We're bringin' back the Flat Tops!

[motorman7]

15 hours ago, 240Z73 said:

.  Rich are you and Bob planning on taking the car to any Concours shows in CA? 

I am hoping to have this ready for the San Marino show at the beginning of June.  I am thinking I might be able to show it, but may be missing some items....we'll see.

[240Z73]

2 hours ago, motorman7 said:

I am hoping to have this ready for the San Marino show at the beginning of June.  I am thinking I might be able to show it, but may be missing some items....we'll see.

San Marino sounds like a very nice show!  I'm going to try and make Huntington Beach the week before.  This will be the first show I have ever done!

[240Z73]

If you're around come by, I would love to meet you!

[Careless]

On 4/17/2019 at 11:30 AM, motorman7 said:

I removed each wired terminal from the connector housing and passed the wire through the boot, then re-inserted each wire terminal back into the connector housing.

I did the same for the harness I redid, but I did it with all the wires so I didn't have to heat or stretch the boot. I haaaave done that in the passed, but I find it's best to do it near a sink so you can cool the rubber down if you get it too hot too quickly. it will "freeze" it in its current shape and not let it get too goopy. But on the Z that wasn't a problem for me because de-pinning the connectors on these is so easy if you are used to it. They're actually the easiest automotive connectors to de-pin across all makes and models.

I also used the right width electrical tape instead of the standard/generic 3/4" electrical tape so the wrap would be identical to the original. 3/4" tape gets a bit too bulky or "spirally" IMHO but that's not something many people would notice anyhow, but I likes what I likes.

 I also had harness tags printed to match the originals for all the harness tabs, and also some other years. I matched the font and glyphs to what I would say is 98.9% accuracy based on reverse engineering the leading/spacing/tracking of each digit and the one preceding it. The only difference being that some fonts were a tad bit bolder, but luckily I had a license from a font from the same series (not quite exact, but same typeface, just different era) from a design job I did long time ago. Most wouldn't be able to tell the difference without having both beside one another anyway.

They were then printed on the correct thickness vinyl and I affixed them using the OE over-wrap technique.

Also, there were two or three wires on the harness that had large plastic sheath on them that are not available, though at the time I was going to buy some to test that I think I found to be the right ones- but they were tinted green.

I also noticed that Yazaki provided their own wire too at the time, which I thought was cool:

I almost forgot, there are some cheap dollar store electrical tape rolls that have the perfect shade for each additional "marker" colour like green, blue, red, and yellow, which were placed on the harnesses at various points too. Just remember that if anyone is going to attempt to colour match... unroll the tape first, it gets about 5 shades darker under the first wrap if it hasn't been exposed to sunlight or heat.

Never had the chance to look into what each colour signified or if they were mentioned anywhere in the FSM, but I just put them anyway:

 

 

The wiring is so simple on these cars, it's actually an enjoyable experience to redo and have piece of mind- and you can safely clip each wire at the very end of its factory crimp and put on a new terminal with new brass and sheaths and it will still reach all the terminating points since they weren't super tightly placed to begin with. The larger width tape helps it flex a bit better too.

Edited April 24, 2019 by Careless

[jayhawk]

17 hours ago, 240Z73 said:

San Marino sounds like a very nice show!  I'm going to try and make Huntington Beach the week before.  This will be the first show I have ever done!

@240Z73, Since you are in N. California (apparently) you might look into the new event, the Golden Week Kyusha festival that is a gathering of classic Japanese cars on May 4th in Richmond.  I know one ZONC member is planning on taking his Z (that Motorman restored last year).  I'd be there as a spectator, but have other commitments...:-(

The Neillo auto dealer group is sponsoring some weekday evening events this summer around the Sacramento area called Concours Reduno that look a little less intimidating than standard Concours events: http://theconcours.net/concours-raduno.html.

There are a number of Concours events in N. California this summer that look like a little more Japanese car friendly.  Concours in Danville, Hillsborough, Chico and Murphys, etc.  The Ironstone Concours d'Elegance in Murphys (September 22nd http://www.ironstoneconcours.org/) has a category just for Amphicars!  That has to be a fun event. 

I'm planning on keeping my car in southern California this summer (except for the trip to Branson) so Motorman7 can have his handiwork displayed at events closer to him.  Then will bring it north in the fall and start driving it to events in N. California next year.

 

Edited April 24, 2019 by jayhawk

[240Z73]

@jayhawk,  thanks for all the information!   I’ll email privately.  

[motorman7]

Started work in the interior again.  Got the center console vinyl in.  Also cleaned up the side black vinyl and got that installed.  I cleaned up the center console and temporarily placed it on the center console just to see how it would look.  One of the studs on the underside of the console that holds the choke lever is broken so I will need to look for that bracket that provides extra choke support.  Also installed the seat belts and put the carpet in place.  That forward seat support near the center console looks bad.  Will need to clean that up.

I also got the heater hose grommets, so I installed the heater hoses with the wire clamps.  I think I have the heater system near complete, with all new parts.  New heater core and new control/switching valve.  @jayhawk tells me that the reason he stopped driving the car was because of a leak in the heater system, so we should be in good shape now.  Here are a few pics.  

Edited April 29, 2019 by motorman7

[Carl Beck]

This is the best way to fix the choke mount...   https://www.ebay.com/itm/Datsun-240Z-72-73-Choke-Cable-Console-Fix-Repair-Plate-Mount-Tunnel-Bracket-Kit/401741430868?hash=item5d89a7c054:g:JIQAAOSwu4BVm1xA  

Where did you find a new heater core?

thanks,

Carl

[jayhawk]

10 hours ago, Carl Beck said:

Where did you find a new heater core?

thanks,

Carl

Answering for Motorman7: Carl, it is an NOS core that I purchased either in 1988 (when the heater started leaking) or about 2007 when I was acquiring some parts for the restoration (that I was contemplating doing myself, but never got to it.) Sorry, not a recent acquisition from a secret supply...  ?

--Bob (aka Jayhawk)

 

[motorman7]

10 hours ago, Carl Beck said:

This is the best way to fix the choke mount...   https://www.ebay.com/itm/Datsun-240Z-72-73-Choke-Cable-Console-Fix-Repair-Plate-Mount-Tunnel-Bracket-Kit/401741430868?hash=item5d89a7c054:g:JIQAAOSwu4BVm1xA  

Thanks Carl, I knew I had seen something like that.  That looks like a pretty simple part.  I may just make that at home myself.  If I get ambitious, I may even draw up a PDF of the part and post it here or on the thread that discusses this item. I doubt that it is patented.

 

 

Edited April 29, 2019 by motorman7

[siteunseen]

Those things work great.  They do look like they'd be easy to make the only thing is that plastic collar's size.  The other screw just has a piece of clear tubing on it.

https://zcardepot.com/products/choke-lever-mounting-plate-reinforcement-240z

[240Z73]

14 hours ago, motorman7 said:

Also installed the seat belts and put the carpet in place.  

Nice to see carpet under the seat!  Looks nicer than what I did. ?