astrohog

Hi All! I am realizing that my brakes have never been right in the two years of owning my Z. I have only put a few hundred miles on her as I go through the bits and pieces, so it has not been a big issue. Now, things are running good and solid and I MUST get the brakes right! Can anyone direct me as to the "correct" or "preferred" replacements? Not necessarily looking for originals, unless they are still avail. at a reasonable price. Do I just go to the local NAPA and buy what they have available? Thanks again, guys, for any help you may have for me!!!! Regards, Astrohog

Arne, Not to hijack my own thread, but, any chance you will be at the ZCCW Meeting of the MindZ in Port Townsend on the 16th and /or 17th? Astro

Rodger that, E! Your advice is well taken! I have alot of adhesive experience from years of building model airplanes, so I know a little about gluing different materials. This is certainly an application where cured skim coats of adhesive makes a lot of sense, essentially using it as a "contact adhesive". Sounds like I will have one shot at getting it to lay down right that way, but I should be okay if I take my time!! Thanks again for the advice!! I will let y'all know how it turned out soon enough! Regards, Jeff

Thanks, E!! That is what I was thinking, and since I am not ready to take the Z to paint yet (just trying to keep her dry and fume-free!), I ordered up the one-piece. Maybe I will go with the "more-correct" three-piece after I do get her painted. Thanks again, Astro

I am trying to order the outer hatch weatherstripping from MSA. They offer a one-piece unit, or two seperate side pieces and a top piece. Any advice on which one installs and/or actually performs its intended function better? Appreciate any help here!! Regards, Astrohog

I think I figured it out. Checked the coolant level after she cooled off and had to add almost two gallons! I fired her up and (with a flashlight as it is dark here now) looked arounf the water pump where I was seeing steam before. There was a steady little stream of water coming from around the water pump. I am hoping it is just the water pump now, and that I did not do any further damage. I would sure hate to have her down for the count this time of year! Astro

Just took my stock '71 out for a spin. She has been running great and a joy to drive lately!!! I usually do not drive her in the rain, but had to take a little spin tonite in the light sprinkle. A few miles into my drive, (I assume) the alt. belt starts to squeal, so I start to head back home as it was annoying. Halfway home, I notice the temp gauge is just about maxed @ 250!! I pull over and let her cool down until the gauge is strait up and down and make an easy 3 mile drive home. Just as I get to my driveway, the temp. guage is at max again. I shut her down and raise the hood to let her cool down. most of the steam is coming from around the water pump. Could this have been caused by a loose or glazed belt, or could the water pump have gone gunny bag? Is there any easy way to check the water pump by hand? I am writing this as I let her cool enough to go out and check the coolant level. I am hoping I didn't do any damage by driving her hot!! Any advice or ideas would be greatly appreciated!! Regards, Astrohog

Try CRC "Knocker Loose" it is a copy of Kroil and is available anywhere that sells CRC products. It DOES work as good as Kroil. CRC also has a product out called "Freeze Out" (I think) that is good for "shocking" stubborn parts free. They also have a new version of Knocker Loose that incorporates freeze out with knocker loose! BTW, these products all cost at least 1/2 of what Kano charges for Kroil! Regards, Astrohog

I recently bought a similar one for my '71. I did have to drill out the pin on the hatch side and then drill a slightly larger hole in the 90 deegree mounting bracket so I could put a threaded ball on that end to accept the strut, but it works great! I think I paid under $20.00 for mine at the local NAPA store, though. Hope this helps, Regards, Astrohog

Nobody has thought of this yet...... If nobody restored cars (because you cannot make any money doing it) than there would not be any restored or almost restored cars for the rest of us to purchase....... SO......... Continue on gentlemen, and have FUN doing it!!!!! Now where did I put my tool box and those new parts....... Regards, Astrohog

Okay, I finally got all of the A/C components removed from my '71, now I have a big hole in the fan housing.... Is there a part available to cover this hole, or do I have to make one myself? Anybody that has done this have any advice as to how to go about this? Materials, patterns, etc?? How about finding a new housing or fan unit? are they available? and if so, are they affordable? Thanks for any suggestions!! Regards, Astrohog

UHHHH....look at post #29. $300.00 and so far, very much worth it! Astro

This one worked well for my (12/70) 1971. metra 44-PW22 I will get pics next time I am out to the car (probably tomorrow) It was a clean, easy install and I think it looks as good or better than the stock one (biased? maybe.) I picked mine up off the shelf @ Best buy for under $60.00 and I found them online for as little as $39.99. Regards, Astrohog

BTW all, Astrohog's DVD install went well! THANKS DAVE! I had a great time and LOVE the new unit!!!! The antenna that Dave mentioned earlier in this post is a great deal and a good match for the Z's! No, not EXACTLY oem, BUT, it is a good match and fits well right outta the box. As for the DVD player..... I never dreamed I would put a DVD player in the Z (much less any other car I own) BUT, I am a guy (guys like gadgets!!) and the price was the same as the head unit I had decided on (middle-road Pioneer). SOO... that was kind of a no-brainer! My future plans for the Z is to "upgrade" certain things while maintaining the original flair the Z's were designed with. I think this CD/DVD player fits that bill perfectly! The screen is not so big as to be overwhelming, but it is big enough to see easily. Along with IPOD control and DVD capability, it also has a mini usb plug on the front face AND an sd card slot, so viewing all of the "before and after" Z pics is easy to do at any gathering!!! PRETTY COOL! Thanks again, Dave for all your help! You are one of the many reasons this Z community is so special!!! Regards, Astrohog

Dave, Excuse my ignorance!!! No, I did not know you did car audio! Otherwise, I wouldn't have made my appointment here! Send me a P.M. and let me know if you have any experience w/ the Soundstream products. I am not familiar with that brand, however, it looks like that one has it all!!! (no kitchen sink???) I can (and will) cancel my appt. here if you have units there and we can hook up sometime next week while I am on vacation (preferably Tuesday, April 10). P.M. me the details, cost, avail, etc. I will check my P.M. throughout the day as I can get Wifi, and I will get back to you!! Regards, Astrohog

OOPS! NEXT Tuesday!!! Too bad, I always like meeting you guys in person. Maybe next week! Regards, Astrohog

Zs-Ondabrain, Thanks for your offer to help! I did some searching and was able to find the antenna you mentioned on the shelf here locally (Best Buy) for under $60.00, PLUS I realized I had $25.00 of Best Buy Bucks in my wallet! It looks really straightforward to install (the key being the strap they include to cut/bend to fit!). I will be putting this one in this weekend and I have an appt. at the local car-audio place to install the head unit next Tuesday! It will be sooo nice to travel with tunes!! (might even make me forget about the fumes!!) haha!!! I will be heading to Z Specialties hopefully Tuesday afternoon to buy some asst stuff (including rear hatch weatherstrip, maybe the fumes will be a thing of the past!!) and then on to the ZCCW club meeting at Performance Nissan. Thanks again for your generous offer! Regards, Astrohog

Thanks KTM! Not having much "mechanic" background, I don't like to get in over my head, it is very frustrating to me! Sounds like this is a job for me to go ahead and tackle! THanks again for the support! Regards, Astrohog

Thanks, SBlake, Simply put!!!!! Astrohog

Not sure where to post this, so it ended up here. I have done numerous searches on gas tank removal, and not found the answer to my question. I did see the link to the fuel tank removal guide somewhere here, but it did not mention if any other components of the car need to be removed to get the tank out. If no other parts have to be removed, then I can follow the instructions on that link. I have limited tools where the car is stored, so I would like to know in advance of me planning the removal as to how involved, how much time it may take or if I need to bring any additional tools. Thanks for any light you may be able to shed on this for me! Regards, Astrohog

Arne, Not sure how short it is. When I removed it the first time, it was not connected to anything as the arial was missing (completely broken off while extended, I assume). When I removed the metal housing, and tried to replace the housing, the white plastic was so brittle, the little bit of bend it had, caused it to break again in a couple of pieces ( DOH!!!). Astrohog

Zs-Ondabrain, Right now I just want tunes!! I have a speaker panel that came out of my Uncles Z that has 2 - 8" subs and 2 - 2 ways w/ crossovers. They are cheepo speakers, but he has been in electronics all of his life and said that it sounded GREAT (too much for him) w/ a 4 X 50w head unit. That is my starting point for now. If I do not like it, I will look into different optiosns. I am trying to focus my attention on getting the Z to be a tight, reliable driver and protecting her from future corrosion by tackling a few minor rust issues. Once I have accomplished that, I am sure she will be a "work in progress" for quite some time!!! I sent you a p.m. and would like to come down and visit soon! I am gonna look around at my options as far as getting the arial and "pusher" piece locally from Schucks, but just curious, where would a guy order the antenna you mentioned and how long would it take to arrive? Regards, Astrohog

Wow! Three pages on antenna electrics! Who woul've guessed! I am still a little unclear, though on my particular situation. It looks like the P.O. replaced the original radio (12/70, 1971 240Z) when the F.M. stereo version became available and the antenna switch was relocated to the glovebox. When I have a modern head unit installed and keep my original antenna (assuming it still works) I want to wire the MODERN antenna power wire (from the head unit) to the Power terminal on the OLD switch, and all three wires from the switch to the antenna and it should operate as it did originally? For example: Turn radio on (nothing happens to antenna) push switch to up (antenna goes up) push switch down (antenna goes down). Am I understanding correctly? I am going from memory here on the wires as The Z is still in storage. Regards, Astrohog

Thanks for the replies, guys! Arne - pictures are worth a thousand words!! I cannot tell, however how the piece of wire is attached? I have two pieces of that wire that "fell" out of my seat as I removed it and had no idea how they attached, or where they were supposed to go! Mine seemed to be joined in the middle with a small ring so they could form an " X " shape? Also, when I am attaching the webbing, should it be as taut as I can get it, or should there be a little "give/sag" to it? Bruce - that looks like a really good idea, let me/us know how it works! Also, being that I have not removed my old covers/foam yet, I do not have any idea what the seat "framework" looks like. On the parts that I can see on mine (hinges and mounts) I have some surface corrosion that I would like to remove before recovering. Will I be able to safely bead blast the works and rattle can the frames, or is there some danger/sensitive parts to be aware of if I attempt it? Again, thanks for the invaluable info...keep it coming!! Regards, Astrohog