liltuber

That link did have some good tips. I might try steam as well. Thanks for the info pwd but that sounds like a good way to make a pretty exact replicate. I have just recently decided to go with vinyl door panels over a metal sheet so having a perfect copy isn't the goal. I am going to make my own vinyl skins as well. Pretty much a budget diy job. Keep the tips coming and i'll keep updating as well.

I recently decided to try building new door panels for my 71 240z. I have the originals but the board backing is damaged beyond repair. The originals are in good enough shape to give me a good template. I went to home depot and bought some board that is pretty close to exact to the board in the original panel. I was wondering if anyone knew how to get the bend into the new board piece like the original has. An idea I had was to remove some of the material along the intended crease, make the bend, and epoxy the curvature to hold it tight. Let me know what you guys think, Adam

Haha, yes i read his post. I believe he has helped me greatly in the past. I guess i just like to tinker and try to fix stuff myself first. I'll be dropping the car off at the painters in a week so if I cant fix it I will definately be in contact with you when I come back from college. Im going to go with a metallic charcoal I think. I'll post results of my tinkering. Adam

Small update. I put my multimeter across the fuse gap and it was reading 33 amps! So isn't there something that should be chopping that down like a relay?

Thanks guys. I understand the dangers of hot electrical components so I pulled the fuse that was getting toasty. I will give the combo switch a good cleaning and see if that gets me anywhere. Before I go out and buy another set of fuses... I can measure amperage with a meter cant I? If its too high it would have blown a fuse, correct? That way im not using trial and error technique with fuses. Also, the turn signals dont work, FML. I'm down to hand signals .

So I have a little problem I cant turn on my headlights on my 71 z. If I remember correctly I used to be able to fiddle with the light switch on and off and eventually the lights would come on. This was about a year ago. I have since gone away to school. At some point when I was back I realized that the "on and off until the lights come on" tactic no longer worked. I found a blown fuze to be the issue. I replaced the fuse but as soon as i turned the ignition to acc the second fuse down on the right blows(I cant remember if that matches with the left or right headlight at the moment). Anyway, I followed the wires as best as I could, and didnt find any damage or shorts. I did make the mistake of putting a 20 amp fuse in its place. Then the first fuse on the right blew and the lights came on and stayed on even if i turned the lights off via the switch. I quickly fixed this fuse error though. I was wondering if anyone had some advise. Another strange fuse issue. The fuse for the dome light and side markers gets pretty hot. Its the correct size fuse and everything works, but im worried about the heat. The fuse doesnt blow so I dont know what to think. Any advise helps, Adam

Ya i cant believe I've never seen that condensor before. I will be replacing that condensor and the points today. Thanks for all your help. Adam

Thanks jimmyz. I have access to a tl but the quick lesson was great. Earlier this morning I solved the problem. It was the point faces. I took a little sandpaper to it and it ran great. Had a great drive to the gas staion. The points are only a month or two old though. So it makes me think, why did they foul so soon? I noticed something that i'm not sure what it is. Maybe you guys can help name it w/o a picture. I looks like a condensor on the outside of the distributor on the block side. The wire it runs to connects to the points plate on the inside of the distributor. Is it a condensor? If its bad could it cause the points to go bad?

ok, midnight update. Factory coil... no help. I did start playing with the point gap though and some things changed. I got it to one point were it almost seemed as though the rpms were jumping up instead of down but the car didnt sound right so i adjusted again. This time the car seemed to run like it should! for a while. At first it was only bouncing around 50 to 100 rpms, but after about a minute it dropped and i had to hit the gas to recover it. So i'm thinking its in the points system somewhere. Any thoughts?

Sorry guys, long weekend from work to a funeral. I did have a chance to put on the filter and notice no change. So i did a couple things and i can update you on some others. I went out and tightened all the connections on the resistor but that didnt change anything. The distributor cap and wires are fine. All the elctronics are new except for the resistor. I put my ohm meter on it, and read a resistance so i didnt think it to be necessary. New condensor, coil, points, cap, rotor. plugs are pretty new but are a little fuel fowled. The ignition switch is the original but i wiggled my little heart out on the wires and saw no significant change. I also wiggled the distributor shaft and it was very snug. It is more of a missing fire than a misfire. I am going to try putting a different coil on it right now, but I doubt that will do much. If it works I'll let you know. Jimmyz, can you explain to me how to use the test light on the plugs and wires? Keep shooting me options guys, one of them has to hit.

Thanks Curtis. There are no signs of carbon tracking so i'm going to pick up a new fuel filter today. I've never changed it since I've owned the car so it might be overdue.

Come on, anybody?

New fuel pump and it runs a little rich most the time

Im not exactly sure what it is or why its happening. Im not even sure if it is a missfire. Ok, let me explain it the best I can. The car is a 71 240z. With no consistant pattern the engine will suddenly drop 300 to 500 rpm and then catch itself and return to idle. Almost like I turned the key off and then back on again quickly. That is at idle. When going down the road the car does the same thing except when i try to give it gas it just makes a sucking sound because theres no combustion(im guessing), then the car will catch itself, but because the car is in gear it will learch(quite embarrasing). Because of this I have not been driving it much and just been tinkering with everything possible to try and fix it when I can. Please help me so I can get my baby back on the road. Thanks, Adam

I got a new plate and it came with new points, it was only like 10 duckets. picking it up after school. Very excited! Ya, i filed the points and it started right up.

Ah yes these points. Wow. Well I guess the reason I posted on here was to get some help, so i'm trying not to feel like a retard. I tested the resistor and it measured a resistance so then i took a file to these points and I bet you can guess what happened. I'll give you a hint. I bought a new contact braker plate shortly after. Thanks for all the help guys. Adam

JimmyZ the car runs great if i bypass the ballast resistor and just run a 12v source to the coil. When I first figured this out it probably should of thrown a flag, but hell, im no electrical engineer. The points are still nice and pretty because its a relatively new cap. Nissanman, I'm thinking it is the ballast resistor as well. A couple nights ago I swept every forum I could find, and on a jeep forum they said the same thing you did. I'll get a new resistor and let you guys know. Thanks, Adam

So i picked up a new condensor and guess what... that wasnt it. So, if the ballast resister is going out would that cause this? When the key was in the on position the resister got really hot after a while. Bad? I read a while back that if the vacuum thing on the distributor(sorry, brain fart) goes out, it runs like crap. What happens if that goes bad? Adam

Ok, so get this. I went to test the tac and as i cranked i heard an occasional electrical poping sound. I had forgot to reattach one of the external resistor wires from when i was testing wires with my ohm meter.(Unplugged it trying to solve the issue, so this wasnt the solution) Once I plugged that back in I noticed the tac was moving. Then, the car started briefly! It was acting the way it was when I thought I blew up the old coil. It would start just long enough that i had to to the key to on, then i would sputter and then stall. Barely would rev up or anything. So what would cause the car to begin to start and then just drop off? Might it be the external resistor having a poor connection? Adam

Thanks guys. I didnt have a chance to work on the z today. Advice sounds great. I know I have a 3(I think) wire clip plugged into the back of the tac. Is there supposed to be any other wires coming out of it? Also, I have a mystery part I was wondering if anyone knew what it is. Its a shiny cylinder about 4 inches tall and about an inch diameter. It has 2 electrical posts on the top. Its located behind the dash tucked behind the gauges. Adam

OK, so during winter I took out my dash to get some work done to it. I put it back in in a hurry and I dont think I wired something correctly. The problem is with the coil. When I turn the ignition key the starter turns but all it does is crank over and over, no start. I found that the coil wasn't recieving power. If i hard wire a 12v source to the coil it will start right up, but I rather not have to get out of my car and disconnect the coil to shut down the car. I looked at wiring diagrams and everything looks right. I was slightly confused about the tach part and if that might cause it? Might it be the condenser or resistor? BTW, It is a 71 240z Thanks, Adam

I was wondering what condition the passenger side floor pan is in. I need a donor part. If your up to the job of cutting it out. Let me know Adam

I was wondering what condition the passenger side floor pan is in. I need a donor part. If your up to the job of cutting it out. Let me know Adam

I was looking through recipts that the previous owner gave me and the oil pressure sending unit is relitively new. As long as I keep the car above idle the pressure stays in an ok range. I'm thinking more and more that all this is just caused from the break in period of the engine.

Well I'm slightly confused now. Recently when I've started the car the pressure goes up to about 40 psi, and it stays there for a while. I can drive it for a while and it stays pretty good, but then after like 15 minutes the pressure gradually goes back down. Is this the sending unit or should I up my oil pump to the one from the turbo car?