Hey Guys, I am sorry if this has been answered before but I came seem to find what I am looking for.  If I want to buy a 240z steering wheel with horn pad and put that into my 1978 280z will that work?  I see a lot of issues with horn pads but that seems to be when trying to use a 280z horn pad with a 240z wheel.

 

Thanks

Can't tell if you're asking if the 240Z horn pad will work on a 280Z wheel or if the 240Z wheel will work on a 280Z.  Ambiguous.

These links might give some clues.

http://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsun/Z-1969-1978/steering/steering-wheel

Looks like the column (and the nut, other link) never changed so the wheel should seat on the shaft end.  So the wheel should work as a whole with the horn pad, I'd guess.

http://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsun/Z-1969-1978/steering/steering-column

Sorry, let me clarify.  I want to buy a 240z steering wheel with a 240 horn pad and put that on my 280z (no modifications).  I dont want to do what others have done where the used a 240z steering wheel and a 280z horn pad.

If you get on to the MSA site and search "steering wheels" you'll find that they sell a bunch that fit 70-83 model years.  Odds are in your favor.

The guy who had the Daily Datsun blog did what I think you're trying to do and goes into some nice detail on what's required.  The domain has lapsed, but Google cache still has most of it.  Take a look here: https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:vIkFSrgSaHUJ:https://dailydatsun.com/tag/horn-pad/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

I saw that post thanks for the info.  However that is the opposite of what I want to do.  He added a 280z horn pad to a 240z steering wheel.  I want to keep the 240z horn pad and steering wheel intact.

Actually, that's not the opposite. 

Anyway, the wheel just sits on top of the column.  The signals and everything else are below it.  The horn pad is mounted to the wheel.  It'll work.  The only electrical contact is a round contact on the bottom of the wheel.  A little copper spring-loaded contact slides on it as the wheel turns.

Stole this picture from here - http://jdm-car-parts.com/products/datsun-competition-steering-wheel-with-datsun-horn-pad-for-datsun-240z-260z-280z-510-skyline-and-more

Edited November 30, 20168 yr by Zed Head
Removed snark, added an a.

16 hours ago, charliekwin said:

The guy who had the Daily Datsun blog did what I think you're trying to do and goes into some nice detail on what's required.  The domain has lapsed, but Google cache still has most of it.  Take a look here: https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:vIkFSrgSaHUJ:https://dailydatsun.com/tag/horn-pad/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Don't want to hijack this thread so I'll keep it short.  Does anyone know how to get ahold of Justin Yee?  His domain expired and I'd hate to see all of that info go to waste.  I can offer to migrate his blog to our blog area for no charge.  Anyway, if you know him, please send him a note for me and I'll get it rolling.

There are differences in how the 280 horn pad and the 240 horn pad mount, but as long as you are using everything from the same year (ish), then there's no problem. Get the 240 steering wheel, the 240 horn pad mounting hardware and stuff, and a 240 horn pad. They'll all work fine together and will fit on any year column.

All the column splines and mounting scheme is the same for all the years.

Edited December 1, 20168 yr by Captain Obvious
Spell checker (rightfully) didn't flag "spines"

Thanks for the info, appreciate everyone's help!  My z is really coming together!