Si|v3r72

I don't suppose it's possible that a '71 dash wiring harness will go right into a '72 dash? Are the '71's and '72's interchangable? Mine is so bad that I think changing out the entire harness will be easier than fixing all the problems.

i could use some help diagnosing my problem, or at least where to look. here's where it is: last weds replaced thermostat, ran a little hotter but stable temp. thursday the wire that runs from the main harness to the solenoid shorted and caused a short somewhere, and i think fried a cell in my battery. was able to jump start, and drive home. friday, car just quit. no nothing when i turn the key. also, when the wire shorted, my amp guage filled up with smoke, so i think that's toast too, although after i jumped it and it ran, the needle was moving around (it would jump when i turned on the lights). i've tried a different battery - still didn't start or do anything. i also put in a new wire to the solenoid. what does it sound like the problem might be?

woah, last i checked 2intense's website wasn't nearly as big. this is the first time i've seen red as an option for vinyl color on replacement door panels. i should know, mine are red, but thankfully in good condition. i'd say unless you've found something else, go with 2intense.

Ok well since the question was asked.... I replaced the thermostat 2 days ago. I'm pretty sure I had a 170^ one in there before and replaced it with a 180^ one so the car ran slightly wamer than before, but it seemed fine. Yesterday I took it out of town, about 1 1/2 hours out. I began to lose power, then lost it completely and had a huge backfire (I believe through one of the carbs). Thick brown smoke filled up my center guage. I managed to drift into a parking lot and park it. Upon inspecting the engine compartment I found that the wire running from the main harness (lower right side of the compartment under the battery) to the solenoid had been severed. I managed to find some wire and electrical tape, spliced it back together, wrapped it and was on my way. I reached my destination, let the car cool, did what I had to do, then tried to go home. The car would not turn over, like the battery was dead, but I was sure it wasn't. I fiddled with the solenoid wiring a bit more to make sure it was secure but it didn't help. Just as I was ready to give up and call for a tow, I got offered a jump, and it worked. I drove the car home w/o turning it off, but it ran like crap, wanting to die with every little bit of gas I gave it and not running well at all below 3000 rpm. This is where I stand now. I was out of town again today so I haven't had a chance to do anything with it. So I'm not sure what to do, other than take it to my local mechanic (who I completely trust with my car). Any thoughts?

Sounds like good advice. Thanks Daniel.

ok i popped the thermostat housing top, removed the thermostat and a bunch of coolant came out like it was being blocked by the thermostat. so i'm guessing my thermostat was stuck shut. i took it out, cleaned up the gasket and replaced the top of the housing w/o reinstalling the thermostat, and topped of the coolant in the radiator. no leaks, coolant is running through the radiator (you can see flow), and the temp guage is at approx. 150^, didn't get any hotter even after running it around the block. so my thermostat was stuck - easy fix - sorry to waste everyone's time.

Well I checked the coolant level in the radiator and couldn't see any . I would have thought that if my water pump went bad I'd have seen coolant everywhere, but there's none. If my thermostat got stuck shut (getting reay to check it) then is it possible some of the water evaporated, enough to put the level below the top of the radiator?

Been driving my car every day, no problems. This morning on the way to work the temp redjacked and stayed there, or just below. I'm pretty sure my coolant level is ok, but can't check for sure until it cools down. What else could be a possible culprit?

My 72 240 is a daily driver, I even use it as a grocery getter from time to time. My typical commute is around 20 miles round trip. I have had zero problems mechanically with my Z - it has been 100% reliable (knock on wood). The only times I don't drive it daily are in bad weather and winter.

My stock antenna has finally died - thanks to a car wash attendant. I put my car through the wash and forgot to lower the antenna, went to pay and realized the antenna was still up, ran back to lower it before it went through, and to my horror found the attendant trying to lower it by hand. Needless to say, he killed it. He was gracious enough to offer to pay for replacement if he damaged it, so I'm in the market for a new one. So where's the best place to get a replacement? MSA? Which antenna works best in a 240?

Dang Alfadog, it's amazing how much your car looks like mine. Great photo!

, no pics. i finished in the dark last night. i'll try to snap a few soon, but the weather looks like rain for the next few days. after all that work i have to keep her in the garage . i didn't do jambs or any underbody, i simply didn't have time. they're next on the list!

Until yesterday, I took a rather mundane and easy approach to cleaning my Z - wash and if I had time, wax with regular car care products, i.e. Turtle Wax products or whatever I had laying around. I decided it was time to do my car some justice and give it the royal treatment, so I invested in a Mother's car care system - wash, pre-wax cleaner, clay bar and speed shine, glaze and sealer, and carnuba wax. My neighbor had suggested using Griott's, but their stuff is too expensive for my budget. That said, I still spent about $60 on Mother's stuff. I undertook this task yesterday morning, and finished 11 hours later. I was completely worn out and my arms still ache, but damn my Z looks so good. A few more coats of carnuba and it'll be easy cleaning for the rest of the year. Here's the process I applied: 1) Hand wash and shammy dry. 2) Hand apply and remove pre-wax cleaner. 3) Clay bar entire car using speed shine for lubricant. 4) Hand apply and remove Glaze and Sealer. 5) Hand apply and remove carnuba wax. 6) Buff entire car with random orbitol buffer. Lots of work, but my baby deserves it!

looks great!

If you don't restore it to stock, I'm going to beat you up and steal your jacket. j/k stock please.

@ EScanlon. DatsunZGuy, did you take any pics of the finished prooduct? Sounds like a great weekend project.

Mine struggles to open and close, and often fails to. I"ve tried cleaning it in the open position with wd-40 but it didn't help. I believe it is the original antenna. Is it salvagable or should I just replace it? I'm tired of listening to the only station it picks up in the down position.

yep, one of the most poorly made commercial sites ever.

wonderdog just got owned.

Why switch? I have those same wheels and damn I wouldn't switch them for anything. Well almost anything.

Thanks again everyone for your continued support. EScanlon has described the problem perfectly. The latch only goes to the safety position, not the actual lockable position. When I had replaced the latch on the inside of the door it just didn't seem to operate correctly as far as the lock was concerned but I put it together anyhow and now I've got trouble. Looks like another weekend will be spent working on this door. BTW, I replaced the bolts that hold down the latch striker plate (all three were stripped) and the door is closing now. I still have to give it a good hard shove, but at least it's closing.

Since I reassembled my door, I have been unable to lock the door. The plunger simply will not go down, nor will the key turn in the lock. How do I fix this? Do I have to take the door all apart and try it again?

Yep 10mm socket. The bolts just spin and spin. I'm going to try to replace them today.

Ack, I think I'm back to square 1. My door performed horribly today. I now realize the biggest problem is that the three screws that secure the latch plate and dovetail are all stripped. So the entire assy moves when you try to close the door. Driving home tonight wasn't fun .

Ok after reading all of your responses (which I thank you for very much, and btw EScanlon I recall reading your door article once before, I suppose a site search should have been in order on my part), I checked a few things. First I checked the vertical play in the door from the end of the door. It has about a 1/4" wiggle in it. My door seals are new and are in good position (no I didn't fill the gap in the body seal - and let me add what an improvement replacing all the door rubber made). I then loosened the latch assy, made sure it was as low as possible, and then rotated the bottom piece of the latch away from the door. Still no good. I rotated the bottom piece towards the door as much as possible, and, viola, the door closes nicely, without extra effort. Hopefully this is a permanent fix. Thanks again for your help! Tom