How I refinished the horns in my '73 240Z

[Careless]

Careless--

Here's a little more discussion on the horns.

The first post contains a link to an additional earlier discussion regarding them. Seller "nikkibid 1972"  on E-Bay has sold gasket and screw sets in the past. Contacting him may be helpful if you don't make your own. (Rob is another Canadian and a really fine fellow---very helpful to me when I was sourcing small original bits )

 

http://www.classiczcars.com/topic/51388-early-horn-differences/

 

I am really enjoying your documentation of the restorative process. You are doing a fantastic job of it---the way a true restoration should be done---and it is a testament to the ongoing legacy of these fine cars.

I would love to see this car in person when it is finished---will it be shown at ZCON 2016 in Toronto??

 

Jim D.

"Zup"

 

Jim, as much as I would love to say yes, I don't think the car will be in Toronto when I am completed with the resto.

 

The client would like to have it sent to where his other cars are right now, so that's where it will end up.

 

But I will document the process extensively with a proper camera starting this week or early next week, when I start to assemble more of the items before they make their way onto the vehicle. I was up at the shop making an extensive list of items that need purchasing in order to continue the restoration- and thus- a number of parts that I already have will be up for sale in a short time once the correct part takes its place. 

 

This week was about preparation for the following months. I will have to send out some of the items like window regs and bits like that for processing from another facility to expedite the process of cleaning/degreasing/plating so that when I get it back, its a simple means of assembly and none of the dirty work.

 

The facility with the car is somewhat barren at this point, so a lot of the items have to be processed at home if I can do it here. But being that it's Fall season now, my father has to have his barrels of wine in the garage, fermenting. :-) I mean... his wine has tasted like various solvents some times in the passed, but I don't think that was due to me spraying stuff in the vicinity of the barrels. I think that was just his "recipe"... But I'd like to refrain from adding ingredients to something he's so extensively "perfected". 

 

Gotta play by his rules for the time being- but I'm actually off to the garage right now to make some room and to start tumbling the horn cases.

[Careless]

Jim, I have contacted Nikkibid on behalf of this discussion as I had previously purchased

this horn kit from him. He said he no longer offers this hardware and gasket kit.

He frequently offers products on eBay and I highly recommend him and whatever he sells.

Dan

 

Does anyone have photos of the rebuild kit?

[Careless]

Ok so here's what I found with the one I just took apart (will post pictures in a little bit, kinda gettin' sleepy- but I want to post before I forget).

 

Front Housing Cover:

- Steel

- Light Olive-Drab plating

 

Outer Centre Diaphragm:

- Aluminum

- Painted with a Dark Olive-Drab paint (camo green), not plated. I had to use paint remover to get it off.

- Not satin black on this unit, as the gunmetal paint that was sprayed on the entire horn had a clear separation line- and that is lighter than satin black... and beyond the separation line is clearly a dark green colour.

 

Inner Centre Diaphragm: 

- Thin highly polished steel (not stainless)

- Very rusty under the Outer Center Diaphragm. Could contribute to poor sound if it gets bad.

 

Rear Housing:

- Steel

- Clear Zinc Plated on the inside, which means it's not natural finish on the outside, but plated as well.

 

 

Right now I have the Front Cover, Outer and Inner Centre Diaphragms, and all the removable bits and pieces inside the tumbler going for a spin. The rust on the Inner Centre Diaphragm seems to be extremely rusty. I might wire wheel it gently and tumble it again while the rest of the stuff gets plated.

 

I am going to make a "plating cover" so that I can tumble and plate the rear housing again, while covering the internal coil elements. It will be a steel template with RTV around the gasket area to keep it sealed. I might forgo the plating on the rear housing since it's assembled, and just keep it natural and Sharkhide the exterior. As long as the finish is uniform, I think it will look good. 

Edited October 12, 2015 by Careless

[Careless]

anyone have reservations about using a light coat of RTV as a gasket? i mean painted on nice and even with a paint brush so there's as little squeeze out as possible? I don't see why that wouldn't work... I guess I could try it?

[wheee!]

My experience so far has been that the gasket material needs to be a specific thickness as well as the two sides need to be torqued evenly in order to produce a uniform and clear "horn" sound. I expect that once I reassemble the car I will need to fine tune the sound by adjusting as necessary. I don't think rtv is a good solution as it will be an inconsistent thickness and may muffle the diaphragm completely.

Sent from my iPizzle ringy dingy device....

Edited October 16, 2015 by wheee!

[Careless]

I hear ya. my thoughts were that it would be too "rubbery" and absorb some of the sound. I'll see about getting some gasket paper tonight, then. I still might try the RTV because it looks like the area where the gasket contacts should have nothing to do with the sound anyways, because its the center aluminum bell that is what's ringing.

 

Only one way to find out!

[SteveJ]

I posted more about the horns in this thread: 

I took some video of the work that I need to edit and post on YouTube.