Restoration of BringaTrailer 240z - HLS30-35883

[dutchzcarguy]

Put a pic of the part you need.. saves postage as it is lighter 🙂  just a thought..

[Yarb]

@Terrapin Z

[Terrapin Z]

13 hours ago, inline6 said:

Anyone have a 240z horn they'd be willing to part with for cheap?  I need one to cannibalize from. 

I have a few that don't work as is. Like Mart asked if you just need a part from one it is cheaper to ship. 

[inline6]

2 hours ago, Terrapin Z said:

I have a few that don't work as is. Like Mart asked if you just need a part from one it is cheaper to ship. 

I have been saving a lot of money on shipping since I started using Stamps.com.  I had no idea that using them, I could get much better than over the counter shipping rates.  All I did was create an account, and fund it with like $50.  I put in the address, dimensions and weight of the package (box or padded envelop), print out the label and drop off at a UPS store.  I bet shipping a horn would be less than $8. 

Anyway, I managed to lose one of these red washers: 

 

And, I'd like another of these black plastic parts.  

 

However, both are only accessible after drilling out the rivets and they are easily damaged if you are not careful.  I'd rather pay for the shipping and do that part myself.

 

 

[SteveJ]

For the red washer, you could use a phenolic washer like this. https://www.amazon.com/a15112300ux0387-2mmx4mmx0-5mm-Motherboard-Insulating-Washers

What is the diameter of the hole?

Edited September 22 by SteveJ

[Terrapin Z]

Looks like both pieces are in there. I bet the copper wire in there is worth more than both little bits you are after. 

I looked at Stamps.com but did not care for their terms of service. I'll just stick with the Post Office. 

 

Edited September 23 by Terrapin Z
spellchecked wrong

[inline6]

3 hours ago, SteveJ said:

For the red washer, you could use a phenolic washer like this. https://www.amazon.com/a15112300ux0387-2mmx4mmx0-5mm-Motherboard-Insulating-Washers

What is the diameter of the hole?

3 mm.  I have some suitable items to take place of the red washer in my cart, but have to buy way more than I need.  And, I would like that black plastic piece too.

[inline6]

I attempted to remove the valve spring retainers from my exhaust valves this weekend with the homemade valve spring compressor tool I have use successfully before.  However, this time, it didn't work as well as I recall it did last time.  After futzing with it for a couple of hours and only getting one retainer off, I gave up and ordered one from Zcardepot.com.  My homemade one interferes with the came towers and extracting the collets out is a real pain.  Hopefully the new one will be a lot easier to use.

In the meantime, I am working on what there is left.  One of those things was installing and adjusting the throttle linkage arms.  While I am familiar with this part (see red arrow), I never knew what its purpose was - do you know? 

 

 

Well, I may have figured it out.  I think it is a linkage "stop".  As I was assembling the linkage, it seemed logical to me that the little wings on this part may have been intended to contact the back of the rubber bellows that attached to the firewall.  As I worked to set the lengths of the rod (this short one and a longer one have one threaded ball socket end) the location of this piece fell naturally to a position that eliminated all of the "slop" in the linkage after the throttle plates in the carburetors had just contacted their screw stops.  In other words, you can then set the depth of this "winged" piece to contact the back surface of the bellows just at the point where the throttle plates in the carburetors have closed.  Doing this, you will prevent introducing slop in the linkage which occurs after the throttle plates are shut but you continue to release the gas pedal as far as the pedal return spring will pull it from the floor.  

After setting the winged piece, I confirmed that even the slightest movement at the pedal caused carburetor shaft (and thus, throttle plate) movement.  When releasing the gas pedal I now have a muted "thud" as this piece hits the back of the rubber bellows... and allows no more movement in the linkage beyond the throttle plates in the carburetors' seating. 

Kind of cool!  It will be interesting to see how that all feels when driving the car.  While I was doing all this, I ensured that I got full throttle opening at (both) carburetors by pressing only on the gas pedal inside the car.  I am never all that surprised when I check and find that pressing the pedal to the floor does not fully open the throttle at the engine!  

The plastic ball sockets on the linkage turned white during the plating process.  To address, I used a propane torch and very carefully heated them.  The heat causes some type of reaction which restores the color of the ball socket.  But, you have to get it hot enough that melting starts to occur.  After heating, I went over them with some fine grits of sand paper to restore areas that has melted a tad.

White socket... and my throttle linkage stopper in action (though I think I need to flip it around 180 degrees):

    

 

Throttle linkage detail:

    

 

I have read about getting dinged at Zcon for valve covers which have been glass bead blasted.  I also know that there is quite a bit of variance in finish with glass bead blasting.  You can use different media, different pressures, and even do vapor blasting which uses media along with water.  For my valve cover, I tried cleaning it really well with #0000 steel wool and degreaser.  And then I tried some Aluminum Brightener.  After those efforts, I still had darkish areas that looked like stains on my valve cover:

    

 

So, I started experimenting with glass beads set at very low pressure.  The glass beads I was using have seen may work cycles and I was using only 20 psi.  However, I was getting pretty good results.  In this first pic for example, I concentrated efforts on the area at the top of the valve cover between the oil cap hole and the casting bump (for the spark plug wire holder).  In the second picture I was concentrating in the area between the two bolts.  In the third picture you can see the area of transition (darker, not blasted area on the right).  

    

 

In this first picture below, I had hit the N and and the I in Nissan and some of the area above and below the N.  The downside is that it takes a lot of time at 20 psi.  But, it did make a big difference in lightening the valve cover.  I got a little more aggressive in a few areas with 25 psi, but I think that started to look unnatural.  Anyway, I was pleased with the overall result.  A note, if you do this, you have to seal the vapor compartment in the valve cover, or remove that plate inside the valve cover like I did so that you don't leave glass beads in there.

    

 

 

 

 

Edited September 27 by inline6

[Captain Obvious]

44 minutes ago, inline6 said:

I attempted to remove the valve spring retainers from my exhaust valves this weekend with the homemade valve spring compressor tool I have use successfully before.  However, this time, it didn't work as well as I recall it did last time.  My homemade one interferes with the came towers and extracting the collets out is a real pain.

When I was doing that job alone (taking valves apart with engine in the car), I found that working with one hand on the tool at all times to keep the spring compressed is an extra special pain.

So I used a piece of nylon cord to hold the tool down so at least I had two hands to work on getting the retainers out and back in. Tie the cord off onto something an anchor. Looked like this:

Still a pain, but way easier!!

[siteunseen]

The few I've done a telescoping magnet was a big help for the retainers.

 

[emccallum]

I replaced the valve seals on my car using a "universal" tool. It was tough, even with a helper. I am not sure I could have done it solo. 

[inline6]

For some reason, the valve spring retainer tool didn't get here on time.  It will be next week before I can pull the retainers from the exhaust valves.  So, I switched back to the seats today.  I spent a couple of hours doing research because I don't see how I need to proceed. 

The first issue I have is I don't know how to attach the flap to (or through) the seat foam.  My seats do not have springs - they have Pirelli straps.  The replacement foam has a slot in it.  This slot is not cut all the way through the bottom of the cushion.  I measured the depth of the slot at 2 nd 3/4" inches.

    

 

Looking at the underside of the cushion, the bottom of the slot is offset to the right of the impression (long, skinny rectangle) you see here.  I drew a red line approximately where the bottom of the slot is in this picture.  There is a thickness of about a quarter of an inch of foam at the bottom of the slot. 

 

But, the seat upholstery flap that goes down into the slot is only about 2 inches deep.  As I understand it, there should be a wire that is inserted in this flap and hog rings should be used to attach this wire... to something.  I just don't know what.

 

This picture of @kats seat appears to have a wire running under the Pirelli straps.  

 

 

I have attempted to replicate that, bending hooks in the wire to locate it around the straps, however, I just don't know how to proceed from here.

    

I am thinking about making a matching wire and putting it in the fabric flap on the seat upholstery and then using hog rings to pull the two wires together.  But, I am concerned about the difference in measurements (2" depth of the flap vs. 2.75" depth in the slot).  That may be ok though, as clearly, there has to be some tension on this flap to pull it down for the proper appearance.  Perhaps when the wire placed inside the flap is hog ringed to the wire that runs under the Pirelli straps and is pulled down about the three quarters of an inch, the "compression" of the seat foam will be about right?

I set that aside for now and worked on cleaning up the seat tracks.  They were gummed and I could hardly get them to move.  I used copious amounts of WD40, as brass wire brush, compressed air, and paper towels.  To assist with cleaning, I moved the tracks back and forth repeatedly.  For the track that has the handle, I disengaged the spring so that the track could move without latching.  Bending tab at the end allows the spring to move away so the tang can be slipped out of position.  This allows the handle to free float.  Then, the track can be moved back and forth without the handle engaging the slots

    

  

 

I am going to think about how to best proceed.  If anyone has any guidance, let me know.

Edited September 29 by inline6