......
.........both LSD types being satisfied by Castrol SAF-XJ. A non-LSD final drive will be happy on most hypoid lubricants, such as Castrol SAF-XO. Both are available from Opie Oils."
So, if our Z3s have LSDs, it should be SAF-XJ, which was a 75w-140, and I think it has been replaced by Syntrax LSD 75w140.
Cheers
Paul
"When planning to change the final drive oil, it is essential to first find if your car is fitted with a limited slip differential, the fitting of which depends mainly on the market for which the car was ordered. For example, in terms of the Z3, all UK-market cars were fitted .......
.........both LSD types being satisfied by Castrol SAF-XJ. A non-LSD final drive will be happy on most hypoid lubricants, such as Castrol SAF-XO. Both are available from Opie Oils."
So, if our Z3s have LSDs, it should be SAF-XJ, which was a 75w-140, and I think it has been replaced by Syntrax LSD 75w140.
Cheers
Paul
I dont dont think that the early prefacelift 1.9s were fitted with LSDs, I know that mine has an open diff but probably worth double checking with others before you buy the oil.
Yes indeed! More investigation is obviously required!I dont dont think that the early prefacelift 1.9s were fitted with LSDs, I know that mine has an open diff but probably worth double checking with others before you buy the oil.
Cheers
Paul
A still, sunny afternoon today, and the farmer will be combining the barley over the fence any day now (lots of dust), so I had a go at the ratty rusty corners of the wing panels which have been offending the eye (and Sara's eye) since we got the car. One day I may invest in some better panels, or get them resprayed properly, but in the meantime .... Plus the unfinished paint for the sills, which just had plain black after their repairs earlier in the year.
So I attacked the offending areas with a wire brush in the trusty Black & Decker, then feathered the edges, treated the rusty bits, and gave a couple of coats of zinc primer, then Cosmos, then lacquer from rattle cans, all with appropriate flatting, hot air gun and enlarging of masked areas as I went. I seem to remember first going through the process forty nine years ago on an A35. But with cellulose, obviously.
The structure on the right is the stane dyke I've been building as a garden wall, using whin stones, or field stones, which the farmers are happy to get rid of. However, due to the glacial origins of these stones, it's a bit like building a wall with marbles, and needs mortar.
Anyway, after a week or so, I shall gently cut the new paint and hopefully the areas will look better than they did, as least at a passing glance!
Cheers
Paul
So I attacked the offending areas with a wire brush in the trusty Black & Decker, then feathered the edges, treated the rusty bits, and gave a couple of coats of zinc primer, then Cosmos, then lacquer from rattle cans, all with appropriate flatting, hot air gun and enlarging of masked areas as I went. I seem to remember first going through the process forty nine years ago on an A35. But with cellulose, obviously.
The structure on the right is the stane dyke I've been building as a garden wall, using whin stones, or field stones, which the farmers are happy to get rid of. However, due to the glacial origins of these stones, it's a bit like building a wall with marbles, and needs mortar.
Anyway, after a week or so, I shall gently cut the new paint and hopefully the areas will look better than they did, as least at a passing glance!
Cheers
Paul
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If it turns out as good as the wall looks Paul it'll be fine mate.
Tony.
Tony.
Thanks Tony. As with so many things in life, I reckon that if you can eliminate obvious faults in something, the brain's assessment tends to be based on a positive first impression.
Cheers
Paul
Cheers
Paul
Very true mate. First impressions etc.
Tony.
Tony.
After a pleasant weekend, the weather deteriorated this afternoon as we returned from a trip to the shops in Tain. Rather than come home in the heavy traffic on the A9 in a downpour, we took the short cut on the ferry back to Cromarty. It is quicker and the fare is the same cost as the petrol for the extra 30 miles round the Firth.
There's quite a drop on either side of the slipway at Nigg! We were the only vehicle on this trip.
So we had the promenade deck to ourselves. No deck quoits though
After the attack of the rattle cans on Saturday, the car was looking really good next to the ferry paintwork, and decidedly less rusty than the vessel.
However, I have yet to follow up with 3000 grit wet and dry followed by cutting compound on the sills and wing panel corners. I also paid a visit to Goodtread Tyres in Alness, our local Poorboys World products stockist, to get some Black Hole finishing glaze. Well we are down for the Scottish Run round the Isle of Skye in a fortnight, so the Peedie Car needs to look its best! (Peedie = Small in Scots).
The rain got worse, but soon Cromarty hove into view, with the gently sloping slipway to reverse up. There's a small coffee bar at the top, and it can be a great morning's entertainment to sit and watch the comings and goings, expecially of big hired camper vans with inexperienced drivers and just inches to spare!
On the way back along the shore road, there were some significant flash floods pouring across the road off the fields sloping down to the shore, and as we drove through them, the Z3 soon started running rather roughly on three cylinders. I suppose that's a good reason to have six! Anyway, when I got home, the underside of the bonnet was soaked, the fan having sprayed water up, particularly on the off side, over the ignition coil and HT leads beneath. But with a good dousing with WD40, the engine started up is running sweetly again.
Cheers
Paul
There's quite a drop on either side of the slipway at Nigg! We were the only vehicle on this trip.
So we had the promenade deck to ourselves. No deck quoits though
After the attack of the rattle cans on Saturday, the car was looking really good next to the ferry paintwork, and decidedly less rusty than the vessel.
However, I have yet to follow up with 3000 grit wet and dry followed by cutting compound on the sills and wing panel corners. I also paid a visit to Goodtread Tyres in Alness, our local Poorboys World products stockist, to get some Black Hole finishing glaze. Well we are down for the Scottish Run round the Isle of Skye in a fortnight, so the Peedie Car needs to look its best! (Peedie = Small in Scots).
The rain got worse, but soon Cromarty hove into view, with the gently sloping slipway to reverse up. There's a small coffee bar at the top, and it can be a great morning's entertainment to sit and watch the comings and goings, expecially of big hired camper vans with inexperienced drivers and just inches to spare!
On the way back along the shore road, there were some significant flash floods pouring across the road off the fields sloping down to the shore, and as we drove through them, the Z3 soon started running rather roughly on three cylinders. I suppose that's a good reason to have six! Anyway, when I got home, the underside of the bonnet was soaked, the fan having sprayed water up, particularly on the off side, over the ignition coil and HT leads beneath. But with a good dousing with WD40, the engine started up is running sweetly again.
Cheers
Paul
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With a Highland winter coming up, the car has got a new set of boots. All the tyres were coming up to the limit - the two fronts were around RoSPA's 3mm, and the two rear ones had lost all their tread on the inside edge.
With a 1.9 daily driver, I don't need high performance sport tyres, and having read many reviews, as well as comments on here, I went for UniRoyal RainSport3 which rate well in the wet and also in snow, most important driving up here in the winter. And they were £55 fitted, which wasn't too bad. So I shall feel confident of the tyres, especially with a thousand mile trip down to Norfolk and back due in November.
I shall keep the old tyres, and may put the two 3mm ones on the rear of my old Volvo V70 estate workhorse, when the 'MOT advisory' ones on there finally need replacing. I may even get 5000 miles out of them, probably a years' worth on that car. (Strangely, the two cars have the same BHP of 140, same top speed of 127mph, as well as the tyres being almost the same. Even the cylinders are nearly the same volume, the 2.4 Volvo just has one more of them!)
While the wheels were off, I confirmed that all four springs and shock absorbers are replacement ones, which is good.
Cheers
Paul
With a 1.9 daily driver, I don't need high performance sport tyres, and having read many reviews, as well as comments on here, I went for UniRoyal RainSport3 which rate well in the wet and also in snow, most important driving up here in the winter. And they were £55 fitted, which wasn't too bad. So I shall feel confident of the tyres, especially with a thousand mile trip down to Norfolk and back due in November.
I shall keep the old tyres, and may put the two 3mm ones on the rear of my old Volvo V70 estate workhorse, when the 'MOT advisory' ones on there finally need replacing. I may even get 5000 miles out of them, probably a years' worth on that car. (Strangely, the two cars have the same BHP of 140, same top speed of 127mph, as well as the tyres being almost the same. Even the cylinders are nearly the same volume, the 2.4 Volvo just has one more of them!)
While the wheels were off, I confirmed that all four springs and shock absorbers are replacement ones, which is good.
Cheers
Paul