TomoHawk

The aviation people are still using red. So automakers would rather be stylish at the cost of our lives? What's the deal about having blue?

I agree with Cap'n O about not using the LED bulbs with the end-emitters for gauge illumination. The top- emitter ones ought to be fine for the indicator lamps, like high beam, & turn signals. I'm using what we call 'paddlewheel' bulbs which only have axial emitters. If you want to, you can remove yjre top chips from the full-tower bulbs, so you can reuse the same bulbs. I even considered painting over the little tick marks on the tachys (with a DayGlo pigment & clear paint mix) to help them get illuminated or glow, like new cars have, but that would be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how good your painting skill is. I think the ultimate thing would be to get a plastic gauge face made with the tick marks and numbers etched so the light shows through, like the heater panel does. Maybe someone here has the skill & equipment to make such a gauge face- only the Speed tachy needs it, who cares about the revs?

I prefer the stainless steel look.

The wooden-rimmed steering wheels have rivets around the ring, but not all have the rivets flush with the surface of the wood. It looks nicer with the holes filled with the rivet, but what if it's not filled (with a brass rivet?) I suppose you can fill the depression with epoxy and then sand & paint it to look like brass, but what else is there that looks right? There is a brass epoxy called Devcon brass epoxy, but it is very expensive. You can also get brass-coloured modeling clay, but will it hold its shape when dry & not crack? Can you get small bits of brass like a rivet head to glue in the hole, if you drill out to the right size?

Apparently CourtesyParts doesn't have a need for photos of everything. Other vendors, especially ones on eBay will 'steal' photos from others or use the same photo (a "stock photo") for anything similar, even if it's not the correct photo. I'm just tired of spending my money on stuff I can't use and just throw away, because it's useless; even if the catalog says it's "compatible." BTW- I noticed a large truck with similar wiper blades, so I think I will browse some truck parts suppliers to see if they have something compatible.

Using the marker was an easier fix for me. It only took about a minute, and a beer while I waited for the ink to dry and apply a second coat. Someone should invent a toolbox with an insulated compartment for "beer."

Take a stick or some tape with you, so you can "point out" the area, or point or the part, that you are taking a photo of. You could use the tape as a pointer or make a box or circle around the area.

Bruce- While I'm putting the little paddlewheels in my gauges, I hooked up the 10V battery with one new LED installed in the volt gauge. It was quite bright, so I took it out, and dug up the green Sharpie and gave the chips on the bulb a bit of green and reinstalled. After I hooked up the battery, I turned the room light off, and lo-and-behold: green light! It was still a bright green, but I don't mind, because the marker took some of the brightness off, and since I won't be using all LEDs, I think it'll come out fine. The gauges will now have a traditional green glow. I'm looking forward to being able to read both tachys this summer, and not having to change the bulbs every year. Since I don't have some of the weaker LEDs, I will continue to use the incandescent bulbs for the turn indicators, high-beam, etc.

There it is... ANCO makes the wiper blade in the correct design, but they are painted BLACK. I suppose I could strip off the paint? My current 280Z wiper blades are the right kind, so I'll try stripping the paint from those...

CourtesyParts doesn't have a photo of the part, and every other vendor has them in black plastic. Can you just assume the Courtesy Part blades are the stainless steel ones? I sent an message with no reply... Otherwise you can just use a bayonet-mount blade of 18 inches.... Is there any other source of stainless steel wiper blades besides Nissan? Blades for a vintage Mustang, Alpha, Fiat, etc. are similar but not long enough.

I see what you mean, but I always ask anyway. Yeah, at the least you can write notes on parts you think you might want to get later, and note the location of the vehicle. Then, if I do get a part I can write the details of the make, model & year, instead of having to remember it. Once I even took a digital camera to take visual notes, so I didn't have to make a hasty/expensive decision.

I wouldn't want to waste a trip to the JY and a hose by shorting myself an in on the hose.

Would you believe that the eBay vendor that is selling the Volvo check valve refuses to send one to me because "the catalog says it not compatible" ? You'd think he would just say so and ask if you wanted it anyway. He must be a Volvo parts dealer of the kind Rossiz usually deals with.

Hello, I reviewed this topic in case I decide to replace the check valve myself (it can't last forever...) What should be the proper or minimum length of the Audi hose, in case you want to get a used one or make one?

If you don't have any, what makes the doors move to direct where the air blows? Mine is a 1978, so it has vacuum pots.

I never"remember to turn it back on" so I will just have to live with the chimes always enabled. I'd rather be annoyed and safe than sorry the battery is dead. This is my dinger: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkC0dcklnO0 But it goes twice as fast. So much for that. I have a wiper motor from an Escort ZX2, and it fits just right on the bracket for the Zed. One wire is low speed, one for high speed, one for ground, and it has auto-park. I just haven't figured out how to hook it up to the Zed wiper controller. I think it switches the low side? That would mean you need some 2N3055s or a SPDT relay.

While you have the whole thing out, why not add a starter button to bypass the ignition switch, and a few other "corrections?" Don't forget to inspect the vacuum hoses for the ventilation controls and the heater hoses, do a little painting of whatever you can see from the seat or the window, and make templates for panels to cover what isn't already covered by carpet.

I managed to get my rheostat out once, but that was a long time ago, wen then stock seats were in. I think I had to take the vent out and some other stuff, like moving the hood handle.

Sure... Imported stuff is $0.99 a dozen, American made stuff is $99 a dozen.

Beats me. I can't get the rheostat out.

That's a 1/8W resistor, right? You gotta get this project developed to a pretty-much-done state and submit it to ZCCM magazine- Every S30 owner should know of this and the PWM dimmer. It'll be just in time for summer.

As usual, these imported tower bulbs are of much simpler design than you'd think- it's just a friction fit, with one lead jammed between the plastic ring and the metal base, and the other lead soldered to keep it from coming apart. Never mind the glue- us 'melicans will just buy a dozen more to replace the one that fell apart, especially for $1 a dozen from China. If the bulb was made to real American standards, the ring would be glued to the upper AND lower parts, with BOTH leads soldered. #194 wedge bulbs are even simpler; the two leads come out of two holes and are bent up.

Somebody should send this idea to MSA, or another company that can make these in quantities. Every S30 out there should have one.

I have a few dimmers I got from the JY. Some just pulled out, so you have to dig into the panel to get the wires/connector, and some came out with wires or connector attached. Some had a knob that pops out for safety, and others didn't. The challenge is to mount it or add a long shaft so you can swap it for the rheostat, and to connect it to the wiring to control the lights.

d- Your interior looks great- like new even. I loose tons of points just because my interior looks "old" even after restoring & painting it ... I hope the 'mood lighting' goes off when you close the door. It would really bother me to have the interior or floor light up while driving- It would be a cool touch for auto shows, but I would rather keep my attention on the road.