Hi Lee, the referance to the "custom painted with newsprint" it was a referal to the paint around the hatch window, it contained print ink from the news papers used to mask off the glass when it was resprayed which bled into the paint when the thinners got into it.
With reference to the engine being from a Laurel, this was indeed the case as the dipstick was at the front of the block and had been cut down so it cleared the shallow section of the sump, how did you know how much oil was in it ?. Interesting that nobody knows/admits to an engine change prior to us purchasing the car as it appeared to be a fairly recently reconditioned unit, fresh core plugs, bearings etc.
OK, the print thing makes sense now, I vaguely remember the slight discolouration you refer to, the "custom painted newsprint rear" threw me, I remember reading and saying to myself, no,it was all 110 Red!
In regards to the engine swap, not sure what you are suggesting exactly but I can assure you, the only thing I did was get it tuned and got the carbs sorted, because the guy I bought it from had not used it regularly (about 1000 miles per year for the previous 10 years if memory is correct) and it ran like a dog when I picked the car up.
This was also my first Z and I did not pick up on the fact that it did not have the correct engine, I assume you didn't when you bought it from me either, as I am sure you would have mentioned it, you spent a lot of time looking at the car over a couple of visits if I remember correctly,would also have expected you to have checked the dipstick at that time,most people do when buying a car I would suggest.
If the engine appeared to be "recently reconditioned" it must have been done by the previous owner, given that I only owned the car for about 12 months or so and he owned it for ten years before me. If I had swapped the engine, I would have told you.
Hope this info provides some clarification.
Regards
Lee
